Tuesday, February 23, 2010

10th Anniversary Celebration

Community residents are invited to celebrate ten years in the new Bernardsville Library building on Sunday, February 28 at 3:00 pm. To mark the anniversary, the Library Board of Trustees is hosting a party for community residents to honor those were instrumental in making the new building a reality. Rep. Leonard Lance and Mayor Lee Honecker will be among featured speakers to address the crowd.

On February 27, 2000, the new Bernardsville Library building opened its doors to the public. After years of discussion, planning, fundraising, a community referendum, and borough support, a new chapter, “The Next Chapter,” of the library’s history began. Since that day, over 1.8 million visitors have passed through those doors and over two million items—books, videos, DVDs, and CDs—have circulated in our community. The library has become more than a place to get a book or a movie; it is a community center and a resource for all who live here.

Stephanie Wallace, long-time president of the Board of Trustees, is delighted that the library is such a popular and well-used facility. “The Board and the library staff work hard to meet the needs of our community,” she said. “We see results from all those efforts: how the library consistently ranks at the top of libraries in its budget category and how heavily used the building is by all segments of the population.”

After a brief program on February 28 and some celebratory music provided by the Bernards High School Madrigal Ensemble, everyone is invited to stay for refreshments. No sign-up is needed. For further information, please call the library at 908-766-0118.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

“Accentuate the Positive” at Bernardsville Library

Inspirational speaker Andrea Mastrobattista will lead a session of her new monthly group, “Accentuate the Positive,” at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, February 24 at Bernardsville Public Library.

This discussion group is about leaving our troubles at the doorstep and spending an hour talking about all the good things that are in our lives...a reminder of the positives. It means taking a step back from working on a specific goal or goals, which may indeed be too much for people at this point with the state of our world and the economy. When times are tough, our tendency is to dwell on the bad rather than think about all the wonderful things in our lives. This group aims to reverse that tendency.

Memoirs & Coffee Book Discussion Group to Meet

The next meeting of Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held at 10:30 am on Tuesday, February 23 in the library’s Community Room. Pat Kennedy-Grant, Readers’ Services Coordinator for the library, will lead the discussion of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (1999) by Gregory Maguire. [The author will not be present.]

A continuation of the fairy tale Cinderella, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was called “an arresting hybrid of mystery, fairy tale and historical novel” by the Detroit Free Press. Set in the 17th century, the book tells the story of the lives of Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters—the plain, but intelligent Iris and the seemingly slow-witted Ruth—after they have fled England and take up residence in Holland.

This is Maguire’s second novel. His first, Wicked (1995), offered a similar re-imagining of the Land of Oz. He received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University and is a popular children's book author.

There is no charge to attend the book discussion, and no sign-up is needed. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Craft Group to Meet @ Bernardsville Library

Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, February 20 at 3:00 pm. Individuals are invited to bring their own handwork projects to the Library and work together in a comfortable, communal setting while enjoying the benefits of shared tips and conversation. The next meeting of the group will be on Saturday, March 20 at 3:00 pm.

Readers’ Services Assistant Evelyn Fischel will showcase different project ideas and books at each meeting. A long-time crafter, Ms. Fischel will encourage such interests as knitting, crocheting, paper arts, hand sewing, embroidery and other needlework, as well as any other craft the group wishes to cover.

There is no charge to attend the meeting, and no sign-up is needed. For more information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Tips for Writing A Résumé

When you’re looking for a new job, little is more important than a résumé which accurately reflects the job seeker’s strengths and skills. Join Bernardsville Public Library’s Director Karen Brodsky on Thursday, February 18 at 11:00 am to learn tips for constructing a résumé that will land that coveted interview. During the program, Ms. Brodsky will discuss ways that listeners can identify the experiences, strengths and specific accomplishments that will help them get the job they want.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Author Visit Postponed

Due to the possibility of inclement weather, our program scheduled for February 9 with Jean Hanff Korelitz, the author of "Admission: A Novel," has been postponed until Wednesday, April 7 at 7:30 pm. Advance sign-up is requested at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/program.htm.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Wii Night for Adults at Bernardsville Library: Wednesday, February 10 at 7:30 pm

Whether you’re an expert or a beginner at Wii games, knowledgeable or just curious, in your twenties or in your seventies (plus), you’re invited to Bernardsville Library to play Guitar Hero, Super Mario Bros., Wii Sports (baseball, bowling and tennis), and Dance, Dance Revolution on Wednesday, February 10 at 7:30 pm in the Community Room.

Wii games were introduced by Nintendo in late 2006 and have been popular with groups of all ages. Not only are they fun to play, they’re also good exercise and a way to socialize with other players. Studies at MIT have shown that players of Wii and other video games have lost weight and improved their physical fitness and overall coordination as well as their memory skills.
There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/ and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Meet Jean Hanff Korelitz, Author of "Admission: A Novel," on Tuesday, February 9 at 7:00 pm

Jean Hanff Korelitz, the author of “Admission: A Novel,” will appear at Bernardsville Public Library to speak about and sign copies of her book on Tuesday, February 9 at 7:00 pm.

A few years ago, Ms. Korelitz asked the Dean of Admissions at Princeton University, where her husband is a professor, if she could have a job as an outside reader of applications, explaining that she was interested in admissions as the backdrop for a novel. She ended up working there for two years—reading hundreds of applications and learning the landscape of the college admission process. Her novel “Admission” is a product of that time and is at once a fascinating look at the complex college admissions process and an emotional examination of what happens when the secrets of the past return to shake the protagonist’s life to its core. A wonderful story, it also provides a glimpse into the rarefied world of high-end academia.

Ms. Korelitz, who lives in Princeton, writes on her website that many things fascinated her about the admissions process: “There’s the fact that it is constantly changing, shifting to meet the shifting demands of a shifting society. There’s the fraught, problematic concept of fairness, and how institutions struggle with that. There’s the inescapable challenge of the fact that when you work as an admissions officer at a highly competitive college, virtually everyone you meet is angry at you. And there’s the intellectual hurdle of working in a field where so many of our cultural obsessions (immigration and assimilation, notions of ‘success’, tradition, diversity, even that supposed oxymoron ‘American class’) are jostling for attention.”

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the library event. There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/ and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.