Question: I notice the public library is used after hours for private meetings. Is this authorized? If so, do organizations that do use them make a donation to cover the cost of electricity and maintenance?

Answer: Certain public library meeting rooms and facilities are available for use by private individuals and groups, and government agencies.

Depending on the event or user, a fee is assessed. No fee is charged for a library-sponsored or co-sponsored event.

The following fees are set by the Hawaii State Public Library System's Administrative Rules:

» Government agencies—$20
» Individual or nonprofit, educational, civic or cultural organization using the facility for a noncommercial or public service activity, with no admission charge, or fee, collection or donation taken—$25
» Individual or nonprofit, educational, civic or cultural organization using the facility for a noncommercial or public service activity, but with an admission charge, or fee, collection or donation taken—$100
» An individual or for-profit organization using the facility as part of a commercial activity—$100

The fees are based on a one-day use and users also may be charged for a security guard or custodian if a branch manager determines that one is needed.

Interested users are advised to call the public library whose facilities they wish to use for information.

On Oahu, meeting rooms are available for use at the public libraries in Aiea, Ewa Beach, Kalihi-Palama, Wahiawa, Waianae and Waimanalo.

People are advised to call the Aina Haina, Hawaii Kai, Kahuku and Liliha libraries to inquire about the availability of meeting rooms. The McCully-Moiliili library is available only for state library-sponsored events.

Here is a link for a listing of available public library meeting rooms: http://www.librarieshawaii.org/services/facilities.htm.

Question: Several of us have been receiving unemployment payments for several months and have had no success finding new jobs. There may be an opportunity for temporary, part-time jobs to last for several months. How does that affect the unemployment payment? None of us have been able to get the answer from the unemployment division because their phones are constantly busy.

Answer: The general answer is that you should report any earnings.

The earnings would then be deducted from your unemployment benefit, leaving you with the “;difference, should those earnings be less than (your) benefit amount,”; said Ryan Markham, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

However, if you earn more than your unemployment benefit, then you would not receive any unemployment compensation, he said.

Federal legislation provides unemployed workers with extended compensation after their regular unemployment benefits run out. In Hawaii, the unemployed may receive 33 weeks of federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 13 of those weeks because Hawaii is a state with high unemployment, until the end of this year.

Check the Labor Department's Web site, hawaii.gov/labor/, to find out who qualifies and for other information about unemployment benefits.