Connection Winter 2009

THE PRINCETON PUBLIC LIBRARY MAGAZINE

Winter 2009-’10

Are we living in “The Age of Stupid”?

Pete Postlethwaite stars in a cautionary tale about global warming to open the Princeton Environmental Film Festival

Festival coverage begins on Page 9

An interview with Princeton native and “Earth Days” director Robert Stone

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spotlight

We’re turning 100 and we plan to celebrate

B

ack in 1910, when the Free Public Library of Princeton, N.J., opened its doors in the historic Bainbridge House, Princeton was a small town. The library’s collection of 4,887 volumes quickly became a link for the local community to the world beyond.

One hundred years later, Princeton Public Library has broadened its role and enlarged its presence in the community. Today, the library is home to some 200,000 items — not just books, but CDs, DVDs, databases and other materials — in a light-filled, monumental building around the corner from its old Nassau Street home. This multimedia repository has become a popular meeting place, often referred to as “the community’s living room.” As its centennial year begins, PPL plans to involve its public in an exciting roster of celebratory happenings.

A concert appearance by folksinger Peter Yarrow at Princeton High School on Jan. 24 is the first of several events

marking the milestone. Throughout the coming year, look for special author visits and unique programs. The weekend of Oct. 9 and 10 will be particularly festive, with a party tent covering the library’s plaza for the annual Friends of the Library gala Saturday night and a family-oriented, communitywide celebration the following day.

From an original list of 1,879 members in 1910 to some 32,000 today, Princeton Public Library has stayed true to its mission of serving the informational, educational and cultural interests of the entire Princeton community.

“We have so much to celebrate,” says Leslie Burger, the library’s executive director. “After 100 years of service to the community, we continue to innovate and find new ways to provide service to our customers. We look forward to the next 100 years and securing the library’s role as a place where people come to read, learn, exchange ideas and explore new technologies.”

Peter Yarrow’s message of peace is for all ages

By ANNE LEVIN Connections Staff Writer

F

Peter Yarrow appears Jan. 24 at the Princeton High School Performing Arts Center in a benefit for the Princeton Public Library Foundation. The family concert is the first in a series of events celebrating the 100th birthday of the library.

or Peter Yarrow, social activism has gone hand in hand with music since he first began singing with Mary Travers and Paul Stookey at The Bitter End coffee house in Greenwich Village nearly 50 years ago. As part of the famous folksinging trio Peter, Paul and Mary, Yarrow participated in the Civil Rights Movement and has championed numerous humanitarian causes ever since.

His latest projects have been geared toward children. Yarrow is passionate about his two new books, “Let’s Sing Together” and “Day is Done,” both of which include CDs of Yarrow and his daughter Bethany performing songs like “This Little Light of Mine” and “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.” Through these books, Yarrow expresses his belief that the inherent goodness of children must be nurtured and sustained for as long as possible.

“When do we stop being a country that’s walking around like a hit-and-run driver? We counter that through children who are not grown up to hate,” he says. “We create a community among them, with no bullying and teasing.

We build a spirit of caring in our kids so they won’t be looking at reality TV shows and ‘Gossip Girl’ and thinking that the things they see there are what’s important. This music can do this, as it did in the Civil Rights Movement. Music is like that.”

Yarrow’s appearance at Princeton High School on Jan. 24 at 2 p.m., to benefit the Princeton Public Library Foundation, will be “a cross between a concert, a peace march and a memorial,” he predicts. The memorial is of course for Mary Travers, who died of leukemia in September at the age of 73. “Everywhere I go, it’s like a mini-memorial for her,” he adds.

“It’s very cathartic for me. I loved my Mary.”

Yarrow finds the literature of traditional songs particularly effective in giving children a sense of their own legacy. “Songs like ‘I’ve Been Working on the Railroad’ never seem like they were written to make money,” he says. “They were written to celebrate life.”

Especially close to Yarrow’s heart is his project “Don’t Laugh at Me,” created to foster a climate of respect among children in American schools. Yarrow is excited about plans to expand the program to Israel.

“There is a lot to do,” he says. “Is it going to happen in my lifetime? No. But are we on our way? I hope so.”

Peter Yarrow / Jan. 24, 2 p.m. / Princeton High School Performing Arts Center Admission: $10 / Order online at www.princetonlibrary.org

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Chris Cleave weaves a refugee tale

By ANNE LEVIN Connections Staff Writer

C

hris Cleave was a student at Oxford University when the reality of how asylum seekers are treated in Britain hit him like a hammer.

It was an accidental awakening. But more than a decade later, it would inspire his second novel, “Little Bee.” “I was working as a casual laborer over my summer vacation, and they sent us to different places every day,” Cleave recalls, speaking from London where he is a columnist for The Guardian newspaper. “One day, they took us to work in the canteen of an immigrant detention center just a few miles from Oxford. It was a high security building, and the people inside were very confused. There was no real ‘lingua franca.’ A lot of them had no idea why they were there. They hadn’t committed any crime. It was a horrible place, and very frightening. I’ve carried it around with me every since.”

“Little Bee” takes images of people Cleave encountered at the detention center — some horrific, some humorous — and weaves its story from there. Two thirtyish British journalists trying to salvage their faltering marriage take a free vacation at a resort in Nigeria, where they encounter a scene of unspeakable brutality on a beach they were told to avoid. When a young girl (Little Bee) they thought had been killed that day turns up on their doorstep after two years in an immigrant detention center, the guilt and horror they have been carrying around takes over their lives.

For Cleave, writing “Little Bee” was a chance to address the issue that had been mulling around in his head since his three shocking days at the immigration center canteen years before.

“I tried to write about this real social issue that we’re tired of hearing about, turning it around with a story to make it something people can relate to,” he says. “People’s eyes just glaze over when they hear about immigration, and I don’t blame them because it’s usually written about in a dull way. This is an effort to remind people that this is the biggest story on earth.”

Cleave wanted, in the book, to convey exactly what it is that refugees like Little Bee are fleeing from. “Many people think they just want a more comfortable life, but I wanted to show that this isn’t the case. People don’t uproot themselves and leave their homes unless they absolutely have to, unless life has become intolerable.”

Through his years of research about conflicts and civil war in subSaharan Africa, Cleave constructed the awful scene that is the center of the novel. But it is tame compared with the horrors he discovered.

“I had absolutely no knowledge of the depth of cruelty that exists in this world,” he says. “It is just shocking.”

But “Little Bee” is also laced with humor, which comes naturally to Cleave since his newspaper column is about the funny side of raising children (his are 6 months, 3 and 6). The child of the couple in the book, who refuses to take off his Batman costume, is based on Cleave’s son.

“We had three Batman costumes that we alternated until he grew out of them,” he says with a laugh.

The fate of Little Bee is left unspoken at the end of the novel. Cleave thinks that despite her youth and tragic background, she would survive, or even thrive.

“She would find a way,” he says. “She is exactly the sort of person who would make a great success of her life in any country that would accept her. I like to think she would be fine.”

Chris Cleave / Feb. 26, 7 p.m.

Fiction Book Group Led by Kristin Friberg. Conference Room, second floor

“Netherland” by Joseph O’Neill In post-9/11 New York, a Dutch banker finds himself marooned in the Chelsea Hotel after his English wife and son return to London. He stumbles upon the vibrant New York subculture of cricket, befriends a charming Trinidadian and is introduced to the “other” New York populated by immigrants and strivers of every nationality.

Dec. 10, 10:30 a.m.

“I tried to write about this real social issue that we’re tired of hearing about, turning it around with a story to make it something people can relate to. This is an effort to remind people that this is the biggest story on earth.”

— Chris Cleave

“Little Bee” by Chris Cleave The lives of a young Nigerian refugee and a British mother and journalist become entwined after a horrific encounter on a Nigerian beach. The suspenseful story is framed by the politics of how refugees are treated in England.

Jan. 14, 10:30 a.m.

“What Is the What” by Dave Eggers Moving, suspenseful and unexpectedly funny, this epic novel is based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the “Lost Boys” forced to leave his village in Sudan at age 7 and trek hundreds of miles by foot to find freedom. When he finally settles in the United States, his life is one of promise as well as heartache and new challenges.

Feb. 11, 10:30 a.m.

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events

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Thinking Allowed Author appearances co-sponsored by the library and Princeton University Press

Sophie Gee “Making Waste: Leftovers and the Eighteenth Century Imagination” Gee, a professor of English at Princeton University, explores the fascination that 18th century English culture had for things its society discarded.

Why, she asks, did Restoration and Augustan writers such as Milton, Dryden, Swift and Pope describe, catalog and memorialize the waste matter that their social and political worlds wanted to get rid of?

Gee examines the meaning of waste at the moment when the early modern world was turning modern.

