In a few minutes I will be ranting and raving about the IRS, but let me preface my diatribe with this: I believe in paying taxes. If we don’t give part of our paycheck to the government, they can’t help us out with the basic necessities (libraries, roads, Medicare, courts, parks, student loans, etc.) I’m willing to pay my fair share. However, I have a few issues. For the past two months, people have been coming to the library to get tax forms. Some have been crabbing at us (gentle librarians) because of difficulty in locating the forms they need. Believe me when I say, "You are preaching to the choir." The IRS and the Department of Revenue aren’t very friendly to taxpayers. We have the money. They want the money. Yet they make it as difficult as possible for us to pay our taxes. If they want a portion of our hard-earned income, and we are willing to pay, couldn’t they at least provide each taxpayer with the basic forms they need. Those of us who are adept at using the Internet, and those of us who e-file, don’t have a problem. But there are many individuals who aren’t and don’t. I suspect that the main reason tax forms are difficult to come by is the refund issue. The government is hungry for money (I didn’t say greedy) and is reluctant to refund the excess money you gave them in 2005. They received an interest-free loan from you and they aren’t eager to pay it back. They know they have to, but why not make it as difficult as they can. Some people even use the IRS as a savings vehicle so they have a big refund coming. This is not financially prudent. There are no earnings on that money. The library is the only location to pick up a tax form. We ordered hundreds of forms and instruction books, and our inventory was depleted in a few weeks. We can still print or photocopy forms and instructions for you for 20 cents a page. Or you can get the forms from the IRS Web site. Or you can call in and order a form. We have an information sheet with the necessary addresses, Web sites and phone numbers. When you stop by the library for tax forms, please know that the library staff is just as disturbed about the situation as you are. And while you’re here, check out a good book to calm those hostile thoughts about the tax season. New on the fiction shelf this week is "The Two-Minute Rule" by Robert Crais. Ask anyone on the wrong side of the law about the two-minute rule and they'll tell you that's as long as you can hope for at a robbery before the cops show up. Break the two-minute rule and it's a lifetime in jail. But not everyone plays by the rules ... When ex-con Max Holman finally gets out of jail, freedom doesn't taste too sweet. The only thing on his mind is reconciliation with his estranged son, who is, ironically, a cop. But then he hears the devastating news: His son and three other uniformed cops were gunned down in cold blood in Los Angeles the night before Holman's release. When the hit is exposed as a revenge killing and the question of police corruption is raised, it becomes a father's last duty to clear his son's name and catch the killer. "The Two Minute Rule" is a gripping, edgy suspense from the author who sets the standard with surprising plot twists and powerful characters.