CFPL FORUM

A READING BY KRISTIN HUNTER LATTANY

2007-01-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

In Celebration Of NATIONAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH the Ferry Ave Branch (852 Ferry Ave) of CFPL will present celebrated author Kristin Hunter Lattany reading from her works on Saturday, Feb. 17th at 2 p.m. Admission is free, and light refreshments will be served. All are welcome; come by and celebrate with us.

Free Income Tax Assistance (VITA) at CFPL

2007-01-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

For Your Information

Rutgers University Law Students will return to CFPL in early February to do the Free Income Tax Assistance Program they do every year.
Check their 2007 Schedule for the VITA Program is listed on our website in the Ongoing Events Page. See here for details.

AMNESTY MONTH - January 2007

2007-01-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

AMNESTY MONTH

January 2007 is Amnesty Month at the Camden Free Public Library!

All LIBRARY MATERIALS MAY BE RETURNED WITHOUT CHARGE!

During the entire month of January, you can return any books, audio books, movies or any other materials you may have overdue that belong to the library and no fines will be collected*.

Camden Free Public Library

Main Library
418 Federal Street
Camden, New Jersey 08103
(856) 757-7640

Fairview Branch Library
1503 Collings Road
Camden, New Jersey 08104
(856) 962-6669

Ferry Avenue Branch (Centerville)
852 Ferry Avenue
Camden, New Jersey 01804
(856) 342-9789

*Note: Does Not Apply to materials previously returned, fines owed (overdue books, or lost/damaged items.) Amnesty only to items not yet returned.

BOOK CLUB

2006-12-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

Our next book will be Stephen King's Different Seasons, which is comprised of four separate novellas. The book club meets this month Thurs. Feb. 8th. at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to join us for a lively discussion of the book in the Community Room at the Main Branch, 418 Federal St. Light refreshments will be served.

2006-12-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

FYI - For Your Information

To CFPL Staff
Anyone interested in learning how to use any of the Office 2000 (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Front Page, Publisher) Programs or HTML Programming (useful when posting to WebPages & Blogs) There a Tutorial for each and everyone of these programs on the Library Use folder on the File Server.
The Tutorials are simple just follow along point and click and typing a word or two once in a while. If you have speakers or headphones you can hear the lesson play along.

Once your in the "LibraryUse" folder on the Server folder just click on the Program you would like to learn.

It’s that easy!
Frankie

Winner of the Fall 2006 Poetry Contest

2006-12-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

Phil Terman chose Rocky Wilson's "Early for the Ferry" as the winning entry in the Pat Dillenschneider Poetry Award Contest. Our congratulations to Rocky and all the poets that submitted work, and watch for our spring contest to be announced on the blog. Below is the winning poem:

Early for the Ferry
Red in the morning, sailors' warning...

My body jogs wearily along the waking Delaware,
as my mind calculates how far this month's bills will
outdistance my paycheck.

In his book Islands Aldous Huxley had myna birds
land on people's shoulders and repeat the refrain,
"Here and now, boys, here and now!"

A triangle of grass, near the summer stage, whispers Walt Whitman's name.
Moments later I am spinning on a circle of bricks,
where I once danced to boombox music,
as smiling picnickers handed me dollar bills
and a bologna sandwich.
A squirrel waits on the ferry ramp, his tail,
like a piece of Whitman's beard, points west.
Out past the docked ferry, a cormorant dives looking for breakfast.
I imagine Jennifer and Button, the aquarium's hippo sisters,
clambering down the river bank to take a swim before work.
Sounds from a construction site keep getting louder,
until I can make out, "sweet home Alabama..."
Another worker takes a welding mask and torch out of his truck.
Across the river the buildings are starting to catch fire.
A red-breasted gull flies over
It is the first day of autumn.
Someone has painted a pink happy face
beside the walkway, along with the words, "Have a happy day!"
Rumbling over the blue bridge, a commuter train passes
the sand-colored state prison, built like an adobe
without ladders.

On Linden Street I pick up a dead sparrow
and lay it in the wet grass with some cookie crumbs.
Words come to me from a communion service
at St. Mary's By-the-Sea, "Strength for the journey."

A shortcut through the community garden
leaves me standing among hundreds of purple morning glories,
while, below me, the roots of sunflowers
pass along the promise of rain.

