An article by Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Consultant for the NJ State Library, about the State-wide Summer Reading Program appeared in July’s NJ Afterschool Action, a monthly e-newsletter put out by the NJ School-Aged Care Coalition for afterschool programs. Sharon is a member of the coalition’s advisory committee.
On June 23, 2010, soccer fans gathered at the Piscataway John F. Kennedy Public Library with members of the Women’s Soccer Team Sky Blue FC to watch the United States/Algeria FIFA World Cup match. Rosana (in photo above) was one of the many Sky Blue team members who signed autographs at halftime.
The New Jersey State Library has partnered with Somerset based Sky Blue, the 2009 Women’s Professional Soccer Champions, to encourage readers to “Read Like a Library Champion” this summer by giving them the opportunity to win tickets to home games at Rutgers University’s Yurcak Field by logging in the books they read at www.njlibrarychampions.org.
Library Champions is a community based public awareness campaign featuring role models from the sports, entertainment and literary fields designed to encourage reading and educate the public about the important role New Jersey libraries have in transforming the lives of their customers. Celebrity Library Champions include Yankee’s pitcher A.J. Burnett, Devil’s forward Zach Parise, Giant’s defensive end Justin Tuck, Net’s guard Devin Harris and best-selling author and New Jersey native, Judy Blume.
Established in the fall of 2006, Sky Blue Soccer made its debut on the field with the launch of Jersey Sky Blue in the W-League of the United Soccer Leagues in 2007. Sky Blue Soccer is an internationally respected organization with the goal to be established as a leader for high-level soccer in the United States and around the globe. Sky Blue Soccer’s company concept is based on an integrated program that allows players to progress in soccer from the youth levels to the amateur ranks to professional status. In addition to operating Sky Blue FC on the professional level, Sky Blue Soccer also runs the Sky Blue Soccer School - a youth training program in which players can “Train like the Pros … with the Pros.” The Sky Blue Soccer School provides positive female role models and female trainers who have competed at the highest level both in college and professionally in the United States and abroad.
On Wednesday, April 14 at the New Jersey State Library, Trenton, Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian, was joined by librarians and school children from around New Jersey, to present a check for $14,000 to Laura Andersen public relations manager for the Central Asia Institute, and Fozia Naseer, from the Azad Kashmir area of Pakistan.
After the check presentation, the school and public libraries that raised the most money were recognized. The New Providence School District, which raised $3,270.30, was represented by Amy Nagel, media specialist, and Christian Fraehmke, a student, and his family, to accept the award in the school library category. Accepting the public library award for the Rockaway Township Public Library and the Copeland Middle School, which collected $1,169.84, was Barbara Hauck-Mah, reference librarian. Also receiving recognition were Bridgeton’s West Avenue School ($1012.25), Glen Rock’s Academy of Our Lady ($509.12), Medford’s Cranberry Pines Elementary School ($485.58), Woodbridge Public Library ($462), Hamilton Township’s Morgan Early Elementary School Act Club ($411), and Lambertville’s South Hunterdon Regional High School ($401.55), which had a dozen students in attendance.
“We are really pleased to see that so many children and teens are spearheading this campaign in their schools and libraries,” said Blake. “By learning about what their pennies can do for children on the other side of their world and by taking an action to do something, they have become global citizens and library champions.”
After the ceremony, Naseer visited Monroe Township’s Woodland Elementary School, to talk about her life in Pakistan.
Throughout February and March 2010, the New Jersey State Library, the New Jersey Library Association and libraries throughout New Jersey honored the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, as part of the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commemoration, by collecting pennies in support of Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute. One hundred public and school libraries joined the State Library and the Talking Book & Braille Center in the campaign.
After failing to reach the summit of K-2, Mortenson, emaciated and exhausted from his experience, staggered into a poor remote village whose residents nursed him back to health. He noted the children had no school or school supplies, using the ground and sticks to practice their multiplication tables. He promised to build them a school, and since then has made it his life’s work to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to educate students where no schools existed. His mission has been to promote education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of these two countries.
The New Jersey State Library Talking Book & Braille Center will be hosting a Children’s American Sign Language Story Hour on Tuesday, April 20, at 10 a.m. at its headquarters, 2300 Stuyvesant Ave., Trenton. Deaf-Blind Storyteller Edward Borrone will sign “The Snake Book” by Mary Ling, Mary Atkinson and Frank Greenaway. Students in grades first through four from the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf and the public are expected to attend.
