Staff Note: Notes from the Music Staff is a series of posts discussing what the library offers music fans. From our widely varied collection of music CDs to our nonfiction and fiction books covering all aspects of music, we've got something for everyone and we want to share our love of music with you!

After the Grammy Awards aired a few weeks ago, you may find yourselfwondering — why do we have music genres anyway? The reasons vary, but today we hope to shed some light on the names we attach to music styles.

The names of some genres trace back to early radio stations wanting music execs to identify musicians by their type of music. This could make answering questions like the following easier: "Would Hank Williams be suitable for my country-western listeners?"

But a lot of genre names come from the artists themselves or from the style of music or even location. Continue reading for examples.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, we've been listening to a lot of seasonal music. We even created a featured display of our Christmas music collection at both libraries. But with the recent snow, we only thought it appropriate to explore some little-known facts behind one of our favorite Christmas songs.
White Christmas 

• "White Christmas" was one of 1,500 songs written by Jewish songwriter Irving Berlin. It was conceived by Berlin on the set of the film "Top Hat" in 1935. The story goes that Berlin shouted to his musical secretary, Helmy Kresa: "Grab your pen and take down this song. It's the best song I ever wrote. Hell, it's the best song anybody ever wrote."

For retirees, Social Security benefits are essential to surviving and thriving in retirement. But many are confused by the whole system. And what you don’t know about Social Security filing strategies could cost you. That's why the Tabb Library is hosting a financial expert who will show you how to maximize your social security benefits. The free session will cover how benefits are calculated, what the best age to file is, and how to coordinate benefits with your spouse. The session will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at in the Tabb Library Meeting Room. To register, visit our online event calendar, or call 890-5120.

Continue reading to find a list of library resources that can help you better understand social security.