PRINT REFERENCE SOURCES ONLINE

2006-10-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

WORLD BOOK:

This site provides access not only to the on-line encyclopedia itself, but also features geographical information, student activities, and trivia questions. Unlike most encyclopedia-based sites (most notably Britannica), registration is free and use is unrestricted.
www.worldbook.com

WIKIPEDIA:

Probably the most wide-ranging of online encyclopedias, this was also one of the most controversial, for a time. Contributions of information by users were not screened as thoroughly as they might have been, and a fair percentage of inaccuracies got through the radar. Happily, Wickipedia seems to have “cleaned up its act,” as it were, and is earning more widespread acceptance.
www.wikipedia.com

GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS:

This perennial source, originally published by the Guinness Breweries to settle bar bets, has a somewhat busy but useful website, with a search engine for world records by category. Want to know who’s got the biggest ball of string in the world? It’s right here.
www.guinnessworldrecords.com

INFORMATION PLEASE:

Infoplease bills itself as “the world’s largest free reference website,” and it just well may be. In addition to information from the famous Information Please Almanac, it features an atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary, and thesaurus. If this gets any better, it could make reference departments obsolete (Gasp!).
www.infoplease.com

THE SPORTING NEWS ALMANAC:

Although the emphasis here is on baseball, football, hockey, and basketball, the Sporting News’s almanac site provides sources for records in all sports, and is updated daily
www.sportingnews.com/archives/almanac/

BOOK CLUB

2006-10-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

We'll be reading Lee Stringer's Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street as our next book for discussion. The club will meet Thurs. Nov. 30th from 5:30 to 6:30 in the Community Room at the Main Branch, 418 Federal St. As soon as copies of the book are available I'll be calling club members. Anyone who wishes to join us, please call Alfred at (856)757-7640 ext. 26.

SELECTED ONLINE INFORMATION SOURCES ON CAMDEN

2006-10-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

SELECTED ONLINE INFORMATION SOURCES ON CAMDEN:

OFFICIAL CAMDEN CITY GOVERNMENT PAGE
Recently revised and updated.
http://www.ci.camden.nj.us/

CAMDEN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Official website of the Camden Free Public Library.
www.geocities.com/cfplweb/index.htm

CAMDEN CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Official site of the city’s school system.
www.camden.k12.nj.us/boe.htm

B.J. SWARTZ’S CITY OF CAMDEN PAGE
Current and past history of Camden with a personal touch, and many links to other sources, designed and maintained by an area librarian. Highly recommended.
http://www.eticomm.net/~kelta/camden/

2000 CENSUS INFORMATION
This is from American Fact Finder. This site has become much more user friendly, thus easier to negotiate.
http://www.factfinder.census.gov/

http://camden-www.rutgers.edu/

CAMDEN COUNTY PARKS
Information on the county’s parks, including those in Camden City. Includes information on year-round activities.
http://www.ccparks.com/

NEW JERSEY STATE AQUARIUM
General information site for the State Aquarium.
http://www.njaquarium.org/

CAMDEN RIVERSHARKS HOMEPAGE
Official site of what’s becoming one of our city’s most popular attractions, the Camden Riversharks baseball team.
http://www.riversharks.com/

TWEETER CENTER
General information about the Tweeter Center, including upcoming concerts.
www.tweetercenter.com/philadelphia

Conceived and compiled by Robert Sorrentino, Reference Librarian, Camden Free Public Library, 9/12/02. Revised and updated, 10/18/06.

INTERESTING AND EDUCATIONAL NEW JERSEY HISTORY WEBSITES

2006-10-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

INTERESTING AND EDUCATIONAL NEW JERSEY HISTORY WEBSITES

Compiled by Bob Sorrentino, Senior Reference Librarian, 10/24/06

THE NEW JERSEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY:

This website is perfect for general history, bios and genealogy. Maintained by the state historical society in Newark, it’s updated regularly and features new exhibits each month.

www.jerseyhistory.org

NEW JERSEY HISTORY’S MYSTERIES:

If you liked the best-selling book or magazine Weird NJ, you’ll love this site that’s full of oddball items and trivia about the state. Did you know that Captain Kidd once had his headquarters here? How about the strange, tragic fate of the great ship Morro Castle, a deadly fire at sea that happened within sight of the Jersey Shore in 1934? It’s all here, and then some.

www.njhm.com

NEW JERSEY HISTORICAL RESOURCES

This is designed primarily for students, but others will also enjoy this easy-to-use site with links including information about Thomas Edison, the Lindbergh kidnapping, and the Underground Railroad in New Jersey.

http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/njhistory.html

ELECTRONIC NEW JERSEY

Established and maintained by Rutgers University, this is an electronic archive of New Jersey history. Included are excerpts from the diary of a Civil War soldier from NJ, biographical material on Paul Robeson (a Rutgers grad), jersey homesteads, and women’s suffrage in New Jersey.

http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/njh/

HANGOUT NEW JERSEY

A somewhat smaller site, sponsored and maintained by the New Jersey Cultural and Heritage Commission, this website features historical documents dating back to pre-revolutionary times, a list of New Jersey Governors, and links to, among others, the Thomas Edison Historic Site, the Ellis Island museum, and South Jersey’s own Indian King Tavern.

http://www.state.nj.us/hangout/history.html

Conceived and compiled by Robert Sorrentino, Reference Librarian, Camden Free Public Library, 9/12/02. Revised and updated, 10/18/06.

Online Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus. Free access.