“The Snake Book” is an introduction to twelve different snakes ranging from the boa constrictor to the everglades rat snake, and includes information about snake anatomy, how they hunt, habitats and senses of the snake. Following the story, Borrone will have a hands-on demonstration about snakes.
Edward Borrone was born deaf and became blind at age of eight. He is employed by the U.S. Postal Service. He graduated from St. Paul Technical College for cabinetmaking in 1992, and worked as a cabinetmaker for five years. The Manasquan resident visits schools and Deaf Festivals as a presenter about snakes, bringing his 19 year old, 7-foot red-tailed Boa Constrictor, MaMa.
The NJ Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provides American Sign Language interpreters as part of this program, which promotes English literacy. For Deaf children who have grown up with American Sign Language as their first language, the story hour provides a valuable opportunity to increase their English literacy skills. Assistive Listening Devices are available. The public is welcome, but space is limited, and reserving a place at the Story Hour is necessary. Contact Christine Lam, (866) 326-6035 Direct VP or (888) 671-6983 Voice VP.
Throughout February and March 2010, the New Jersey State Library, the New Jersey Library Association and libraries throughout New Jersey honored the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, as part of the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commemoration, by collecting pennies in support of Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute. One hundred public and school libraries joined the State Library and the Talking Book & Braille Center in the campaign.
On Wednesday, April 14, at 9:30 a.m., in the New Jersey State Library Second Floor Reading Room, 185 West State St., Trenton, Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian, will be joined by librarians and school children from around New Jersey, to present a check to Laura Andersen, public relations manager for the Central Asia Institute, and Fozia Naseer, from the Azad Kashmir area of Pakistan.
After the check presentation, the school and public libraries that raised the most money will be recognized. Following the ceremony, Anderson and Naseer will visit the children at the Woodland Elementary School, Monroe Township, who raised over $330.
Photo above is the display at the Franklin Public Library; below left, the NJ State Library; right, Tinton Falls Library.
The New Jersey Devil Mascot checked out the larger than life banner of All Star hockey player and Olympic silver medalist Zach Parise which hangs on the NJ State Library building. Parise is a NJ Library Champion promoting the importance of reading and literacy.
What is a fun way to keep in touch with fellow readers and the Talking Book & Braille Center’s literary offerings? Become a part of TBBC’s quarterly Book Club. Karen Carson moderates the lively discussions of popular books and you may listen to these spirited discussions on the Virtual Book Club at http://www.audiovision-nj.org/asx/bookclub.asx.
This is a permanent link which will be regularly updated with the most recent quarterly book talk show.
The next Book Club, it will be held at the Talking Book and Braille Center, 2300 Stuyvesant Ave., Trenton, on Monday, June 7 at 1:00 p.m.
The following books will be discussed:
Love by Toni Morrison - Members of a town’s African-American former elite reminisce about the man they loved and hated.
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett - The Queen of England borrows a book from a mobile library parked near the palace and develops an obsession with reading that changes her world views.
If you want to attend the next Book Club in person, call Karen Carson at 1-800-792-8322 to order your tapes in advance and register to attend. Join us or listen to the recorded book talk show!
The New Jersey State Library, in partnership with PSEG Foundation and Praxair Foundation, announced that free homework help would now be available to the students, residents and users of 109 public libraries through the popular Live Homework Help NJ program. Students in grades kindergarten to 12, and in introductory college courses, will be able to get free help with their math, science, social studies and English assignments via the Internet. This online tutoring program, delivered by Tutor.com, allows students with library cards to chat online with tutors who can help them tackle their homework problems. Spanish-speaking tutors are available for help with math and science assignments.
Live Homework Help NJ had been available through 24 NJ libraries in Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, Willingboro, Elmer, Penns Grove, Pennsville, Salem, Woodstown, the Gloucester County library, Deptford, Franklin Township, Monroe Township, Paulsboro, Pitman, Washington Township, Wenonah, West Deptford, Westville, Woodbury, Gloucester City. The 2010 expansion to include all the public libraries in Burlington, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties was made possible by a $250,000 grant from PSEG Foundation. Additional grant funding from Praxair Foundation brings the program to the communities of Belvidere, Bridgeton, Princeton and Woodbridge.
