The JTPL Blog

Yes, you may need a map when you next visit the library. We’ve been busy rearranging book stacks, media, furniture, computers, desks — just about everything moveable has been moved.

It won’t take you long to become familiar with our new layout.  We’ve created separate area for adults, teens and children, a quiet study area and a reading area. You’ll find many places to use library computers or your laptop, and new carpeting will improve navigation and delineate areas.  Banners and wall hangings will help to control noise.

We ask you to bear with us while we’re in the middle of this redesign, which will take place over the next few month. This is our first makeover since the library opened on Weldon Road in 1980, and we’re sure that the finished interior will be a wonderful improvement!

Oh, and if you need a little map, you can pick one up at the Main Desk.

Chosing “top ten best” of anything is always a purely subjective exercise! My top ten may not remotely resemble your top ten, and vice versa.

However, when Booklist, the American Library Association’s book review journal, publishes a “best of” list, librarians take note. Here is their new “Year’s Best Crime Novels” list featuring their top ten choices for “which books in the preceding 12 months had the greatest impact on their intended audience.”

The Brutal Telling. By Louise Penny. 2009. Minotaur, $24.99 (9780312377038).

The fifth in Penny’s celebrated Armand Gamache series again brings the chief inspector of the Sureté du Quebec back to the Christie-like village of Twin Pines. But comparisons to Dame Agatha sell Penny short. Her characters are too rich, her grasp of nuance and human psychology too sure for the formula-bound Christie. Compare her instead to P. D. James and Donna Leon, writers who use police stories to explore depth of character and the intrigue of human relationships.

Cemetery Road. By Gar Anthony Haywood. 2010. Severn, $28.95 (9780727868510).

This gripping stand-alone thriller marks the long-awaited return of Haywood, author of the critically acclaimed Aaron Gunner series. When a handyman in the Twin Cities learns that an old friend has been murdered in L.A., he knows he must return to his hometown and face a long-buried secret. Haywood melds an intricately plotted but highly suspenseful thriller to a moving story of belated coming-of-age.

The Dark Horse. By Craig Johnson. 2009. Viking, $24.95 (9780670020874).

Absaroka County, Wyoming, sheriff Walt Longmire goes undercover in his latest adventure, posing as an insurance adjustor in the next county over. From the motel backdrop (think Touch of Evil on the high plains), through the indelibly inked characters, and on to the set piece ending (in snow and lightning atop a mesa), this is one of Johnson’s best.

The Darkest Room. By Johan Theorin. Tr. by Marlaine Delargy. 2009. Dell/Delta, paper, $15.99 (9780385342223).

Swedish author Theorin’s latest thriller begins with the drowning death of a woman on the remote island of Oland, but it quickly spirals both backward into the past and downward into the troubled minds of its characters, especially the victim’s husband, a lighthouse keeper left alone in a large and possibly haunted house. A wonderfully atmospheric psychological study of crime and grief.

False Mermaid. By Erin Hart. 2010. Scribner, $26 (9781416563761).

In her third novel, Hart skillfully combines two plotlines, taking her heroine, Nora Gavin, from Ireland back to Minneapolis to solve the years-old murder of her sister, and leaving Nora’s lover, Cormac Maguire, in Ireland to wrestle with an even-older mystery involving a woman believed to be a selkie. Few writers combine as seamlessly as Hart does the subtlety, lyrical language, and melancholy of literary fiction with the pulse-pounding suspense of the best thrillers.

The Girl Who Played with Fire. By Stieg Larsson. Tr. by Reg Keeland. 2009. Knopf, $25.95 (9780307269980).

Because this second novel in Larsson’s celebrated trilogy spends the most time on the life of the charismatic computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, it is arguably the best of the bunch. As Salander attempts to clear herself of two murders, we learn more about her troubled past and her ferocious will. Salander is one of those characters who comes along only rarely in fiction: a true original, larger than life yet firmly grounded in realistic detail. Perhaps the best Scandinavian novel to appear in the U.S. since Smilla’s Sense of Snow.

The God of the Hive. By Laurie R. King. 2010. Bantam, $25 (9780553805543).

This complex second half to last year’s Language of Bees finds Sherlock Holmes and his family—wife Mary Russell, brother Mycroft, son Damien—under siege on multiple fronts. What makes King’s series the absolute best of all the latter-day Holmes novels isn’t just the focus on the compelling Russell but the way the novels create their own world, standing almost independently of Conan Doyle.

The Godfather of Kathmandu. By John Burdett. 2009. Knopf, $25.99 (9780307263193).