Jan. 26, 7:30 p.m.

C. S. Manegold “Ten Hills Farm: The Forgotten History of Slavery in the North” This is the saga of five generations of slave owners in colonial New England, prominent dynasties tied to the Native American and Atlantic slave trades. The author exposes how the fortunes of these families and the fate of the 600-acre estate were bound to the tragic legacy of slavery. Manegold begins in the early 17th century and follows the history through to the present, bringing the story of slavery in the North full circle.

Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m.

Fred I. Greenstein “Inventing the Job of President: Leadership Style from George Washington to Andrew Jackson” How would our nation have fared if George Washington had not become, in fact, our first president? In this new book, Greenstein reveals that the matter of who is the president of the United States is of the utmost importance. In his groundbreaking book “The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack Obama,” Greenstein, professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University, evaluated the personal strengths and weaknesses of the modern presidents. His new book applies the same yardsticks to the first seven leaders of the United States. Greenstein explains how these early presidents and their successors shaped the American presidency we know today and helped the new republic prosper despite profound changes at home and abroad.

Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m.

Read One/Knit Too Bring your knitting and join us for a lively discussion, led

by Cynthia Lambert. Quiet Room, first floor “Loving Frank” by Nancy Horan A fictional account of the real-life relationship between architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheyney, which shocked Chicago society and forever changed their lives.

Dec. 8, 7 p.m.

“Suite Française” by Irene Nemirovsky The daughters of Nemirovsky, a French writer of Ukrainian Jewish origin, discovered the first two

novels she completed of a planned sequence of five before she was arrested and sent to the gas chambers by the Nazi regime. They published them in a single volume in 2004.

Jan. 12, 7 p.m.

“After This” by Alice McDermott The author of “Charming Billy” returns to her subject of Irish-Catholic American suburban life in this sixth novel, which finds the Keane family swept up in the wake of the Vietnam War. Feb. 9, 7 p.m.

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Mystery Group

African American Read-In Jennifer Baszile

“Chinatown Beat”

by Henry Chang NYPD Detective Jack Yu patrols the area in which he grew up in a falling-apart tenement. His in-the-bone knowledge of his beat is colored by several personal concerns.

Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.

The author of “The Black Girl Next Door,” will be the speaker at this event. Baszile’s memoir is about her childhood in an affluent Southern California suburb as a post-segregation child in a not-quite-integrated world. In trips to her parents’ childhood homes in Louisiana and Detroit, she sees their very different American pasts. Baszile followed the path her parents set out to become the first black female professor at Yale University, in its history department. This is the 21st year of the African American Read-In, celebrated in communities across the nation. Initiated by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English, the Read-in focuses on literacy and black literary culture.

Feb. 7, 2 p.m.

Led by Gayle Stratton.

Conference Room

“The Whiskey Rebels” by David Liss Set in and around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City in the years after the Revolutionary War, this thriller follows the adventures of Ethan Saunders, once a valiant spy for General Washington, who has fallen on hard times by war’s end.

Jan. 4, 7:30 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the library, the New Jersey Chapter of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and Princeton University.

Writers Talking The Caroline Llewelyn Champlin Writers Talking Series

Jayanti Tamm In “Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult,” Tamm, now in her late 30s and a professor at Ocean County College in New Jersey, is unsparing in her account of the psychological damage inflicted on her and her family by guru Sri Chinmoy. From her parent’s loveless marriage to her half-brother’s gleeful acceptance of the role of the guru’s enforcer, Tamm reveals the difficulties in shaking off the guru’s influence, under which she had spent literally her entire life before her final expulsion.

Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m.

“Dog On It” by Spencer Quinn Chet the Jet is a dog who failed K-9 school, but now he is a dedicated PI and works with Bernie, owner of the Little Detective Agency. The story is told entirely from Chet’s point of view.

Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m.

Bill Flanagan The author of the just-published “Evening’s Empire,” described by Amazon.com as “the literary grail of rock and roll novels,” Flanagan also wrote “Written in My Soul,” a collection of conversations with songwriters, and “U2 at the End of the World.” He is senior vice president and editorial director of VH1 and has written for Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, GQ and other publications.

Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m.

Elena Gorokhova

In her recently released memoir “A Mountain of Crumbs,” Gorokhova tells of 1960s Leningrad, where the author discovers that beauty and passion can be found in unexpected places in Soviet Russia.

Gorokhova grew up in what is now known as St. Petersburg and at age 24 married an American, coming to the U.S. with only one suitcase to start a new life. She lives in New Jersey.

Feb. 18, 7:30 p.m.

Círculo de Lectura

Moderado por Lucia Acosta. Sala de Coferencia, Segundo piso

“El capitán Alatriste” por Arturo y Carlota Pérez-Reverte La aventuras de un soldado veterano de los tercios de Flandes que malvive como espadachín a sueldo en el Madrid del siglo XVII. Miércoles 13 de enero, 12 del mediodia “La sombra de lo que fuimos” por Luis Sepúlveda Tres antiguos militantes de izquierda, derrotados por el golpe de Estado de Pinochet, vuelven a reunirse treinta y cinco años después para ejecutar una temeraria acción revolucionaria. Sepúlveda obtuvo el Premio Primavera de Novela 2009 con esta obra.

Miércoles 10 de febrero, 12 del mediodia

Panthea Reid

The author of “Tillie Olsen: One Woman, Many Riddles” (Rutgers University Press) will discuss her biography, which undoes the feminist legend of “Saint Tillie” and replaces it with an honest account of this passionate, often-devious woman writer. Reid intertwines the story of the iconic feminist hero and 20th century writer with events of her time, from rebellions in Czarist Russia to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee hearings and beyond.

A professor of English at Louisiana State University, Reid is also the author of “Virginia Woolf: Art and Affection” and several other titles.

Jan. 28, 4 p.m.

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events

SPOKEN WORD

U.S. 1 Poets Invite McCarter Live at the Library

Will Power

The playwright, actor, rapper and educator will talk about his play “Fetch Clay, Make Man,” coming to McCarter’s Berlind Theatre Jan. 8-Feb. 14. The story is set in the mid-1960s and focuses on two wildly different men: heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and disgraced former Hollywood star Stepin Fetchit. Each is struggling to shape his image and legacy in this innovative exploration of an improbable relationship. Power astounded audiences across the nation and around the globe with his solo hiphop performance piece, “Flow.” He has received a Trailblazer Award from the National Black Theater Network, a United States Artist Prudential Fellowship, and a Lucille Lortel Award.

Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m.

Princeton Writers’ Block

This entertaining group of actors, writers and musicians return to the library with “Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Rude Mechanicals.” The beloved characters Puck, Titania, Bottom, Quince and the Mechanicals will come to life in a staged reading by the actors in the play-within-the-play, “Pyramis and Thisby.” Writers’ Block specializes in biographical personalities but also explores the works of such masters as Brecht, Williams, Beckett and Mamet, as well as Shakespeare. Their range spans the classic to contemporary.

Dec. 6, 3 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the library and U.S. 1 Poets Cooperative

The Ragged Sky Poets

Ellen Foos is the publisher of Ragged Sky Press and a production editor at Princeton University Press. Her poems have appeared in U.S. 1 Worksheets, Kelsey Review, Edison Literary Review and Sensations Magazine. Mimi Danson has been featured in U.S. 1 Worksheets, The New Review, Fourth Genre, Anon One, and other publications.

Her first collection of poetry, “The Luxury of Obstacles,” came out in 2006. Carlos Hernández Peña has served as a co-editor of the U.S.1 Worksheets, and from 2005 to 2008 he organized Voices at the Princeton Public Library, a program of poetry from around the world presented in a bilingual format and featuring 27 different languages. Elizabeth Anne Socolow has edited U.S. 1 Worksheets and is poetry editor of the Newsletter of the Society for Literature, Science and the Arts. Socolow’s poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Ploughshares, Nimrod, and Ms. Magazine. Arlene Weiner is a member of U.S. 1 Poets’ Cooperative and Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange, for which she maintains a website.

Weiner has had poems published in various journals, anthologized in “Along These Rivers” and “Eating Her Wedding Dress” and read by Garrison Keillor on his Writer’s Almanac.

Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m.

Marsha Kroll and Linda Arntzenius

Poet Laureate of Bucks County, Pa., in 2007, Kroll’s poems have appeared or are due to be published in Hayden’s Ferry Review, Cimarron Review, U.S. 1 Worksheets, Paterson Literary Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal and Mad Poets Review. Linda Arntzenius is a frequent contributor to Princeton Magazine and a member of U.S. 1 Poets’ Cooperative.

Her poems have appeared in Journal of New Jersey Poets, Paterson Literary Review, U.S. 1 Worksheets, Slant, Schuylkill Valley Journal and other literary journals and anthologies.

Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m.

Krall

Arntzenius

Carlos Hernández Peña and Catherine KHN Magia

Catherine KHN Magia has been published in the Michigan Quarterly Review and Lips. She has been a TV talk show host on public access television in northern New Jersey. See Dec. 16 entry for Carlos Hernández Peña.

Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m.

Poetry Reading Dara-Lyn Shrager

This Princeton-based poet and journalist reads from her new chapbook, “The Boy From Egypt.” Shrager has written for The New York Times, Philadelphia Magazineand other publications.

Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m. Fireplace area, second floor

Readings Over Coffee Princeton Theatre Experiment Todd Reichart will direct two staged readings of new plays rehearsed and performed by professional actors.

“We” Adapted from the 1921 novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin, this story of a love triangle in the 26th century has been adapted for the stage by actor Fred Tumas from the translation

by Princeton professor emeritus Clarence Brown. Zamyatin’s seminal work is widely considered the inspiration for George Orwell’s “1984.”

Jan. 31, 3 p.m.

“The Jazz Age” Allan Knee’s story of F. Scott Fitzgerald, his unpredictable wife Zelda Sayre and Ernest Hemingway is set in 1920’s Paris and reveals the artistically vibrant relationship between the two authors that was fraught with jealousy and betrayal. Knee wrote the screenplay for the film “Finding Neverland.”

Feb. 14, 3 p.m.

100 Years Ago Today At a special edition of this gathering, join all the readers as they contrast readings popular around 1909, when the library was incorporated, with literature of the current era.

Dec. 9, 10:30 a.m.

Writers’ Block Returns The actors, writers and musicians of Princeton Writers’ Block reprise their Dec. 6 program “Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Rude Mechanicals” for the Readings Over Coffee crowd.

Jan. 13, 10:30 a.m.

African-American Authors Cecelia Hodges pays tribute to Black History Month with readings from a wide variety of famous African-American authors.

Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m.

LIBRARY SERVICES

spotlight

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An English conversation group meets in the first floor Quiet Room

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For language-learners, the library’s conversation groups provide invaluable experiences and a place to connect

By ANNE LEVIN Connections Staff Writer

A

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I

n a second-floor study room at Princeton Public Library, six adults from four different countries shyly survey each other across a table. They have been asked to talk — in English — about something interesting that happened to them during the preceding week.

They are reluctant at first, but the enthusiasm of volunteer facilitator Michelle Barbera is infectious.

“I’m sure that if I went to any of your countries I’d feel the way you do today,” she says, urging them on. “There is no reason to be nervous here.

Don’t worry. Just talk.”

Before long, these six transplants from China, Japan, Brazil and Colombia are chattering away about karate, tango, and the terrors of New York taxicab drivers. “That’s beautiful,” murmurs Barbera as the conversations pick up steam.

“You’re speaking English to each other.”

Barbera is one of nine volunteers in the Princeton Public Library’s three-year-old English Conversation program. Free to anyone who wants to practice their English skills, the program is “a smashing success,” says librarian Mary Louise Hartman, who coordinates the initiative. Hartman is equally enthusiastic about the library’s Literacy Volunteers program, which pairs people needing assistance with tutors who have been through training with the Literacy Volunteers of America’s Mercer County branch. The library currently has about 100 people on a waiting list for tutors.

Conversational English sessions were started after library staff learned of a similar program from an industry publication. Volunteers come from many walks of life. “They’re all over the place,” says Hartman. “There are former teachers, people from the corporate world, real estate … you name it.”

Each volunteer has methods for coaxing conversational English out of their charges.

Barbera brings in pictures and advertisements from newspapers that she hopes will inspire dialogues. Another reads the “Metropolitan Diary” section of The New York Times aloud with her students, who put what they read into their own words. Participants in one session might speak a host of languages, from Farsi to Portugese, Vietnamese to Turkish.

“A lot of them are family of university people

or corporate people,” says Hartman. “Students come from Princeton or maybe Rider University.

It is the role of the library to offer this kind of service, but not all libraries do it. Princeton is an international community.”

In some of the conversation groups, relationships have been formed among the participants. One volunteer has hosted barbecues and social gatherings in her home. “We have good, warm, open people working as our volunteers,” Hartman enthuses. “You have to be outgoing to do this. But you also have to be willing to be bored in case people don’t show up.”

People who take part in the library’s literacy programs come for different reasons. “There are some who might have a learning disability, or may be from other countries and can’t read English,” says Hartman. Some are not literate at all, so that’s a double challenge.”

Volunteer Camille Sinclair has been working with the program for two years. She taught high school French and was the communications manager for the New Jersey Department of Transportation before retiring and training to become a literacy volunteer.

“My two grandmothers who came from Italy were illiterate, so I have a visceral feeling for people who have had a hard time with English,” Sinclair says. “Oral comprehension is the hardest thing for them; reading is probably the easiest.

Sometimes it’s hard because they are ashamed to reveal just how illiterate they are. I get people who range from illiterate to very literate in their own language.”

Sinclair, a Yankees fan, helped one student from Guatemala improve his skills by talking about the team. “You just hit on a topic that works for them, and it really helps,” she says.

Tutors work with students until they agree mutually that they are finished. The volunteers help students tackle everything from filling out job applications to helping their children with homework – everything that requires reading.

“A lot of these people volunteer for both the literacy and conversation programs at the library,” says Hartman. “They are our unsung heroes.”

For a schedule of Conversation Group meetings or for information on becoming a volunteer literacy tutor, call 609.924.9529, ext. 281.

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events

FILM

World Cineclub Series co-sponsored by the library and L’Association Francophone de Princeton

“I’ve Loved You So Long”

Phillipe Claudel’s 2008 film about a woman who returns to live with her sister’s family after being released from prison for the murder of her 6-year-old son won several awards in Europe and the U.S. Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.

French with English subtitles

“Star Trek”

In this prequel, we meet Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura and the rest of the group who will become the famed crew of the Enterprise.

This film follows the early days and struggles of the team on their first mission out of Starfleet Academy.

Feb. 8, 7 p.m.

“Sita Sings the Blues”

Nina Paley directed, wrote, designed and produced this animated film based on the epic Indian tale of Ramayana. The focus is on the love triangle between Rama, Sita and the adversary Ravanna.

With its stunning animation and its music and songs by 1920s jazz singer Annette Hanshaw, who provides Sita’s singing voice, this 2008 production is already a classic.

Feb. 4, 7 p.m.

“Caramel”

Nadine Labaki made this film in 2007 about five women who meet regularly in a Beirut beauty salon. They come from several generations and confide in each other, forming a kind of colorful microcosm of the city itself. The film won the Audience Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Jan. 11, 7:30 p.m.

Arabic and French with English subtitles

Films for Foodies In this new series co-sponsored by Mediterra Restaurant, come for the film at 6 p.m., then dine at Mediterra, where special menu items based on the theme of the movie will be available at discount prices.

“Babette’s Feast” This Danish film takes place in 19th century Jutland and is based on a story by Isak Dinesen. The story centers on a meticulously prepared French meal that changes the lives of the people who partake of it.

The film won the Best Foreign Film Academy Award in 1987.

Dec. 15, 6 p.m.

“Like Water for Chocolate” Love and desire are sublimated into cooking when two young lovers are kept apart during the Mexican revolution in this film based on a novel by Laura Esquivel.

Jan. 20, 6 p.m.

“Nina’s Heavenly Delights” A young woman returns home to Glasgow for her father’s funeral after three estranged years in London. She begins a romantic relationship with a woman who now owns half the late father’s restaurant. Together, they seek to save the eatery by winning the national “Best in the West Curry Competition.”

Feb. 23, 6 p.m.

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Making a difference Award-winning festival highlights individuals who have inspired change

By ANNE LEVIN Connections Staff Writer

W

ith a prestigious award, a steadily increasing audience and a growing roster of films to offer, the Princeton Environmental Film Festival has come into its own. Now in its fourth year, the festival has more days and more films during this year’s run, Jan. 2-17. “No Impact Man,” “A Sea Change,” “So Right, So Smart,” “Crude,” “Earth Days” and “The Age of Stupid” lead the lineup of acclaimed documentaries, many with a similar message.

“One of the common themes is about the difference an individual can make,” says festival coordinator and Teen Services Librarian Susan Conlon. “We’re looking at the way people have taken the initiative to inspire others to change the way they think and what they do. It’s a powerful message in so many of these films, about how something started with one person’s commitment to change.”

At the annual conference of the American Library Association

last July, Highsmith Inc. honored the Princeton Public Library with its Innovation and Excellence in Programming Award, a coup considering PEFF’s brief history.

