New Jersey State Library Newsletter

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.

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NJ Devils player and Library Champion Zach Parise will have a special place in the Roselle Fire House. Library Director Keith McCoy and Friends President Maureen Boyle presented Chief Paul Mucha with a signed poster of Zach. The poster is one of fourteen celebrity posters distributed to libraries around the state. Athletes and authors have teamed together to promote libraries and encourage fans to read.

Learn more about the campaign including opportunities to win free tickets to popular family events at: njlibrarychampions.org/

On May 28, 2010, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Mercer County, NJ, awarded the Barbara A. Brown RSVP Station Manager’s Award to Karen Carson, broadcast coordinator of the New Jersey State Library Talking Book & Braille Center. This was a newly created annual award that was presented for the first time to Karen at the annual brunch honoring RSVP volunteers. The award recognized the most exemplary performance by an RSVP Station Manager (site volunteer coordinator) to facilitate the work and impact of RSVP volunteers in the community. In photo, Karen is shown with volunteer Ken Phillips.

RSVP is a nationwide volunteer program for adults age 55 and over who are looking for ways to stay active while serving their community. RSVP is part of Senior Corps of the Corporation for National and Community Services.

As Audiovision’s broadcast coordinator, Karen recruits, trains, schedules and oversees all of TBBC’s volunteers: 213 volunteers totaling over 3,777 hours in FY2009. Karen is also responsible for tracking the hours and mileage of TBBC volunteers over 55 who choose to participate in the RSVP program.

State Library staff member Cindy Warrick (center) poses with authors and educators Sal Marino (L) and Dick Handschuch (R) who gave a talk from their book, "The Beach Bum’s Guide to Boardwalks." More than 50 attendees enjoyed learning some history, some stories, some stats and some facts about the boardwalks of New Jersey at the June 16 lunch-time talk.

Two New Jersey State Library partnerships were recognized for public relations excellence at the Public Relations Society of America - New Jersey Chapter’s 2010 Pyramid Awards.

In the Special Events category, the NJ State Library’s 2009 Pennies for Peace Campaign to raise funds to create libraries for schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, received an Honorable Mention award.

In the Community Relations category, the NJ Sports & Exhibition Authority received an Honorable Mention for its program with the State Library and the NJ Library Association to boost reading statewide by offering tickets to events at the IZOD Center to readers registering their books through the Library Champions website.

Ken Hunter, PRSA-NJ president, (right in photos) presented the Pennies for Peace award to Gary Cooper, PRSA-NJ member and NJSL public relations & news media contact, and the NJSEA Reading Program award to Melissa Klein, marketing coordinator for the IZOD Center.

Excerpt from from app.com. Read the full article here

In recognition of her leadership skills, Tonya [Badillo] has been selected by New Jersey State Library to attend to the 2010 NDLC Forum Groundwork to Action: National Diversities in Libraries Conference and, in conjunction with Library Director, Ingrid Bruck, she will also attend Project Compass, and online summit held to leverage library expertise nationwide.

To the Summit, Tonya and Ingrid will contribute information gleaned from assisting the unemployed through the development of the Virtual Career Center, Computer Lab Back-to-Work Classes, Ex-Offender Back-to-Work Classes, webinars, and development of virtual job skills training. We wish Tonya the best and hope you all join us in congratulating her on her latest achievements!

Dick Handschuch (left) and Sal Marino are retired educators and authors of the book, “The Beach Bum’s Guide to Boardwalks.” They will be at the New Jersey State Library to present : “Boardwalks of New Jersey with Sal Marino and Dick Handschuch,” on June 16, 2010, from noon to 1 p.m., in the Level 2 Reading Room, 185 West State Street, Trenton.

All are welcome to this free program

Devils’ Chairman/Managing Partner Jeff Vanderbeek (left) and Devils’ forward Zach Parise presented First Lady Mary Pat Christie with a NJ Devils’ jersey during the trios visit to the New Jersey State library to promote reading and the importance and value of libraries. Parise and the Devils organization have been supportive Library Champions.

