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"Born on a mountain top in Tennessee" and reputed to have killed himself a "b'ar" when he was only three, the legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett was born on August 17, 1786. He fought in the Creek Indian War, served in the Tennessee legislature and the United States House of Representatives, and died helping defend the Alamo in the fight to help Texas win independence from Mexico. Partly due to being a backwoods brag who liked to tell tale tales about himself, Crockett has been immortalized in songs, books, television programs and movies.

More than ever, kids rely on the internet to provide access to information for research, homework help, and entertainment. You can help ensure that your child is safely surfing for kid-friendly and computer-safe content by having them attend Web S.T.A.R.S.(Safety Training and Responsible Surfing). This class teaches kids ages 6-12 how to safely navigate the World Wide Web.

Classes will be offered throughout the month of September.

Forest Home - September 12, 2011, 5:00 p.m.

Mill Road - September 13, 2011, 5:00 p.m.

Washington Park - September 15, 2011, 5:00 p.m.

Martin Luther King - September 19, 2011, 5:00 p.m.

Center Street - September 20, 2011, 5:00 p.m.

Atkinson - September 21, 2011, 5:00 p.m.

There is no need to register for these classes. For more information, call (414)286-3011.

The Milwaukee Irish Fest runs from today until Sunday, August 21. This year's festival showcases the counties of Derry and Donegal. Throughout the festival grounds there are highlights of the culture, heritage, and music of these two counties.

Take a look at the Irish Fest website for additional information on everything from ticket discounts to food to schedules and more.

Make sure you visit the library to pick up your books and movies before Labor Day weekend. Check out an audiobook for any end of summer road trips you might take over the long weekend. But plan your library visit in advance because all Milwaukee Public Libraries will be closed Friday, September 2, a designated furlough day for City of Milwaukee employees. In addition, the library will be closed Saturday, September 3 through Monday, September 5 for the observance of Labor Day.

Beginning on August 27, the library will offer Saturday tours of the Central Library's green roof at 10 a.m. instead of 1:30 p.m. If you haven't seen our green roof, you can take advantage of these free tours to see what the library is doing to reduce its carbon footprint as well as enjoy this unique view of Milwaukee's skyline. Those people who have already been on the tour will appreciate seeing how it has grown in the summer months.

On August 26, 1920, the nineteenth amendment, permitting women the right to vote, became law. Suffrage for women was first proposed during the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention in 1848. The nineteenth amendment was endorsed by the United States Senate on June 4, 1919, and sent to the states for ratification. Wisconsin was one of the first states to ratify the amendment.
The Library of Congress's American Memory has a large collection of resources relating to women's fight to gain the vote. Milwaukee Public Library also has a variety of material available.

I received a call at Ready Reference this morning from someone asking about the pollen count for the next four days. If you're ever wondering about this, a good source to check is www.pollen.com. At the site, you can put in your zip code and get a four day allergy forecast. Unfortunately, the next few days' counts are very high, topping out Saturday at a whopping 11.3 (a level of 9.7 to 12 is considered high). Fortunately, the website also has allergy information and news.

• Six out of ten state residents are registered library users. These library users made over 35 million visits to Wisconsin public libraries in 2010. Season attendance for Brewer home games in 2010 was 2.8 million.
• The average number of user visits per week to Wisconsin public libraries is 676,000. Season attendance at Packer home games is about 566,000.
• Over 65 million items were circulated by Wisconsin's public libraries in 2010. Wisconsin ranks 8th in per capita circulation nationally.
• Over 98% of Wisconsin public libraries help people access and use employment resources, including help with job searches, creating resumes, and submitting employment applications.
• On average, 1.25 million items are checked out of Wisconsin public libraries each week. More than one-third of these circulations are children's materials.
• Programs provided by public libraries and directed toward children had attendance of over 1.6 million. Summer library program attendance for children and young adults was nearly 500,000.