The fourth novel starring Sonchai Jitplecheep, the Thai police detective whose mother runs a brothel and whose boss is a drug kingpin, is stuffed with a dizzying array of story lines, all of which exude the moral ambiguity and cognitive dissonance that have become the series’ hallmarks. A whirlwind of a novel that, for some Western readers, may stretch the woefully narrow boundaries of what Sonchai would call our limited farang consciousness.

The Nearest Exit. By Olen Steinhauer. 2010. Minotaur, $25.99 (9780312622879).

This is Steinhauer’s second espionage novel with a contemporary setting, and it proves unquestionably that he is as comfortable in the present as he was when writing about the cold war era. The world of the CIA black-ops unit called the Tourists is a dazzling, dizzying, complex web of clandestine warfare that is complicated further by affairs of the heart. Steinhauer’s hero, Milo Weaver, does his best to save the thing he most despises, a conundrum that sums up the shades of gray that color this espionage masterpiece.

A Thousand Cuts. By Simon Lelic. 2010. Viking, $24.95 (9780670021505).

A recently hired history teacher walks into a school assembly, shoots three students and one teacher, and then turns the gun on himself. An open-and-shut case, right? It’s anything but in Lelic’s gripping thriller, a searing indictment of a toxic school culture in which everyone is inured to cruelty: “Why were the weak obliged to be so brave when the strong had license to behave like such cowards?”

Last night Landscape Designer Tina Yotka presented “Sustainable Gardening for Homeowners” here at the library. About 25 people attended, so it seems that there is definite interest here in Jefferson about learning to use natural resources, sustainable alternatives, and working with Mother Nature in the garden.

Tina provided lots of interesting and educational handouts to program attendees, and answered many questions following the presentation, which included a Power Point presentation of some of the beautiful and self-sustaining gardens Tina has designed.

For those of you who missed it, the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service will present a similar program here on June 30 at 3 p.m. In the summer of 2009, a rain barrel education program was developed by Rutgers as part of its expansion of the Stormwater Management in Your Backyard program for homeowners.  The “Water-Wise Gardening” program here at the library will focus on working WITH rain and stormwater in your garden and yard. You will be doing something good for the environment by learning about building, installing and using rain barrels. You’ll also learn about rain gardens, roof gardens, and sustainable gardening in your home garden.

Nearly one third of Americans age 14 or older — roughly 77 million people — used a public library computer or wireless network to access the Internet in the past year, acording to the national report Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries, released on March 25.

Conducted by the University of Washinton Information School, and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the report is the first large-scale study of who uses public computers and Internet access in public libraries, the ways library patrons use this free technology service, why they use it, and how it affects their lives.

Interestingly, more than three-quarters of those who used the library Internet connections had access to a computer at work, home or elsewhere, but needed a faster connection, assistance from a librarian, or temporary access in an emergency.

It was found that the use of library technology had significant impact in the areas of employment, education, health and making community connections.

Speaking from my observations at the Jefferson Township Public Library, I can say that I’ve seen many people every day using our 13 public access computers to search for jobs, download college course schedules, fill out unemployment forms, research medical conditions, and signup for library programs online. Many more come to the library, which is a wireless hotspot, to work on their laptop computers. 

The report findings are based on nearly 50,000 surveys from patrons of more than 400 public libraries across the country. The full report is available at http://tascha.washington.edu/usimpact.

Well, perhaps not. But good weather IS coming with the arrival of April, which just happens to be National Poetry Month.  It’s a celebration established by the Academy of American Poets to bring poets and poetry into the public eye, and to introduce more people to the pleasures of reading and listening to poetry.

Here at the Jefferson Township Public Library, we’re celebrating two ways. There will be a poetry reading by Jessica de Koninck on Thursday, April 8 at 7 p.m. I heard her read at Girl Talk, a women’s poetry reading at the West Caldwell Public Library last March. There were over twenty poets, and Jessica was the one I wanted to invite to our library! She’s a resident of Montclair and a graduate of Brandeis, and her poems have appeared in many literary journals. She’s also the author of the book Repairs, as well as a soon to be published poem featuring Bruce Springsteen.

Her poems are fun, accessible, understandable, touching and more. I urge you to come enjoy the glory of the spoken word.

Everyone has a favorite poem, right? So why not read it at the library to celebrate National Poetry Month. On Wednesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. we’re holding Out Loud: A Favorite Poem Reading focusing on the enjoyment of poetry as a reader. You’re invited to join in!

