Inspirational speaker Andrea Mastrobattista will lead her on-going discussion group, A Life Well Lived, at Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, November 10 at 7:00 pm.
“A well lived life has little to do with monetary wealth and material possessions,” said Ms. Mastrobattista. “It’s about the experiences you have and the person you are becoming each day. If you feel like you need something more in your life, but are not quite sure what, then this monthly workshop is for you. Enjoy lively conversation with a supportive group of people who will help you enrich your life in countless, and perhaps unexpected, ways!”
There is no charge to attend the library workshop, but advance registration 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, November 8, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Meditation Group To Meet
Basking Ridge resident Fauzia Burke will lead the next monthly guided meditation session at Bernardsville Public Library on Friday, November 12 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 12 years and leading meditation groups for eight 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.
“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 12 years and leading meditation groups for eight 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.
Bernardsville Library is a STAR Library
Library Journal, the long-established professional publication which reports news about the library world, has released its latest public library rating report, and once again, Bernardsville Public Library is at the top of the list with five stars as the #1 Public Library in New Jersey in its budget category ($400,000-$900,000) and the #2 Public Library in New Jersey overall. The ratings are based on four per-capita service indicators that are reported annually to state agencies: library visits, circulation, program attendance and public Internet computer uses. In libraries in its budget category, Bernardsville Library ranks fifth nationwide. The Library Journal Index of Public Library Service 2010 divides libraries into nine peer comparison groups based on total operating expenditures. Libraries are evaluated on each service indicator relative to the performance of other libraries in their peer group. All four indicators receive equal weighting.
Director Karen Brodsky says that one reason Bernardsville ranks so highly is due to community involvement. “We have many multi-talented library volunteers who are as dedicated to library service as our staff members,” she said, “And the library has received many generous gifts from community members that are used to fund specific initiatives.” The Somerset Hills Education Foundation (SHEF) has just made a $2,000 grant to the library for audiobooks for the library’s Youth Services collection to support the school curricula. The grant will be matched by an equal amount from the Friends of the Bernardsville Library which provides funding for programs and projects from local donations. Students and families of the Somerset Hills School District will benefit from these twin grants, and library staff members hope to continue to serve these library users at the level they have enjoyed in past years. Ms. Brodsky continued, “In difficult economic times, it is more essential than ever that the library find ways to partner with community groups with similar missions to maintain services for residents.”
In recent years, the library has also been the recipient of generous grants from St. John on the Mountain Outreach Commission which benefit the English-As-A-Second-Language program, and library volunteer Maud Thiebaud has just offered a scholarship to a qualifying staff member to underwrite a substantial portion of tuition for attaining a graduate library science degree (Master of Library Science or Master of Library and Information Science). “Staff development is important to maintain the library’s current level of excellent service,” said Ms. Thiebaud, “It also helps retain the caliber of personnel so necessary for patron support.”
Director Brodsky agreed, “Underwriting staff development is an effective, long-term gift to the community because the staff member must make a commitment to work at Bernardsville Library after graduation and the community benefits while he/she is in school. We are also fortunate that the Friends of the Library dedicate funds annually, as their budget permits, toward staff development.”
Director Karen Brodsky says that one reason Bernardsville ranks so highly is due to community involvement. “We have many multi-talented library volunteers who are as dedicated to library service as our staff members,” she said, “And the library has received many generous gifts from community members that are used to fund specific initiatives.” The Somerset Hills Education Foundation (SHEF) has just made a $2,000 grant to the library for audiobooks for the library’s Youth Services collection to support the school curricula. The grant will be matched by an equal amount from the Friends of the Bernardsville Library which provides funding for programs and projects from local donations. Students and families of the Somerset Hills School District will benefit from these twin grants, and library staff members hope to continue to serve these library users at the level they have enjoyed in past years. Ms. Brodsky continued, “In difficult economic times, it is more essential than ever that the library find ways to partner with community groups with similar missions to maintain services for residents.”
In recent years, the library has also been the recipient of generous grants from St. John on the Mountain Outreach Commission which benefit the English-As-A-Second-Language program, and library volunteer Maud Thiebaud has just offered a scholarship to a qualifying staff member to underwrite a substantial portion of tuition for attaining a graduate library science degree (Master of Library Science or Master of Library and Information Science). “Staff development is important to maintain the library’s current level of excellent service,” said Ms. Thiebaud, “It also helps retain the caliber of personnel so necessary for patron support.”