2006-10-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Doing Homework? Need a Dictionary Quick? Then try the Free Online Dictionary.
Online Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus. Free access. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com)

WRITING WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

2006-10-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Thurs. evening workshop at the Main Branch will not meet for the next 3 weeks; we'll resume on the evening of Nov. 9th (5:30-7 p.m.) You're all welcome to attend the Nella Larsen book (Passing) discussion next Thurs. at Main (5:30-6:30 p.m.) and the Phil Terman reading at Main on the following Thurs. Nov. 2nd (6-8 p.m.). In the meantime, keep writing! Best, Alfred

Free Diabetes and Blood Pressure Screenings

2006-10-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Coinciding with National Diabetes Awareness Month in November, the Camden Free Public Library, in cooperation with Cooper Hospital, will be offering free blood pressure and diabetes screenings. Fasting is not necessary for these screenings, which will take place as follows:

Thursday, November 2: Ferry Avenue Branch Library, 852 Ferry Avenue, (856) 342-9789.

Wednesday, November 8: Main Library, 418 Federal Street. (856) 757-7640.

Tuesday, November 14: Fairview Branch, 1503 Collings Road, (856) 962-6669.

All screenings will be 4:00 - 6:00 P.M. For further information, please call Bob Sorrentino at the main library, (856) 757-7640.

BOOK CLUB

2006-09-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

Our next discussion will focus upon Nella Larsen's 1929 classic African-American novel Passing. A limited number of copies are available for patrons with library cards, and we'll meet on Thursday evening, October 26th (5:30--6:30), in the Community Room of the main branch at 418 Federal St. If anyone else would like to join our club, please call Alfred Encarnacion at the library (856)757-7640.

NAME THAT NEWSLETTER!

2006-09-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

The FRIENDS OF 418 are sponsoring a contest to re-name our LIBRAry Newsletter. The contest is open to both the staff and public: if you can think of a catchy name just post a response with your name and contact info (an email address would be best). The winner will receive a $25. gift certificate. For further information contact Alfred at librarianref2@aim.com or call (856)757-7640.

OUR PATRONS SPEAK OUT

2006-09-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

COMMENTS FROM OUR PATRONS

Poetry Reading on Nov. 2nd

2006-09-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

The Friends of 418 will be sponsoring an evening of poetry with Phil Terman and Alfred Encarnacion at the Main Branch on Thursday, Nov. 2nd from 6-8 p.m. Phil Terman is the author of two collections of poetry and teaches at Clarion University; Alfred Encarnacion has published in numerous literary journals and is a librarian at CFPL. Admission to the reading is free and refreshments will be served. Come out and meet the poets; all are welcome.

Immigration Workshops @ CFPL

2006-09-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

Starting September 25, 2006 Rutgers University will be offering Free Immigration Workshops at the Camden Free Public Library. The workshops will be held on:

Monday, Sept. 25th

Wednesday, Oct. 11th

Monday, Oct. 23rd

Wednesday, Nov. 1st

Wednesday, Nov. 15th

All sessions will be at the Main Library at 418 Federal Street from 4:00PM to 6:00PM. For more Information call (856) 225-6406 or (856) 225-6608. There will be interpreters in some occasions.

CFPL FORUM

2006-09-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

CFPL will be publishing a newsletter in the next few weeks; look for it at your branch.

READING GROUP

2006-09-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

CFPL invites you to attend a discussion of Sister Souljah's novel The Coldest Winter Ever in the Community Room of the Main Branch at 418 Federal St. on the evening of Sept. 28th, 6-7:30 p.m. Sign-up at the Ref Desk on the 3rd floor; first 9 participants will receive a free copy of the book! For further info contact the Reference Dept. at (856)757-7640.

COMPUTER CLASSES

2006-09-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

The Ferry Ave. Branch is offering free computer classes starting on Thurs., Sept. 14th at 11 a.m. For further info please contact Jon Parker at (856)342-9789.

WRITING WORKSHOP

2006-09-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever considered writing a poem, short story or essay? Writers, both experienced and inexperienced, are invited to an informal weekly workshop focusing on form, content and technique every Thursday from 6-8 p.m. in the Community Room of the Camden Public Library at 418 Federal Street beginning Sept. 21st. For further info contact Alfred Encarnacion at (856)757-7640

FALL POETRY CONTEST

2006-09-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

CFPL is pleased to announce a new poetry contest. One winner will receive the "Pat Dillenschneider Poetry Award" (named for one of our retired librarians) in the amount of $50. The contest is open to all adult poets (18 yrs. or older)--from Sept 1st to Oct. 31st--living in Camden and surrounding area. Submit one typed poem, 30 lines or shorter, to CFPL, Reference Dept., 418 Federal St. Camden, NJ 08103 or fax to 856-963-2875 (no emails accepted). Winner must be present at the Phil Terman Reading on Nov. 2nd to accept award and read winning poem. For further info contact Alfred Encarnacion at (856)757-7640.