SPRING 2009 NEWSLETTER
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THE FRIENDS OF THE NEW JERSEY LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND HANDICAPPED SPRING 2009 NEWSLETTER |
The spring meeting of the Friends of the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped (The Friends) will be Saturday, June 6, 2009 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon. The meeting will be at the NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, 2300 Stuyvesant Avenue, Trenton, NJ. Please join us and learn about new developments with the Library and the Friends. We need your input and support and urge you to attend. Lunch will be served after the meeting and anyone wishing to stay will be asked to contribute $5.00 towards the cost of the food. Dessert is provided by Garden State Guide Dog Users (GSGDU) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of The Seeing Eye.
GREETINGS! Since our last Newsletter, there have been several holidays which we at The Friends hope you enjoyed. We thank all those who responded to our plea to contact Governor Corzine and ask him to maintain the State Library budget at its current funding level. Due to the State of New Jersey's financial crisis, the Governor planned to reduce the Library's proposed budget by 20%. Thanks to your efforts, the Library's proposed budget was reduced by only 10%. Despite this favorable outcome, we continue to need your support at this time. Donations to the Friends will be needed now more than ever. I look forward to seeing you at our June 6, 2009 meeting.
Elisabeth Dougherty, President of the Friends
The bi-annual Fall Festival will be held this year on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at the Library. Everyone is welcome to meet various vendors and learn about new products and resources designed to make all our lives easier. The Keynote speaker at our event this year will be the well known author Mary Jane Clark. She is one of Jersey's own celebrities.
Director Adam Szczepaniak announced that on July 1, 2009 LBH will change its name to The New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center. Once this new name goes into effect, the Friends may need to change their name. At our June meeting, we will discuss this pending name change.
Before the full-scale launch of the new digital-based system using Digital Book (DB) cartridges and Digital Talking Book Machines (DTBM), the National Library Service (NLS) will conduct extensive field tests, referred to as the pre-launch, in the spring of 2009. Eight regional libraries from around the country will field test DBs and DTBMs and certain other aspects of the digital-based system during the pre-launch.
Thanks to your contributions the Friends are working with the LBH to fund the equipment purchases needed to serve everyone in the program. The Friends are purchasing blank cartridges to record copies not provided by NLS. The Friends are replacing LBH's 20 year old Braille labeler with a new model fully supported by NLS and are also purchasing a storage server to house digital masters.
The NJLBH collects labels from Campbell's Products to get needed items for use with their services and programs. Some items recently received from this program are two book carts, a heavy duty paper cutter, a flexible paper punch, and supplies for a monthly children's program held at the Library. Eligible labels are all Campbell Soup products, Franco-American Varieties, Pepperidge Farm products, Spaghettios, Swanson products, V8 beverages, and Prego Italian Sauces. The UPC label at the bottom of the item or the whole label is acceptable. Thank you for helping us out. Every label helps and is appreciated. Our Fiscal year dues for FY 2010 are up for renewal. Please send your dues and donations to the Friends mailing address and write your check out to the Friends of the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped. The Friends appreciate your efforts and your participation in helping the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped meet its goals. A membership form is attached to this newsletter for those who wish to join the Friends or pay dues. It is $15.00 for an individual membership or $30.00 for a family membership. These dues cover the 12 month period from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. Remember, The Friends fund a variety of programs including Audio vision, the Children's Summer Reading Program, The Fall Festival, The American Sign Language Story Hour, The Sensory Garden, Foreign Language Books and Large-print Books for Adults and Children. Donations will be accepted on behalf of the Friends for the organization or for a specific program.
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The Friends of the NJLBH
PO Box 434, Woodbridge, NJ 07095