Fall 2015 NEWSLETTER
Home > Newsletters > Fall, 2015
|
THE FRIENDS OF THE NEW JERSEY LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND HANDICAPPED, INC. Fall 2015 NEWSLETTER |
Message from the President
The fall weather is upon us and before we know it, the holidays will be here. However, prior to that time, the Friends of the Library will be holding its next meeting on Saturday, December 5th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM followed by lunch from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Joseph Kohn Training Center (JKTC) located at 130 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The directions to this location will appear at the end of this newsletter. Anyone wishing to stay for lunch will be asked to contribute $5.00 toward the cost of the food. Please call Mary Jo Partyka at (609) 888-5459 by November 30th to advise us of your attendance so we can plan for lunch.
Since the publication of the Spring, 2015 newsletter, the Friends of the Library sponsored a lunch and prizes at the June 16th golf outing and sponsored the continental breakfast at the October 10th Fall Festival. The Friends continue to support the purchase of cartridges and mailers, as requested by New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center (NJSLTBBC) staff.
Elections will be held at the spring, 2016 Friends meeting. I have appointed a nominating committee consisting of Jim Dougherty, Bill Dougherty, and Gina Grillo who will develop a slate of officers which will be published in our spring newsletter. If you would like to be considered for an office, please contact one of the committee members at Friendsnjlbh@yahoo.com or (609) 888-5459.
If you’ve not paid your annual dues for FY 2015, it’s still not too late. Please send your dues and donations to the Friends mailing address and make your check payable to The Friends of the NJLBH. The Friends appreciate your efforts and your participation in helping the NJSLTBBC meet its goals. A membership form is attached to this newsletter for those who wish to join the Friends or pay dues. Dues are $10.00 for an individual membership and $25.00 for a family membership. These dues cover the 12 month period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.
Mary Jo Partyka, President
choirnfb@gmail.com
4th Annual TBBC Golf Classic Summary
The 4th Annual TBBC Golf Classic was another successful fundraiser held on Tuesday June 16, 2015 at Hopewell Valley Golf Club in Hopewell, NJ. The Friends were one of 8 very generous sponsors of the day’s event by sponsoring the lunch and prizes for 1st and 2nd Place Teams. 32 golfers enjoyed a fun filled day of golf, fine dining, prizes and awards. There were 22 various donors who contributed to the Chinese Auction and Prizes for the golfers. The net profit for this fundraiser was $2,579.50. We look forward to another up and coming golf event at Hopewell Valley Golf Club on Flag Day, Tuesday June 14, 2016!
TBBC Fall Festival
By Mary Jo Partyka
On Saturday, October 10th, approximately 200 participants attended the biennial Fall Festival sponsored by the NJSLTBBC in partnership with the Grounds for Sculpture where the event was held. For the first two hours of the Festival we had the opportunity to enjoy a continental breakfast, sponsored by the Friends, and to reconnect with people not seen for a while. The patrons were especially excited about going to the various tables and talking to the vendors who answered questions and were attentive to their needs.
At noon, the following people spoke briefly about the organizations they represented: Adam Szczepaniak, NJSLTBBC Director and Fall Festival host, Ottilie Lucas, Secretary of the Friends of the Library, Bonnie Brown, the Grounds for Sculpture Director of Operations and Guest Services, and Mary Chute, the New Jersey State Librarian. After the speakers were finished, the attendees, with the aid of sighted guides, participated in the various afternoon activities.
Passers-by couldn’t resist taking a moment to listen to the lively book club discussions about the books “We Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor and facilitated by Karen Carson and “Superstorm, 9 Days with Hurricane Sandy” by Kathryn Myles and led by Tara Kehoe. Karen Carson’s narration of “Superstorm” lent an air of familiarity to such a catastrophic situation. “We Will Survive”, which was also recorded in the NJSLTBBC’s Audiovision studios, recounted 40 stories written by people throughout the United States, showing how the words to the song “I Will Survive” helped them to transcend very difficult times in their lives.
Other patrons participated in two separate crafts. One craft was finger-knitting which is similar to crocheting and the other craft was a sculpting project in which attendees kneaded the clay into designs and then covered the clay with papier-mache. The papier-mache covering enabled the participants to take their creations home.
As I left the Grounds for Sculpture at the end of the day and waited for my bus, I and the people who chose to take the sculpture tour were grateful for the beautiful weather. From what I was able to observe, the tours were very enjoyable and the docents thoroughly discussed each of the sculptures included in the tour and answered questions. Overall, the day turned out very well and we thank the Library and the Grounds for Sculpture for making this event possible
TBBC Update
At the American Library Association Annual Conference in San Francisco on June 27th, Adam Szczepaniak, Deputy State Librarian and Director of the NJSLTBBC, received the 2015 Francis Joseph Campbell Award from the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA). Adam was selected for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of library service for blind and physically handicapped people. His creation of The Outspoken Library has benefitted over 30 public libraries in the state of New Jersey.