Live Homework Help NJ is designed to provide the highest quality of one-on-one instruction. Tutors are available online and on demand, 7 days a week from 2 to 10 p.m. Whether students need just a few minutes of help or a significant amount of time to better understand a complex concept, certified Tutor.com tutors work with students to help them build their confidence and do well in school.
A new service called Adult Career Center will also be available, which will provide adult customers with tutors to help them study for standardized tests, such as the GED; review and proof-read resumes and cover letters; and have access to a resource center containing test preparation materials, job search tips and ways to help their children with homework. The Resource Center materials are available 24/7.
The State Library established Live Homework Help NJ in select libraries under a Cornerstone Grant of $265,000 from PSEG Foundation in 2007. It was also made available to all students enrolled in NJ After 3 after school programs. Over 90 percent of those who used the service said that it had helped them complete homework assignments, improved their grades and made them more confident about their school work.
“The New Jersey State Library, through the NJ Library Network, has long been committed to the education of young people and adults through a variety of programs we have funded and encouraged local public libraries to offer,” said Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian. “The extra assistance available to students from live Homework Help tutors has the potential to instill a sense of success and accomplishment that will carry forward into the school day.”
Students who live in one of the 109 designated municipalities can connect to a Live Homework Help NJ tutor through their local libraries, or from their home PC or Mac with their library card number. The program Web site is www.homeworkhelpnj.org. In addition, students enrolled in NJ After 3 can access Live Homework Help NJ at local program sites. NJ After 3 nonprofit partner sites include Boys & Girls Clubs, faith-based groups, museums, universities, community development corporations, YW/YMCAs, and others.
Tutor.com has been delivering its Live Homework Help® service to students in the U.S. through libraries since 2001. More than 5 million homework help sessions have been delivered to date–with an average of 5,000 sessions each evening.
In photo, Karin Emmitt of Pedricktown and her daughters Shannon (center) and Kailyn check out the Homework Help NJ program now available in 109 communities across New Jersey.
As a result of their reading accomplishments in New Jersey’s statewide reading program, over one hundred children at the Hasbrouck Heights Library received a special visit from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus clowns, Billy, Anthony & Oscar, and NJ Library Champion, Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson. The clowns entertained the children with their unique brand of circus silliness, and Johnathan talked with them about the importance of reading and how he became Ringmaster for The Greatest Show On Earth!
Rose Heck, Mayor of Hasbrouck Heights, presented Jonathan with the key to the city, and Lisa Traina, president of the library Board of Trustees, presented him with two books.
Photo Above, from left: Lisa Traina, president of the Hasbrouck Heights Library Board of Trustees, Jonathan Lee Iverson, ringmaster, Mayor Rose Heck, and Mimi Hui, library director.
From left, standing: Lisa Traina, president of the Hasbrouck Heights Library Board of Trustees, Jonathan Lee Iverson, ringmaster, Mimi Hui, library director, Oscar, Billy, and Anthony (kneeling).
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has partnered with the New Jersey State Library to promote reading and reward participation in the State Library’s NJ Library Champion program. The program spans across every library in the State of New Jersey and offers accomplished participants an opportunity to win tickets to upcoming Meadowlands Sports Complex events and special visits from show characters.
The New Jersey State Library Talking Book & Braille Center, 2300 Stuyvesant Ave., Trenton, is hosting a Children’s American Sign Language Story Hour on Tuesday, March 16, at 10 a.m. Deaf Storyteller Joseph “Joey” Garth of Flanders will sign Moses Goes to the Circus by Isaac Millman. Students in grades first through four from the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf, home-schooled hearing children, and other members of the public will attend.
In Moses Goes to the Circus, Moses and his hearing family are going to the circus — not just any circus, but the Big Apple’s Circus of the Senses! He uses American Sign Language to communicate with his parents and little sister, Renee. He loves teaching her the signs for their day at the circus.
Joseph “Joey” Garth was born Deaf. He grew up in New York City, and graduated from the Lexington School for the Deaf. He attended the National Technology Institute of the Deaf and Pace University. He is a Treasury Manager, Cash Management, for Avaya, Inc., and owns his own business, Garth Wireless, which sells Cell phones, Pagers and accessories. He has been on the Board of the Northwest Jersey Association of the Deaf for more than 15 years, and is a member of the Planning Committee for the New Jersey Deaf Awareness Week “Deaf Fest.”
