Books and printed copies of the list are available at the library, and we have many of the books on display. Titles are also available as ebooks and eaudiobooks using Libby or RBdigital.
Share your thoughts about The Great American Read on our post-it display behind the circulation desk.
We close our TGAR series with How We See Ourselves in What We Read on Wednesday, November 28 at 6:30pm. Dr. Laura Nicosia of Montclair State University will discuss how exposure to diverse books impacts the development of critical thinking skills and empathy. This program is also funded by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Scotch Plains Public Library is one of 50 libraries nationwide to receive a grant from the American Library Association (ALA) and PBS to host special programs this summer and fall around the new interactive series from PBS: The Great American Read.
Learn how to get started with the fascinating and rewarding activity of finding your roots! Join us for Getting Started with Genealogy on Saturday, May 5 at 2 pm. Jane Thoner, Genealogy Librarian at Plainfield Public Library, will introduce us to the basic principles and cover how to best use our library’s genealogy resources (Ancestry Library, Heritage Quest, and the local Joint Digital Archives). Participants will also be able to start their own family tree chart. Registration is required.
If you are interested in tracing your roots but can’t attend our program, check out a book from our genealogy display in the adult room to help you get started at home.
Scotch Plains Public Library is pleased to announce our participation in the 4th annual NJ Makers Day!
NJ Makers Day will fall on both Friday, March 9th and Saturday, March 10th and throughout the two days we will have workshops, demonstrations, and other fun activities for all ages.
Please visit our Makers Day site to view the full schedule of events.
Exhibit / Collage Making / Lecture / Book Discussion / Resources
In February, we will be taking a closer look at the notion of freedom, primarily through the lens of Frederick Douglass’ journey to his own freedom. Take some time this month to explore the meaning of freedom through our programs. Visit our exhibit, participate in an intergenerational art program and a special lecture, and contribute to a book discussion. You’ll be sure to come away with some new ideas and insights about freedom! Our Library Resources can help you continue your exploration of the life and work of Frederick Douglass.
All events are listed below, with links to register where needed.
EXHIBIT
From Slavery to Freedom: The Journey to New York City
FEBRUARY 10 through FEBRUARY 28
The Library will host Frederick Douglass From Slavery to Freedom: The Journey to New York City, a traveling exhibition, from Saturday, February 10 through Wednesday, February 28. The exhibit is provided by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
Drawing upon Douglass’ own words from his autobiography and materials from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, the exhibition will look at Douglass’ life under slavery and his daring journey to freedom. It explores the question, “What aspects of his youth shaped his determination to be free?” Visitors may gain a deeper understanding of Douglass’ quest for freedom and the difficult choices he made. These choices can resonate for Americans today who are facing great challenges in achieving their goals and dreams.
INTERGENERATIONAL ART PROJECT
Make a Freedom Collage
FEBRUARY 10 from 9:30am to 11:30am
Creating a collage can be a powerful means of self-expression for young and old. We welcome artist, photographer, teacher and mentor Mansa Mussa , who will lead an intergenerational program creating Freedom Collages from 9:30-11:30am. Completed collages will be displayed in our Gallery space throughout the month.
“Collage is use to explore ideas, [and] advocate concepts…But just as often it is the consummate means of personal visual expression and distinct visual vocabulary…”
Dr. Douglas Jones of Rutgers University will present Frederick Douglass: Reader, Preacher, Orator, a lecture about Douglass’ public speaking career, which ranged from local preacher to world-renown orator. Professor Jones will discuss the religious and secular contexts that gave shape to Douglass’ rhetorical style and helped make his speaking career so memorable. Light refreshments will be served following the lecture.
Read some of Douglass’ speeches in our database African-American History Online (Scotch Plains Library card required to log in.)
BOOK DISCUSSION
Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave
FEBRUARY 15 at 7pm
On Thursday, February 15 at 7:00pm, Dr. Linda Caldwell Epps returns to the Library to discuss the book Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar. A limited number of copies of the book will be available to borrow beginning February 1. Stop by or call the Reference Desk at 908-322-5007 x 204 to reserve a copy. Registration is required as well.
“The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion.”
“There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution.”