Two books recorded at Audiovision were discussed at the TBBC Fall Festival on Saturday, October 10th at The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey are: DBC 01875 We Will Survive: True Stories of Encouragement, Inspiration, and the Power of Song by Gloria Gaynor, and DBC 01877 Superstorm: Nine Days inside Hurricane Sandy by Kathryn Miles.
As our book selection for the December 7th meeting, the group has agreed on DB 73310 The Silent Girl: A Rizzoli and Isles Novel by Tess Gerritsen. After tourists find a severed hand in Boston’s Chinatown, detective Jane Rizzoli and her partner Barry Frost locate the corpse. The case seems to be linked to a grisly murder from the past. Violence and some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2011.
Other books that were recommended by members of the Book Club were:
DB80286 The Thirteenth Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle by Joanne Huist Smith (Karen’s pick)
Journalist describes receiving mysterious gifts on the twelve days leading up to her first Christmas alone following the death of her husband. Details her efforts, with the help of her three children, to identify the sender of the gifts, and the impact the gifts had on them. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2014.
DB53725 Strawberry Shortcake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery by Joanne Fluke (Marian’s pick)
After bakery owner Hannah Swensen of Lake Eden, Minnesota, judges a televised bake-off, someone murders a fellow judge, Coach Boyd Watson. His battered wife, Danielle, is the main suspect, but Hannah and her boyfriend, sheriff detective Mike Kingston, hope to prove otherwise. Includes recipes. 2001.
DB 75614 Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Marian’s pick)
Jackson Oz's PhD fast track was derailed when he began warning about changing behavior in animals. But now he is being proven correct: wild and domestic species alike are carrying out brutal attacks. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2012.
DB79166 The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand (Mary Jo’s pick)
Forty-nine-year-old Dabney Kimball Beech has always had a sixth sense about romance and is known for her matchmaking skills. Her high school and college sweetheart, Clendenin Hughes, has returned to town, and now Dabney must decide what really matters in her life. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2014
Several books have been recorded locally at many libraries for the blind by volunteer readers and are now listed on the BARD web site with a code of DBC. They can be downloaded in the same manner as those recorded by NLS.
Unfortunately, the call in feature of the Book Club has not worked well at the last two meetings. Karen Carson will check into this and hopes to have it working for the December 7th meeting. Call Karen at (800) 792-8322 Extension 803 to get the call in information.
Options for Reading The Friends’ Newsletter
Since the NLS cassette players are being returned to TBBC and many patrons no longer have the means to play even standard speed cassettes, The Friends have discontinued this format of our newsletter as of the last issue. The newsletter will still be available in Large Print, E-Mail, on our website http://friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org and for those who do not have computers, by telephone on Newsline. You can access these Newsletters with a Newsline subscription and a touch-tone telephone. If you do not have a Newsline subscription, contact Reader Services at the New Jersey Talking Book and Braille Center at 1-800-792-8322 to get signed up for a Newsline subscription. If you have a Newsline subscription, but do not remember your login information, contact Christian Riehl at the above number extension 821. Once you have secured your login information, dial in to the service by calling 1-888-882-1629, or the local dial up number provided to you for accessing the service. Follow the prompts for logging in and reading the Newsletters. Choose option 2 off the main menu for your state’s information channel, followed by option 4 the New Jersey information channel, and then option 11 for the Friends Newsletters. Happy reading.
Please check out our website for information on community services as well as present and past copies of our newsletters at http://friendsnjlibraryfortheblind.org
Address:
JKTC
130 Livingston Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-2421
Cross Street: Seaman Street
From the North
South on Route 1 to Route 18 heading toward New Brunswick.
Get off Route 18 at the New Street ramp.
Turn slight right onto New Street/ NJ 26.
Take the 2nd left onto Livingston Avenue/NJ 26.
Turn left onto Seaman Street and left into the JKTC parking lot.
From the South
North on Route 1 to Livingston Avenue/NJ 26 toward New Brunswick.
Turn right onto Seaman Street and left into the JKTC parking lot.
Name: ___________________________________________________
Address: _________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: ____________________________________________
Telephone (with area code): __________________________________
E-mail address: ____________________________________________
Preferred Media Format:
LP____ E-mail_____ or None I will read online_____
I am eligible for TBBC Services: Yes ___ No ___
Individual Member $10.00 ___ Family Membership $25.00 ___
Donation $ _________
Donation in Memory or Honor of Name: __________________________
Send acknowledgment for memorial gift to:
Name: ____________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: ______________________________________________
I have made a bequest in my will _____