Following the story, Netcong resident Terri the Deaf Clown will demonstrate circus make-up and costumes. Terri Battles, who was born hearing, became Deaf when she was two years old. Since 1991, she has been a Deaf Clown. She attended the International Deaf Canadian/American Magicians. She has performed at a variety of events, including Union County College’s ASL Festival and ASL Story Hours.
The NJ Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provides American Sign Language interpreters as part of this program, which promotes English literacy. For Deaf children who have grown up with American Sign Language as their first language, the story hour provides a valuable opportunity to increase their English literacy skills. Assistive Listening Devices are available at the program. The public is welcome, but space is limited, and reserving a place at the Story Hour is necessary. Contact Christine Lam, (866) 326-6035 Direct VP or (888) 671-6983 Voice VP.
Zach Parise has been called the “best player in the National Hockey League you don’t know.” Sports Illustrated decided to change that by running a feature article in its February 22 issue on the NJ Devil Left Wing and member of the U.S.A. Olympic Team, but in an exciting development for NJ libraries, the article started off with his commitment as a NJ Library Champion and a picture of the billboard (shown above) at mile marker 112.6 of the NJ Turnpike. See the online article.
The New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority has partnered with the New Jersey State Library to encourage and inspire readers to “Read Like a Library Champion” and reward them by giving them the opportunity to win tickets to upcoming Meadowlands Sports Complex events by logging in their books at www.njlibrarychampions.org.
In the above photo, Harlem Globetrotter Moo Moo Evans visited the Jersey City Public Library on February 9 delighting fans of all ages. Moo Moo ( a nickname his mother gave him because he loved milk) read a story then showed some of the tricks that have made the Harlem Globetrotters famous. Twenty-five families won tickets to the Globetrotters’ shows on Feb. 13 & 14.
Ruth Lufkin of Basking Ridge won tickets to the Monster Jam. She said “we had a blast at the Monster Jam and the snow held off until we were back home. We met several other happy recipients of State Library tickets. Our seats were fantastic - right in the front row with Gravedigger and Spidey almost in our laps! What a terrific view, and a strong sense of being right in the thick of things as the trucks thumped and roared and strutted their stuff. The motocross/BMX/quad and superbike riders put on a thrilling show in their own right. It was our pleasure to be lucky beneficiaries of the Library Champions campaign.”
Library Champions is a community based public awareness campaign featuring role models from the sports, entertainment and literary fields designed to encourage reading and educate the public about the role New Jersey libraries have in transforming the lives of their customers.
Photos of the NJ Champions with a quote encouraging people to use the library are featured on full color posters distributed free to libraries.
AUTHORS
• Judy Blume
• Janet Evanovich
• Michael Connelly
• Chris Andersen
ATHLETES
• A.J. Burnett, NY Yankees
• Justin Tuck New York Giants Football
• Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils
• Devin Harris, NJ Nets
• Cheri Blawet- Parolympic Gold Medalist
• Lauryn Williams- USA Track and Field – Olympian
• Trent Cole- Philadelphia Eagles
• Kofi Kingston, WWE
• Jonathan Lee Iverson, Ringmaster, Barnum’s FUNundrum®
• Jim Dowd, NJ Devils
• Joe Theisman, Super Bowl Champion & NFL Most Valuable Player
Prizes include admission to New Jersey Nets regular season home games, Nuclear Cowboyz, Smucker’s Stars on Ice, Harlem Globetrotters and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. For more information, check with your local library. All participants will be entered in the raffle only once for each show.
In April 2009 at the NJ State Library,Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian (left), presented Christiane Leitinger, director, Pennies for Peace, Central Asia Institute, with a check for $13,400. The money was raised by over 75 New Jersey public and school libraries.
Throughout February and March 2010, the New Jersey State Library, the New Jersey Library Association and libraries throughout New Jersey plan to again honor the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, as part of the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commemoration, by collecting pennies.
Lincoln firmly believed in education, equality, opportunity and peace. To help continue his legacy, the State Library and NJLA are encouraging New Jersey libraries to participate in the Lincoln Pennies for Peace Campaign. All funds collected will be donated to Pennies for Peace which collects funds for the Central Asia Institute co-founded by Greg Mortenson, the subject of the bestselling biography, “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School At A Time.” The money will be used to build school libraries in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“Last year, school and public libraries from all over New Jersey raised over $13,400 in pennies. The campaign really caught on with young people and children, because they all could be part of the fundraiser just by putting in a few pennies. We found the ‘children helping other children’ aspect resonated with them,” said Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian. So far, almost 90 public and school libraries have joined the 2010 campaign.