The award recognizes a public library’s innovative or creative service program with a plaque and a $2,000 honorarium.

This year, the festival will continue its award-winning strategy of thinking locally, finding stories with a regional link, and also a global view. “We look for a local flavor, but also look internationally,” says Conlon. “We want to show films that click with what people are concerned about here, but also in a broader sense.”

Among the films Conlon predicts will resonate with the audience are “Earth Days” (see sidebar), “The Age of Stupid,” a drama/ documentary/animation hybrid about a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055; “Crude,” a documentary chronicling the world’s largest environmental lawsuit; “So Right So Smart” about business people who found ways to

both limit negative environmental impact and save money; and “A Sea Change,” the story of a retired history teacher’s quest to discover how acidification of the world’s oceans is harming the planet.

In addition to the lineup of provocative films and speakers, this year’s festival will inaugurate a Saturday morning program for children, aimed at a family audience, kicking off with the Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels on Jan. 2. Also new is a series called Films at Four, a collaboration with Princeton Regional Schools designed to encourage students to attend the screenings.

Always looking for feedback from the public about what kinds of films they want to see, Conlon and her 25-member planning committee asked last year’s audiences for input. “People email us, they talk to us, and they let us know what they want to concentrate on,” says Conlon. “I feel like we’re really tapping into the audience’s interests.”

Robert Stone, director of “Earth Days,” to be screened Jan. 7 at 6 p.m.

Once again this year, films at the festival will become part of the library’s permanent collection. That means cardholders can borrow the films and watch them at home once the festival ends. Many of the films are also purchased with public performance rights, which enables cardholders to check them out and use them for other community and school screenings.

“People can take them home and have home screenings and their own discussions,” she said.

“While seeing films on the big screen makes a big difference, we’re always looking for the films to have a life beyond the single screening here.”

The festival has grown and changed in its four-year history. But its goal remains the same. “A real effort is made to seek out films that are relevant,” says Conlon.

“We are putting people in touch with each other, helping to create a public discourse, a dialogue about environmental issues and ideas for actions and solutions. And that part doesn’t change.”

From CP to big screen, a filmmaker remains inspired by Earth Day

By ANNE LEVIN Connections Staff Writer

R

obert Stone dates the dawn of his filmmaking career to the first Earth Day, an event that galvanized environmental activists across the country. It was April 22, 1970, and Stone was a seventh-grader at Community Park School in Princeton.

“Earth Day had a huge impact on me,” says Stone, whose father, Lawrence Stone, was a wellknown professor of history at Princeton University.

“I remember crushing cans on Alexander Street somewhere. Right after that, I borrowed my mother’s Super 8 movie camera and made a film called ‘Pollution’ with a few friends. We shot some scenes on Nassau Street. Then, for the big apocalyptic ending, we scaled the fence surrounding the heating plant on campus, right by the train station. We climbed on top and had •Continued on Page 12

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spotlight

PRINCETON ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL

Festival Highlights “Earth”

The story of three animal families (polar bears, elephants and humpbacked whales) and their amazing journeys across the planet combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations. James Earl Jones narrates this true-life adventure, the first to be made by Disneynature. The film, suitable for ages 5 and older, is filled with rare footage of outstanding clarity as the animals make their way through the ages-old patterns of migration.

Jan. 2, 1 p.m.

“The Age of Stupid”

This drama-documentary-animation hybrid stars Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, watching archive footage from 2008 and asking “Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?” Franny Armstrong wrote and directed the film, which tells six separate stories of demise caused by the effects of global warming and ignorance about its severity decades earlier.

Jan. 2, 7:30 p.m.

Opening Night

“Veer”

This film, the official selection of the 2009 Victoria Film Festival, explores America’s fast-growing bicycling culture by profiling five people whose lives are inextricably tied to bicycling and the bike-centric social groups they belong to. Based in their hometown, and filmed by Portland residents Greg Fredette and Jason Turner, the film follows these characters over the course of a year, offering a behind-the-scenes look at their personal struggles and triumphs.

“Veer” examines what it means to be part of a community, and how social movements are formed.

Jan. 2, 3:30 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature filmmaker Greg Fredette

“Deep Down: A Story from the Heart of Coal Country” This film, a work-in-progress, follows a town in Eastern Kentucky as the community and landscape begin to change dramatically through mountaintop removal mining.

Jan. 3, 1 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature filmmaker Sally Rubin.

“Woven Ways”

Told in the words of the Navajo people, this film is the story of the land and livestock that sustain their culture and economy, and the environmental issues that threaten their health and wellbeing. The documentary, a testament to Navajo beauty and hope in the face of environmental injustice, chronicles each family’s steady resolve to hold on to what is sacred for them and future generations.

Jan. 3, 3:30 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature filmmaker Linda Helm Krapf.

“Earth Days”

This film by Princeton native Robert Stone tells the story of the modern environmental movement through

the eyes of nine Americans who took the movement from its beginnings in the 1950s to its moment of triumph in the 1970s: the original Earth Day. Stone uses eyewitness testimony and lots of archival footage to tell the story of how the green movement started and arrived at where it is today.

Jan. 7, 6 p.m. Garden Theater, 160 Nassau (Free) Post-screening discussion at the library to feature filmmaker Robert Stone. See Page 9.

“Big River”

The “King Corn” boys are back. The same two guys who went off to Iowa and bought an acre of corn, plus director Aaron Wolf, have reunited for a 30-minute film that traces where all the chemicals that were used on their acre of corn wound up -- in the Mississippi River. They trade their combine for a canoe to investigate the environmental impact of their little acre of corn. Jan. 9, 3:30 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature director Aaron Woolf.

“Renewal”

The vitality and diversity of today’s religious environmental activists are the focus of this feature-length documentary. It tells the stories of Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim activists who are combating global warming and the devastation of mountaintop removal, promoting food security, environmental justice, recycling, land preservation, and teaching love and respect for life on Earth.

Jan. 12, 7 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature filmmaker Marty Ostrow.

“No Impact Man” Author Colin Beavan and his family are pictures of liberal complacency.

Addicted to good old-fashioned American consumerism, they refuse to let moral qualms interfere with their lifestyle. But one day, Colin turns their world upside down. He announces that for his next book, he is becoming No Impact Man, with a goal of making zero environmental impact. The hitch is that his wife and toddler daughter have to join the effort – not a small challenge. The film follows the New York City-based family as they try to live a year without harming the environment in any way whatsoever.

Jan. 8, 7 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature filmmakers Justin Schein and Eden Wurmfeld.

Chris Killam: The Medicine Hunter

CNN calls him “the Indiana Jones” of natural medicine. Author, educator and founder of Medicine Hunter Inc., Killam has done research in more than 20 countries across the world. He hosts “The Medicine Trail,” a series of TV specials about medicinal plants, and is Explorer in Residence at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He lectures extensively on holistic health and botanical medicines.

Jan. 15, 7 p.m.

11

“So Right So Smart”

This documentary shows how businesses that have begun to take steps toward a positive future have experienced success. An inspirational story of leadership and hope, the film opens a dialogue between some of the world’s most reputable environmental experts and the country’s brightest minds in business in order to explore the connection between economy and environment. From Wal-Mart to Patagonia, Stonyfield Farms to New Belgium Brewery, several institutions are making an effort toward sustainability with the goal of becoming restorative in nature.

Jan. 5, 7 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature Gary Hirshberg, chairman, president and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farms; Guy Noerr, executive producer and co-director; Justin Maine, producer and co-director; Leanne Robinson Maine, producer, writer and co-director; and Michael Swantek, editor and co-director.

Gary Hirshberg, chairman, president, and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farms, appears Jan. 5.

“A Sea Change”

Imagine a world without fish. As frightening as it sounds, it is happening right now. This film follows the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby on his quest to discover what is happening to the world’s oceans. After reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Darkening Sea,” he becomes obsessed with the rising acidity of the oceans and what this “sea change” bodes for mankind. His quest takes him to Alaska, California, Australia, and Norway as he uncovers a worldwide crisis that most people are unaware of. Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Huseby eventually discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us.

Jan. 10, 3:30 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature Barbara Ettinger, director and co-producer; Sven Huseby, co-producer and Ben Kalina, assistant producer.

“Crude” It took three years for acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger to make this cinema-verite feature about one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits in history: the Amazon Chernobyl case. The drama is set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, and rapidly disappearing indigenous cultures. This unsettling film shows views from both sides of the $27 million case about the shrinking Amazonian rainforest and its effects on the local population.

Jan. 16, 7 p.m.

More festival highlights, Page 11

Sven Huseby and his grandson, Elias.

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PRINCETON ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL

Stone

• continued from Page 9

shots of someone choking,” he recalls, with a bit of a chuckle.