During his visit to the NJ State Library on Tuesday, May 25, Parise, NJ Devil forward and Olympic Silver Medalist, read a story to the children from the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf. Parise, a New Jersey Library Champion, also received a letter from New Jersey’s First Lady Mary Pat Christie, showed the children his Silver Medal and posed for pictures with fans under the large Zach Parise banner which hangs from the State Library building. Also on hand for the kids were Devils’ mascot N.J. Devil and Trenton Devils’ mascot Scorch.

above photo courtesy of New Jersey Devils/Getty Images

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Author Cathy Bao Bean (left) engages attendees in a discussion about multiculturalism during her talk on “The Chopsticks-Fork Principle: A Setting for Diversity.” Bao Bean spoke during a State Library Information Center lunch-time program.

In a way that shatters stereotypes yet explains the generalizations, she mixed humor with her own immigrant experience to encourage people to understand how we are all, at the very least, bi-cultural. The program was funded by the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the N.J. Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A group of archeology students from Montclair State University visited the New Jersey State Library on May 18 with their professor, Dr. Peter Siegel, to learn about genealogy resources that they can use to discover information about members of the Van Reyper family and the house in which they lived for over 80 years. The house is located on the school’s campus and is referred to as the Van Reyper-Bond House.

John Shaw, reference librarian and manager of the State Library’s Genealogy Collection, discussed how to use maps and other library resources to piece together the story of the house’s inhabitants.

On Friday, May 14, the kids who use the NJ State Library Talking Book and Braille Center and their parents got an up-close circus experience on a visit to the Barnum & Bailey Please Touch Funundrum at the Sun Center, Trenton. The children met the performers, got to pet the animals, juggled with the clowns, and play with some larger-than-life props.

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It was a beautiful night for baseball as the Trenton Thunder opened the 2010 season hosting the NY Yankees World Series Trophy and the NJ State Library which gave fans a poster of Library Champion Yankee A.J. Burnett. Young and old alike also stepped up to get their picture taken by the A.J. Burnett banner. The State Library gave out over 1,000 posters encouraging fans to Become a NJ Library Champion at http://njlibrarychampions.org/ and win tickets to events at the Izod Center.

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On Tuesday, May 18 from noon to 1 p.m., the New Jersey State Library will present a free lunch-time program, The Chopsticks-Fork Principle: A Setting for Diversity. Speaker, writer and educator, Cathy Bao Bean will mix humor with her own immigrant experience to encourage people to realize and understand how we are all at least bi-cultural in a way that shatters stereotypes, but explains the generalizations. The 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.

All are welcome to attend and to bring their lunch. Beverages and desserts will be provided. Contact Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172 if you plan to attend.

The New Jersey State Library was recognized for Public Relations excellence for its Tell Us Your Story public relations campaign by the NJ Library Association at its annual conference in Long Branch. Accepting the award was Nancy Dowd, NJSL director of marketing, and Gary Cooper, NJSL public relations & news media contact.

The campaign was created to collect compelling stories from library users to show how libraries transformed their lives and to show librarians how to effectively use those stories for local advocacy efforts. One element of the campaign trained librarians in the art and process of public relations and storytelling, which resulted in a change of attitude toward marketing and a better understanding of its value. An overwhelming majority of people who participated in the campaign indicated they now viewed marketing as an important service essential to the financial health and viability of their libraries. The stories provided the NJSL marketing department on how libraries were meeting their customers’ needs in the economic downturn resulted in an expansive statewide media campaign that reached millions of people through news media stories, commercials, outreach and the Web.

With over 240 NJ libraries and 800 individuals participating, the campaign established an effective communication network through the NJSL Marketing Blog and listserv, and created a foundation that strengthened the librarians’ ability to convey the transformative role that their libraries play as the needs of their communities evolve. The influence of this campaign continues to grow as libraries in Maryland, Florida, California and Vancouver adopt elements of it for their marketing and advocacy efforts.

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Rick Malwitz (center), reporter for the Home News Tribune and Courier News, received a Journalism Award at the New Jersey Library Association Annual Conference for his articles in support of libraries. Malwitz was nominated for the award by Norma Blake (left), NJ State Librarian, and Gary Cooper, public relations and news media contact.

Malwitz’s exceptional journalistic coverage and support of New Jersey libraries in his front page articles of Sunday, February 1, 2009, entitled “Current Demands outweigh resources, In Tough Economic Times, Business Booms at Libraries,” and of Monday, February 2, 2009, entitled “High volume at area libraries, as economy remains slow, usage of resources increases,” brought home to his Central New Jersey readers the important role libraries were playing in the down economy and how vital they were to the businesses, children and adults of every community. These articles gave residents a much clearer picture of the crunch libraries faced and gave their customers a much stronger voice in their communities.