Misplaced Pages

#527472

70-615: The Main Library is located at 32737 West 12 Mile Road. This is between Farmington and Orchard Lake Roads on the south side of 12 Mile, next to the Farmington Hills Post office . The Farmington Branch is located at 23500 Liberty Street, one block west of Farmington Road and one block south of Grand River. It is at the corner of Liberty and State Streets, next door to the Farmington City Hall . In March 1913,

140-504: A legal monopoly . The worldwide postal system constituting the individual national postal systems of the world's self-governing states is coordinated by the Universal Postal Union , which among other things sets international postage rates, defines standards for postage stamps and operates the system of international reply coupons . In most countries a system of codes has been created (referred to as ZIP codes in

210-583: A state . The term "post-office" has been in use since the 1650s, shortly after the legalisation of private mail services in England in 1635. In early modern England, post riders — mounted couriers —were placed, or "posted", every few hours along post roads at posting houses (also known as post houses) between major cities, or " post towns ". These stables or inns permitted important correspondence to travel without delay. In early America, post offices were also known as stations. This term, as well as

280-637: A block of dots as a two-dimensional barcode . The "block of dots" method allows for the encoding of proof of payment of postage, exact routing for delivery, and other features. The ordinary mail service was improved in the 20th century with the use of planes for a quicker delivery. The world's first scheduled airmail post service took place in the United Kingdom between the London suburbs of Hendon and Windsor, Berkshire , on 9 September 1911. Some methods of airmail proved ineffective, however, including

350-622: A form of meter label and thus do not need to be cancelled.) Documents should generally not be read by anyone other than the addressee; for example, in the United States of America it is a violation of federal law for anyone other than the addressee and the government to open mail. There are exceptions however: executives often assign secretaries or assistants the task of handling their mail; and postcards do not require opening and can be read by anyone. For mail contained within an envelope, there are legal provisions in some jurisdictions allowing

420-598: A librarian, and can supervise and control the library’s property. Post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels , providing post office boxes , and selling postage stamps , packaging, and stationery . Post offices may offer additional services, which vary by country. These include providing and accepting government forms (such as passport applications), and processing government services and fees (such as road tax , postal savings , or bank fees). The chief administrator of

490-559: A post office is called a postmaster . Before the advent of postal codes and the post office, postal systems would route items to a specific post office for receipt or delivery. During the 19th century in the United States , this often led to smaller communities being renamed after their post offices, particularly after the Post Office Department began to require that post office names not be duplicated within

560-751: A postal system in the Empire, appointing Franz von Taxis to run it. This system, originally the Kaiserliche Reichspost , is often considered the first modern postal service in the world, which initiated a revolution in communication in Europe. The system combined contemporary technical and organization means to create a stable transcontinental service which was also the first to offer (fee-based) public access. The Thurn und Taxis family, then known as Tassis, had operated postal services between Italian city-states from 1290 onward. For 500 years

630-636: A private mail service. Notably, the Cistercians had one which connected more than 6,000 abbeys , monasteries , and churches. The best organization, however, was created by the Knights Templar . In 1716, Correos y Telégrafos was established in Spain as public mail service, available to all citizens. Delivery postmen were first employed in 1756 and post boxes were installed firstly in 1762. In 1505, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I established

700-587: A small Telephone Boutique next to a historic Postal mansion his ancestors used to go to centuries earlier. Several European Post Carriers like Deutsche Post or Österreichische Post continue to use the Thurn & Taxis Post Horn in their company logo just like the global Phone Book of the World based in the old Postal mansion of King Louis XIV in Paris. In the United Kingdom, prior to 1840 letters were paid for by

770-489: A travelling bag or pack. It was spelled in that manner until the 17th century and is distinct from the word male . The French have a similar word, malle , for a trunk or large box, and mála is the Irish term for a bag. In the 17th century, the word mail began to appear as a reference for a bag that contained letters: "bag full of letter" (1654). Over the next hundred years the word mail began to be applied strictly to

