It’s February, which means tax season at the library. We are so happy to once again be partnering with AARP to provide tax aide service to the community.
Last year, despite COVID-related limitations, we helped 409 clients file their taxes with combined refunds totaling $511,984. What’s more, we helped clients save roughly $102,250 in fees that would have been charged through paid preparation services.
This year, tax volunteers are in the building Tuesdays through Fridays most weeks. They have roughly twenty appointment slots available each day. As of this writing, we are already booked solid through April 4! I think that speaks to the need for this type of service in our community, as well as the popularity and reputation it has garnered over the years.
To that point, we have folks calling us as early as late November every year to inquire about the upcoming tax season. In response to that early demand, we set up a “call back” list this year in early January and in just three weeks had over 200 people signed up to be notified once appointments were available.
I’d like to publicly thank our staff, who did a great job at calling those folks back to schedule those appointments.
If this is a service you or someone you know could benefit from, please visit our Tax Resource Center today at ofpl.info/taxes. There you can book an appointment, ask a question, and download/print forms.
We also have a tax table setup near our main desk with a variety of the most popular forms available (for free).
On top of all the tax activity, you may be aware of our recent water damage caused by a roof leak. We had to temporarily close off our Children’s section and a portion of the second floor.
The Children’s section is now mostly reopened with some modifications. The second floor is fully reopened, although with some visible water damage.
Thank you to everyone who sent us messages of support over the last few days. We even had a couple of donations come in to help us with recovery costs.
That spirit of community support is one of the things that make O’Fallon great. We are so fortunate to have such a generous and kind community that supports us when we suffer a setback. Please bear with us as it may take a couple weeks to get back to normal.
In the interim, we are dedicated to “making it work” as they say. Our Youth Services staff has been very flexible and creative in doing just that these last few days.
Thank you again, and happy reading!
This article originally appeared in the O’Fallon Weekly.
The O'Fallon Public Library News 