The original Pennies for Peace was conceived by students in a Wisconsin elementary school in 1996. Since then, over 16 million pennies have been raised by over 700 schools in all 50 states, including over 10 million pennies in the past year. The program is designed to educate children about the world beyond their experience and show them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time.
After failing to reach the summit of K-2, Mortenson, emaciated and exhausted from his experience, staggered into a poor remote village whose residents nursed him back to health. He noted the children had no school or school supplies, using the ground and sticks to practice their multiplication tables. He promised to build them a school, and since then has made it his life’s work to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to educate students where no schools existed. His mission has been to promote education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of these two countries. To date, the Central Asia Institute has established 130 schools, educating over 51,000 students.
Now those schools need libraries. “We believe that Lincoln would have been proud to have New Jersey libraries adopt this campaign in his honor,” said Blake. “Lincoln would have been very supportive of helping children in other areas of the world receive an education to help them become insightful leaders and active participants in global peace.”
The following libraries/library systems are participating:
Ridge High School Basking Ridge
Belvidere High School Library
Bernards Township Library
Bloomfield Public Library
Bloomfield High School
Bloomingdale Public Library
Brick Branch of the Ocean County Library
West Avenue School Bridgeton
Bridgewater Library
Pemberton Branch of BCLS Browns Mills
Sandshore School Library Budd Lake
Butler Public Library
Old Turnpike School Califon
Cape May County Cape May Court House
Carteret Public Library
Cedar Grove Public Library
Richard Stockton Elementary Cherry Hill
Clifton Public Library
Clinton Twp. Middle School
Henry Inman Branch Library Colonia
Cranbury Public Library
Cranford Public Library
Orange Avenue School Cranford
Demarest Public Library
North Dover Elementary Dover
Twin Rivers Library East Windsor
Robert Morris School 18 Elizabeth
McCloud Elementary School Englewood
Dismus Middle School Englewood
Fords Branch Library - Woodbridge Public
Franklin Lakes Public Library
Freehold Public Library
Academy of Our Lady Glen Rock
Morgan Early Elementary School Act Club Hamilton
Sunnymead School Library Hillsborough
Pascack Valley High School Hillsdale
Miller Branch Library Jersey City
Kearny Public Library
South Hunterdon Regional High School Library Lambertville
Leonia Public Library
Chapel Hill Academy Lincoln Park
Passaic Valley High School Little Falls
Little Ferry Free Public Library
Livingston Public Library
Mahwah High School
Taylor Mills School Media Center Manalapan
Manasquan Public Library
Cranberry Pines Elementary School Medford
Campbell Elementary School Library Metuchen
Metuchen High School
Middletown Township Public Library
Milford Public Library
Woodland Elementary School Monroe Township
Monroe Township High School
Monroe Township Public Library
Pascack Hills High School Montvale
Lazar Middle School Montville
Moorestown Public Library
Mount Laurel Library
Fleetwood Elementary School Mount Laurel
Gloucester County Library System Mullica Hill
Neptune Public Library
New Providence School District Libraries
West Essex Middle School Library North Caldwell
West Essex High School North Caldwell
Otto Bruyns Library Northfield
North Plainfield High School & Middle School
Nutley Public Library
Ocean City High School
Park Ridge Public Library
Parsippany-Troy Hills Library System
Peapack Gladstone Branch Somerset County
Leeds Ave School Pleasantville
Ringwood Public Library
Woodside School Library River Vale
Robbinsville High School
Rockaway Township Library
Copeland Middle School Rockaway
Rutherford Public Library
Sayreville Public Library
Somerville Public Library
Sparta Public Library
Oak Knoll Lower School Summit
Tinton Falls Public Library
New Jersey State Library Trenton
Talking Book & Braille Center Trenton
E.T. Hamilton School Library Voorhees
Wanaque Elementary School Library
Valley View School Library Watchung
Watchung Public Library
BCIT Westampton
West Long Branch Schools
Westfield Memorial Library
Camden County Library System Westmont
Academy of Allied Health/Biomedical Sciences Woodbridge
They are some of the best at what they do in the world of entertainment and all have joined the NJ State Library team of Library Champions to emphasize how important reading and libraries were in establishing the basis for their successful careers. “These men and women are known all over the world and have many young fans,” said Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian. “They joined us as NJ Library Champions because of their firm commitment to stressing the importance of literacy for everyone and letting their young fans know that reading leads to success.”
