Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Craft Group to Meet at Bernardsville Library

Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, November 16 at 3:00 pm.  Individuals are invited to bring their own handwork projects, especially holiday gifts, 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. 

Public Relations Assistant Evelyn Fischel will showcase 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.

The University of "Can-Do" Master's Program in Review

The next session of the "University of Can-Do Master's Program" will be held on Wednesday, November 13 at 7:00 pm at Bernardsville Public Library. This workshop has run throughout the year, and each month workshop participants learned more skills for cultivating and maintaining the “can-do” determination to make a dream come true. During this meeting, Ms. Mastrobattista will candidly share her reflections about the year’s workshops and the new lessons she learned about truly living a "can-do" way of life. 

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.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Protecting Your Family's Financial Future

Christopher Roman

Michael Kaup
Michael Kaup, a financial planner, and Christopher J. Roman, Esq., a trusts and estates attorney at Einhorn Harris Ascher Barbarito & Frost, PC, will present a free seminar at Bernardsville Public Library on Tuesday, November 12 at 7:00 pm on ensuring a healthy financial future for your family.

This program is for families, whether newlywed or celebrating many years together, as well as for others who want to learn how to safeguard their financial future. Among the topics to be discussed are insurance strategies to protect your family, income, and assets; short-term savings and long-term investment strategies (including education funding, retirement planning and other wealth accumulation goals); basic estate planning and its importance, even for those with few assets; why living wills and powers of attorney are essential for families; and choosing a guardian for your children. There will be a question and answer period after the presentation.

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. 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Movie Screening of "Chasing Ice" at Bernardsville Library

"Chasing Ice" is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet.  Please join us for a free screening of this beautiful film at Bernardsville Public Library on Saturday, November 9 at 3:00 pm.

In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate.  Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change.  But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk.

Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life, the Extreme Ice Survey, and with a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.

As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself at the end of his tether.  Battling untested technology in subzero conditions, he comes face to face with his own mortality.  It takes years for Balog to see the fruits of his labor. His hauntingly beautiful videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. "Chasing Ice" depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet.

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. 

Preserve Your Memories

Bernardsville Public Library will sponsor a digital preservation workshop on Saturday, November 9 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm to help library patrons preserve personal collections of photographs, slides and audiovisual material including VHS, 8mm and 16mm film.  The library has partnered with Digital Memory Media, a division of Innovative Document Imaging (IDI), to provide these preservation services to patrons.  IDI Digital Memory Media advisors will be on hand on November 9 to counsel patrons on the best way to digitally preserve their collections.  Materials can be brought to the library on the day of the workshop.  A percentage of all proceeds will benefit the library.

Like libraries and archives, individuals and small businesses have valuable collections of important papers, photographs, slides and/or audiovisual material that require careful attention to maintain.  Storing paper requires considerable space and is expensive, and irreplaceable items can be lost due to damage and age.  IDI's Digital Memory Media brings secure, professional preservation services to individuals at an affordable price.  Once scanned and digitized, all material will be returned to patrons alongside permanent digital copies on DVD disks.  Patrons can also arrange permanent storage for documentary collections, if desired.  If materials are unavailable on November 9, they may be dropped off for preservation at IDI's New Jersey facility, or arrangements can be worked out for pick-up or shipping.  

Headquartered in East Brunswick, NJ, Innovative Document Imaging is a leading provider of digital imaging services to libraries, academic institutions and Fortune 500 companies.   

Advance sign-up is not needed for the program.  Call the library at 908-766-0118 for further information.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Paintings by Victor Martinez on Display in November

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings in oil and acrylic by Victor Martinez during the month of November.  There will be a public opening reception on Sunday, November 3 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.  Mr. Martinez will generously donate all proceeds from sales of the paintings to the Library.

Now a resident of Peapack, Mr. Martinez was born in Guatemala and says that art was always a form of sanctuary and a source of unending discovery for him in conjunction with his love of languages and music.  He came to the United States to study English in New York and there met his future wife.  He majored in French at Vassar as an adult student after an offer of a scholarship at age 42.  He studied painting and drawing there as well and then went to Yale Art School to deepen his understanding of painting.  Later on, he studied at the Greenwich Art Society, Pratt Institute, Silvermine Art School, Art Students League, School of Visual Arts, and Parsons School of Design.  His far-ranging interests include gardening (Master Gardener Helpline, Rutgers University); Bible study in Hebrew and Greek; music (guitar, piano, dance); Asian, French and Italian cuisine; and Japanese, German and Russian language and culture.