If you can’t make it to either event, read a book of poetry; memorize a poem; google a poem; put a poem on the pavement; share a poem with a friend; recite a poem to a family member on a birthday or holiday; carry a poem in your pocket; write a poem yourself — or come up with a new and innovative way to celebrate!

The Comics and Cartooning Workshop is filling up fast!

On Thursday, March 25, professional cartoonist Doug Baron will be at the library from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to teach you how to create your own cartoon characters.

This is a special program for teens aged 12 and up, so if you’re interested, go to www.jeffersonlibrary.net and register today!

This is from an article “12 Ways Libraries Are Good for the County” that appeared in American Libraries at least 10 years ago. I cut it out, and came across it recently in one of my files. I liked it then, and think it still applies, so I’m sharing it here with you:

“Libraries are ready when they are needed, ready to enrich our minds and defend our right to know, just as other institutions protect our safety and propeprty. ..  Libraries safeguard our freedom and keep democracy healthy. .. ”

These are twelve ideals towards which libraries strive.

Libraries…

inform citizens

break down boundaries

level the playing field

value the individual

nourish creativity

open kids’ minds

return high dividends

build communities

make families friendlier

offend everyone (a tolerance & willingness to look at all sides of an issue!)

offer sanctuary

preserve the past.

To become an official library advocate and supporter, visit  www.njlibrarychampions.org.

Today the library book group met to discuss The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

Most people had read this “most American of books” before. It’s always interesting to revisit a classic and see how your adult self responds in comparison to how you responded as a student. I was surprised by the humor in the story. I somehow don’t remember thinking the book was funny when I read it as a Sophomore in High School

I gave this entry the title “Rollin’ on a River” because that Tina Turner tune was going through my head as a re-read this book. The Mississippi River was central to this book, and according to Huck “We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.”  He also opines “It’s lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened.” Sort of made me want to float down the Mississippi myself!

Books like this are called “classics” for a reason. They can be read, and re-read, and discussed on many levels. We had a wonderful discussion about Huck’s character, his morals, and his imagination. The book was popular with everyone, earning a 8.5 rating out of a possible 10. I highly recommend Mark Twain if you’re ready to revisit the classics!

Here are some of the newest biographies in the library’s collection:

Bowie: A Biography by Marc Spitz

“ Marc Spitz, formerly of Spin magazine and the author of a look at the punk band Green Day (Nobody Likes You), concentrates on the complex evolution of Bowie’s music to deliver an evenhanded, critically thorough, while still reverential life of the Thin White Duke.” (Publisher’s Weekly, 9/09)

Phish: The New Biography by Parke Puterbaugh

“In the wake of Phish’s wildly successful summer reunion tour, journalist and Rolling Stone contributor Puterbaugh delivers a consistently lucid and revelatory look at the 26-year-long career of the legendary jam band.” (Publisher’s Weekly, 11/09)

Thank Heaven: A Memoir by Leslie Caron

“Caron went from Parisian ballerina to Hollywood movie star at 17, when Gene Kelly tapped her for a co-starring role in the 1951 hit An American in Paris…here (she) “provides countless dishy details about her exploits, which are sure to entertain film buffs, Caron fans and aspiring actors.” (Publisher’s Weekly, 12/09)

Doc: The Rise and Rise of Julius Erving by Vincent Mallozzi and Dave Anderson

“Before young basketball players wanted to Be Like Mike, they aspired to fly like Julius Erving.  Noted basketball writer Mallozzi was one of those kids who modeled his game after the man they called Dr. J, and his biography does justice to one of the greatest basketball players ever.” (Publisher’s Weekly, 12/09)

Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America by Peter Biskind

“In his refreshing biography, Biskind (Easy Riders, Raging Bulls) examines Beatty’s dual—and often dueling—status as Hollywood legend and notorious womanizer without letting either subsume the other. ” (Publisher’s Weekly, 1/10)

“IMAGINE at the Meadowlands” is a promotion by the New Jersey Library Association and the Izod Center. You can enter to win four tickets to Izod Center events just by reading! Visit www.njlibrarychampions.org and find out all about it. There’s still time for you to enter to win tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters on February 13 and 14; Nuclear Cowboyz Freestyle Motorcross on February 26 and 27; The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus on March 10-14; Smucker’s Stars On Ice on April 10; and the Nets, February-April.

While you’re visiting the website, find out about becoming a Library Champion, and how you can support New Jersey libraries.

And, of course, visit the Jefferson Township Public Library, select your books, and keep reading!