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Plainfield Public Library June 2023 |
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From the Desk of the Director...
June is Pride Month and the library is celebrating the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community with special events. Pride Month is celebrated in June to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising in June of 1969, the beginning of the Gay Liberation Movement.
On that day the police raided a popular NYC gay bar known as the Stonewall Inn. Though these raids were common during that time, the patron reaction was different and they fought back, starting the Stonewall Riots.
Since then, activities around the date inspire parades, protests and activism for the cause of LGBTQIA+ rights and awareness.
To commemorate Pride Month, on June 24th at 12 noon, we will be hosting Plainfield’s own Black American author, journalist and activist George M. Johnson as they speak to the Plainfield community about their memoir,
All Boys Aren’t Blue. You must register for the event, beginning June 1st. In-person seats are limited but we will also be including a link for online viewing. A limited number of free book copies will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to those registered.
This month's Saturday Morning History Chat, in recognition of Pride Month, will feature a webinar entitled
The Queer Housewives & Husbands of New Jersey with Dr. Alison Lefkovitz. Other not-to-miss programs are Screentalk Umoja –
Queen City Film & Television Workshop on June 10 and
Black Homesteaders of the South with Bernice Alexander Bennett on June 17.
Please remember we always have programs and activities for our children, tweens and teens throughout the month. And with summer coming, please sign up your kids for Summer Reading, which opens on June 19! Look out for our special Summer Reading Newsletter, featuring those programs, coming to your inbox very soon.
Enjoy the summer!
Mary Ellen Rogan
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Join us this Pride Month For our Author Spotlight, featuring George M. Johnson, author of
All Boys Aren't Blue.
Saturday June 24th, 12:00pm in the Anne Louise Davis Room.
(Registration is strictly required)
In celebration of Pride Month, the Plainfield Public Library is thrilled to present an Author Talk featuring Plainfielder and New York times Best Selling Author, George M. Johnson. Johnson is a prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist, whose memoir-manifesto
All Boys Aren't Blue, has become one of the most banned books in the nation. Johnson will read excerpts of their book and be joined in conversation by Union County Commissioner, Rebecca Williams.
A limited number of free copies of the book will be available to attendees on a first-come, first-served basis.
Due to limited seating, registration for this on-site program is required and will be strictly enforced. A live stream will also be available. Please visit www.plainfieldlibrary.info on June 1st to access link.
For further information, please contact us at (908) 757-1111 ext 112. |
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SCREENTALK UMOJA Episode 2: SOUL FOOD JUNKIES
June 10, 2023 at 11:30AM
Anne Louise Davis Room
Click or Scan QR code to register for free tickets
Filmmaker Byron Hurt grew up eating lots of soul food: grits and scrambled eggs covered with cheese, buttered biscuits smothered with gravy, bacon, collard greens seasoned with ham hocks, fried pork chops, macaroni and cheese, deep-fried chicken, fried fish, barbecue chicken and ribs, candied yams coated with cinnamon and brown sugar, and other delicious but fatty foods right out of the black southern tradition.
In Soul Food Junkies, Hurt sets out on a historical and culinary journey to learn more about the soul food tradition and its relevance to black cultural identity. Through candid interviews with soul food cooks, historians, and scholars, as well as with doctors, family members, and everyday people, the film puts this culinary tradition under the microscope to examine both its positive and negative consequences. Hurt also explores the socioeconomic conditions in predominantly black neighborhoods, where it can be difficult to find healthy options, and meets some pioneers in the emerging food justice movement who are challenging the food industry, encouraging communities to “go back to the land” by creating sustainable and eco-friendly gardens, advocating for healthier options in local supermarkets, supporting local farmers’ markets, avoiding highly processed fast foods, and cooking healthier versions of traditional soul food.
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Local History, Genealogy & Special Collections
The Plainfield Room is open for historical and genealogical research. Our hours are Monday-Friday, 9AM to 4:45PM and Tuesdays from 9AM to 7PM. Please contact us to schedule an appointment. The Memoir Writing Club meets on June 15th; the writing topic is "the Kennedy assassination." New members are welcome!
Current Exhibition
A Light in the Darkness:
Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing
Alumni Association Historical Collection
There's still time to catch our current exhibit featuring items from the Muhlenberg School of Nursing Alumni Association collection. The Association was organized in 1905 with a membership of seven.
The display includes historical photographs, vintage postcards, a variety of ephemera and artifacts, and a vintage nurse uniform and cape! The items date from 1906 to 2000. Some pieces are on loan from local residents and the Historical Society of Plainfield / Drake House Museum. Visitors can take a commemorative bookmark (as supplies last).
The exhibit is located in the front lobby display cases, the main reading room (near Lab B), and in the Plainfield Room (on the lower level).
The display will run until June 12th.
Saturday Morning History Chat
The Queer Housewives and Husbands of New Jersey
Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 10:30AM via Zoom
Presented by Alison Lefkovitz, PhD.
Register: https://tinyurl.com/PPLHist2306
We often assume that before marriage equality, we had only “traditional” marriage. But changes to marriage progressed more strangely than we might expect, especially in New Jersey. This program will use court cases, from the post-WWII era to the present, to rethink LGBTQIA+ rights, marriage, and the law. Cases involving a judge refusing to grant a divorce for a woman after her husband was incarcerated for sodomy, alimony for a transwoman, and custody issues for LGBTQIA+ parents will all be explored. Through these court cases, participants can consider how our state was sometimes a haven for LGBTQIA+ people in the past, at other times deeply oppressive, and nearly always representative of the forces against which LGBTQIA+ people have had to fight.