SECTION 10

#1732783557528

840-472: Is governed by a board of trustees. The library’s board is composed of eight members, each being nominated either by Farmington or Farmington Hills (four members each). Board meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at the main library in Farmington Hills and the meetings are open to the public. The board of trustees establishes, maintains and operates the libraries, can appoint or remove

910-402: Is identified by its PIN. Post offices coming under Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication, Government of India have a history of one hundred fifty years. Private courier and delivery services often have offices as well, although these are usually not called "post offices", except in the case of Germany , which has fully privatised its national postal system . As abbreviation PO

980-464: Is instead known as a sorting office or delivery office, which may have a large central area known as a sorting or postal hall. Integrated facilities combining mail processing with railway stations or airports are known as mail exchanges. In India , post offices are found in almost every village having panchayat (a "village council"), towns, cities, and throughout the geographical area of India. India's postal system changed its name to India Post after

1050-433: Is used, together with GPO for General Post Office and LPO for Licensed Post Office. There is evidence of corps of royal couriers disseminating the decrees of Egyptian pharaohs as early as 2400   BCE, and it is possible that the service greatly precedes that date. Similarly, there may be ancient organised systems of post houses providing mounted courier service, although sources vary as to precisely who initiated

1120-576: The Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), who had relay stations every 30 li (about 15km) along major routes. The Tang dynasty (618 to 907 AD) operated a recorded 1,639 posthouses, including maritime offices, employing around 20,000 people. The system was administered by the Ministry of War and private correspondence was forbidden from the network. The Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644) sought a postal system to deliver mail quickly, securely, and cheaply. Adequate speed

1190-552: The Holy Roman Empire . The British Postal Museum claims that the oldest functioning post office in the world is on High Street in Sanquhar , Scotland . The post office has functioned continuously since 1712, during which horses and stagecoaches were used to carry mail. Rural parts of Canada in the 19th century utilised the way office system. Villagers could leave their letters at the way office which were then taken to

1260-714: The Pack-Station for package delivery , including both drop-off and pickup, in 2001. In the 2000s, the United States Postal Service began to install Automated Postal Centers (APCs) in many locations in both post offices, for when they are closed or busy, and retail locations. APCs can print postage and accept mail and small packages. Mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards , letters , and parcels . A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since

1330-475: The U.S. Postal Service authorised the first tests of a secure system of sending digital franks via the Internet to be printed out on a PC printer, obviating the necessity to license a dedicated franking machine and allowing companies with smaller mail programs to make use of the option; this was later expanded to test the use of personalized postage. The service provided by the U.S. Postal Service in 2003 allows

1400-648: The Wodeyar dynasty (1399–1947) of the Kingdom of Mysore used mail service for espionage purposes thereby acquiring knowledge related to matters that took place at great distances. By the end of the 18th century, a postal system in India was in operation. Later this system underwent complete modernization when the British Raj established its control over most of India. The Post Office Act XVII of 1837 provided that

1470-537: The post , while in North America both the U.S. Postal Service and Canada Post deliver the mail . The term email , short for "electronic mail", first appeared in the 1970s. The term snail mail is a retronym to distinguish it from the quicker email. Various dates have been given for its first use. The practice of communication by written documents carried by an intermediary from one person or place to another almost certainly dates back nearly to

SECTION 20

#1732783557528

1540-477: The 2000 A.D., post offices would collect fees for radio licenses, recruitment for government jobs, and the operation of public call telephone (PCO) booths. Postmen would deliver letters, money orders, and parcels to places that are within the assigned area of a particular post office. Each Indian post office is assigned a unique six-digit code called the Postal Index Number , or PIN. Each post office

1610-628: The August Revolution, the Post and Wireless Office was renamed the Post Office under the Ministry of Transportation. In 1955, the Post Office was upgraded to the Ministry of Post. Some Chinese sources claim mail or postal systems dating back to the Xia or Shang dynasties , which would be the oldest mailing service in the world. The earliest credible system of couriers was initiated by

