Friends of the Otto Bruyns Public Library of Northfield The Otto Bruyns Public Library of Northfield 241 W. Mill Rd. Northfield, N.J. 08225 (609) 646-4476 Mon-Thurs 10 to 8 p.m. Fri & Sat 10 to5 p.m. Closed Sunday Nflibrary.org Facebook.com/nflibrary November & December 2014 Substance Abuse Prevention Teaching Parents to Effectively Speak to their Children The Northfield Library will be hosting the Partnership for a DrugFree New Jersey’s (PDFNJ) 15 Minute Child Break program on Wednesday, November 19, 7pm. The 15 Minute Child Break is a ONE-HOUR multi-media presentation offered by the PDFNJ, according to Angelo Valente, Executive Director of the PDFNJ. He explained that information on the importance of the parent or caregiver’s role on substance abuse prevention will be discussed; as well as how to talk to children about drugs, signs of use and abuse to look for, current terminology, and trends of use. He noted that the presentation is based on New Jersey specific research conducted by the PDFNJ’s Center for Prevention Research. “This presentation is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to come out and find out the role they play and the power they have in preventing their children from abusing drugs and alcohol,” Valente explained. The PDFNJ offers a variety of free programs, services and materials. For additional information visit www.drugfreenj.org Celebrate Diversity As the end of the year approaches, the library is excited to acknowledge the many cultural celebrations that come with the holidays. In the suburbs we run the risk of not exposing our children to the amount of cultural diversity that they might encounter more readily in an urban or global environment. We need to make a conscience effort to teach our children about the many different ways people live, the various (continued on page 3, Diversity) Tech Time Now by Individual Appointments Starting in November, patrons in need of technical assistance as they create resumes, apply on-line for a job, apply for unemployment or use library resources online will be able to make an individual appointment with the library. Previously there’d been a set day and time set aside on Tuesday called “Tech Time”. Due to increased use of our resources and an attempt to target our tech help we’ve switched to an individual format. Call in advance to make an appointment. (609) 646-4476. B.Y.O.B.: Care Givers & Babies in the Library’s Community Room Join with other parents, grandparents and caregivers and their babies on Friday mornings at 11a.m. The group of babies & adults that has been gathering is completely warm, welcoming and totally funny not to mention supportive and encouraging. Meet others raising newborns & you might just end up life-time friends. The library aims to build an enduring group that will be a place for existing and new caregivers to find support and companionship. All infants 18 months and younger are welcome to participate. Join us for songs, story time and a bit of stretching. Give yourself and your infant a change of scenery and an opportunity to socialize in a safe & controlled environment. Join in! Page 1 Friends of the Otto Bruyns Public Library of Northfield Annual Dues Are Due in January Dickens A Food Critic? The Friends of the Library have changed the due date for membership dues. Our treasurer would appreciate all dues be paid in January. This makes book work so much easier. Don't forget the Friends meet the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the library's event room. Please feel free to attend one of our meetings. Whether or not you attend meetings, you can still be a Friend by supporting us financially. Dues are just $5.00. The more Friends we have, the more help we can give to the library. Call Jean, 272-1142, for more information. "In half a minute Mrs. Cratchit entered flushed, but smiling proudly with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy and belight with Christmas holly stuck into the top. Oh, a wonderful pudding!" Two Day Fall Book & Bake Sale a Success The Friends held their first two day Book & Bake Sale Friday, October 17 and Saturday, October 18. People began pouring in Friday at 5 p.m. with a steady stream all evening. We opened again on Saturday at 10 a.m. and ran until 2 p.m. We would like to thank all the people who donated baked goods and books for the sales. As always the Boy Scouts were there to help haul the books for us. We are looking forward to having a two day sale again in the spring. In England, a charming custom accompanied the making of the Christmas pudding. Each member of the family, with eyes closed, took a turn stirring the pudding and making a wish. As the batter was mixed, a ring, a coin, a thimble, and a button - each wrapped in paper so they could be seen and not swallowed by accident - were added. It was said that the person whose serving contained the ring on Christmas day would be married in the coming year. The coin denoted wealth; the thimble, spinsterhood; and