Check it out

If Y2K mania is finally bugging you, it’s time to take charge of your

personal and business survival. Rather than stockpiling generators or

liquidating bank accounts, head for a Newport Beach library for print,

audiovisual and online resources aimed at helping you safeguard assets,

from your personal computer to your small business.

For an overview of what you can do to survive short inconveniences to

long catastrophes, start with “Y2K Family Survival Guide,” a video hosted

by Leonard Nimoy. Based on the premise that even a 5% failure on a global

scale will cause massive chain reactions affecting access to electricity,

water, food, gasoline and money, this 48-minute tape will help you get

ready for possible local, national and international repercussions of the

potential computer glitch.

Also aimed at protecting personal resources and security is “The Y2K

Personal Survival Guide,” offering 17 Y2K preparation tips, 10

commandments for defining a Y2K investment strategy and nearly 30 charts

to help you evaluate your needs. Written by millennium-bug authority

Michael Hyatt, who testified before Congress on the Y2K issue, this

proactive manual includes chapters devoted to information, supplies,

shelter, money and protection.

For managers and programmers dealing with year 2000 date compliance

issues, “Year 2000 in a Nutshell” features an overview of the problem and

detailed, technical tips for how to fix it.

“Countdown Y2K” is similarly focused on business survival planning and

includes an array of checklists and “ask yourself” questions.

Do-it-yourself types can avoid spending money on fix-it software and

consulting fees with help from “Year 2000 Personal Computer Fix-It

Guide.” Key features for DOS and Windows users include recommendations

for major operating systems and information on year 2000 bugs in popular

software.

There are hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles devoted to the

shape of things to come when the clock strikes midnight Dec. 31. Find

many by typing Y2K in keyword search in the InfoTrac General Reference

Center on the Internet, accessed from the library’s home page, at o7

www.newportbeachlibrary.orgf7 .

Locate others by entering “Y2K” or “millennium bug” into such popular Web

search engines as AltaVista or Yahoo. Or, start with the proliferation of

millennial themed sites, including many aimed at those who think there’s

a big change in the works and others directed at those who don’t, at o7

www.mille.org/sites./htmlf7 .

Newport Beach provides information about its own planning for 2000 and an

e-mail link to the city Y2K coordinator at o7

www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/y2kplanning.htmf7 . The site also features

useful community preparedness information and links to utility companies,

other entities providing services to Newport Beach residents and to other

preparedness sites.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Frank Eastman.