Theater In The Round Program Coming This Saturday

Bernardsville Public Library's Teen Advisory Council has planned a fun-filled afternoon for families this Saturday, August 1st, at the library from noon to 2 p.m. The teens have organized this afternoon of events to highlight the summer reading campaign, Be Creative At Your Library. Starting at noon, families will be able to move through various activity centers where they can try out some fun things. Learn simple origami with library volunteer Keiko Matsuura. Attempt the hoola hoop challenge out on the patio. Taste test and judge the top teen dessert entered in a dessert cook-off. And make an animal hat to wear to the Aesop's Fables performance beginning at 1 p.m. The teens and other volunteers will perform three of Aesop's fables in the Community Room at that time. All activities will be finished by 2 p.m. when the library closes for its new Saturday hours in August, 10-2 p.m.

Bernardsville Tweets And So Can You

Check out Bernardsville Public Library's colorful and informative Twitter page, Bville Tweets, for the latest library news. Become a follower @ http://twitter.com/BvilleTweets to get the library's feed directly - just click "follow" on our Twitter page. You can also read our updates on this blog, Book News and More, and on our library MySpace page. These updates are posted in the small blue Twitter box on both sites.

To learn how Twitter works, attend a presentation by Amy Kearns, tweeter extraordinaire and Program Coordinator from the Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, being given tomorrow evening, July 29th, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of Bernardsville Public Library. Microblog your thoughts with brevity and speed the Twitter way. Amy will show you how - it's easy and fun.

Go Ahead... Ask Us What We're Reading

Looking for something new or interesting to read? Why not ask the staff at Bernardsville Public Library what we've been reading lately? We are always pleased to discuss our own books and more than happy to make suggestions for you based on your reading preferences. Just ask us.

Ask Madelyn about Blink

Ask Gerry about The White Lioness

Ask Rosalie about The Unlikely Disciple

Ask Anne about A Tiger's Heart

Ask Pat about Lethal Legacy

Ask Michaele about The Indifferent Stars Above

Ask Susan about The Piano Teacher

Ask Karen about The Mighty Queens of Freeville

Ask Evelyn about After Dark

Ask Margaret about A Lion Called Christian

Ask Shelley about The Friday Night Knitting Club

Ask Felicia about Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Ask Annette about Girls Like Us

From Bernardsville To Mongolia With Love

Thanks to a very generous donation of wool yarn from area resident Susan Haynes, the Adult Services department of Bernardsville Public Library was able to organize a charity knitting project this year. Knitters on the library staff, as well as library volunteers and members of the library's Saturday Crafters group, turned an abundance of colorful skeins into woolen outerwear designed to keep children and adults in Mongolia warm throughout the winter. As you can see, we had spectacular results...

Our charity of choice was the Dulaan Project, under the auspices of F.I.R.E., Flagstaff International Relief Effort, which collects knitted clothing for a yearly shipment to Mongolia. Our knitted goods joined a total of 10 tons of boxed donations which were shipped off on July 10th. All of us who participated in this project felt immense satisfaction in putting our knitting skills to work for others.

Global Statistics on Women

Newly published, The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, fourth edition, is a great go-to resource for statistics on women's issues. The book is divided into eight parts - Women in the World, Families, Birthrights, Body Politics, Work, To Have and To Have Not, The Vote, and Demography and Health. Each of these sections is subdivided to cover specific topics. For example, in Part Six - To Have and To Have Not - subcategories include Water, Literacy, School, Higher Education, Wired Women, Property, Poverty, and Debt.

The statistical data for each topic are presented with a summary page of information and two pages of colorful charts, graphs, and maps. The book is designed with visual impact in mind, and you may find yourself suddenly fascinated by pie charts and bar graphs!

Pick up this highly useful atlas in the New Books area of Bernardsville Public Library. It is not a reference book and can circulate for the regular loan period. I recommend this book for research as well as personal edification.

Histories You Can Love

Bernardsville Public Library's Saturday Samplers book group loved discussing Case Histories by Kate Atkinson at our July 11, 2009, meeting. We enjoyed the way the author tweaked the normal detective genre, giving us a sympathetic detective (lacking in the normal star quality) who must contend as much with issues in his own life as with the oddball cases that come his way. Set in modern-day England, there is no pretense of class or airs, and everybody is found to have their own "histories" which haunt and shape them. The author's manipulation of time and her great sense of humor worked well to keep us totally engaged with the unfolding mysteries and the memorable characters involved. This novel should be on your summer reading list.

July Birthday, Anyone?

Another "birthday month" has rolled around at Bernardsville Public Library, where you can purchase a new book for the library in honor of a favorite person born in July. Amble on over to the birthday books display in the library rotunda to see this month's selection of books for all ages. Here are just a few of the shiny new books waiting to be chosen as special gifts for your honoree and the library. A personalized bookplate will be attached to the library book you select. Ask at the circulation desk for details.

Museum Speaker To Discuss Afghanistan's Artistic Heritage

1st century A.D. gold pendant from Tillya Tepe
photo by Richard Barnes

The touring exhibit, Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, is currently on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and lecturer Vivian Gordon will discuss the show's content at Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, July 22nd, at 7 p.m. To attend, please register with the library by phone or online.

This treasure trove of art items includes fabulous Bactrian gold pieces, Bronze Age archaeological finds, as well as Grecian-inspired metalwork and sculpture from a Greek city excavated in far northern Afghanistan. The items date from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D. and come from four different sites. The story of how these precious and beautiful art objects were saved from Afghan civil wars and the Taliban will make for a most exciting evening lecture at the library. The show will be on exhibit at The Met through September 20th, 2009.