Mr. Martinez has worked for chief and senior executives at AT&T, IBM, Nynex, and GTE  doing computer graphics, video/web design and programming for corporate management board presentations.  He also works as a volunteer translator of French, Italian and Spanish scientific literature for the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.  

This exhibition will be on view in the library’s Community Room during regular library hours unless a meeting is in progress.  For further information, please call the library at 908-766-0118.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Saturday Samplers Book Group to Meet


Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, November 2 at 3:30 pm to discuss “The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World” (2006) by Steven Johnson.  [The author will not be present.]

The book describes the terrifying cholera epidemic in London during the summer of 1854 which killed an estimated 31,000 people, and examines the epidemic from the microbial level to the human level to the urban level.  It is a story of how scientific understanding can advance in the most hostile environments and how two men were spurred into action, Dr. John Snow, an anesthetist who created a map of the cholera cases, and the Reverend Henry Whitehead, whose extensive knowledge of the local community helped determine the initial cause of the outbreak.   Author Johnson intertwines the histories of the spread of disease, the rise of the cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry in a vivid history and a powerful explanation of how it shaped the world we live in.  When the book came out, the Washington Post wrote: “By turns a medical thriller, detective story and paean to city life, Johnson's account of the outbreak and its modern implications is a true page-turner.”

Steven Johnson is the best-selling author of four books on the intersection of science, technology and personal experience: “Everything Bad Is Good for You;” “Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life;” “Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software” and “Interface Culture: How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate.”  His writings have influenced everything from the way political campaigns use the Internet, to cutting-edge ideas in urban planning, to the battle against 21st-century terrorism.

Led by Evelyn Fischel, Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and even teen fiction.  Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked books.  Readers can find information about the group and about the books and authors on the reading list at http://saturdaysamplers.blogspot.com.  No sign-up is needed to join the discussion.  Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.

Meditation Group To Meet at Bernardsville Library

Basking Ridge resident Fauzia Burke will lead the next monthly guided meditation session at Bernardsville Public Library on Friday, November 1 at 10:00 am.  Ms. Burke’s style of meditation incorporates many cultural traditions and uses the power of word and imagery to facilitate a meditative experience; there is no right or wrong way, no particular way to sit, or words to say.  Each experience is honored as unique and can help reduce stress, generate creativity, and create positive energy. 

“Our intention for these gatherings is to find peace and serenity through a practice of regular meditations, and to develop a community for support and friendship,” says Ms. Burke.  She has been meditating for 15 years and leading meditation groups for eleven years.  By day, she is the President and Founder of FSB Associates, an Internet marketing firm that promotes books and authors on the Web.  She lives in Basking Ridge with her husband and two daughters, and volunteers to lead the Splendid Life meditations in an effort to help others achieve the peace of mind and inspiration that she has found through mediation. 

There is no charge to attend the program, and no sign-up is required.  No experience in meditation is necessary.  Bring a journal and pen, and wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing.  For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Deer Management: The Right Balance

Bernardsville Public Library will host a panel of experts to discuss options for a deer management plan which would preserve the unique character of Bernardsville, on Tuesday, October 29 at 7:00 pm. Topics will include the benefits of deer management in New Jersey; deer management programs in neighboring towns; safe sites to hunt in Bernardsville; and the role of the Bernardsville Police Dept. The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session.

Thomas Almendinger, Director of Stewardship at Duke Farms, one of the largest privately owned undeveloped properties in New Jersey, will begin by giving an overview of deer management, why it is so important for the environment, and what resources are available to our residents at Duke Farms that can inspire them to transform their approach to conservation and start building a more sustainable future.

Carole Stanko, the Deer Management Project Leader for the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, will describe what her Division is doing to protect and manage the state’s fish and wildlife, to maximize their long-term biological, recreational and economic value for all New Jerseyans.

Cindy Kuenstner, editor NJ Hunting & Trapping Digest and a wildlife biologist in the Dept. of Environmental Protection's office of Information and Education, will explain New Jersey's hunting regulations and how they can be applied to our advantage in Bernardsville.

Chris Allyn, a member, the Wildlife Management Committee of Harding Township whose mission is to maintain a natural equilibrium in the wildlife population in the township and to inform the public about living with wildlife, will describe how this committee monitors conditions and coordinates preventive or remedial action as needed in our neighboring town.