“Frederick Douglass has left one of the most extensive bodies of significant and quotable public statements of any figure in American history. In the Words of Frederick Douglass is a rich trove of…nearly seven hundred quotations by Douglass that demonstrate the breadth and strength of his intellect as well as the eloquence with which he expressed his political and ethical principles.’ (From the publisher)
“Stauffer manages the nifty trick of reinterpreting the familiar story of Lincoln, the Civil War and slavery by introducing Douglass as an important character in this narrative. Douglass was disappointed with Lincoln at first, but grew to become friendly with the president. This fascinating book will be of interest to popular audiences and academics alike.” -Star Ledger
“Douglass’s views on race were essentially modern; the book is really a study through his eyes of the more complex figure of Lincoln….Oakes vividly conveys both the immense distance America traveled to arrive at a more enlightened place and the fraught politics that brought it there. -Publishers Weekly
“…the author presents the known facts of Douglass’s stormy life and reveals the man behind the icon: his complex and ambiguous friendships with William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown and other figures of the day; his gossip-stirring relationships with several dynamic white women; his controversial tenure as U.S. minister to Haiti near the end of his life. McFeely analyzes Douglass’s autobiographical writings, probing insightfully into the complicated psyche of this heroic figure.” -Publishers Weekly
The Portable Frederick Douglass includes the full range of Douglass’s works: the complete Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, as well as extracts from My Bondage and My Freedom and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass; The Heroic Slave, one of the first works of African American fiction; the brilliant speeches that launched his political career and that constitute the greatest oratory of the Civil War era; and his journalism, which ranges from cultural and political critique (including his early support for women’s equality) to law, history, philosophy, literature, art, and international affairs, including a never-before-published essay on Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L’Ouverture. –From the Publisher
Research Databases
‘To use our research databases, login with a Scotch Plains Library card number.
Bloom’s Literature -find reference sources, literary criticism, the full-text of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and more.
Need a break from holiday shopping? Visit the library to view Spotlight on Norman Rockwell on display in our gallery this December! The exhibit focuses on the man behind some of the most iconic paintings of 20th century Americana, featuring pieces on loan from the collection of local resident Jack Cassidy.
Items on display include lithographs signed by the artist as well as collectibles, artifacts, and examples of Rockwell’s famous covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Mr. Cassidy began his collection around 1970. He purchased his first piece in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where Mr. Rockwell lived and had his studio.
Please join us for a special reception on Thursday, December 7 at 7 pm.
The Scotch Plains Downtown Redevelopment Committee (SPDRC) has launched a new survey aimed at gathering input from the community on both a new, expanded library and a community center facility. The need for this has been identified through Downtown Redevelopment Committee member comments and public input at several meetings.
Residents are urged to take the survey as their opinions will help shape the future of Scotch Plains. Click here to take the survey. Paper copies of the survey are also available at the Library.
The Scotch Plains Public Library is one of only four New Jersey institutions to have received a World War I and Americagrant. This grant, along with a generous gift from the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Service League, enables us to offer original programming to commemorate the centennial of American involvement in World War One, and to explore the ongoing experience of veterans who have served in our lifetimes.
The aim of World War I and America is to bring veterans and their families together with the general public to explore the continuing relevance of the war by reading, discussing, and sharing insights into the writings of Americans who experienced it firsthand.
We gratefully acknowledge the active involvement of New Jersey City University and the Union County Office of Veterans Affairs, with special thanks to the Veteran Liaisons for World War I and America: Richard Thompson and Janna Williams, Union County Office of Veterans’ Affairs, and Ella Rue-Eyet, 52 Reasons to Love a Vet, and New Jersey City University.
Please be sure to visit this powerful exhibit from the 52 Reasons to Love a Vet fund, for which world-renowned artists have illustrated their thoughts on either war or veterans. Contributors include Dennis Dittrich and Victor Juhasz (who will speak here on September 25) and Milton Glaser. The exhibit will be located on the lower level of the Library.
A closing reception will be held on November 9. Ella Rue, military mom and the founder of 52 Reasons, will speak about the organization.
“The name is derived from 52 playing cards in a deck that will show original artwork created by world-renowned illustrators specifically for this cause.”
LECTURE
Prelude to War: The Events that Drew the U.S. into World War I
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 AT 7PM
Tim White, Associate Professor of History, New Jersey City University
Professor White’s lecture will orient the audience to the period of time (April 1917 through November 1918) that will be covered in the subsequent lectures, readings, discussions and films. The focus will be on the major events of the war up to the time of U.S. entry, and the developments that led up to U.S. involvement in the war.
No registration is needed.
LECTURE
War Illustration: A Straight Unbroken Line
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 AT 7PM
Dennis Dittrich: Propaganda Posters of World War I
Victor Juhasz: Observations from an illustrator embedded with warriors in training and on the front lines
Dennis Dittrich will speak about the work of illustrators during World War I. Dittrich served as Society of Illustrators President from 2008 to 2014. He is an active member of the Society’s Air Force Art Program with work in the USAF art collection. Currently an Associate Professor at NJCU, Dittrich also teaches ‘The History of American Illustration’ at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC.
