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Logo of The Friends of The New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped: Within a circle is a family with their pets. Around the circle is our organization name, The Friends of the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped. THE FRIENDS OF THE NEW JERSEY LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND AND HANDICAPPED, INC.
 
Fall 2016 NEWSLETTER

 

Message from the President

Hello Friends,

I am honored to have the opportunity to be your president. The Library has a quarterly book club run by Karen Carson. You can be part of this book club either in person or via phone. Karen has an article about her book club on Page 3. Tara Kehoe has a youth book club now too. Perhaps we can have an article about this book club in a future issue.

I would like to invite all of you to attend the December 3rd meeting of the Friends. If you cannot make it in person you may want to call in and participate by phone. Location of the meeting and directions is on Page 6.

I want to wish everyone a great fall and happy reading.

Lauren Casey

Meeting Notice

The next meeting of the Friends will be held on Saturday, December 3, 2016 from 10:00 A.M. to noon, followed by lunch from 12:00 to 1:00 P.M. at the Joseph Kohn Training Center (JKTC) located at 130 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick, NJ. Directions to the JKTC 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 26th to advise us of your attendance so we can plan for lunch. I hope you will consider joining us for an informative and important meeting.

If you cannot attend the meeting we would like to invite you to dial in to the conference call. Please note; this is not a toll free number. On December 3rd at 10 AM dial (712) 432-0180. Enter the access code 425 373#. You will be asked to press 1 after the access code is repeated.

5th Annual TBBC Golf Classic Summary by Adam Szczepaniak

The 5th Annual TBBC Golf Classic was another successful fundraiser held on Tuesday June 14, 2016 at Hopewell Valley Golf Club in Hopewell NJ. We credit this success to our Sponsors, golfers, staff and volunteers. The Friends of the New Jersey Library for the Blind & Handicapped were one of 10 very generous sponsors of the day's event. The Friends were kind enough to Sponsor the Lunch and prizes for 1st and 2nd Place Teams. 34 golfers enjoyed a fun filled day of golf, fine dining, prizes and awards. 28 various donors contributed to the Chinese Auction and Prizes for the golfers. At the end of the day we were very satisfied with the results of our fundraiser that profited $3,775.21 and look forward to next year's golf event.

Summer Program
Elizabeth Burns, Head of Reader Servicesa

This year, the NJSL TBBC Summer Program had 62 children and teens sign up! That’s our highest number so far! When all the reading done by the participants was added together – every magazine, picture book, easy reader, or teen book, Braille and audio and large print – over 1,200 books were read!

Six packages of booklists, activities, gifts, and incentives were sent out to each participant. Responses to our survey about how the children and teens liked the program said that their overall experience was “excellent,” that they loved the prizes, booklists and activities, and that their reading skills improved over the summer. They are all looking forward to next year’s program.

The Summer Program is made possible to the generosity of the Friends. A big thank you for supporting this and for supporting the children and teens of TBBC!

Update from the NJSLTBBC Adult Book Club
By Karen Carson

On September 12, 2016 the adult Book Club, run by Karen Carson, met to discuss the following two books

The Whole Enchilada DB77411
Davidson, Diane Mott
Read by Martha Harmon Pardee

Caterer Goldy and her artist friend Holly have grown apart, but their teenage sons are throwing a joint birthday bash. Holly acts strangely at the party and then falls dead. Goldy uncovers surprising changes in Holly's lifestyle--and her investigation doesn't go unnoticed. Some strong language. 2013

Robert B. Parker's Slow burn: a Spenser novel DB 84138
Atkins, Ace Parker, Robert B.
Read by Joe Mantegna.

Fire at a boarded-up Catholic church lit up Boston's South End, killing three trapped firefighters. A year later there are still no answers about how it started. Firefighter Jack McGee--who lost his best friend in the blaze--suspects arson and takes the case to PI Spenser. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2016.

The discussion, both at the Library and on the conference line, was lively and everyone enjoyed the books, especially Slow Burn.

The Book Club will meet again on Monday, December 5 at the NJSLTBBC from 1:00 to 2:00 PM in the conference room. In addition to reading the following books, we will celebrate our ninth anniversary and Karen Carson’s Birthday Week.

The following selections were chosen by the group for our next meeting.

DB26000 Misery by Stephen King

Author Paul Sheldon, captured by an unbalanced fan, is forced to write a new novel resurrecting a character named Misery who was killed in his latest book. 1988.

DB84345 Family Jewels: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods

Stone Barrington's newest client--a wealthy, poised lady--first needs Stone's help discouraging a tenacious gentleman, and again when she becomes involved in two lethal crimes. Probing deep into his client's life, Stone discovers that the heart of the mystery may be a famous missing piece of history.

Remember: we meet Monday, December 5th at 1:00 pm in TBBC’s conference room or you can listen via conference phone. The directions are below.

Come join us for cake, fun, and fellowship.
TBBC Book Club Conference Call Instructions
Dial in at 1:00 PM on conference call line
Dial-in Number: (605) 475-3220 You will then be prompted to dial the access code which is 672445. Follow the prompts. You will probably be asked to dial the number 1 before you can enter the call.

Library Equal Access Program

At our June meeting, the Friends were informed of the Library Equal Access Program (LEAP) which provides free computer and iPad training classes at assistive technology learning centers located in seven public libraries across the state. Training includes beginner and advanced level instruction on how to use reading magnification and speech software to read websites, emails and other documents, as well as an introduction to using the assistive technology features now available on iPads. This program is sponsored by the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI), and targets adults 55 years of age and older. “The ultimate goal of the LEAP program is to promote independence and to remove the digital divide for older adults with vision impairments,” said Dan Frye, executive director of CBVI. “LEAP places state-of-the-art technology and training in public libraries to serve people closer to where they live. These classes for those new to iPads or assistive software will expand skills and opportunities.”

A Heartfelt Thank You

The Friends would like to thank the following people for their very generous donations: Elizabeth Albers, Barbara Pirie & The Metuchen Lions Club. The generous donations are very much appreciated!

Annual Dues

This is a friendly reminder that our annual dues for FY 2017 were due back on July 1st. If you had not sent them in yet please do now, if you have already sent them in we thank you. Please send your dues and donations to the Friends mailing address and write your check out to the Friends of the Library for the Blind and Handicapped. 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, 2016 to June 30, 2017.

Options for Reading The Friends’ Newsletter

The newsletter is 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 for the blindness groups, then the option 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

Directions to the Next Meeting
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.

THE FRIENDS OF THE NJ LIBRARY for the BLIND MEMBERSHIP FORM

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 _____

Please return this form together with your check payable to:
The Friends of the NJLBH
PO Box 434, Woodbridge, NJ 07095