The celebrity Library Champions are hard to miss. World Champion Yankee A.J. Burnett, Super Bowl Champion Giant Justin Tuck and All Star Devil Zach Parise are on billboards along the NJ Turnpike; Pro Bowl Defensive End Eagle Trent Cole targets motorists travelling to Atlantic City on Route 40/322. Zach Parise is larger than life adorning the NJ State Library in Trenton. In February, Tuck, Burnett and Parise will be featured in a video montage at the Path Train locations in Hoboken, Journal Square, World Trade Center, Harrison, and 14th and 33rd street stations.
Posters of All Star Net Devin Harris; best-selling authors Michael Connelly, Judy Blume and Janet Evanovich; World Wrestling Entertainment champion Kofi Kingston; gold medalist in the Paralympics & NYC Marathon winner, Cheri Blawet; Olympian Lauryn Williams; former NFL Most Valuable Player Joe Theismann; and the Ringling Bros. Circus Ringmaster Jonathan Lee Iverson are up in 500 public & school libraries across the state, bringing home the message that reading can help everyone reach their goals, and that books, magazines and newspapers are available for free at your local library. All celebrities are involved someway in promoting reading and literacy.
“I believe books and information should be accessible to everyone,” said Justin Tuck, founder of Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy, which encourages children to read, understand, succeed and hope. “Libraries provide a sanctuary where everyone can find knowledge – through a book, a magazine, a newspaper, the internet. With out the books, without the knowledge, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
“By going to the library I was able to read to discover some of the many things the world had to offer,” said Lauryn Williams. “Many of the countries I have since visited, I knew about long before because I saw them in a book first.” Williams and Tuck were named to the Dream Team for Public Service at All Stars Helping Kids’ 3rd Annual Sports, Business & Philanthropy Luncheon December 8, 2009.
The NJ State Library’s community based public awareness campaign demonstrates how libraries have the power to transform people’s lives, especially young people, by offering free and excellent reading and learning opportunities for everyone. “Libraries are much more than just books, they house dreams,” said South River, NJ native and Super Bowl champion Joe Theisman. “The library is where I read about football and a world championship and the MVP award. My 15 year career started because of something I dreamed about in the library.”
Another New Jerseyan, author Judy Blume fell in love with books at the Elizabeth Public Library when she was four. “It was there that I found Madeline, my first favorite book,” she recalled. “I still feel a thrill when I enter a library. I never know what I’m going to find and isn’t that the part that makes libraries so special – the endless possibilities?
The awareness campaign is in support of the New Jersey Library Association’s (NJLA) efforts to register 10,000 Library Champions from all walks of life. Library Champions are people who love their libraries and want to be in the know about issues that may affect them. Those wishing to become Library Champions may get more information by going to the Web site http://njlibrarychampions.org. Viewers are invited to sign up to become a Library Champion with NJLA so that when important library issues arise, they will get notified. They can also enter to win great free prizes, such as tickets to events at the Izod Center, by entering the latest book they read.
“Reading is everything,” said popular, high-flying WWE wrestler Kofi Kingston, who stressed the importance of stimulating the imagination of his young fans. “Without reading, my imagination would not have carried me to the heights I have reached and continue to reach.”
The New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at its Children’s American Sign Language Story Hour on January 12.
Deaf Storyteller Debra Fuller (pictured above) signed Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport. Students in grades first through four from the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf (MKSD), home-schooled hearing children, and students with multiple disabilities from the Hunterdon County ESC School in Lambertville attended.
In Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as a young boy Martin Luther King, Jr. promises that one day he would “get big words, too.” As a man, he kept that promise and used his “big words” to preach love and peace to all people. His mission was to help black Americans gain their civil rights using words rather than violence…until tragedy struck.
Debra Fuller is the vice-president of the New Jersey Association of the Deaf. She graduated from the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf. Fuller is the founder of New Jersey Black Deaf Advocates. She is also the author of The Current Need for Black Deaf Leadership. The Plainfield resident is retired from a 34-year career with AT&T.