Victor Juhasz has been active in Troops First Foundation tours, drawing soldiers and Marines. Victor is a member of the USAF Art Program in conjunction with the Society of Illustrators, and his work is part of the permanent collection of the USAF in the Pentagon. His assignments have included documenting, through drawings and the training of Special OPs Combat and ParaRescue Jumper units. He has collaborated with The Joe Bonham Project, drawing and painting wounded soldiers as part of an artist documentation of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In August of 2011, Victor embeded as a combat artist with the 1-52nd Arctic Dustoff, an Army helicopter MEDEVAC unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan for two weeks accompanying the medic teams on missions recovering the wounded. In an article titled, “An American Artist in the Combat Zone” the illustrations, along with his writing, were featured in a GQ app for iPad and later for GQ online in July, 2012.
Our work with the U.S. Air Force Art program is part of the Society of Illustrators Government Service committee, which was established to aid the war effort in the early days of the 20th century. The connection is a straight, unbroken line and we are always happy to talk about it.”
-Dennis Dittrich on his and Victor Juhasz’ participation in the U.S. Air Force Art program.
No registration required.
LECTURE
Combat Paper and Frontline Arts
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT 7PM
Veterans who have created written word and visual art pieces through this project will share their work and their stories with attendees.
“Our specialty is the transformative process of making handmade paper from military uniforms – Combat Paper. Through public workshops, this handmade paper creates a platform for veterans and non-veterans to come together and share stories, providing a “new language,” and much needed discourse between veterans and society.”
No registration required.
STAGED READING
The Experience of War
MONDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 6:30PM
Naim Shaw and Janna Williams
Naim Shaw, actor, and Janna Williams, USAF veteran and Coordinator of the Union County Office of the Veteran Success Center, will read selections from World War I and America, and introduce the evening’s film.
The readings will be followed by a screening of the documentary film Thank You for Your Service (I hour, 28 minutes).
No registration is needed.
FILM
All Quiet on the Western Front
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6 AT NOON
Mike Spatoro, U.S.M.C, Ret.
We will show movies about World War I each Friday in October. Our first film will be All Quiet on the Western Front. USMC veteran Michael Spatoro will lead a discussion immediately following the screening.
No registration required.
FACILITATED DISCUSSION
Race and World War One
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12 at 7pm
This discussion will be led by Linda Caldwell Epps, Ph.D.
Dr. Epps is a historian as well as President and CEO of 1804 Consultants, an organization dedicated to the advancement of educational and cultural organizations.
We will show movies about World War I each Friday in October. Our second film will be War Horse (PG-13, 147 min) – Albert Narracott enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse Joey is sold to the cavalry.
Home Front New Jersey and World War I: Civil Liberties and the War within the War
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 at 7PM
Mark Lender, retired Chair, History Department, Kean University
Most New Jersey residents went willingly to war in 1917–but some did not. This talk explores the home-front experience of the state, with a special focus on the tension between the civil liberties of those who opposed American participation in the conflict and the military needs of a country at war.
No registration is required.
FILM
In Love and War
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 AT NOON
We will show movies about World War I each Friday in October.
Our third film will be In Love and War (PG-13, 115 min) – the epic love story about Ernest Hemingway and the romance which inspired him to write his masterpiece A Farewell To Arms. A story of desperate love and imminent danger, it chronicles the relationship between the 18-year old Hemingway and Agnes von Kurowsky, the medical aide who nursed him back to health after a devastating battlefield injury.
No registration is required.
LECTURE
An Unintentional Consequence of WWI: American Religious Pluralism and the Jewish Experience
MONDAY, OCTOBER 23 AT 7PM
Jessica Cooperman, Assistant Professor, Religious Studies Department/ Director, Jewish Studies Program, Muhlenbuerg College
The American government entered World War I confident in the knowledge that the United States was a predominately Protestant country, albeit one which extended religious tolerance to other faiths. By the end of the war, however, the U.S. military and War Department increasingly depicted Judaism and Catholicism as equal partners to Protestantism in the “three faiths of American democracy.”
World War I marked a period of critical, although not always intentional, transformations in the ways that American religion was defined and supported by the policies and practices of the government. This talk will explore how these changes came about: who advocated for them? And how was it that Americans gradually began to think of themselves as part of a “Judeo-Christian” country that included Protestants, Catholics, and Jews?
No registration required.
FACILITATED DISCUSSION
The Home Front
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26 at 7pm
This discussion will be led by Christopher C. Gibbs, author ofThe Great Silent Majority: Missouri’s Resistance to World War I, as well as six crime novels set in the aftermath of the war. He served with the military police in Viet Nam, and has taught history at Rutgers, Middlesex County College, and Union County College. He lives with his wife in Fanwood, New Jersey.
We will show movies about World War I each Friday in October.
Our fourth film will be Flyboys (PG-13, 140 min) – Inspired by true events, Flyboys tells the story of the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of American men who volunteered to fight for the French before the U.S. entered World War I and became the country’s first fighter pilots.
No registration required.
CLINIC
Claims Clinic
MONDAY, OCTOBER 30 from 10AM to 2PM
Representatives of the VA and our series veterans’ liaison Richard P. Thompson, Bureau Chief, Office of Veterans Affairs, Union County will provide assistance with benefits paperwork.
