Plumsted celebrates its volunteers

The Plumsted branch was happy to appreciate all of our volunteers during National Volunteer Week! Volunteers from the 12+ Program at the New Egypt High School visit the library weekly to help support their community while building life skills. In honor of their service they were presented with certificates of appreciation, enjoyed some light refreshments and honed their technology skills by using their school iPads or logging on to the library’s public computers. Thank you to all of the volunteers that support our branches and communities throughout Ocean County! 

OCL closed Friday May 17 for Staff Development Day

TOMS RIVER –   All branches of the Ocean County Library will be closed Friday May 17 for its annual Staff Development Day.

The library’s databases and Web site www.theoceancountylibrary.org will be available during that time.

All branches will resume their normal business hours Saturday May 18.

OC Human Relations Commission to present a program about preventing harassment in the workplace

The Ocean County Human Relations Commission will present “Do the Right Thing: Prevent Harassment in Your Workplace” at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library, 101 Washington St.,  Wednesday May 15 at 6:30 p.m.

Esther Nevarez, NJ Division of Civil Rights, will explain the state laws about harassment and present real case scenarios to educate people how to avoid many problems, including potential lawsuits. She will also answer participants’ questions.

Nevarez has presented this training throughout New Jersey.

The program is designed to help business owners, managers, and supervisors, educators, paraprofessionals, health service providers, corporate human resources officials, civil servants and nonprofit organizations prevent harassment in the workplace.

The program is cosponsored with the Ocean County College Office of Multicultural Services, Jersey Shore PFLAG, Ocean County Library, and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Professional Development Certificates are available upon request.

The program is free of charge but registration is required. To register contact the library operator at (732) 349-6200 or (609) 971-0514 or go online to www.theoceancountylibrary.org and click on “Events and News.”

The Human Relations Commission is a volunteer group working under the auspices of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office in its effort to reduce and eliminate bias crimes and incidents.  The Commission is proactive in providing programs for the community that helps to increase understanding and respect between groups and individuals in Ocean County.

Spine Poetry at the Barnegat Branch

The Ocean County Library Barnegat branch held a spine poetry contest. Spine poetry is the art of arranging stacks of books in a way that combines the book titles to make a poem of sorts. It’s a fun way to creatively show what you are reading. You can view a complete gallery of all the submissions from the contest here.

Duo Caramba returns to OCL for concert

Duo Caramba!, who performs regularly in the New York area, will return to Ocean County Library this week.

Flutist Carla Auld and guitarist Ana Maria Rosado will perform Thursday May 2 at the Stafford branch, 129 N. Main St. and Thursday May 9 at the Brick branch, 301 Chambers Bridge Rd. Both concerts begin at 7 p.m.

Duo Caramba! will explore the contrast between Baroque grandeur and modern inventiveness in music by German master J. S. Bach and Puerto Rican avant-garde composer Roberto Sierra. They will also perform pieces by Spanish Romantic Enrique Granados and contemporary stars Eduardo Martin from Cuba and Maximo Diego Pujol from Argentina.

Auld is a soloist and chamber musician who actively promotes the performance and recording of new classical and cross-over music by New York area and international composers. She is a founding member of the ensemble UpTown Flutes, winners of the Artist International Chamber Music Award.

Rosado, an Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Guitar Studies at the New Jersey City University, has performed extensively in the United States, the Far East, and Latin America as Artistic Ambassador for the USIA. Her critically acclaimed debut CD “We’ve Got (Poly) Rhythm” was released on the Albany Records label. An independently produced CD, “Salsa and other beats” was released in 2010. Both recordings focus on new music from Latin American composers. 

The concerts are free and open to the public. Telephone the Stafford branch (609) 597-3381 or the Brick branch (732) 477-4513 for updated information.

OCL celebrates its volunteers

Several branches of the Ocean County Library recognized the many people who have volunteered their time to help us connect people and build community.

These events, part of the National Volunteer Week (April 21-27) festivities, were an opportunity for the library branches to thank those people who do such varied tasks a maintain the book shelves, clip newspaper articles, and deliver books and other materials to the county’s homebound residents.

The Toms River branch hosted a social tea for its volunteers April 23 in the Bishop Building.  Ocean County Library Director Susan Quinn and Assistant Director Valerie Bell presented Carol Lange a Bronze Level  Presidential Volunteer Service Medal for providing 126.5 hours of service during the past year.

Carol has assisted the library’s Public Relations department by combing local media for articles about Ocean County Library and maintaining a binder that contains those clippings for more than three years.

National Volunteer Week was established in 1974 to focus national attention on the impact and power of volunteerism and service as an integral part of our civil leadership and responsibility.

Gangwise Project: protecting our youth

TOMS RIVER -  Three branches of the Ocean County Library will present “The Gangwise Project: What our Community Needs to Know” during May.

Presented by Edwin Torres, a retired State law enforcement Lieutenant and juvenile gang expert, attendees will learn the general warning signs of gang affiliation. He will also discuss why kids join gangs and offer a brief history of modern gangs.

Torres will give advice to parents and teens about avoiding gangs and reporting on local gang activity. He will also tell where parents can go for help if they know their child is involved with a gang.

The program will be held:

• May 7 at the Brick branch, 301 Chambers Bridge Rd.,  (732) 477-4513
• May 16 at the Little Egg Harbor branch, 290 Mathistown Rd.,  (609) 294-1197
• May 20 at the Lakewood branch, 301 Lexington Av.,  (732) 363-1435.

The program is suitable for teens, ages 12 and up, their parents, and other interested adults such as educators, clergy and people who work with youth. Professional Development Certificates will be provided.

The programs are free and light refreshments will be served. Registration is required. Telephone the branch or go to the library’s Web site www.theoceancountylibrary.org .

Sign-in for each program begins at 6 p.m. and the program will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.

The programs are funded through a community collaboration of the OC Board of Chosen Freeholders; OC Youth Service Commission; OC Health Department; NJ Superior Court; the Ocean County Library; the Municipal Alliance Project, and the NJ Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.