Now an established filmmaker and director with an impressive resume that includes an Oscar nomination and the PBS series “American Experience,” Stone has returned to the theme of his earliest film effort for his latest venture.

“Earth Days” is a documentary that examines both the groundbreaking achievements and missed opportunities of a decade of activism. The film will be shown at the library as part of this year’s Princeton Environmental Film Festival, and Stone will be on hand to talk to the audience and answer questions.

The movie opens in the 1950s when a small group of scientists started documenting the impact of technology on the Earth’s ecosystem.

It is told through the eyes of nine Americans who were inspired to act on what they believed was the most important challenge facing mankind.

Among them: former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, biologist Paul Ehrlich, former Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey and astronaut Rusty Schweickart.

Following his usual method, which he says differs from that of most filmmakers, Stone sifted through hours and hours of archival footage to find what he was looking for. “It’s a huge, huge process,” he says. “I start with a broad concept and try to look at everything there is. Out of that comes these little gems and a film starts to emerge in my head. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. What you see in the final film are all the needles.”

A resurgence of interest in the environment, plus the fact that he has two small children of his own, led Stone to the idea for “Earth Days.”

Highlights

“It seemed to me that everybody has been bombarded with books and movies and news reports about the environmental crisis we’re in, as if it’s a new thing. Nobody bothered to look back.” — Robert Stone “When you have kids, you think back to your own childhood,” he says. “I was reminded of this kind of children’s crusade, as I remember it, about the environment. It seemed to me that everybody has been bombarded with books and movies and news reports about the environmental crisis we’re in, as if it’s a new thing. Nobody bothered to look back. There are hardly any books about the movement and how we awakened to the crisis.

It’s a forgotten story. Young people in particular think they’re starting from square one. But there is a back story to be told.”

“Earth Days” was selected as the Closing Night Film at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Released theatrically, it has enjoyed great success with high school and college students among other viewers.

PBS “American Experience” will broadcast the film nationally in April 2010 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day. “I’m hopeful that older people will take their kids to see it, or kids will take their parents,” says Stone. “I want people to learn some history and also be entertained. This is vital information. If you don’t have the back story, it can be overwhelming.”

For a complete schedule of films and talks, visit www.princetonlibrary.org/peff

“Food, Inc.”

This 2008 documentary examines large-scale agricultural food production in the U.S., concluding that the meat and vegetables produced by this type of economic enterprise lead to inexpensive but unhealthy and environmentally harmful food.

The film, narrated by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, two long-time critics of the industrial production of food, was heavily criticized by large American corporations engaged in industrial food production.

Jan. 9, 7 p.m.

“Division Street” “Red Gold”

This film tells of remote Native American sustenance-users, Alaskan commercial fisherman, sport fisherman and residents for whom salmon fishing is the core of their existence. For the first time, all user groups have come together in opposition of Pebble Mine development. “Red Gold” won awards at the Telluride film festival, where it premiered.

Jan. 13, 7 p.m.

A portrait of ancient wilderness and new technologies, this film is also a call for habitat connectivity, innovation and solutions to shape the future of transportation. “Division Street” looks at the impact of roads on

wildlife, wild places and the human landscape.

Jan. 16, 2 p.m.

“Dig the Earth”

What happens when nonfarmers grow corn in the middle of a college campus? In the summer of 2008, students, faculty and staff at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., put writer Michael Pollan’s book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” into practice by growing a small corn crop on their campus quadrangle. The film chronicles that project, and uses voices from the Lehigh Valley community to explain the project’s wider implications—for ecological sustainability, for local communities, and for the future of food production.

Jan. 16, 4 p.m.

Post-screening discussion to feature filmmakers Andy Smith, John O’Keefe and Courtney Bentley.

ENRICHMENT

events

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Leadership in an Epidemic

Kicking the Carbon Habit: How Do We Get From Here to There?

Laura Kahn, a physician and research scholar at Princeton University and a member of the Princeton Regional Health Commission, will talk about her recently released book “Who’s in Charge? Leadership during an Epidemic, Bioterror Attack, and Other Public Health Crises.” Kahn takes on the topic of why leadership problems occur and introduces the concept of leadership in public health and bioterrorism, among other points. Kahn will discuss such recent public health threats as those posed by anthrax, SARS, mad cow disease, cryptosporidium, avian flu and the H1N1 virus.

Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Mark Warner, founder and CEO of the Sun Farm Network, leads this presentation and interactive discussion on local and national energy policy in the context of a world where our carbon footprint matters. Warner will deconstruct current sources and uses of our energy and discuss more efficient strategies for beating our addiction to carbon. Learn about the issues and how you can contribute to the dialogue in New Jersey and in Washington, DC. Dec. 10, 7 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the library and the Princeton Regional Health Department.

Co sponsored by the library and the American Jewish Committee of Central New Jersey.

Conversations on Race and White Privilege The dialogue on race and white privilege begun at Not In Our Town’s series “Engaging Together to Explore White Privilege” continues. There is no need to have attended any of the series’ sessions to participate. This will be a drop-in format, facilitated by members of the Princeton-based interracial and interfaith social action group. Topics will include feelings about the term “white privilege” and issues relevant to our community and nation.

Dec. 7, Jan. 4 and Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m.

Sean Penn in a scene from “Milk.”

Conference Room

GBLT Equality Film and Lecture Series Watch films and take part in talks sponsored by the Princeton High School Gay Straight Alliance, the library and HiTOPS. Feb. 27 1 p.m.: Princeton High’s GSA will present and talk about a list of GLBT related books and films.

2 p.m.: The film “Hide and Seek” will be screened, followed by a talk with filmmaker Su Friedrich.

7 p.m.: Screening of “Milk,” starring Sean Penn.

Sentience Foundation Distinguished Lecture series

Jeremy Alden Teissere A World at Every Plunge: A Natural History of Anxiety

Su Friedrich

Jeremy Alden Teissere is an associate professor of biology and neuroscience and the director of the neuroscience program at Muhlenberg College. His research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and has been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Neuroscience, and Molecular Pharmacology. At Muhlenberg, he teaches courses in molecular/cellular neuroscience, theories of consciousness and pharmacology.

Jan. 21, 7 p.m.

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events

ENRICHMENT Meg Cox and Pamela Kogen

Art Talk Two Princeton-based artists, quilt-maker Meg Cox and painter Pamela Kogen, will discuss their distinctive styles and approaches to creating art. Cox, familiar to library patrons from her quilting open house events, learned to quilt from her mother and likes to use new technical tools, including treated cotton that can be imprinted with digital photos. She is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, an author, and president of the national nonprofit Alliance for American Quilts. Kogen, who works out of a studio in Princeton Borough, incorporates pop culture and current events into her art and draws inspiration from travel and study of art history. Her paintings often explore questions of identity, gender, and the struggle to maintain faith and balance.

Feb. 16, 7 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the library and the Arts Council of Princeton.

Yusef Komunyakaa

Trenton Review Debut A new publication covering the arts and letters scene in the capital city, Trenton Review celebrates its debut with a reading by several of the contributors. Join Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa, local poets Nancy Scott and Joan Goldstein, visual artist Karey Maurice and others as they demonstrate the range of talent the city has to offer. Among the first issue’s topics are an interview with artist Leon Rainbow, an article on Passage Theatre Company, and a piece about the rock club City Gardens, along with works by noted poets.

Dec. 20, 2 p.m.

Pamela Kogen

Quilting Open House View stunning quilts and learn how the craft of quiltmaking has changed in the 21st century. Drop in at any time to see quilts and ask questions of expert Meg Cox, passionate quilter, journalist and author of the bestselling book “The Quilter’s Catalog: A Comprehensive Resource Guide.” Cox will bring free fabric and help anybody who wants to start making a simple quilt.

For the December session, local quilt appraiser Dana Balsamo will attend with some of her vintage antique quilts, sure to be of interest when displayed next to Cox’s examples of more contemporary styles. In January, we’ll celebrate Family Quilt Day with a special quilt-themed story time by Cox and a chance for children to take part in quilting-related crafts.

Dec. 5 (quilt appraiser Dana Balsamo); Jan. 23 (Family Quilt Day); Feb. 20, 11 a.m.

Meg Cox

15

Princeton Foodies and the Food and Places They Love

T

Flower Arranging for the Holidays

At holiday time, seasonal flowers, plants, and fragrant sprigs can transform a space into something festive and celebratory.

Rosemary Allen of Design Inspirations returns to the library to show how to decorate with flowers using a holiday theme.