1680-626: The Farmington Township board asked some women of the Ladies Literary Society to start a library. Members of the Ladies Literary Society were wives of leading Farmington business and professional men, these ladies would be the official group in charge of the library. The first library was housed in a classroom in the Baptist Church. The women rented the room for $ 12 a year, started with 800 books and $ 140 for

1750-684: The Governor-General of India in Council had the exclusive right of conveying letters by post for hire within the territories of the East India Company. The mails were available to certain officials without charge, which became a controversial privilege as the years passed. On this basis the Indian Post Office was established on October 1, 1837. The first well-documented postal service was that of Rome . Organized at

1820-489: The United States Postal Service's experiment with rocket mail . Receipt services were made available in order to grant the sender a confirmation of effective delivery. Before about the mid-nineteenth century, in regions where postal systems existed, the payment models varied, but most mail was sent unpaid requiring the recipient to pay the postage fee. In some regions a partial payment was made by

1890-490: The United States, postcodes in the United Kingdom and Australia, eircodes in Ireland and postal codes in most other countries) in order to facilitate the automation of operations. This also includes placing additional marks on the address portion of the letter or mailed object, called "bar coding". Bar coding of mail for delivery is usually expressed either by a series of vertical bars, usually called POSTNET coding or

1960-528: The advent of private courier companies in the 1990s. It is run by the Indian government's Department of Posts. India Post accepts and delivers inland letters, postcards, parcels, postal stamps, and money orders (money transfers). Few post offices in India offer speed post (fast delivery) and payments or bank savings services. It is also uncommon for Indian post offices to sell insurance policies or accept payment for electricity, landline telephone, or gas bills. Until

2030-459: The agent usually indicates by means of a cancellation that it is no longer valid for pre-payment of postage. The exceptions are when the agent forgets or neglects to cancel the mailpiece, for stamps that are pre-cancelled and thus do not require cancellation and for, in most cases, metered mail. (The "personalized stamps" authorized by the USPS and manufactured by Zazzle and other companies are in fact

2100-512: The conditions for physical mail. Email (and in recent years social networking sites) became a fierce competitor to physical mail systems, but online auctions and Internet shopping opened new business opportunities as people often get items bought online through the mail. Modern mail is organized by national and privatized services, which are reciprocally connected by international regulations, organizations and international agreements. Paper letters and parcels can be sent to almost any country in

2170-652: The development of a real postal system comes from Ancient Persia . The best-documented claim ( Xenophon ) attributes the invention to the Persian King Cyrus the Great (550 BCE), who mandated that every province in his kingdom would organize reception and delivery of post to each of its citizens. Other writers credit his successor Darius I of Persia (521 BCE). Other sources claim much earlier dates for an Assyrian postal system, with credit given to Hammurabi (1700 BCE) and Sargon II (722 BCE). Mail may not have been

Farmington Community Library - Misplaced Pages Continue

2240-501: The enormous funding necessary to rapidly industrialize Japan in the late 19th century. The postal service was one of Korea's first attempts at modernization. The Joseon Post Office was established in 1884. Another important postal service was created in the Islamic world by the caliph Mu'awiyya; the service was called barid , for the name of the towers built to protect the roads by which couriers travelled. By 3000 BC, Egypt

2310-624: The first year. The library operated with the money from the Library Association and the money the women were able to raise from fund-raising entertainment and lectures. There were also some funds coming for the Township Board. In 1919, when the war ended, Farmington added onto the Township Hall and a room for the library was created on the north side of the building. Soon the book collection grew to 4,500 volumes, and

2380-463: The franks to be printed out on special adhesive-backed labels. In 2004 the Royal Mail in the United Kingdom introduced its SmartStamp Internet-based system, allowing printing on ordinary adhesive labels or envelopes. Similar systems are being considered by postal administrations around the world. When the pre-paid envelope or package is accepted into the mail by an agent of the postal service,

2450-474: The invention of writing . However, the development of formal postal systems occurred much later. The first documented use of an organized courier service for the dissemination of written documents is in Egypt , where Pharaohs used couriers to send out decrees throughout the territory of the state (2400 BCE). The earliest surviving piece of mail is also Egyptian, dating to 255 BCE. The first credible claim for