Director Brodsky agreed, “Underwriting staff development is an effective, long-term gift to the community because the staff member must make a commitment to work at Bernardsville Library after graduation and the community benefits while he/she is in school. We are also fortunate that the Friends of the Library dedicate funds annually, as their budget permits, toward staff development.”
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
New Jersey’s Modern Politics
What better time to survey New Jersey’s modern politics than right after the November election? On Tuesday, November 9 at 7:00 pm, William Gillette, Professor of History at Rutgers University, will present an analysis of New Jersey’s politics at Bernardsville Public Library. He’ll discuss the state governmental institutions created under the Constitution of 1947 and also survey our state’s modern governors.
Dr. Gillette earned his Masters at Columbia University and a PhD from Princeton. He has taught at Rutgers since 1967. His special areas of interest are the Civil War and Reconstruction, New Jersey history, American political history, and American Western history. At Rutgers, he often teaches the history of New Jersey, and he is the author of many chapters or articles, including nine recent articles in The Encyclopedia of New Jersey. In 2008, Prof. Gillette was a Senior Fulbright Lecturer, and in 2009, he was appointed by the Governor of New Jersey to the New Jersey Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
This program is funded by the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. There is no charge to attend, 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.
Dr. Gillette earned his Masters at Columbia University and a PhD from Princeton. He has taught at Rutgers since 1967. His special areas of interest are the Civil War and Reconstruction, New Jersey history, American political history, and American Western history. At Rutgers, he often teaches the history of New Jersey, and he is the author of many chapters or articles, including nine recent articles in The Encyclopedia of New Jersey. In 2008, Prof. Gillette was a Senior Fulbright Lecturer, and in 2009, he was appointed by the Governor of New Jersey to the New Jersey Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
This program is funded by the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. There is no charge to attend, 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.
Bernardsville Author Will Sit Down to Autograph Books
Maribeth Southworth celebrated her fiftieth birthday. Irresponsibly. Her children deserted her in pursuit of their education. Selfishly. She sat down with a latte, a laptop and some leftovers and let her mind wander. Dangerously. She started a private blog, “FiftyandFeisty,” inviting a few friends to follow it and provide feedback. Now it’s all in a new book, She Finally Sat Down. Come meet the author and listen to a few stories, including some set in Bernardsville, at Bernardsville Public Library on Tuesday, November 9 at 1:30 pm and Saturday, November 20 at 1:30 pm.
It all began last December when Ms. Southworth turned fifty. She reassessed her life and, with an empty nest, decided to pursue something she'd never had time for before. With a demanding full-time career as a senior reimbursement manager at Genentech, Inc., she knew it had to be something she could do at home, at night and on the weekends, or while traveling. “I decided to ‘finally sit down’ and write,” she said, “as one of my life's goals had been to write a novel. I had no idea what would come out when I put hands to keyboard, but wrote to a select group of family and friends and said I was going to write each night and I'd like them along for the journey.....on a private blog...where they could give me feedback.” She continued, “The book I had planned to write....a novel....never came to life for me. I had so many non-fiction stories to tell, I wrote what flowed from my heart and head.” The book’s website is http://www.shefinallysatdown.com/.
Books will be signed and available for purchase at the library events. Proceeds will benefit the library. There is no charge to attend, 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.
It all began last December when Ms. Southworth turned fifty. She reassessed her life and, with an empty nest, decided to pursue something she'd never had time for before. With a demanding full-time career as a senior reimbursement manager at Genentech, Inc., she knew it had to be something she could do at home, at night and on the weekends, or while traveling. “I decided to ‘finally sit down’ and write,” she said, “as one of my life's goals had been to write a novel. I had no idea what would come out when I put hands to keyboard, but wrote to a select group of family and friends and said I was going to write each night and I'd like them along for the journey.....on a private blog...where they could give me feedback.” She continued, “The book I had planned to write....a novel....never came to life for me. I had so many non-fiction stories to tell, I wrote what flowed from my heart and head.” The book’s website is http://www.shefinallysatdown.com/.
Books will be signed and available for purchase at the library events. Proceeds will benefit the library. There is no charge to attend, 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.
Saturday Samplers Book Group to Meet
Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, November 6 at 3:30 pm to discuss Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X (2003) by Deborah Davis. [The author will not be present.]