the button, bachelorhood. Taken from Holiday Cooking 1985, Better Homes and Garden Magazine. During this year's holiday season, read Dickens' "Christmas Carol". You'll find it much better than the movies. Ceol Binn Returns for Holiday Concer t We are pleased to have Ceol Binn return this year to bring us the beautiful sounds of the holiday on harp and guitar. Please join us Wednesday, December 10th at 7 p.m. for a delightful evening of old favorites. Refreshments will be served. Page 2 Teddy Bear Clinic Sat Dec 6th, 11 a.m. The Doc is in! The Friends will hold a Teddy Bear Clinic on Saturday, December 6th to help all your old friends. Listen to a Health Care Professional & mend any injured toys. November & December 2014 Stockton Center on Successful Aging Sponsors A Tour of Poetry for Seniors This monthly series offers the poetry enthusiast an opportunity to enjoy the works of local artists and the devotee the delight of writing and sharing their own work with an audience of their peers. Stockton has procured a grant to continue the Seniors Poetry programing throughout 2015 at no cost to the library. We are thrilled to host such a quality program at Otto Bruyns. There is no other space where local poets can attend workshops with professional, published poets for free. It’s an amazing opportunity not only for individual instruction but to create a stronger sense of community among local artists. If you attend, be sure to check out our growing collection of local poetry. There is no better place in South Jersey for seniors to read , listen and write poetry on a monthly basis. On the second Saturday of each month from 11 am to 1 pm participants can look forward to a compelling lecture on poetry and reading from a visiting poet. A light luncheon is offered. November: Turiya S. Abdur-Raheem December: Gail Gerwin The Stockton Center on Successful Aging promotes education, research, and services to respond to local, regional, and statewide needs related to population aging. The Center’s core mission is to encourage older residents to “age successfully” through vital involvements and engagement in their community. To learn more about the program visit www.stockton.edu. In the search box type SCOSA . Diversity, continued faiths that they hold and customs that they Please donate Legos if you have them! pass through generations. Creating community means embracing every member of our Northfield students are having a blast with LEGO neighborhood, learning their traditions & celeclub. We have about a dozen regular members. Stubrating with each other. The library aims to dents age 4 and older are welcome to come to the provide new experiences by offering programs library after school on Fridays, 3:15 p.m., to add and story times that highlight Christmas, Hatheir talents to the group. The club focuses on denukkah and Kwanza this holiday season. sign, simple mechanics, creativity, team work and If you are a resident of Northfield with tradiinterpersonal communication. tions or cultural experiences you would like to share, we would love to hear from you. If you have LEGOs that are no longer used please Please do not hesitate to contact Aubrey Gerdonate them! The more we have to build with, the hardt so that we can create programing and cooler projects we can approach. Some recent conprovide materials that reflect the heritage of structions are on display in the Children's’ Services area of the library. all our residents. LEGO Club Successful WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!! Toy Hackers: Friday December 5, 1:30 Parents: If you are tired of screaming as your children ‘destroy’ their toys, send them to the library. We’ll help them break stuff. The most brilliant minds in science, invention & innovation grew up taking apart and reassembling or recreating mechanical and technical objects. Students: For those of you who are more interested in pulling apart toys to understand how they work, we’re having a Toy Hacker program. After a half day of school, come over to the library and bring with you a broken toy. (Those students wanting to fix their teddy bears, sew buttons or restore toys to original properties, go to the Teddy Bear Clinic on Saturday.) This program will be for opening up toys, looking at how they work and seeing what hybrid toys we can create. We can put R2D2’s voice box in a Ken doll. We can open, merge, recreate until our imaginations burst. Please get your parent’s permission to use any broken toys you choose to bring in for our Frankenstein projects. Page 3 November & December 2014 The Otto Bruyns Public Library of Northfield November & December 2014 Otto Bruyns Public Library of Northfield 241 W. Mill Road Northfield, N.J. 08225 The due date for annual dues is January of each year. As of now, most due dates are January, 2015. Library Hours Mon.-Thurs. Fri.-Sat Sunday 10am-8pm 10 a.m.—5 p.m. Closed The Newsletter is published bi-monthly by the staff & the Friends of the Northfield Library