2520-400: The last postmaster, Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , into real estate, most of it continuing to exist today. The Phone Book of the World has its roots in the long history of the avant-garde telecommunications family Thurn & Taxis. The directory is the result of Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn & Taxis transmitting PTT culture to a student and helping with the opening of

2590-527: The letters themselves and the sack as the mailbag . In the 19th century, the British typically used mail to refer to letters being sent abroad (i.e. on a ship) and post to refer to letters for domestic delivery. The word Post is derived from Old French poste , which ultimately stems from the past participle of the Latin verb ponere 'to lay down or place'. So in the U.K., the Royal Mail delivers

2660-562: The library. In addition, parts of the basement would go unfinished to bring the cost down. To raise money to add books and furnishings, a gift drive was held. The Farmington Jaycees and the Farmington Rotary Club were major contributors to the gift drive. The Farmington Jaycees decided to finish the children’s room and the Farmington Rotary Club donated money to help finish the Quiet Room. The Farmington Public Library

2730-428: The mail and packages often surveyed and their contents sometimes edited out (or even in). There have been cases over the millennia of governments opening and copying or photographing the contents of private mail. Subject to the laws in the relevant jurisdiction, correspondence may be openly or covertly opened, or the contents determined via some other method, by the police or other authorities in some cases relating to

2800-477: The mail service. Foreign observers, such as Marco Polo , have attested to the efficiency of this early postal system. Each station was maintained by up to twenty five families. Work for postal service counted as military service. The system was still operational in 18th century when 64 stations were required for a message to cross Mongolia from the Altai Mountains to China. The modern Japanese system

2870-603: The message carrier (called Chapar ) would ride to the next post, whereupon he would swap his horse with a fresh one for maximum performance and delivery speed. Herodotus described the system in this way: "It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day's journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed". The verse prominently features on New York's James Farley Post Office , although it uses

Farmington Community Library - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-418: The mid-19th century, national postal systems have generally been established as a government monopoly , with a fee on the article prepaid. Proof of payment is usually in the form of an adhesive postage stamp , but a postage meter is also used for bulk mailing. Postal authorities often have functions aside from transporting letters. In some countries, a postal, telegraph and telephone (PTT) service oversees

3010-499: The nearest post office, as well as pick up their mail from the way office. In parts of Europe, special postal censorship offices existed to intercept and censor mail. In France, such offices were known as cabinets noirs . In many jurisdictions, mailboxes and post office boxes have long been in widespread use for drop-off and pickup (respectively) of mail and small packages outside post offices or when offices are closed. Germany's national postage system Deutsche Post introduced

3080-473: The need for increased library services and larger facilities became greater. Later, when the U.S. built the new post office in 1958, this same building became the downtown Farmington library. Before long, this building was too small for all the books and a proposal was passed to build a building in the north part of Farmington The plans for construction of the Twelve Mile building were being designed, but

3150-602: The other providing sturdy oxen for bulk shipments. The Byzantine historian Procopius , though not unbiased, records the Cursus Publicus system remained largely intact until it was dismantled in the Byzantine empire by the emperor Justinian in the 6th century. The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis family initiated regular mail service from Brussels in the 16th century , directing the Imperial Post of

3220-715: The postal business based in Brussels and in Frankfurt was passed from one generation to another. Following the abolition of the Empire in 1806, the Thurn-und-Taxis Post system continued as a private organization into the postage stamp era before being absorbed into the postal system of the new German Empire after 1871. 1867 July 1 the State of Prussia had to make a compensation payment of 3.000.000 Thalers reinvested by Helene von Thurn & Taxis , daughter-in-law of

3290-564: The postal system, in addition to telephone and telegraph systems. Some countries' postal systems allow for savings accounts and handle applications for passports . The Universal Postal Union (UPU), established in 1874, includes 192 member countries and sets the rules for international mail exchanges as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations . The word mail comes from the Middle English word male , referring to

