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.

Expand your viewpoint at 2 Manchester programs.

MANCHESTER BRANCH LIBRARY TO SCREEN “THE IMPOSSIBLE”

MANCHESTER – The Manchester library branch will screen the film, “The Impossible” on Wednesday, May 8, at three new times: 12 noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. See this popular history/thriller/drama on a large screen without paying the admission fee of a movie theater!   

A regular family – Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three kids – travels to Thailand to spend Christmas at a villa on the coast. After settling in they go to the pool where their perfect paradise vacation ends when a distant noise becomes a roar. There is no time to escape from the approaching tsunami. Who will survive, and what will become of them? This is an account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time.

This PG13-rated movie is part of the library’s Feature Film Series. It is 114 minutes long. Although registration is not required, early arrival is recommended.

The Manchester branch is located at 21 Colonial Drive in Manchester Township. Telephone (732) 657-7600 for more information or go online to http://www.theoceancountylibrary.org.

 

MANCHESTER BRANCH LIBRARY TO OFFER INSTRUCTION ON BORROWING LIBRARY BOOKS ON THE KINDLE FIRE

MANCHESTER – Learn how to use your Kindle Fire to borrow books at the Manchester library branch Friday, May 10 at 10:00 am.

Call (732) 657-7600 or go online to www.theoceancountylibrary.org to reserve your seat! In addition to signing up in advance, it is very important that you bring an Ocean County library card number, an email account username and password, plus log in information for an Amazon.com account that you’ve set up prior to this free, adult workshop.

5 programs from Stafford

PINE SHORES ART ASSOCIATION –

GEORGE INNESS AND THE HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL

MANAHAWKIN –    Kate Nearpass Ogden, PhD., and art history professor at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, will discuss George Inness and the Hudson River School on Monday, May 20^th at 7 p.m. at the Stafford branch of the Ocean County Library.

The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism. Their paintings depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, including the Catskill, Adirondack, and the White Mountains.

The library will also host a reception at 6 p.m. honoring three Pine Shores Art Association artists: Harriet Fink, Lee Fricke, and Rosemary Glass, whose art will be on display at the library through June. The artist may be contacted directly regarding purchasing.

The Stafford branch is located at 129 N. Main St. in Manahawkin. This program is free and open to the public. Please register by calling the branch at (609) 597-3381, registering online at www.theoceancountylibrary.org or in person. If you have any questions, call the library for specific information.      

 

RUTGERS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, OCEAN COUNTY MASTER  GARDENERS: CONTAINER GARDENING

MANAHAWKIN –   The Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Ocean County Master Gardeners will present “Container Gardening” Monday May 13th at 2:30 p.m. at the Stafford branch of the Ocean County Library. 

 

Master Gardeners Ruby Cramer and Ted Behr will show you how to assemble this type of garden using all kinds of containers, hanging baskets, etc.  They will also review the factors to consider for placement such as sunlight, container size, plant selection, and more.

Some of the advantages of this type of gardening are its versatility and mobility.

The Master Gardener team will be available to answer questions before and after the talk. Bring in your dying or diseased cuttings for diagnosis. 

 

FIRST  ANNUAL  MASSIVE  BOOK  AND  BAKE  SALE

MANAHAWKIN –   The Friends of the Stafford branch of the Ocean County Library will hold its first Massive Book and Bake Sale Thursday and Friday, May 23rd – 24^th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. You’ll find sweet deals on all kinds of books – something for everyone, as well as baked treats from the ovens of those who really know how to use one. Mmm-mm.

 

MOVIES  AT  THE  LIBRARY

MANAHAWKIN –   The Stafford branch of the Ocean County Library will show the feature film: “Skyfall” Saturday May 11th at 2 p.m. 

James Bond’s loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. While MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. Rated PG-13. 

The family movie “Wreck-It Ralph” will be shown Saturday May 25th at 2 p.m.  A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.  Animated.  Rated PG. 

Ocean County Student Film Fest this Saturday

TOMS RIVER –  The seventh annual Ocean County Library Student Film Festival returns to the Toms River branch Saturday April 27 at 6 p.m. The festival will feature the works of high school and college film students up to the age of 26.

All projects must be original work and submitted materials will not be returned.

Awards will be presented to the winners in the following categories: animation, commercial, documentary, full feature, news, sports short, P.S.A, short feature, experimental, and music video.

You can find the latest information about the Film Fest screenings and related workshops online at www.theoceancountylibrary.org/filmfest.  

This program is free and open to the public.

Rave On Band fills the house @ Stafford

The Stafford branch hosted the Rave On Band on Saturday afternoon, April 20^th as part of National Library Week. They played Buddy Holly favorites as well as songs by Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers.

We had 175 people attend (we set up every chair we could find) and the band was a total hit. The program was co-sponsored by the Friends of the Stafford Library. 

Thank you TR friends

Thank you to the Friends of the Toms River Library. They hosted a staff appreciation luncheon today.  Great time. Great food. Great Friends!