Learn About Video Game Design

Learn about the process of making a video game as a small developer at Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, August 8 at 7:00 pm. A team of young game designers will discuss what goes into game design, including 2- and 3-dimensional art, programming for games and how to become familiar with it, music in games, Indie Game publishing, crowd sourcing and, most importantly, how to start making games yourself. 

Our presenters are Max and Paul Becker, Bernardsville residents and graduates of Bernards High School, who will cover programming; Deshawn Bellfield, from Hillside and Jon Young, from Wharton, who will cover 3D & 2D art; and Nick Kashmanian  from Bedminster and a graduate of Rutgers University, who will cover music.  Paul Becker is a graduate of Drew University.  Max Becker, Deshawn Bellfield, and Jon Young attend Fairleigh Dickinson University.

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

Face to Face with Facebook

Has Facebook sparked your curiosity yet?  If you have avoided social-networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook with the excuse that they are the domain of attention-seeking teenagers, it’s time to reconsider.  Come to Bernardsville Public Library on Monday, August 6 at 7:00 pm to learn how a Facebook account can benefit you.

Facebook is the second largest social network on the Web and one of the fastest-growing and best-known sites on the Internet today.  It is a social utility that connects people with others who work, study and live around them.  During this program, taught by an instructor from Programs Plus, a software training company, listeners will learn how to set up a Facebook account and what information can or should be shared with whom.  Security and settings will be discussed.  [This is not a hands-on class.]

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 from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up. 

Portable Planetarium Comes to Bernardsville Library

The evening of Wednesday, August 1st is Family Night at Bernardsville Public Library, and at 6:30 pm, families will be able to see the night sky, no matter what the weather is outside.  The Pearl Observatory of Gillette, NJ, will be set up its Star Lab in the library and allow visitors to locate and observe different stars, constellations and planets with guidance from Observatory staff. 

Visiting the Star Lab is free, but space is limited and advance registration is required.  Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Kid Stuff to Program/Activities, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up. 

Chocolate: The New Health Food?

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to present “Functional Foods for Life: Is Chocolate the New Health Food?” on Thursday, August 2 at 7:00 pm. Speaking will be Daryl L. Minch, M.Ed., a Family and Community Health Sciences Educator for the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset County.

“Chocolate has been called the ‘Food of the Gods’ and it’s a favorite treat. It tastes wonderful and may provide health benefits,” said Ms. Minch. During the program, she will discuss the production and health contributions of chocolate as well as its past, present and future. There will be a tasting, and recipes will be distributed.

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

Photography Show Around the World

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to present "Photography Show Around the World," an exhibition of photographs from The Rights of the Child and Harold Engel. The exhibition will be on view throughout the month of August.

The mission of The Rights of the Child, Inc. (TROTC), beginning in Thailand/Myanmar, is to place abandoned, stolen, enslaved or otherwise disadvantaged children in a safe, loving environment where they will receive healthcare, proper nutrition, education and job training. Through placement in these caring environments, children will have the opportunity to become independent, self-sufficient adults.

TROTC is self-supporting and receives no government funds. Founder Harold Engel was born in Antwerp, Belgium to Holocaust survivors. After graduating from Brandeis University, he spent many years in various entrepreneurial endeavors, which allowed him the opportunity for extensive travel as is represented in his photography. In 2009, he founded The Rights of the Child, Inc. a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. He, along with the help of others, has made a significant difference in the lives of the children and adults living on the Thai/Myanmar border.

The show will be on view in the library’s Community Room from August 1 to August 29 during regular library hours unless a meeting is in progress. For further information, please call the library at 908-766-0118.

Get Familiar with Guidelines for Choke Management

Choking is one of the leading causes of accidental death among children aged three years and younger. In order to better prepare people for such an emergency, Michelle York of Somerset Hills CPR, LLC will offer a short overview on choke management of a conscious person at Bernardsville Public Library on Monday, July 23 at 7:00 pm. The class is non-accredited, but follows American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines.

Ms. York is an American Red Cross Instructor, an AHA Basic Life Support Instructor, and owner of Somerset Hills CPR, LLC, who has recently moved to Bernardsville. This month, she will be inducted into the Bernardsville First Aid Squad. She was an EMT in New York City for over ten years, and has been educating and certifying residents under the AHA guidelines in CPR and First Aid since 2009 with the Mine Brook Search and Rescue Training Center.

There is no charge to attend the program, but space is limited to ten participants. Advance registration is required at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org. For more information, call the library at 908-766-0118

The University of "Can-Do"

The next session of "The University of Can-Do,” led by inspirational speaker Andrea Mastrobattista, will meet on Wednesday, July 25 at 7:00 pm. "Do you have a goal that you think you can't make happen?" asks Ms. Mastrobattista, "Well, you can, because you have what it takes to accomplish it."

This workshop runs throughout the year, and each month participants will discover how to cultivate and maintain the "can-do" determination to make a dream come true. “Sometimes the dream we thought we had for ourselves changes in a heartbeat, leaving us bewildered,” says Ms. Mastrobattista. “Come to this meeting to find out how to handle this shift in your life journey. We will also continue working on our individual vision boards, or create one if you haven’t made one yet.”

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

Memoirs & Coffee Book Group to Meet

The next meeting of Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held on Tuesday, July 24 at 10:30 am in the library’s Community Room. Pat Kennedy-Grant, Readers’ Services Manager for the library, will lead the discussion of “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life” (2005) by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. [The author will not be present.]

In “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life,” Ms. Rosenthal has ingeniously adapted a centuries-old format for conveying knowledge into a poignant, wise, often funny, fully realized memoir. Using mostly short entries organized from A to Z, many of which are cross-referenced, Rosenthal captures in wonderful and episodic detail the moments, observations, and emotions that comprise a contemporary life. Start anywhere and see how one young woman’s alphabetized existence can open up and define the world in new and unexpected ways.

 According to her website, Ms. Rosenthal is a person who likes to make things—“children's books, adult books, short films, salads, connections with the universe, and something out of nothing.” In The New York Times, her award-winning children's books were described as radiating “fun the way tulips radiate spring: they are elegant and spirit-lifting." As for her adult work, Amazon named “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life” one of the top ten memoirs of the decade. A contributor to the TED conference and NPR, she is currently the host and creator of Mission Amy KR.com produced by WBEZ. She lives with her family in Chicago

There is no charge and no sign-up is needed to join the discussion. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.

Craft Group to Meet @ Bernardsville Library

Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, July 21 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. They can also take advantage of the many books available at the library on different types of crafts.

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

Attend MIT and Harvard Online for Free

Over the last several years, there has been an explosion of great content on the web to help you learn. On Thursday, July 19 at 7:00 pm at Bernardsville Public Library, Mike Landau, CEO of SetFocus, a technology school, will discuss a number of these resources along with how you can leverage them to become a lifelong learner--an essential skill for the foreseeable future.

Mr. Landau has started a number of successful small businesses since 1987, prior to which he was the Director of Strategic Planning at AT&T. SetFocus is a technology school that has selected, trained, and placed over 2,500 IT professionals since 1997. Mr. Landau has an undergraduate degree in Economics and an MBA from New York University.

           

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.