The book examines the history and background of the painting called “Madame X,” John Singer Sargent’s portrait of twenty-three-year-old Virginie Amélie Gautreau. Mme. Gautreau was the talk of Paris in the early 1880’s, and the painting was shown at the 1884 Paris Salon. It caused a sensation, but while Sargent, the American son of vagabond parents, rose to lasting stardom, Gautreau was ridiculed and then forgotten. The reason was how Gautreau was depicted in the original, later repainted. Ms. Davis, a writer and veteran film executive who has worked as story editor and analyst for Warner Bros., Columbia TriStar, Disney, Miramax, and the William Morris Agency, drew on documents from private collections and other previously unexamined materials, to write her book which features a cast of characters including Oscar Wilde, Henry James, Sarah Bernhardt and Richard Wagner.
Led by Readers’ Services Assistant, 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.
The book examines the history and background of the painting called “Madame X,” John Singer Sargent’s portrait of twenty-three-year-old Virginie Amélie Gautreau. Mme. Gautreau was the talk of Paris in the early 1880’s, and the painting was shown at the 1884 Paris Salon. It caused a sensation, but while Sargent, the American son of vagabond parents, rose to lasting stardom, Gautreau was ridiculed and then forgotten. The reason was how Gautreau was depicted in the original, later repainted. Ms. Davis, a writer and veteran film executive who has worked as story editor and analyst for Warner Bros., Columbia TriStar, Disney, Miramax, and the William Morris Agency, drew on documents from private collections and other previously unexamined materials, to write her book which features a cast of characters including Oscar Wilde, Henry James, Sarah Bernhardt and Richard Wagner.
Led by Readers’ Services Assistant, 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.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Classical Indian Dancer to Appear at Bernardsville Library
Divya Nayar, a professional dancer trained in Bharatanatyam, an ancient classical dance form that originates from Southern India, will perform at Bernardsville Public Library on Sunday, October 24 at 3:00 pm. [Doors open at 2:45 pm.] Funded by the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library, the program is part of the Sundays at Three series. There is no charge to attend and no advance registration is necessary.
Bharatanatyam is performed by a highly trained dancer who combines precise and intricate footwork with sculpturesque poses and fluid facial expressions to tell stories of mythology and folklore. The dancer wears a silk sari and jewelry, and with specialized facial makeup, performs to a traditional orchestra of vocals, flute, and percussions. Bharatanatyam originated in the Temples of South India and was performed as a ritual and form of worship to the Lord; these motifs of dedication and spirituality are carried through by Bharatanatyam dancers, even today.
In the presentation, Natya Nivedanam (a dedication of mind, body and soul to dance), Ms. Nayar will perform dances from the traditional Bharatanatyam repertoire, some that were choreographed by great masters of Bharatanatyam over three decades ago, and others that are fresh and innovative yet uphold the roots of tradition.
Ms. Nayar was awarded “Young Achiever Award” in 2009 by Kerala Association of New Jersey for her contribution to Fine Arts in the community. She was the cultural representative of Kerala Association of New Jersey during 2008 and 2009. In 2007, she won first place in the East Coast regional solo classical dance category at the youth festival organized by the Federation of Kerala Associations in North America (FoKANA).
There is no charge to attend this dance recital and no advance sign-up is needed. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.
Bharatanatyam is performed by a highly trained dancer who combines precise and intricate footwork with sculpturesque poses and fluid facial expressions to tell stories of mythology and folklore. The dancer wears a silk sari and jewelry, and with specialized facial makeup, performs to a traditional orchestra of vocals, flute, and percussions. Bharatanatyam originated in the Temples of South India and was performed as a ritual and form of worship to the Lord; these motifs of dedication and spirituality are carried through by Bharatanatyam dancers, even today.
In the presentation, Natya Nivedanam (a dedication of mind, body and soul to dance), Ms. Nayar will perform dances from the traditional Bharatanatyam repertoire, some that were choreographed by great masters of Bharatanatyam over three decades ago, and others that are fresh and innovative yet uphold the roots of tradition.
Ms. Nayar was awarded “Young Achiever Award” in 2009 by Kerala Association of New Jersey for her contribution to Fine Arts in the community. She was the cultural representative of Kerala Association of New Jersey during 2008 and 2009. In 2007, she won first place in the East Coast regional solo classical dance category at the youth festival organized by the Federation of Kerala Associations in North America (FoKANA).
There is no charge to attend this dance recital and no advance sign-up is needed. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.
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