3360-1136: The practice. In the Persian Empire , a Chapar Khaneh system existed along the Royal Road . Similar postage systems were established in India and China by the Mauryan and Han dynasties in the 2nd century BCE. The Roman historian Suetonius credited Augustus with regularising the Roman transportation and courier network, the Cursus Publicus . Local officials were obliged to provide couriers who would be responsible for their message's entire course. Locally maintained post houses ( Latin : stationes ) privately owned rest houses ( Latin : mansiones ) and were obliged or honored to care for couriers along their way. The Roman emperor Diocletian later established two parallel systems: one providing fresh horses or mules for urgent correspondence and

3430-454: The primary mission of this postal service, however. The role of the system as an intelligence gathering apparatus is well documented, and the service was (later) called angariae , a term that in time came to indicate a tax system. The Old Testament ( Esther , VIII) makes mention of this system: Ahasuerus , king of Medes , used couriers for communicating his decisions. The Persian system worked using stations (called Chapar-Khaneh ), whence

3500-411: The problem of money kept it at a standstill. Applications for federal funds were being rejected and construction cost was beginning to add up. In October, 1968, the plans for the library were suspended. It wasn’t until January 1970, that the decision to continue with the building of the library was decided. However, all the money was used to build the library and there wasn’t any money for books to fill

3570-411: The public. Common chariots called Dagana were sometimes used as mail chariots in ancient India. Couriers were used militarily by kings and local rulers to deliver information through runners and other carriers. The postmaster, the head of the intelligence service, was responsible for ensuring the maintenance of the courier system. Couriers were also used to deliver personal letters. In South India ,

SECTION 50

#1732783557528

3640-417: The recipient and the cost was determined by the distance from sender to recipient and the number of sheets of paper rather than by a countrywide flat rate with weight restrictions. Sir Rowland Hill reformed the postal system based on the concepts of penny postage and prepayment. In his proposal, Hill also called for official pre-printed envelopes and adhesive postage stamps as alternative ways of getting

3710-641: The recording of identities of sender and recipient. The privacy of correspondence is guaranteed by the constitutions of Mexico , Colombia , Brazil and Venezuela , and is alluded to in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . The control of the contents inside private citizens' mail is censorship and concerns social, political, and legal aspects of civil rights . International mail and packages are subject to customs control, with

3780-538: The sender to pay for the postage, at a time when prepayment was optional, which led to the invention of the postage stamp, the Penny Black . The postal system was important in the development of modern transportation. Railways carried railway post offices . During the 20th century, air mail became the transport of choice for inter-continental mail. Postmen started to use mail trucks . The handling of mail became increasingly automated. The Internet came to change

3850-435: The sender. Today, worldwide, the most common method of prepaying postage is by buying an adhesive postage stamp to be applied to the envelope before mailing; a much less common method is to use a postage-prepaid envelope . Franking is a method of creating postage-prepaid envelopes under licence using a special machine. They are used by companies with large mail programs, such as banks and direct mail companies. In 1998,

3920-438: The term "post house", fell from use as horse and coach services were replaced by railways , aircraft , and automobiles . The term "post office" usually refers to government postal facilities providing customer service. " General Post Office " is sometimes used for the national headquarters of a postal service, even if the building does not provide customer service. A postal facility that is used exclusively for processing mail

3990-433: The time of Augustus Caesar (62 BCE – 14 CE), the service was called cursus publicus and was provided with light carriages ( rhedæ ) pulled by fast horses. By the time of Diocletian , a parallel service was established with two-wheeled carts ( birotæ ) pulled by oxen . This service was reserved for government correspondence. Yet another service for citizens was later added. In 1802, the first Vietnamese postal service

4060-480: The translation "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds". The economic growth and political stability under the Mauryan Empire (322–185 BCE) stimulated sustained development of civil infrastructure in ancient India . The Mauryans developed early Indian mail service as well as public wells, rest houses, and other facilities for