Dec. 7, 7 p.m.

his panel of Princeton area “foodies” will talk about all things edible – from ethnic restaurants and family-friendly places to farmers’ markets and their favorite food blogs – in a discussion followed by questions and refreshments. Panelists are Princeton Food Examiner Sue Gordon, bloggers Phyllis Knight and Linda Prospero, and critic/columnist Pat Tanner.

Gordon taught cooking for more than 20 years, including a stint at Princeton’s Whole Foods Market.

She is a graduate of the Cordon Bleu School in

London. Knight’s blog is popular among the foodobsessed. She and her husband plan vacations around food and love nothing more than wandering the aisles of food specialty stores. Prospero’s blog focuses on home-cooked Italian food, a topic she knows well from spending a year living in Italy.

Tanner is well-known locally for her articles and reviews in New Jersey Life, The Star-Ledger of Newark, The Princeton Packet, The Times of Trenton, and several other publications.

Feb. 9, 7 p.m.

Fireplace Area, second floor

Scrapbooking Circle

Assembling a scrapbook takes time and space to spread out. Both are offered at the monthly meetings of the Scrapbooking Circle. The library supplies a cropping station; scrapbookers bring their own books, photos and other supplies. A consultant is on hand at some of the sessions.

Dec. 30, 4 p.m.; Jan. 24, Feb. 21, 2 p.m.

Making Cards for Valentine’s Day

Linda Willimer returns to the library with two sessions, one for kids and the other for older budding artists, demonstrating the art of making cards for Valentine’s Day. During the two-hour sessions, participants will make four cards suitable for that holiday or any occasion using stamp sets and supplies.

Jan. 30 10 a.m., kids ages 8-14 make a card for a teacher, parent, friend and free choice.

2 p.m., older teens and adults, ages 15 and up, make four general-purpose cards.

Please register online at www.princetonlibrary.org.

Genealogy

The Witherspoon-Jackson Genealogy Group meets monthly in the Princeton Room to share ideas, listen to speakers and get beginners started with researching their roots. The group concentrates on the history of families who lived in the historic WitherspoonJackson community. On the steering committee are Carl E. Brown, Jr., Frances Craig, Minnie Craig, Penney EdwardsCarter, Robert Harmon, Wallace Holland, Henry F. Pannell, Shirley Satterfield, and Joseph Tadlock. All interested in Princeton history or genealogy are invited to attend.

Dec. 3, 3 p.m.; Jan. 7, 7 p.m.; Feb. 4, 3 p.m.

Princeton Room, second floor

Linda Prospero

Sue Gordon

Phyllis Knight

Music Bruce Springsteen: The Bard Of Freehold College of New Jersey English professor Lincoln Konkle, an expert on the music of Bruce Springsteen, will talk about the singer as a literary songwriter, poet and social commentator. Konkle will incorporate information from papers he has delivered about themes of love, death, political power and religious faith in Springsteen’s lyrics. “Like Bob Dylan before him, Springsteen has been recognized as a poet and short story writer working in popular music,” Konkle says.

Feb. 11, 7 p.m.

City Winds Trio Holiday Concert Get into the holiday spirit at a concert

by City Winds Trio, performing music from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” Christmas carols, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa songs. What makes this New Jersey-based ensemble unique is its combination of instruments – flutist Crispian Fordham, oboist Meredyth Coleman, and bassoonist Yuki Higashi make up the trio, which also brings in pianist Christopher J. Haberl for some concerts. The City Winds Trio and City Winds Piano Trio perform a number of concerts throughout the East Coast each year. Both trios have performed on the chamber series of Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Trinity Church, St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University, and elsewhere. The trios’ educational program, Musical Innovations, is performed at Montessori schools and public libraries.

Dec. 5, 3 p.m.

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ENRICHMENT

SCORE Counseling and Seminars Counseling Service

Tweetup

The 27 mostly retired executives and small business owners of the Princeton Chapter are available three hours each weekday for by-appointment counseling sessions for individuals who are considering starting a new business or are in business and are seeking advice. All counseling is free and confidential.

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6 p.m.

Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.

Tower Room, second floor. Call 609.393.0505 to schedule a session.

Seminars Intellectual Property Protection

Carole E. DeNatale, an attorney from Prozio, Bromberg & Newman’s Princeton office will discuss what intellectual property is, and how to protect and enforce your IP in today’s economy. DeNatale has presented to universities and business incubators and counseled start-up, midsized and Fortune 500 companies on strategies for cost-effective management of their IP portfolios.

Dec. 8, 6:45 p.m.

HR means Higher Returns

SCORE counselor Jerry Masin helps small business owners looking to start or upgrade their HR function to realize the financial and long-term benefits of sound human resources planning.

Jan. 28, 6:45 p.m.

QuickBooks Basics for Small Business

Oria Gonzales, a certified QuickBooks Pro adviser who conducts QuickBooks workshops at the library twice a month, will present a special program on the basics of the popular QuickBooks software. Gonzalez joined SCORE in 2007 after practicing accounting for more than 25 years as a Controller and Accountant for several organizations.

Feb. 17, 6:45 p.m.

Engaged Retirement

Co-sponsored by the library and the Princeton Senior Resource Center, these seminars are designed to help make the transition to retirement or another major life change easier to navigate. Conference Room, second floor.

Helping You Plan for a New Retirement

Katherine A. Hanadel of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. helps explore options for feeling more confident, in control and on track with your retirement planning. She will discuss issues such as determining your future needs and resources, managing risks to your retirement savings and estate and beneficiary planning strategies.

Dec. 10, 7 p.m.

Can You Afford to Retire Now?

Shikha Mittra of ASNA Retiresmart Consulting LLC will address these questions: Has the market put you off track on your retirement goals? How do you get back on track? She will discuss new trends affecting your retirement, the most common 401K mistakes, converting IRAs and Roth accounts in 2010, and long-term health care.

Jan. 14, 7 p.m.

Learning About Social Security Jim Herbert, public affairs specialist with the Social Security Administration, will present an overview of all Social Security programs: retirement, survivors, disability, supplemental security income, and Medicare. He will cover eligibility, benefit computations, when and how to file using eServices and will clear up misconceptions concerning Social Security.

Feb. 11, 7 p.m.

Ask a Lawyer

Lawyers will be at the library for free private consultations and general legal issues. No appointments necessary; service on a first-come, first-served basis.

Spanish translators will be available.

Jan. 13, 7 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the library, the Latin American Task Force, Lutheran Social Ministries, the Princeton Borough Housing Authority and the Mercer County Bar Association. For more information, call Lucia Acosta at 609.924-9529, ext. 316.

This is an event for Twitter addicts and Twitter newbies alike. Join Princeton Scoop, MrsMoNJ and other local twitterati for an evening of mixing and meeting. Refreshments will be supplied by local businesses who tweet, and there will be music and a chance to network.

Dec. 3, 6-8 p.m.

Tenth Anniversary Season

Tuesday Technology Talks Holiday Gift Guide

Keeping up with changes in technology is a full-time job.

No one knows that better than Douglas Dixon of Manifest Technology, who returns to the library to present the Holiday Tech Gift Guide 2009. This annual roundup of tech trends and toys will track the latest developments, from portable gadgets to netbooks to set-tops, game consoles and beyond. Dixon, an independent technology consultant, author and speaker specializing in digital media, breaks it down to help participants discover which gadgets to put on the gift list, not to mention the personal wish list.

Dec. 1, 7 p.m.

Establishing a Digital Footprint in Social Media

Jay Bryant, sales vice president at LiveWorld.com will give examples and share best practices for professionals and companies to leverage social media to grow their online presence. The presentation will focus on simple steps people can take for their own business or their employer to get engaged with social media. Details will be provided about site metrics, content planning, search engine optimization and online behavior/ethics.

Jan. 12, 7 p.m.

Google Wave

E-mail was invented in 1965. What would it look like if it were invented today?

Join Robert Keith, technologist at the New Jersey State Library, as he takes you on a tour of Google Wave, a completely redesigned online communication platform.

Bob will demonstrate what Wave can do and tell you how it will change the way we communicate online.

Feb. 2, 7 p.m.

Noodle Talks Alan Goldsmith’s conversation game is designed to enrich interpersonal relationships through stimulating discussion of life experiences. It all begins when participants select a paper strip (“noodle”) from a container. Each noodle contains one or two questions. There are no right or wrong answers in these resulting discussions; just the truth of experience.

Dec. 14, Jan. 11, Feb. 8, 7 p.m.

Quiet Room, first floor

Socrates Café In the spirit of Socrates’ belief that “the unexamined life is not worth living,” participants ask questions of each other and listen to responses, raise challenges and consider alternative answers. Everyone is invited.

Dec. 22, Jan.26, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.

Conference Room, second floor

Hunger Games ­— Middle school students are invited to the library for an “after-closing” evening Save the Date Princeton of play and games inspired by the best-selling books “The Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire.” March 12, 7 p.m.

