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On October 30, the Barnegat Branch hosted its annual Halloween Story time and Parade. Costumed preschoolers and their parents showed up for the morning story time followed by a parade through the library. Penguins, princesses, bees, and dinosaurs happily joined in the Halloween fun. Juice and snacks were generously donated by The Friends of the Barnegat Branch. 
The Waretown branch hosted a Felting program and Christina Estlow and Sabina La Spata kept all hands busy with felting needles and piles of wool. Participants crafted Pumpkins, lady bugs, and even a stray lamb or two and left with a finished felt project and a new-found talent.
OCL’s “Good for the Soul” committee presented New York Times best selling author Connie Briscoe Saturday Oct. 24 at the Jackson branch.
Her debut novel, “Sisters & Lovers” sold over 750,000 copies Her latest novel, “Sisters & Husbands” was just released and has received strong reviews from the media.
We have a 3 minute video with Connie offering her hints for how to become a writer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFNv0xA0O5Q (And yes, I know there are two spots where you hear the rumble of a cart.)
Children’s music star Farmer Jason was at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library on Tuesday, Oct. 20for a morning of catchy songs and good times.
Continue reading ‘Farmer Jason rocks the Ocean County Library Toms River branch’
Fire Chief Fred Luyster of Tuckerton’s
Volunteer Fire Department brought two fire trucks and other firefighters to the Tuckerton branch Oct. 20 to help us celebrate Fire Safety Month.
They talked to the story time group, telling the children what to do in the case of a fire emergency including “Stop, drop, and roll” and “Stay low and go”.
Each child received a bright red fire hat and a bag full of goodies including an activity/coloring book, a pencil, a fire hydrant eraser, a magnet with spaces for emergency numbers, and a pamphlet about fire safety at home.
In addition, the children were allowed to examine all the different parts of the f
ire trucks. They all stared, awed by the size of the trucks and all of the firemen in uniform and work outfits. Some children decided on the spot to become firefighters when they grow up!
Special thanks to the Tuckerton Volunteer Fire Company.
It was an evening of fun and getting to know each other when St. Francis Community Center’s ESL students at Southern Regional High School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month at the Stafford branch with ethnic food they prepared. Everyone enjoyed and many danced to the regional music provided by Michael Klebacher with Jersey Shore DJs.
At long last we can post the videos and photographs from this year’s Bookfest.
Ocean County Library hosted its annual book festival (“Something’s Cooking @ the Ocean County Library”) Saturday Sept. 26 at its Toms River branch.
The festival drew more than two dozen authors and several hundred visitors for the free event. People enjoyed cooking demonstrations, special sample tastings, activities for the kids, cooking contests for the teens, and a concert by jazz musicians “The Chandler Travis Philharmonic.”
Ocean County Library hosted its annual Friends Forum Oct. 17 in Mancini Hall. About 50 Friends and branch managers attended.
The forum was organized by Sharon Osborn, Rita Oakes, Heather Andolsen and Nancy Dowd.
“People said it was the best Friend’s forum yet,” said Sharon.
Both agreed it was a moving experience.
“The morning was filled with practical knowledge that the Friends could take home and use to
make their groups more visible,” said Rita.
Topics included discussions about marketing the library, ways the library’s public relations department could help the Friends groups with advertising their events, and how to write press releases.
“I’d like to thank you and everyone at the Friends Exchange on Saturday,” wrote Laura Giannota, president for the Barnegat Friends group. “It was great getting together and hearing about so many great programs around the County! Thanks all for the hard work in putting this together! ”
Special thanks to Harry Applegate, Mike LaRocca, Karen Jakubczak and Brian Marshall for their technical and tactical support. And thanks to Bill Ringer and Michael Smith for creating the PowerPoint Presentation, and to Chris Barnes for his help on that.
Photos of the event can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/22036136@N07/sets/72157622618271670/
An excited crowd of over 100 parents, grandparents and children joined in the fun at the Little Egg Harbor Library on Saturday, October 17th. Roscoe Orman known as “Gordon” on Sesame Street shared his talent by singing and performing for the audience. After the program the patient crowd of people waited for over an hour for autographs and pictures of Gordon. Many parents and youth were excited that Gordon from tv came all the way to the Little Egg Harbor Library. Everyone had a great time! This program was Sponsored by Ocean First Foundation Arts and Cultural Grant.
On October 12th, Mimi Al – Torey , a Manchester resident, led a public program at the Manchester branch: “Islam, Its Faith and Culture.” She spoke about the Islam religion, addressed misconceptions about it and responded to questions from the audience. To illustrate that Islam is practiced throughout the world, she displayed examples of clothing and artifacts from various Islamic cultures supplied by members from the local Islamic community. She also had literature and Middle Eastern cuisine to sample.
OCL Connections 