New Video Games at Long Hill Library!

School's out, and we hope you are having fun on your summer vacation. We have seen a lot of Long Hill residents stopping by to pick up recommended summer reading - we have all the reading lists from elementary school and high school here at the library.

To celebrate the start of summer, we have also purchased some new video games! Stop by the library to check out our Wii games, including the new Lego Harry Potter, Toy Story 3, Star Wars: Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and more.

Video games may be checked out for 2 weeks. So that all Long Hill residents can enjoy the games, we ask families to check out only two games at a time during the summer months.

Happy gaming!

Get Ready to Read! Long Hill Summer Reading Kickoff is June 26th!

All Long Hill residents ages 2 through grade 5 are invited to join this year’s summer reading club. “Our June 26 Summer Reading Kickoff festivities include a strolling juggler, refreshments, face painting, crafts and balloons from 11:00-1:00. If your family can’t make kickoff day, stop by the library to register and receive your summer reading packet during regular business hours anytime through July 10,” explains Meredith McGuire, Children’s Librarian.

This summer’s theme includes everything fun found in the sea and at the beach! The program runs from June 26 - August 14th and includes art, science, music, nature, and magic programs. “We hope to see many familiar faces as well as new participants this summer,” says Miss Meredith. Participants in the summer reading club can win prizes for reading, attend fun programs, and, if they wish, they can even participate in a readathon to raise money to purchase children’s books in their name.

Long Hill teens and adults need not feel left out of the fun, since the library will also run “Beach Reads” summer reading clubs for them. Library Director Mary Martin explains, “Every time you read or listen to a book, just drop a raffle ticket into the jar at the desk. Each week someone will win a prize. At the end of the summer we will pick a grand prize winner who’ll get a $25 gift card to a bookstore!”

Kids and parents, be sure to stop by the library on Saturday, June 26th or any time until July 10th to register for the Summer Reading Club. Happy Reading!

Celebrate National Library Week at Long Hill Library!

April 11 through 17 is National Library Week. There are several events going on at Long Hill Library - come help us celebrate! For more information about any of these programs check out our Event Calendar. To register for any of these events please call us at 908-647-2088 ext. 0 (or stop by the library.)

Saturday April 10 - Yoga for Adults (age 15 and up), 11 am

Sunday April 11 - Selling on Ebay (limited to 75 attendees), 2 pm. Registration required.

Saturday April 17 - Join us in celebrating Five Years in our New Building! In the morning we'll have Singing Stories with the always popular Lou Gallo (registration required), then we have an afternoon concert at 2 pm with the rollicking Long Hill String Band (registration required) followed by an old fashioned ice cream social.

New Acquisitions at Long Hill Library

We've compiled a partial list of some of the great new reads we've purchased for your reading pleasure this month, at Long Hill Township Library. We publish this New Acquisitions list every month. To automatically receive the newsletter via email, click the "Newsletter Daily" link at the top of the newsletter to subscribe.

Some of the hot new titles this month include thrillers by Linwood Barclay, William Bernhardt, Harlan Coben, Linda Fairstein, Jesse Kellerman and Lisa Scottoline, as well as good reads from Karen Kingsbury, Lisa Lutz, Richard Paul Evans, and Susan Wiggs.

This list also includes The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag, the second Flavia De Luce mystery by Alan Bradley. The first one, A Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, is a great read about a quirky (and somewhat cranky) 12-year-old girl who solves crimes. I am looking forward to reading the second one.

I also just finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, another book on this list. This debut novel was a pleasure to read. Anyone who was a fan of The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society (one of my favorites) will likely enjoy this charming book.

Happy reading!
Mary Martin, Library Director

Favorite Book Club Discussion Books from 2009

For all of us who are in book clubs, there are lots of great web sites out there that we can use to help us select books to read and discuss. One of them is Reading Group Choices, which just published their Top 10 Discussible Books from 2009 (based on a survey from readers). The list includes two of my favorite reads from last year, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

For those of you who prefer a more traditional approach to picking out book club books, I highly recommend Bookmarks Magazine, which Long Hill Library subscribes to. It comes six times a year and is chock full of book reviews, profiles of book clubs around the country, and more great information for bibliophiles. Stop by the library and check out an issue today!

Happy Reading,

Mary Martin
Library Director

How has the public library helped you and your family?

"Store counters may be a bit slow these days, but many people are 'shopping' at their public libraries," says Long Hill Township Public Library Director Mary Martin. "The current economy has many families taking action to relieve the pressure of their shrinking financial resources."

People of all ages are coming into the library to check out the latest DVDs, bestsellers, and children's books. Storytimes and other library programs are filled with excited kids and their parents, eager to be entertained and educated. And the library's computers and wireless Internet access are busier than ever, filled with students doing research after school, senior citizens emailing families and friends, and - in another sign of the times - people conducting job searches. The public library also serves as a community center where groups such as Cub Scouts, knitters, movie lovers or job seekers can gather, and where families can sit and do a puzzle or play a game together.

How has the public library helped you and your family? This spring, the Long Hill Township Library, the American Library Association (ALA) and Woman's Day magazine are sponsoring an essay contest about what makes your public library special. Through May 9th, women over the age of 18 can submit their stories of how the public library has helped them and their families to womansday@ala.org.

Entries will be judged on originality, clarity of ideas, and grace of expression, and the winning entries will be featured in the March 2011 issue of Woman's Day. For more information and to read the official rules, visit www.womansday.com/ala.

Yoga for Adults - Sat. Feb. 20th

At 11 am on Saturday February 20th, join yoga instructor Carmina Marroquin for a gentle introduction to yoga (for ages 15 and up). Bring a towel or yoga mat, and wear loose, comfortable clothes. To register for this free program, stop by the library, call 908-647-2088 ext. 0 or email director @ longhilllibrary.org