TEENS

events

A Cappella Night Vocal groups from the four high schools in Princeton show what they can do in this annual evening of performance, planned by the Corner House Student Board and co-sponsored and staffed by the library and Corner House. The library is open after hours for this event, which is open only to high school students attending Princeton schools.

Dec. 4, 8 p.m.

Feed your Face, Shape the Future Kristan Flynn presents a primer on conscious eating.

In this session, learn how choices of food have broader societal implications. Thinking about what you eat is an opportunity to vote with your dollar, create, and share with others. You’ll get to prepare some great recipes for savory and sweet snacks, power breakfast, and an innovative dinner with friends.

Feb. 13, 2 p.m.

Please register by using the Events Calendar at www.princetonlibrary.org or call 609.924.9529, ext. 240

Gaming Day

Drop in to try video and board games and hear a presentation by Tim Haddick, a Princeton High School senior and Teen Advisory Board member. Tim will talk about video games and systems, covering cost and game ratings, in these sessions aimed at parents and adults who want to familiarize themselves with games and game systems before buying them. The presentations are at 2 and 4 p.m. and the program lasts until 5 p.m.

Dec. 12, 1 p.m.

Game On!

Pre-teens and teens are welcome to drop in Fridays after school to play video and board games for 90 minutes.

Dec. 4, 11, 18; Jan. 8, 15, 22 , 29; Feb. 5, 12, 19 , 26, 4 p.m.

Funded by a generous gift from Princeton Tour Company

Clubs

Participants meet monthly at the library to talk about reading and other interests, help with library events, plan programs and have a say in library services. Healthy snacks are provided and new people are always welcome.

Go Between Club (grades 6-7) Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Feb. 13, 10 a.m.

Teen Advisory Board (grades 8-12) Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Feb. 13, 11 a.m.

CALL FOR ENTRIES ⁄⁄⁄ 2010 Princeton Student Film & Video Festival ⁄⁄⁄ Entry form and guidelines: www.princetonlibrary.org/teens/media

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18

CHILDREN

Story times build a foundation for reading

By ANNE LEVIN Connections Staff Writer

I

n the third floor Story Room of Princeton Public Library, 17 toddlers are taking part in a rendition of “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” Led by Allison Santos of the Youth Services Department, the little ones participate as they please.

Some bounce in their mothers’ laps, trying their best to tap each body part as it is named in the song. Others careen around the room, doing their own, distinctive dance to the familiar words and rhythms as their parents and caregivers sing along.

Welcome to Mother Goose Time, one of the library’s popular Story Times for different age groups and languages. While the target audience of these programs tends to be 8 years old and younger, they are planned as carefully as the highprofile lectures and seminars held for adult patrons of the library.

“These are the most important programs we offer in the Youth Services Department,” says Santos. “We do many great things, but nothing is more significant.”

Jan Johnson, manager of Youth Services, agrees.

“These programs are the beginning of formal education,” she says.

“They are well-thought-out and planned, and age-appropriate. There is a reason children are divided by age. The librarians have been trained in early childhood literacy methods and the songs and action rhymes are chosen because research has shown they make a difference in the way young people’s brains develop. They teach the foundations of reading. ” Ten different Story Time programs

STORY TIMES R

program

Winter 2009-’10 ages

Martha Perry leads a story time in the third floor Story Room. are on the library’s current roster.

Three of them are offered in other languages: Spanish, French, and Japanese.

“It’s interesting who comes,” says Lucia Acosta, a Youth Services librarian, who leads the weekly Stories in Spanish for children ages 2 to 8.

“A few are American families trying to raise their kids bilingually. Others are native speakers. Some of the same parents who bring their kids for English story times come for Spanish, too.”

Acosta also brings the library’s programs to the YWCA at Valley Road, and the Princeton Nursery School.

“Parents are working and can’t bring the kids in, so I go to them,” she says.

All of the Story Time programs except for Preschool Stories require that parents or caregivers attend along with the child. “It’s an interaction between the child, the adult,

day, time

and us,” says Johnson. “The parents need to be engaged and alert. We also want to get families into the habit of coming before the child is 2. We want the library to be such an important part of family life that it becomes routine.”

Johnson, Santos, Acosta and others who read aloud and sing songs at Story Times are used to the occasional outbursts and temper tantrums that come with the job. They encourage parents and caregivers to keep trying.

“We want this to be a positive experience,” says Santos. “So if your child is losing it, no harm, no foul. It’s OK to leave and come back another time. Not all days are good days. We understand that.”

Story Time leaders have been encouraged in recent years by the increased attendance of fathers. “It’s a totally different vibe when dads are

dates

REGISTRATION NOT REQUIRED

adult

Lapsits

To 15 months

Tue., 11a.m.; Thu, 11 a.m.

Dec. 1-15; Jan. 5-Feb. 25

Must attend

Mother Goose Time

15 mos.-2 years

Wed., 10 a.m.; Thu., 10 a.m.

Dec. 2-17; Jan. 6-Feb. 25

Must attend

Saturday Stories

2 to 8 years

Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.

Dec. 5-Feb. 27

Must attend if child is 5 or under

Sunday Stories

2 to 8 years

Sundays, 3:30 p.m.

Dec. 6-Feb. 28

Must attend if child is 5 or under

Toddler Stories

2 to 31⁄2 years

Tue, 10 a.m.; Wed, 11 a.m.

Dec. 1-16; Jan. 5-Feb. 24

Must attend

Preschool Stories

31⁄2 to 6 years

Thursdays, 2 p.m.

Dec. 3-17; Jan. 7-Feb. 25

Must remain in the library

Folktales From Afar

3 to 8 years

Saturdays, 2 p.m.

Dec. 12; Jan. 9; Feb. 6

Must attend if child is 5 or under

Stories in Japanese

3 and older

Thursdays, 4:30 p.m.

Dec. 3, Jan. 7; Feb. 4

Must attend if child is 5 or under

Stories in French

5 and older

Saturday, 11:15 a.m.

Jan. 30; Feb. 27

Must attend if child is 5 or under

Stories in Spanish

2 to 8 years

Tuesdays, 4:30 p.m.

Jan. 12, 19, 26; Feb. 2, 9, 16

Must attend if child is 5 or under

Want program reminders sent to your mobile phone? Text PPLPARENTS to 51684 for up to two text messages per week. Standard message charges apply according to your carrier.

there,” says Santos. “They tend to be really into it.”

Johnson adds, “I like it when dads come with their little boys, because it encourages the boys to read. I fear that one reason boys don’t read as much as girls is because it’s perceived as not a ‘guy’ thing to do.”

Santos ended a recent Mother Goose Time with the song “The Wheels on the Bus,” an obvious favorite. After the toddlers lined up to get their hands stamped with the imprint of a leaf, they filed out with their parents and caregivers. Lydia Legesse, an energetic 17-month-old, shot out of the Story Room door headed straight for the fish tank, followed by her mother Sharon.

“I bring her all the time,” Sharon said. “It’s very clear and I like the way they incorporate songs and stories. It’s a great pace for them. She loves it.”

Related Programs Sing Me a Story

Some stories are read, others are sung.

At this lively, interactive story time, we’ll sing our stories and explore dance and movement with musical instruments that are just the right size for little hands. The session is for children ages 2-6 and their parents or caregivers.

Jan. 23, 4 p.m.

Smart Start

These enjoyable and informative weekly interactive workshops will bring the story time experience into your home with tips to help children become readers for life. This program is for children up to age 5 and their parents or caregivers.

Jan. 12, 19, 26; Feb. 2, 9, 16, 10:30 a.m.

(Snow date, Feb. 23)

19 Miss Pam goes to Africa

Give Me a Break

Youth Services librarian Pamela Groves and her daughter, Maya, will share highlights of their trip to Uganda. Home to the highest mountain range in Africa and the source of the mighty Nile, Uganda has the highest concentration of primates on earth, including the majestic mountain gorilla, one of the rarest animals on the planet. Experience the beauty and diversity of African culture through stories, photographs, video, maps and more.

Dec. 9, 4 p.m. Ages 5 and older

Programs for holiday week

“Up”

This animated Pixar masterpiece was released last May and was the first animated film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. The film centers around a grumpy old man (the voice of Ed Asner) and an overeager Wilderness Explorer who fly to South America in a floating house suspended from helium balloons.

Dec. 26, 3:30 p.m.

Bravo Percussion

Holiday Week Stories

With the help of young participants, three zany percussionists from the Princeton Symphony Orchestra will demonstrate all of the percussion instruments in an orchestra.

Children are sure to enjoy the players’ renditions of many of the special effects heard in favorite movies and cartoons.

Feb. 20, 3:30 p.m.

