Toms River Library Offers Broadway and Classical Music Concerts 1/7/09

December 22, 2008

CONTACT: Ocean County Library, Toms River Programming Team 732-349-6200 x5100
Carol Zsiga, czsiga@theoceancountylibrary.org
Colleen Goode, cgoode@theoceancountylibrary.org

Toms River Library Offers Broadway and Classical Music Concerts
To Help You Unwind After the Holidays

TOMS RIVER – Once the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over, why not treat yourself to a musical retreat? During the month of January, the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library will host two very special free musical performances to soothe the soul.

On Wednesday, January 7th at 7:00pm, take a musical journey to the footlights of Broadway as Nina Deutsch performs “Classic Broadway with a Twist.” Ms. Deutsch, an international performer and Juilliard and Yale-trained pianist, will bring to life the music and personalities of great composers such as Gershwin, Kern, Berlin, Rodgers and Porter. Audience participation is encouraged.

The “Classic Broadway with a Twist” program is offered through the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

On Sunday, January 11th at 2:00pm, Piotr Filochowski and Ania Filochowska will perform a classical music concert, “Sibling Strings.” The brother and sister child prodigies have studied under Maestro Itzhak Perlman and performed nationally and internationally, winning numerous scholarships and awards. Since their professional debuts at ages 10 and 11, they have traveled the world, from Afghanistan to Europe and Carnegie Hall. The violinists extraordinaire formerly played for Poland’s National Philharmonic and are currently attending Juilliard. They will visit Ocean County courtesy of Toms River residents, Mr. and Mrs. George Leoniak.

To register for these free concerts, please call 732-349-6200 or go to the Ocean County Library’s website: http://www.theoceancountylibrary.org.
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Hints from LEH

The stockings were hung on the bulletin board with care,

With hope we would find some goodies in there!

Little Egg Harbor

Happy Holidays!!!

UP & the Giving Tree

Caitlin Marschner and Joyce Sabie pose with the Giving Tree. Trimings are all complements of the lovely members of the Ocean Purls, Upper Shores knitting club along with our wonderful customers.

All of the lovely handmade and purchased items were donated to Simon’s Kitchen in Seaside Heights.

LEH Friends luncheon

LEH Friends President Joyce Salow treated the branch staff to her annual Holiday Luncheon Feast last week, including her famous homemade brownies.

Holiday breakfast photos

We have photos from this year’s Holiday breakfast:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/22036136@N07/sets/72157611527067172/ 

The best way to view them?  Hit slideshow on the upper right, sit back & enjoy!

Barnegat High School serenades @ the library

The Barnegat High School choir, led by Natalie Atlonjy, performed a medley of holiday songs at the Barnegat branch Dec. 18. More than eighty attended. Selections ranged from traditional to modern, with special features from talented local singers: Armando Quiroz favored us with a Spanish rendition of “Silent Night”; Brandy Kostick (our own local Broadway singer!) performed “The Christmas Song.”

Commission signs contract with Polaris

Ocean County Library Commission Chairperson Joseph J. Harding signed a five-year contract with Polaris Library Systems Tuesday Dec. 16 for integrative library services.

The new system will be available for public use June 1st.

The software will provide a more sophisticated catalog service by performing a federated search for items, said Chief Librarian John Glace, who is in charge of library’s technology.

Once a customer selects a search term the Polaris system will search every database and book title the library owns and provide the customer with those results.

The Polaris system also offers photographs, ratings and reviews of books. It will also provide customers the opportunity to post their own ratings and book reviews.

“It is more interactive than the old system,” said Glace. “People will be able to keep a list of the books they have read. Students will also have the ability to develop a bibliography for a particular subject.”

The new system will also enable customers to sign up for RSS feeds, allowing them the opportunity to be notified if a book on a subject they are following comes into the library collection.

Library staff will be trained on the use of the Polaris system. The library will also offer instructional guidance to the public.

“We are moving from a 20th century catalog to a 21st century catalog,” said Glace.

LEH, gingerbread & teens…oh my!

The annual gingerbread program at Little Egg Harbor Library was followed by a Rockin’ Teen Holiday Craft program!

Manchester branch concludes Jewish lit program

The Manchester Branch recently completed its second session of the “Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature Book Discussion Series,” which was funded by a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association. Approximately 35 people attended each of the five sessions! Pictured is Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Professor of English and Literature at Ocean County College, who led the discussions.
Refreshments for the final session were generously donated by the Solomon Schechter Academy of Howell

Ocean County Library’s Book Discussion Groups

Learn all about Ocean County Library’s Book Discussion Groups. This is a clip from the October episode of Ocean County College TV’s “The Best Years” program.