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Plainfield Public Library                                                                      September 2020
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From the Desk of the Director...   

 

Library Director Mary Ellen Rogan

 

Covid-19 has affected us all and we at the Library are working hard to bring you as many services as we can to you remotely and through social distancing. We have been taking holds for books and offering packets of children’s crafts and delivering them to you with curbside service. This past week we opened our new Business Center which allows limited and monitored access to computers as well as scanning, copying, faxing, and printing services by appointment for short periods of time. After Labor Day we will reopen GED testing in a limited way, and we are working hard at regaining some Library services in our new normal.

We have purchased two Zoom accounts and created virtual meeting rooms where our patrons can make appointments for Zoom access for their groups and events. One side benefit is that reservations can be made for any time including Sundays and after Library hours. There are some advantages to the virtual world!

Slowly you will see positive changes as we find safe ways to bring you access to more of our services.

As always, if you have any questions, ideas or concerns about our programming or any Library issues, we are here for you!

 

Mary Ellen Rogan

Business Center - NOW OPEN!

The Plainfield Public Library is working our way back to normal with a new offering to complement our existing Curbside Service and comprehensive virtual offerings. The Library’s new Business Center will give the public additional access to a range of critical information and technology services.

The Library’s Business Center will provide LIMITED in-person services for computer use, copying, faxing, scanning, and printing from 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm, Monday through Friday, by appointment only.

Use of the copier, scanner, and fax-machine is also available for walk-ins for 15 minutes at a time on a first-come, first-served basis. If the equipment is in use, patrons will wait outside the building until the equipment is available. Only one person is allowed to use the equipment at a time.

In-person services are SELF-SERVICE ONLY. Staff will not be able to provide hands-on assistance. Computer assistance will be VERY LIMITED and via remote methods only at this time.

  • Computer Use: Two (2) stations are available for a maximum of 45-minutes. One session per person, per day.
  • Copying: $0.30/pp for B&W, $0.30/pp for Color. The copier accepts coins and small bills ($1 & $5).
  • Faxing: Normal Fax Rates apply. Debit/Credit only, pre-paid cards are not available for purchase.
  • Printing: FREE (10 pages total per person per day, B&W and color).
  • Scanning: FREE (copyright rules must be obeyed).


Patrons and staff must wear masks at all times while in the Library building. Individuals that refuse to wear a mask will not be allowed in the building and patrons will be asked to leave if they do not wear their mask appropriately while in the building.

The public restrooms are NOT AVAILABLE at this time.

More details, including any updated information, will be available at www.plainfieldlibrary.info/Services/BusinessCenter.html. For more information, please contact (908) 757-1111 ext. 113 or email ref@plfdpl.info.

 
Virtual Program:
Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegtables
Thursdays, 6-7pm

In these Zoom workshops you will learn about meal planning, shopping on a budget, food safety, the nutrition facts label, how to store fruits and vegetables and so much more. Classes will be taught bilingually by SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educators Ashley Policastro and Cecilia Gomez.

This series of workshops begins with Cooking Matters at the Store on September 3rd at 6pm.

LOCATION
The class will be held on the Plainfield Public Library's Zoom account.
To register please visit: http://ow.ly/MtaQ50B8tTN

CONTACT/REGISTRATION
rsvp@plfdpl.info, 908-757-1111 x132

 

 

Virtual Program:
Business Ownership Exploration: Don’t Climb the Corporate Ladder, CREATE ONE!
September 23rd, 3pm

Are you considering entrepreneurship as a career option in 2020, but want a proven business model to get to your goals while mitigating the risk and don’t know where/how to get started? Would you like to run a business that will provide greater autonomy, financial independence, freedom from being downsized or simply an exit strategy from corporate America?

If you have answered ‘Yes’ to either of these questions, then join us and FranNet, North America’s most respected franchise consulting company for this informative discussion.

Register to join via Zoom at 

https://score.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_a3IXp647ROyfpZXlfVpYoA




Children's Library - 
Summer Reading 2020 Imagine Your Story Summary

Our programming for Summer Reading 2020 was virtual and consisted of original content from local residents, teachers, and one professional presenter. We opened our program with a performance of Steve Petra’s Virtual Wacky Friends Show. The Wacky Friends Show had Antoinette the Ant, Pedro the Gargling Tuna Fish, Krusty the Stale Donut, Invisible Gatorade and the Grand Finale: The Cheesecake Song. A puppet demo followed.

STEAM programming was provided by Dr. Regina Herbert (Dr. G), a Union County College professor and Plainfield resident, in a four episode series entitled Polymers in Action. It had many views on the Library’s YouTube page. Dr. G with her talented assistant demonstrated how polymers work and can be fun to make toys. A list of simple ingredients were given with each episode so families could make the experiments at home.

Mr. Schulyer Davis, a local teacher and Plainfield resident, provided the Library with three writers workshops to help patrons create their own stories. They were how to write a scary story, a personal myth and a science fiction story.

Ms. Nicole Sanchez created an original story and animated her presentation of it through three short videos. Spread Your Wings & Fly follows Opal on her journey of self-discovery and self-esteem.

Recorded storytimes were done by Councilman Barry Goode and Children’s staff members Jailene Betancourt and Taraka Gilbert. Ms. Betancourt also provided us with weekly Spanish language storytimes as well. Join us for a storytime every Monday at 11am on YouTube!