4130-487: The transport of foreign and domestic tribute specifically and the conduct of trade in general. By the end of Kublai Khan's rule, there were more than 1400 postal stations in China alone, which in turn had at their disposal about 50,000 horses, 1,400 oxen, 6,700 mules, 400 carts, 6,000 boats, more than 200 dogs, and 1,150 sheep. The stations were 25 to 65 km (16 to 40 mi) apart and had reliable attendants working for

4200-561: The whole territory of his empire the system used by Franks in northern Gaul and connected this service with that of missi dominici . In the mid-11th century, flax traders known as the Cairo Geniza Merchants from Fustat , Egypt wrote about using a postal service known as the kutubi. The kutubi system managed routes between the cities of Jerusalem, Ramla, Tyre, Ascalon, Damascus, Aleppo, and Fustat with year-round, regular mail delivery. Many religious orders had

4270-489: The world relatively easily and cheaply. The Internet has made the process of sending letter-like messages nearly instantaneous, and in many cases and situations correspondents use email where they previously would have used letters. The volume of paper mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service has declined by more than 15% since its peak at 213 billion pieces per annum in 2006. Some countries have organized their mail services as public limited liability corporations without

SECTION 60

#1732783557528

4340-473: Was added. A new computer lab and commons area was added and included new computers. Also, wireless internet was added and was now accessible at any study table. The entire lower lever of the building is taken up by the Children Department. The Children’s Department contains a Smart Start center. The center has fully interactive reading readiness activities. The Farmington Community Library

4410-454: Was always a problem, because of the slow overland transportation system, and underfunding. Its network had 1,936 posthouses every 60 li along major routes, with fresh horses available every 10 li between them. The Qing operated 1,785 posthouses throughout their lands. More efficient, however, was the system linking the international settlements, centered around Shanghai and the Treaty ports. It

4480-832: Was called the Farmington Hills Branch and the District Library was called the Farmington Branch. In December, 1975, the Farmington branch was ready for business. The lower level became the Children’s Room and the upper level included the fiction and non-fiction areas, and it also contained a quiet room. In January 2003, the Farmington Hills Library went through a renovation , and about 72,000 square feet (6,700 m)

4550-478: Was developed in the mid-19th century, closely copying European models. Japan was highly innovative in developing the world's largest and most successful postal savings system and later a postal life insurance system as well. Postmasters play a key role in linking the Japanese political system to local politics. The postmasters are high prestige, and are often hereditary. To a large extent, the postal system generated

4620-505: Was established under the Nguyen dynasty , under the Ministry of Rites. During the Nguyen dynasty, official documents were transported by horse and other primitive means to stations built about 25-30 kilometers apart. In 1904, three wireless communication offices were established, and in early 1906 they were merged with the postal service to form the Post and Wireless Office. In 1945, after

4690-653: Was finished in June 1972. It opened to serve, particularly, the northern part of the community. With three floors, the Library was 38,000 square feet (3,500 m). The library included reference areas, fiction and non-fiction areas, a lounge, Quiet Room and Children’s Room which consumed the top floors. The lower floor had a meeting room and the Oakland County Sub Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The Twelve Mile branch

4760-460: Was growing fast and contained over 22,000 books. It was time for the small library to gain another branch. It was decided to build the new branch in downtown Farmington, at the corner of State and Liberty Streets. It took time, but the land needed to build the new branch was obtained in February, 1974. Soon after, an agreement was made to give the libraries standardized names. The Public Library

4830-611: Was the main communication system for China's international trade. Genghis Khan installed an empire-wide messenger and postal station system named Örtöö within the Mongol Empire . During the Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan , this system also covered the territory of China. Postal stations were used not only for the transmission and delivery of official mail but were also available for travelling officials, military men, and foreign dignitaries. These stations aided and facilitated

4900-438: Was using homing pigeons for pigeon post , taking advantage of a singular quality of this bird, which when taken far from its nest is able to find its way home due to a particularly developed sense of orientation. Messages were then tied around the legs of the pigeon, which was freed and could reach its original nest. By the 19th century, homing pigeons were used extensively for military communications. Charlemagne extended to

#527472