By Judy Woodward
Every month, the reference librarians at the Roseville Library receive dozens of questions from the public. Here are two of the more interesting queries we received recently:
Q. Since Russia invaded the Ukraine, we’ve heard a lot about the SWIFT system. What does that word stand for, and why is it important?
A. SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications. The SWIFT system is designed to enable banks and other financial institutions to move money easily, securely and accurately anywhere in the world.
Founded in 1973 by half a dozen international banks, the SWIFT system now has over 11,000 member institutions. As of early March, seven Russian banks were already banned from SWIFT. And that is already adversely affecting foreign trade, particularly oil and gas exports, which account up to 40% of their revenue. (Source: Investopedia online and other Internet Resources.)
Q. What kind of things do you have that will help me write a will?
A. While we have several books in the library system that are on writing wills with either blank forms you can photocopy or samples you can reproduce, you might also be interested in our online database, the Minnesota Legal Forms Library.
This database has downloadable legal forms, including forms for wills and probate, tailored especially for the state of Minnesota. It also contains legal information and forms relating to many other common legal issues including pre-marital agreements, bankruptcy, divorce and landlord/tenant contracts.
You can access the Legal Forms Library on our website with your library card and PIN code at https://www.rclreads.org/resources/government-legal-information/ or contact the library staff for more information. (Source: Digital resources.)
Judy Woodward, who lives in St. Anthony Park, is a reference librarian at the Roseville Library, 2180 N. Hamline Ave. The library’s general phone number is 651-724-6001.
