Roxbury Library Desperately Needs Help

Our Roxbury Twp Free Public Library plays a vital role in the community. It is the center where people can gather, where they can use a computer or where they can borrow a book or DVD to learn new skills and be entertained.  Sandy and its aftermath made this very clear when over 18,000 residents came to the Library to access the internet, re-charge their batteries and pass the time until power was restored to the town.

Computer Center during Sandy

Sandy has past and most of us in Roxbury have gotten back to our daily lives. The Library however is experiencing a storm of its own. The state mandated MINIMUM portion of the Library’s budget has been released with a $68,000 reduction from 2012 numbers.  Most people know that the vast majority of library funding is raised through local taxes, but you may not know that the State mandated annual minimum appropriation for the operation of our Free Public Library is equal to 1/3 of a mill on every dollar of assessable property within the municipality.  Due to the downturn in the economy, the mandated funding that the Trustees rely on for daily operation of the library has been decreasing each year for the past several years.  The minimum funding for 2013 is $1,096,213. In total, the 2013 proposed funding is $241,000 less than it was in 2008. The dramatic decreases in funding have necessitated difficult budget cuts; reducing hours, limiting book purchases and forcing technology to surpass its “End of Life” usefulness. Many needed projects and improvements have been set aside or scrapped altogether.  

The time has come for the residents to ask the Town Council to once again step up and support the Library beyond the state minimum. In years past the Council routinely added to the Library budget to create a Library that was looked up to in the county.  The past few years the Council has chosen not to continue that assistance. The result of the decreased funding; reduced hours, staff reduced by 1/3, program funding eliminated, and materials purchase (books, CDs and e-books) at a paltry 3% of the budget. We will need additional municipal funding to begin to restore our Library to the premier facility it once was. Please help the library by contacting your councilman and ask him or her to consider adding to the 1/3 mill for the library. Contact info for the council can be found at http://roxburynj.us/index.aspx?nid=3 .

Friends of the Roxbury Twp Public Library

The Friends are dedicated to preserving the library and its programs, an effort that has become increasingly important with the continued budget cuts to library funding. For more information on the Friends of Roxbury Twp Public Library visit http://www.roxburylibrary.org/friends/membership.html.

NJ Libraries Vying for Pepsi Refresh Grant

NJ Libraries are trying to win a $250k grant from Pepsi Refresh to create Technology Catch-up Centers at libraries throughout the state. Pepsi accepts 1000 proposals every month from groups that have ideas that can create a positive impact on their society. The public then votes and the top 2 vote getting ideas will receive $250k grants.

The New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) and the NJ State Library have joined together in this proposal to bring the latest technologies to New Jersey Libraries. The “catch-up” centers will contain e-readers and a flip-camcorder which will allow patrons access new technologies. These centers will help parents “catch-up” with their digital native children. They will help the unemployed or under-employed to “catch-up” with their full-time employed counterparts.

The grant provides money for not only the hardware, but training, and downloadable books. Each center’s kit will contain an Ipad, nook, kindle, and flip ultra camcorder. The centers will open up a world of possibilities for all patrons and further NJLA’s goal of libraries being community centers where library patrons become lifelong learners.

I would love to use a Technology Catch-up Center in my library. Please vote EVERY day from now through January 31, 2011.

The Wildwater Walking Club

I love to listen to books while driving in the car and running errands. The current book playing on my MP-3 is The Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook. So far, this is a fabulous read.

I’ve got a lot in common with the lead character, Noreen Kelly. I’m single, live by myself, out of a job I had for a number of years, and trying to discover what to do next. After wallowing in the depression of job loss she wakes up to find she’s packed on the pounds. To combat the weight gain, she straps on her pedometer and heads outside for a walk. This galvanized to pick up a pedometer of my own. After leaving the store I strapped on the pedometer to start counting my steps.

Guidelines suggest we should be aiming to walk 10,000 steps every day for weight management. A sedentary person (me), tend to average 1000-3000 steps a day. That’s a long way from 10,000 steps. So I grabbed friend and went walking around Horseshoe Lake. Not only was it energizing exercise, it was enjoyable to spend time catching up with a friend. Best yet, it has inspired me to do it again.

Steps on Day 1 8604

50 Book Challenge

Back in 2008 Steve Jobs created a stir when he said “the fact is that people don’t read anymore.... Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore." That comment irritated readers throughout the world. The gauntlet was thrown down and in response libraries, bookstores, teachers, and book clubs created 50 Book Challenges around the globe. I’ve been a fan of Shelfari.com for a number of years and quickly joined the 50 Book Challenge group. So did my dad and a number of friends.  As soon as I achieved reading 50 books in a year, I joined the 100 Book Challenge too. So far this year, I have read 28 books so I am on track to reach the 50 book mark by June.  

As I was posting my latest reads on the Shelfari board, news stories about the release of Steve Job’s iPad wafted through the air. How amusing that the guy who said there aren’t any readers out there has introduced a new product aimed to compete with the Kindle Reader. What’s more the long lines for the iPad were reported throughout the day. Amazon’s phenomenal successful Kindle, Sony’s E-Reader and B&N’s nook prove that not only are people reading, they are anxious for new toys on which to read. Personally I’m looking forward to passing my Sony E-Reader onto dad and reveling in the nook.

Another Potential Loss for Libraries & Students

Yikes the EBSCO database is on the chopping block due to the state’s financial crisis. What is EBSCO besides an unpronounceable bunch of letters? It’s a collection of databases mainly geared towards students. Do you need age appropriate reading material, or grade appropriate research for a history project, or a magazine article for tomorrow’s class? These databases are the answer. I began tutoring my nephew at the beginning of this year.  Now it’s been a long time since I had to write papers or study for exams, so it’s been a challenge getting back into the mindset to be able to effectively help him. What a great resource these databases are. Funk & Wagnallis Encyclopedia is a terrific starting point for research reports. I’ve used the NoveList to draw up a reading list for my nephew. But, far and away the most popular features are the magazine & newspaper archive searches. EBSCO provides free access to thousands of magazines/newspapers including the LA & New York Times. Alas, unless there is a change of heart during the budget debates this fabulous resource will cease to be accessible to NJ libraries after June 30th. 

Libraries and Literacy

Libraries & Literacy

It’s Time to THRIVE!

Teaching and support = basic literacy skills

Heritage: past, present, and future = cultural literacy

Responsible and informed citizens = civic literacy

Investing in personal prosperity = business and financial literacy

Vital information for a healthy and productive life = life skills literacy

Educating the public for 21st century literacy

Libraries & Literacy go hand-in-hand.  Friends of the Library groups around the country are banding together to help our libraries THRIVE. Libraries provide a unique role in lifelong literacy and learning. They teach and support basic literacy skills; promote our heritage through cultural literacy; help create responsible and informed citizens through civic literacy; invest in personal prosperity with business & financial literacy, provide information for a healthy and productive life through life skill literacy and plan for the future by providing access, information and resources on the technology highway. 

At the Roxbury Library, new parents can join the Books for Babies program for tips on laying the foundation for lifelong learning.  The literacy & learning link continues as a child grows; with Read Across America, sing along with Miss Candy, summer reading programs, children’s homework help, and the teen online book club.  For adults, the library provides an array of evening programs from cultural to musical, adult summer reading club, and classes to hone computer skills.  Life skills literacy are available through a wide range of health and “how to” materials and employment/ career resources.  Seniors can avail themselves of tax help, enjoy a movie with the Senior Film program or join in the weekly mar jongg tournament.  The library will continue being an indispensable resource for the future providing internet access, subscriptions to online databases, computer training, CD-ROMs and educational software