Information will also be provided on the current status of hunting in Bernardsville and what plans are on the horizon to help coordinate deer management practices in town with the goal of achieving the ‘right balance’ for deer in our community.

This program is presented in partnership with the Bernardsville Green Team, Environmental Commission, and Shade Tree Committee. 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.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Tea & Conversation with Best-Selling Author Christina Baker Kline

Join us for tea and conversation as Julie Maloney, Director of Women Reading Aloud, conducts an up-close and personal interview with best-selling American novelist, essayist, and editor, Christina Baker Kline at Bernardsville Public Library on Sunday, October 27 at 2:00 pm. Audience members will have a rare opportunity to ask the author questions about her work and her writing process.  A short reading as well as a book signing will follow the interview. 

Ms. Kline's newest novel, “Orphan Train,” was published by Harper/Collins in April and is currently #5 overall in books on USA TODAY's list.  It also hit all three New York Times bestseller lists this week, at #3 for e-books, #6 for combined, and at #14 for trade paperbacks.  It's also #3 on the Wall St. Journal e-book list and is on all the Indie lists this week (October 6, 2013).  

In addition to "Orphan Train," Ms. Kline's novels include "Bird in Hand," "The Way Life Should Be," "Desire Lines" and "Sweet Water."  She served as Writer-in-Residence at Fordham University from 2007 to 2011 and was an on-staff editor and writing coach at the social networking site SheWrites.com.  She is coeditor, with Anne Burt, of a collection of personal essays called "About Face: Women Write About What They See When They Look in the Mirror" and also commissioned and edited two widely praised collections of original essays on the first year of parenthood and raising young children, "Child of Mine and Room to Grow."  She is co-author, with her mother, Christina Looper Baker, of a book on feminist mothers and daughters, "The Conversation Begins."

Ms. Kline, a resident of Montclair, was born in Cambridge, England, and raised there as well as in the American South and Maine.  She is a graduate of Yale, Cambridge, and the University of Virginia, where she was a Henry Hoyns Fellow in Fiction Writing.  In addition to Fordham, she has taught fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, English literature, literary theory, and women’s studies at Yale, New York University, and Drew University.  She is a recent recipient of a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellowship, a Writer-in-Residence Fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and a Fordham Faculty Research Grant. 

Interviewer Julie Maloney has worked in the arts as a performer and educator her entire life.  She is a poet and writer and founder/director of Women Reading Aloud (WRA), a not-for-profit organization that promotes women writers in New Jersey and beyond.  WRA holds workshops, special events, writing retreats, conferences and an on-going writing workshop series each spring and fall during which women writers of all genres hone their work in a salon type setting.  The annual Writer’s Weekend Retreat is held each April in Sea Girt, NJ.  In June, WRA returns for its fourth Greece Writer’s Retreat on the island of Alonnisos in the North Sporades.  Ms. Maloney is a frequent speaker on “Writing as a Life Tool.”

There is no charge to attend the program at the library, 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.

The University of "Can-Do" Master's Program

The next session of the "University of Can-Do Master's Program" will meet on Wednesday, October 30 at 7:00 pm at Bernardsville Public Library.  "Do you have a goal that you think you can't make happen?" asks Andrea Mastrobattista who leads the group, "Well, you can, because you have what it takes to accomplish it."

This workshop runs throughout the year, and each month participants discover more skills for cultivating and maintaining the "can-do" determination to make a dream come true.  Come to this session to master the art of dealing with adversity and discover vital tools that will help you deal with adversity and come out of it stronger than ever! 

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.

Gov. Christie Todd Whitman to Speak at Library Fundraiser

Former Governor Christie Todd Whitman will speak at a fundraiser for the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library on Sunday, October 27 at 4:00 pm at Dolce Conference Center in Basking Ridge.  "Superstorm Sandy: One Year Later" is the subject of Ms. Whitman's talk, and she will discuss topics such as what we can look forward to from the environment and from the government, and whether or not we have or will put in place preventive measures to minimize the devastation of natural weather events in the future.  

Tickets are $100 per person and proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Library whose mission it is to fund special programs and services at the Library including children's programs and Sundays at Three concerts, as well as computers, and books and materials that enhance the library's offerings to the community.  Light refreshments will be served before the talk begins.

Governor Whitman, now the President of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues, served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from January of 2001 until June of 2003. She was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey, serving as its first woman governor from 1994 until 2001.  