Alison Lefkovitz is an associate professor in the Federated History Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University-Newark. She is the chair of the NJIT Federated History department and the director of the NJIT Law, Technology & Culture program. Her book,
Strange Bedfellows: Marriage in the Age of Women’s Liberation, came out with University of Pennsylvania Press in 2018. Her work also appears in the
Law & History Review, the
Journal of the History of Sexuality, the
Newark Star-Ledger, and the
Washington Post.
Library Genealogy Club
Black Homesteaders of the South
Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 10:30AM via Zoom
Presented by Bernice Alexander Bennett
Register: https://tinyurl.com/PPLGen2306
The Homestead Act of 1862, the Emancipation Proclamation and subsequent Reconstruction amendments didn’t just abolish slavery—they gave African Americans a chance to earn a living and own land. Even though their names were never mentioned alongside the other rugged heroes of frontier lore, a startling number of homesteaders were Black men and women in the South, toiling on familiar land but now in unfamiliar fashion—as owners. For many of these Black pioneers, this meant risking their lives to achieve this American promise of freedom. Author Bernice Alexander Bennett sets to change the narrative about the largely unknown Black homesteaders in the South.
Bernice Alexander Bennett is an award-winning author, genealogist, nationally recognized guest speaker, storyteller and producer-host of the popular Research at the National Archives and Beyond BlogTalkRadio program. She is also the first recipient of the Ida B. Wells Service Award, given by the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, for her dedication to broadcast stories about enslaved and indentured ancestors of African descent.
These free programs are co-hosted by Plainfield Public Library and the Historical Society of Plainfield / Drake House Museum.
PLEASE SAVE THE DATES:
Saturday, July 15 at 10:30AM via Zoom - Create Your First Family History Profile at Plainfield Public Library, with genealogy librarian Jane Thoner.
Saturday, July 22 at 1PM in the ALD room - Photographer Meet & Greet with Brian Branch Price, "The American Black Cowboy & Cowgirl” exhibition.
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FREE Computer Training this Summer at Plainfield Public Library. Sign up now! (Classes in English AND Spanish)
Want to boost your computer skills? Need to get started with computers or brush up on skills you haven't used for a while? Check out the library's IC3/Northstar Digital Literacy Program! These classes cover basic computer skills and office software use. We are currently registering students for our summer semester scheduled to run from July 10, 2023, through August 30, 2023. We continue to offer both day and evening Digital Literacy programs to better accommodate the public. All the program options will be in person.
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Day Program (in person) 8 weeks, Monday-Wednesday, 10:00am - 1:00pm
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Evening Program (in person) 8 weeks, Monday-Wednesday, 6:00pm - 8:30pm
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Spanish Evening (in person) 8 weeks, Monday-Wednesday, 6:00pm - 8:30pm
To sign up, please complete the online Digital Literacy Interest Form.
What is the Northstar/IC3 Class Program?
The class is presented with a live instructor. It covers the basic usage of computer technology, at three increasing levels of understanding and skill. Students will learn about the fundamental functions of a computer's hardware components and operating systems, file management, internet basics, email, and using the Windows operating system. They will also master standard office functions in Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
Students will take the following certifications: Northstar Digital Literacy: Basic Computer Skills, Internet Basics, Email, Windows IC3-GS5: Key Applications, covering general software, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and database concepts .
What are the requirements for attending these classes?
Students must be residents of New Jersey and authorized to work in the United States. They will be required to go through a pre-registration identification and certification process with the Plainfield American Job Center if they have not already completed such certification.
Below is the proposed schedule for all the class sessions.
Each class section can accommodate up to 16 clients.
Classes run July 10th through August 30th. Choose from:
- 10am to 1pm Class (Classroom instruction) in English, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- 6pm to 8:30pm Class (Classroom Instruction) in English, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- 6pm to 8:30pm Class (Classroom Instruction) in Spanish, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday afternoons, the Labor and Literacy Lab will be available for all users.
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Help change someone's life, and join a team that values your knowledge - Join us as an Adult Education Tutor
Our Adult Literacy Department changes people's lives every day with a full deck of vital courses that help people fulfil their potential.
But we depend on people just like you to help make a difference in the community. You don't need experience, just a willingness to help others learn. We'd love for you to join us as an Adult Education Tutor, to help us in our mission to bring the right to learning to the whole community.
If you're interested in volunteering with us and joining our team of Adult Education Tutors, get in touch with us on 908-757-1111 x123 or email literacy@plfdpl.info
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For general information, please contact the Reference Department. For department-specific information, you can contact those departments.
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Library Hours
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Please note that the Library will be closed in
observance of Juneteenth on:
Friday, June 16
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Library Opening Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 9am-9pm
Friday: 9am-5pm
Saturday: 11am-3pm
Sunday: CLOSED
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Donate to the Plainfield Public Library
The Library needs your help!
To make a donation online via Paypal, please click on the "Donate" button below. For more information or to contact the Administration office, call 908-757-2305.
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