When curbside services became available, crafts by staff member Mary Lou Heine were available for pick up outside. Masks, puppets, crowns, and other items were available for coloring and assembling to spark the imagination.

 

Children's Library - Coming in the Fall

 

Please look for the Children’s Library virtual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month starting September 15, 2020.  We will feature Hispanic folklore storytimes, STEAM programming featuring Hispanic scientist, engineers, and artists, as well as crafts to be distributed.

 
Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow
New York Historical Society Program Promotional Image 
Saturday, September 12th

10:30 to 11:30am via Zoom

Based on the New-York Historical Society's 2018-19 exhibition, this virtual presentation explores Black Americans' struggle for equality under the law from 1865 through World War I. Learn about both Southern and Northern roles in this dark chapter of our history as well as Black New Yorkers’ organizing and community-building in the face of discrimination.

The New York Historical Society is part of the Library's Museum Pass Program.


This program is co-hosted by the Historical Society of Plainfield / Drake House Museum.

This is a FREE program. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Click here to register.  
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

[IMAGE:  Celebrating the Fifteenth Amendment which guaranteed African American men the right to vote, 1870. Print by Thomas Kelly. New-York Historical Society Library.]
Memoir Writing Club 
Photo by Irving Georges
Thursday, September 10th
10:30am via Zoom 

The next meeting of the Memoir Writing Club is Thursday, September 10th at 10:30am via Zoom.

The optional topic for September is "Favorite Things" 
Write about whatever strikes your fancy, and then come share it with the group.

New members are always welcome!

 

This program is free and open to the public. Call 908-757-1111 x136 for more information.


Learn more here.
Hidden History Stories of Early Local African Americans
This portrait of an unidentified Revolutionary War sailor was painted in oil by an unknown artist, circa 1780. Prior to the war, many blacks were already experienced seamen, having served in the British navy and in the colonies' state navies, as well as on merchant vessels in the North and the South. This sailor's dress uniform suggests that he served in the navy, rather than with a privateer. Image Credit: The Newport Historical Society (P999)

Saturday, September 26th
10:30 to 11:30am via Zoom


Join Nancy A. Piwowar, President of the Historical Society of Plainfield, for this special presentation. Nancy's lecture includes local stories of African Americans who were part of the fabric of America and whose stories were left out of history books. Caesar, a freed slave who served as a teamster in the Revolutionary War; Simon, a slave who played a role in a spy plan in the Revolutionary War; Samuel Sutphin, a slave and Revolutionary War soldier; Robert Aaron, a free African American, a beekeeper and one of the earliest  African-American men who voted in New Jersey; Ambo, a female slave who worked in the Terrill Tavern during the Revolutionary War; Dinah, a cook at the old Laing Hotel; and a slave whose name is unknown and who played a pivotal role in Washington’s crossing of the Delaware.  This lecture also includes the efforts and sources for finding local hidden history stories.

This program is co-hosted by the Historical Society of Plainfield / Drake House Museum.

This is a FREE program. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Click here to register.   After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

[IMAGE: This portrait of an unidentified Revolutionary War sailor was painted in oil by an unknown artist, circa 1780. Prior to the war, many Blacks were already experienced seamen, having served in the British navy and in the colonies' state navies, as well as on merchant vessels in the North and the South. This sailor's dress uniform suggests that he served in the navy, rather than with a privateer. Image Credit: The Newport Historical Society (P999)]
Perfect Together: Facebook & Genealogy 
Discover Your Family Tree
with Michelle Tucker Chubenko
Saturday, October 3rd
10:30am via Zoom 


Over the decades genealogists have communicated with fellow researchers using whatever tools were available, from newsletter queries to online message boards. Enter the 21st century and 'social media'!

Learn tips and techniques to use the newest genealogical tool -- Facebook -- from document translations to research questions to connecting with family.

Michelle will show you how to effectively use Facebook for your genealogical research without getting lost in your newsfeed or overrun by notifications. You will learn about joining Groups and following Pages for your areas of interest, whether it's a specific ethnicity or a geographic area, and learn tips for managing your level of interaction.


 

This program is free and open to the public. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Learn more here.

Join us for Live Readings every Weekday at 2pm.
Next up: Great Expectations

Each weekday 2-2:30pm we've run a series of live episodic readings of books for adults and teens.

Over the course of the series we've read our way through I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett, Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin, Pride by Ibi Zuboi, and we're currently reading the last few chapters of Watership Down by Richard Adams, which will take us a few more days.

As soon as we've finished that one, the next up will be Great Expectations by Charles Dickens beginning in the first couple of weeks of September. Tune in and enjoy the serial or grab the book and read along. (Or read ahead if you are gripped by the story and we are tooooooo slooooow for you!)

Most of the books we've read/will read are available as e-books from eLibrary NJ or via our Curbside Service. Grab your copy and read along for free!

The streams go live on our Facebook page at the same time each weekday from 2pm to 2:30pm. Please head on over to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PlainfieldPublicLibrary to join us!

 

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Library Hours
________

 

Please note that because of the Covid-19 pandemic, most Library services are virtual.

Currently, the exceptions to this are our Curbside Pickup and Business Center services providing access by appointment to specific and limited services.

Please refer to http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/Services/BusinessCenter.html for full details of timeslots and to create an appointment for our new Business Center.

For all other services, staff are available by phone, email, and online during the following hours:

Monday - Friday / 9am to 5pm

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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