As Governor, she earned praise from both Republicans and Democrats for her commitment to preserve a record amount of New Jersey land as permanent green space.  She was also recognized by the Natural Resources Defense Council as having instituted the most comprehensive beach monitoring system in the nation.  

As EPA Administrator, she promoted common-sense environmental improvements such as watershed-based water protection policies.  She is the author of a New York Times best seller called “It’s My Party Too,” which was published in January of 2005 and released in paperback in March 2006.

Governor Whitman serves on a number of non-profit organizations including heading the Trustees’ Executive Committee of the Eisenhower Fellowships. She co-chairs Clean and Safe Energy (CASE) with Dr. Patrick Moore and is a member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Security Project.  Governor Whitman is a board member for the Center for Sustainable Shale Development, is Co-Chair of the Aspen Health Stewardship Project, and a member of the advisory board of Reform New Jersey Now. She is a Monmouth University Distinguished Public Servant in Residence for the 2013-2014 year.

Prior to becoming Governor, she was the President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and served on the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders.   

Tickets may be purchased at the library until October 23.  For further information, call the 908-766-0118.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Green Infrastructure: What Is It?

As the most densely populated state in the United States, New Jersey is experiencing increasing negative impacts from stormwater, that is, water from rainfall and snowmelt that runs off of paving and other impervious surfaces. Declines in water quality, unstable streams, aquatic habitat loss and increased flooding are real and measurable in almost all developed municipalities of our state and expected changes in weather events brought on by global climate change place new urgency on finding solutions. 

On Tuesday, October 22 at 7:00 pm, David Peifer, from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, will highlight the need for a new "green infrastructure" approach to stormwater management, describe new techniques to reduce or eliminate existing problems as well as anticipated impacts. He will also present examples of green infrastructure installations from around the state to encourage residents and municipal governments to adopt and implement a "green infrastructure" approach to stormwater management. The program is designed for members of the general public, environmental commissioners and other local officials.

There is no charge to attend the program, which is sponsored in partnership with the Bernardsville Environmental Commission, 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.

Memoirs and Coffee Book Group to Meet

The next meeting of Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held on Tuesday, October 22 at 10:30 am in the library’s Community Room.  Pat Kennedy-Grant, Readers’ Services Manager for the library, will lead the discussion of “Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked” (2013) by James Lasdun.  [The author will not be present.]

A true story of obsessive love turning to obsessive hate, "Give Me Everything You Have" chronicles the author’s strange and harrowing ordeal at the hands of a former student, a self-styled “verbal terrorist,” who began trying, in her words, to “ruin him.” Hate mail, online postings, and public accusations of plagiarism and sexual misconduct were her weapons of choice and, as with more conventional terrorist weapons, proved remarkably difficult to combat. James Lasdun’s account, while terrifying, is told with compassion and humor, and brilliantly succeeds in turning a highly personal story into a profound meditation on subjects as varied as madness, race, Middle East politics, and the meaning of honor and reputation in the Internet age.

Author James Lasdun was born in London and now lives in upstate New York.  He has published two novels, as well as several collections of short stories and poetry.  He has been long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and short-listed for the Los Angeles Times T.S. Eliot and Forward prizes in poetry; he was the winner of the inaugural BBC National Short Story Award.  His nonfiction has been published in Harper's Magazine, Granta and the London Review of Books.

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

Friday, October 4, 2013

Fifty Book Challenge Group to Meet

Reading fifty books in fifty-two weeks may seem daunting, but share the goal with a supportive group and it can be a lot of fun.  Community members are invited to come to the next meeting of the 50 Book Challenge on Saturday, October 19 at 3:00 pm in the library’s Community Room.  

At this meeting, which will include animated discussion, reading suggestions and snacks, ambitious readers will trade notes on their progress as well as book recommendations.  New members are welcome at any time during the year and will be invited to additional events in the coming months.  

The fifty books in fifty weeks are suggested, not required, for participation in the program.  Each reader will choose which reading “counts” as part of the total.  There are no limitations as to which formats can be read: downloaded books, audio books, e-books and graphic novels are all acceptable.  

For more information and resources and for email updates for the 50 Book Challenge, go to the library's webpage, www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/50_book/.   For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Craft Group to Meet at Bernardsville Library

Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, October 19 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. 

Public Relations Assistant Evelyn Fischel will showcase 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.