In these family story times, we’ll start with a story for the youngest listeners (under age 2) and end with something for 8- and 9-year-olds, with plenty of fun for all children in between. Parents, grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts: all are welcome.

Dec. 21-24, 29-31, 10:30 a.m.

Jean Prall Rosolino

Activities Recycled Art Workshop

Children can use their imaginations to create their own works of art by using recycled household materials. Kids will learn that many items have multiple uses and be inspired to turn trash into a treasure.

Jan. 9, 3 p.m.

The Three Bears

The children in the audience play Baby Bear in this half-hour, one-woman show by Jean Prall Rosolino of Youth Stages. She takes on Papa Bear, Goldilocks and Mama Bear, under whose guidance the children (Baby Bear) get dressed, do morning exercises, chores, and, of course, discover that “someone’s been eating my porridge.” This is a lively introduction to theater for those ages 3 to 5.

Dec. 28, 10:30 a.m.

Winter Week Activities

These holiday week sessions are for children ages 7 and older.

Snow Learn to cut 6-pointed snowflakes from paper and take home enough to create a blizzard in your room (some scissor dexterity required).

Dec. 28, 2:30 p.m.

Snowman Make a three dimensional snowman that will not melt. Please bring a clean white sock.

Dec. 29, 2:30 p.m.

Ice Play ice-breaker games with librarian Martha Perry.

Dec. 30, 2:30 p.m.

Greek mythology trivia Build it!

In this series for children ages 8 and up, Princeton University engineering students will teach children basic principles of engineering, using fun tools such as LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits.

Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25; March 4, 11.

Time to be announced

Test your knowledge of the Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, monsters and all things Percy Jackson in our afternoon trivia event. Come dressed as your favorite character from Greek mythology if you’d like, and be a part of our Olympian challenge! This event is for ages 9 and up.

Feb. 26, 4 p.m.

Clubs

Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum

Registration is required. For more information please contact Pamela Groves at 609.924.9529, ext. 244.

Purim Stories

Heads and Tales Club Children in second and third grades are invited to join the club and share their love of books with their classmates at monthly meetings.

Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Feb. 13, 2:30 p.m. Conference Room Word for Word Club This is the place where fourth- and fifth-graders can discuss what they’re reading and get suggestions from other kids who love to read.

Dec. 19, Jan. 16, Feb. 20, 2:30 p.m. Conference Room Home School Book Discussion Group Home-schooled children meet to discuss the very best in children’s books.

Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 10, 11 a.m. (ages 13-15) Dec. 18, Jan. 22, Feb. 19, 9:15 a.m. (ages 7-9) 10:30 a.m. (ages 10-12) Study Room, third floor Guys Read Dads and kids ages 6 to 10 join in short book discussions. Uncles, big brothers and grandfathers are welcome, too.

Jan. 23, Feb. 20, 11 a.m. Conference Room

Call Tom Hammel, 609.924.9529, ext. 210, to learn the title of the next selection.

Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum, who serves Congregation String of Pearls in Princeton, will tell the classic story of the holiday Purim. The heroine is Queen Esther of Persia, whose bravery in the face of irrational hatred is still a model of many virtues worth emulating by both children and adults.

Feb. 28, 3:30 p.m.

Non Profit Org.

Executive Director: Leslie Burger

U.S. Postage

Programming Coordinator: Janie Hermann

PA I D

Youth Services Manager: Jan Johnson

Princeton Public Library Sands Library Building 65 Witherspoon St. Princeton, NJ 08542 609.924.9529 princetonlibrary.org

20

Frıends of the

Princeton Public Library

Public Information Director: Tim Quinn

Princeton, NJ

Program Committee: Lucía Acosta, Leslie Burger, Susan Conlon, Kristin Friberg, Pamela Groves, Romina Gutierrez, Janie Hermann, Jan Johnson, Terri Nelson, Tim Quinn, Allison Santos, Barbara Silberstein, Margaret Sieck (Friends of the Library)

Permit No. 4 Return Service Requested

Illustrations: David Pugliese Staff Writer: Anne Levin Editing and design: Tim Quinn

spotlight

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

Letter from the president This is Pam Wakefield’s last letter as president of the Friends. She has served ably and nimbly for the last two years, keeping her volunteers engaged and motivated. Pam oversaw dozens of meetings, several beneficial benefits, the transformation of the Library Store into the Ongoing Book Sale and the magnificent boom in used book sales. Pam has been a great asset to the library, and she will be missed.

Three stories of why I support Princeton Public Library.

1

In June my husband and I welcomed a young man named John from Kashmir.

John is seeking asylum in the U.S. as a result of persecution in his homeland. The journey from Kashmir to Princeton was not an easy one and John brought very little with him.

On his first day in Princeton we took John to the library and got him a library card. This has been our best gift to him. The library has become his window on the world. John is there most days using the computers, picking up technical skills and doing legal research.

2

Late this past winter, the Princeton forecast warned of frigid weather and heavy snow. I was in the checkout line at the library and it was pretty long. As we waited, an older woman in front of me turned and explained, “When I heard the weather forecast I just knew I had to get to the library this afternoon. I don’t want to be stuck at home in a storm with nothing to read. This library is my lifeline.”

I have two small, energetic grandsons who are learning to read. For my own sanity and their literary pursuits, we always hit the library’s third floor when they are in town.

There is a comfortable couch there on which we like to settle. At first, the boys gathered books (lots and lots of books) and I read. But now, bit by bit, we share the reading and gathering load. Of course, they need to check the fish tank frequently — “I see Nemo!” — break for a chocolate chip cookie in the cafe (also frequently) and speculate about how securely “Louis the Trumpeter Swan,” Mary Taylor’s charming 7-foot sculpture, is attached to the ceiling.

Like the other members of the Friends Council, I feel privileged to help this library continue to be a window on the world, a lifeline and a place to relax, enjoy, explore and learn to read.

– Pamela Wakefield

3

Browsing at the Friends of the Princeton Public Library Annual Book Sale in October.

Book sales keep booming It is impossible to overestimate this community’s appetite for books – insatiable is a word that comes to mind. The Friends Annual Book Sale, held Oct. 2-4, once again had a banner year, exceeding the sales of the prior year. Gross income was around $22,000.

The success is in keeping with the trend of the Ongoing Sale, which has had a phenomenal year.

Of note was the single largest sale in the history of the book sale: a beautiful 15-volume set called “Archaelogia,” published in the mid- to late-1770’s by the Society of Antiquaries of London. The set was sold for a remarkable $1,500. Several former Princeton professors donated books from their collections that also sold well.

Anecdotally, the sale was a big success. A boy, about 10 years old, was enthralled with a book about FDR, the early years. He was delighted with his purchase. Then one of the Book Sale stalwarts, Friends president Pam Wakefield, found a photo book about FDR that was still sitting around and offered it to the boy on the final day of the sale, half-price

day. He was ecstatic. All this history and photos, too: nothing could be better.

A teenager was thrilled to acquire a book that was published in 1896 that went for $15 on half-price day. Shoppers were delighted with a substantial foreign language collection that was particularly strong in books in German and Italian. A large, annotated collection of books from Geraldine Boone sold well book-by-book.

Book nooks need refilling

After the successful Annual Book Sale in October, it’s only natural that the supply of books would be diminished. The Friends Ongoing Book Sale is in need of good quality children’s books, particularly picture books. It’s easy to donate.

Go to the service door near the rear entrance to the library and ring the doorbell. If you have too many books to carry, pull up in the driveway, ring the doorbell and someone on the staff will come help you. For large donations, arrangements must be made by phoning 609.924.9529, ext. 280.

It’s all about the materials: How we keep the shelves stocked At a library, when the budget needs cutting, you can’t buy all of the things you need to fill your shelves: books, films, audio books and digital content. It’s noticeable when the shelves are empty.

Taxpayer support pays for the library’s operating expenses, but not for the purchase of new materials. But thanks to the Friends of the Princeton

Public Library, the shelves are empty no longer. The Friends voted at their September meeting to increase their 2009 contribution to the library by $30,000 to $292,500.

“Friends Council members were concerned by the cuts made in the materials budget resulting from the economic downturn,” says Pam Wake-

field, president of the Friends.

The continued success of the Friends Ongoing Book Sale, as well as the Annual Sale, made it possible to increase the donation. As of midOctober, 695 items had been purchased with part of that $30,000.

Library Executive Director Leslie Burger is pleased and relieved by the contribution.

“The Friends of the Library work extraordinarily hard each year to provide essential funding for the library’s collection and programming efforts,” says Burger. “Each year, the Friends rally on behalf of the library, working tirelessly to ensure that everyone in our community has access to the best library resources to meet their needs. Thank you!”