A phone number to schedule appointments will be provided soon.
FACILITATED DISCUSSION
At Home:The Toll of War
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 at 7pm
This discussion will be led by Ryan Harty, Active Duty with the New Jersey Army National Guard. He is currently serving as the Operations Officer for the 1st Squadron, 102d Cavalry Regiment stationed in Westfield, and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2008-2009.
Reception for Veterans 52 Reasons to Love a Vet with Ella Rue
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9 AT 7PM
“All too often veterans return home and are unable to find or are simply denied services. As a society, we should be compelled to rectify this situation. The 52 Reasons to Love a Vet restricted fund aims to do just that. This fund solely benefits veterans by financially assisting them in furthering their education and/or assisting with medical, dental or mental health resources.
52 Reasons founder and military mom Ella Rue will speak about the organization.
“The name is derived from 52 playing cards in a deck that will show original artwork created by world-renowned illustrators specifically for this cause.”
Please feel free to contact a librarian for help with finding additional resources!
Veterans Writing and Art Groups
Veterans Writing Project – “At the Veterans Writing Project we believe that every veteran has a story. But we know that some of us need a little help telling that story. So we provide no-cost writing seminars and workshops for veterans, service members, and their adult family members. We’re also building an archive of writing by members of the military community. We publish a quarterly literary review and an ongoing scroll of writing by our friends on our sister site, O-Dark-Thirty.
Veterans Writing Workshop – “The Veterans Writing Workshop helps veterans tell their stories by providing professional-level writing workshops in the NYC-metro area free of charge to U.S. veterans.”
Warrior Writers – – Warrior Writers is a national non-profit. Our mission is to create a culture that articulates veterans’ experiences, build a collaborative community for artistic expression, and bear witness to war and the full range of military experiences.” See Events for information on the Warrior Writers New Jersey Workshop
Veteran Artist Program -“VAP takes artists who are also veterans, and propels their works and careers into the mainstream creative arts community…We are based in New York City but are currently creating programming across the country to expand the network and visibility of veteran artists. VAP focuses on: Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Writing/Literature, Film/Video, and New/Interactive Media.”
This summer, libraries across the country are encouraging people to Build a Better World. At ScotLib, we are again hosting a bingo game for Scotch Plains and Fanwood adult cardholders designed to better the world around them in a variety of ways. Here are just a few of the things that you can do with our bingo game:
• Try out library resources such as Flipster or Freegal.
• Find new book ideas by starting a new series, selecting a book from award lists, or attending one of our book discussions.
• Explore the world around you with a museum pass, a documentary, or a travel book to plan an exciting vacation.
• Learn something new with our Great Courses DVDs (examples include The Art of Travel Photography, How to Master Outdoor Cooking, and Our Night Sky).
Once you’ve completed enough activities for a good bingo, stop by the Reference Desk to submit your card. Feel free to pick up another one so you can try even more activities. Let us know which books you’ve enjoyed reading this summer (giving us a short review is also one of the squares!). Have an idea for next year’s bingo game? We’d love to hear that too!
The game ends on August 28, at which point one “good bingo” will be drawn for a summer reading giveaway set, which includes a canvas totebag, travel mug, notepaper cube, notebook, and stylus pen.
However you spend your summer, we hope that you’ll make the library, whether in person or online, a part of it.
The acclaimed book and movie Hidden Figures brought to light the stories of the African American women whose mathematical skills were crucial to the success of the early space program. In honor of Women’s History Month, our current display by the New Books section features additional books highlighting women’s overlooked contributions to science, sports and the arts.
Prior to the women of ‘Hidden Figures‘, the ‘Rocket Girls’ worked behind the scenes of California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Performing complex calculations with only paper, pencils and slide rules, they “transformed rocket design and enabled the creation of the first American satellites.” (And pioneered the wearing of pant suits!)
Like the women of the space program, these nineteenth century workers at the Harvard Observatory were referred to as “computers.” Hired to interpret the findings of the (male) astronomers, they included Williamina Fleming, “a Scottish woman originally hired as a maid who went on to identify ten novae and more than three hundred variable stars.” Their work revolutionized the field of astronomy.
Seaman reveals the lives and work of unsung women artists, such as Joan Brown, who specialized in self-portraiture; Gertrude Abercrombie, who produced surrealist paintings; and Lois Mailou Jones, a member of the Harlem Renaissance. Identity Unknown “speaks to all women about their neglected place in history and the challenges they face to be taken as seriously as men no matter what their chosen field”
Initially an Instagram account, Game Changers brings you the faces and stories of women who overcame pre-Title IX barriers to find fulfillment in sports of all kinds. These “founding mothers” receive the “attention and recognition they deserve, featuring rare and never-before-seen photos and stores, along with new conversations between the next generation of heroines.”