eLibraryNJ

No matter which computer, eReader or mobile device you have you can download free eBooks and audiobooks today from the South Brunswick Public Library website.  From our website just click on the 'Download audiobooks.eBooks' button.  Read the few important notes on the next screen before clicking on the top link 'Click Here to Download'

You will enter the eLibraryNJ website. Click on 'Sign In' and select the 'Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium' as your library and then type your library barcode number and pin. Start searching for eBooks and audiobooks.

It's easy to get help in eLibraryNJ by clicking on the 'Help' link in the upper right.  And the Information Services staff at South Brunswick Library are always happy to get you started and answer any questions that come up.

Contact: Mary Donne Head of Information Services

March Wednesday Wisdon TED Talks

The Wednesday Wisdom TED talks scheduled for March 7, 2012 at 1:30 will continue exploring the Charter for Compassion and will relate to the Continuing Community Conversation Panel to be held this Sunday, March 11, 2012 in the library meeting room.

The TED talks that will be presented, and the description of each from the TED website at www.TED.org, are as follows:

Rabbi Jackie Tabick: The balancing act of compassion - While we all agree that compassion is a great idea, Rabbi Tabick acknowledges there are challenges to its execution. She explains how a careful balance of compassion and justice allows us to do good deeds, and keep our sanity. 

Swami Dayananda Saraswati: The profound journey of compassion - Swami Dayananda Saraswati unravels the parallel paths of personal development and attaining true compassion. He walks us through each step of self-realization, from helpless infancy to the fearless act of caring for others.

Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf: Lose your ego, find your compassion - Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf combines the teachings of the Qur’an, the stories of Rumi, and the examples of Muhammad and Jesus, to demonstrate that only one obstacle stands between each of us and absolute compassion -- ourselves.   

Karen Armstrong: Let's revive the Golden Rule - Weeks from the Charter for Compassion launch, Karen Armstrong looks at religion's role in the 21st century: Will its dogmas divide us? Or will it unite us for common good? She reviews the catalysts that can drive the world's faiths to rediscover the Golden Rule.

Join us as we explore this important topic.

African-American Spirituals as sung by Carlensha Grady

This concert is part of the Daphne Powell Memorial Concert Series, hosted by the Friends of the South Brunswick Public Library.

Music can be a great way to see into the heart of any culture.
On Sunday, Feb. 26, the public is invited to enjoy a free concert of African-American spirituals in honor of Black History Month. It begins at 3 p.m. in the main meeting room of the South Brunswick Public Library.

Soprano Carlensha Grady will be the featured performer in this Daphne Powell Memorial Concert. She is a beautiful and talented young woman who clearly exudes the joy she feels when singing for an audience.  Save a seat for me!

An accomplished singer of classical, jazz, and operatic music, Ms. Grady has performed in Carnegie Hall and the State Theater. She performs regularly at venues throughout New Jersey. Locally, she is the music teacher at Metuchen Christian Academy and soprano section leader at Nassau Presbyterian Church of Princeton.


The concert series was made possible by a grant awarded by the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission for $2,100, in conjunction with some matching funds from the Karma Foundation and the Friends of SBPL. The monies will support an expanded Daphne Powell concert series for nine concerts during 2012.

FYI: Black History Month is a national annual observance for remembrance of important African-American people and related events, beginning in 1926. Every February it is celebrated in the United States and Canada. The United Kingdom celebrates in the month of October.

Celebrate the Irish culture on March 25 with a free Daphne Powell Concert of traditional Irish music by McDermontt's Handy.

Other performances scheduled for 2012 concert series include:
April 29 - Jersey Follettes, an all-female vocal group; May 27 - Spook Handy: America’s Story through Folk Songs; Sept. 30 - Ken Lelen, a vintage guitarist performing songs from Frank Sinatra to Duke Ellington to Peggy Lee; Oct. 21 - Maggie Worsdale’s Caberet Show; and Nov. 18 - City Winds Trio, classical music.


-30-

Shrimp Riddle

What is:  easy enough to make from ingredients you (could) have on hand, quick enough for a weeknight meal, but glorious enough for company?

Answer:

Pasta with Shrimp and Olive Sauce, from Todd English's new book, Cooking in Everyday English, The ABCs of Great Flavor at Home.

I challenge you to try some of the recipes from this beautifully illustrated book, and not pronounce them delicious.  Todd English has numerous restaurants in Boston, New York, Vegas and studied not only at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, but served an apprenticeship in Italy, and it shows. 

He knows how to amp up everyday favorites with a twist, all within reach of a home cook. 

Forthwith, the recipe, whipped up by my daughter this past Sunday:


Pasta with Shrimp and Olive Sauce, adapted from Cooking in Everyday English

12  - 16 oz. fettuccine or spaghetti
10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (be generous)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 lbs. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (frozen, from Costco is good)
28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped (preferably Muir Glen brand)
2/3 cup loosely packed basil leaves, loosely packed and torn (would be lovely fresh, but if not, try 2 teaspoons dried plus 1/4 cup fresh parsley if you have it)
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (essential)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
two 3.5 oz. containers black olive tapenade (we used Cat Cora's brand, available at Shop Rite)

Boil the pasta in a large amount of well salted water just until al dente.  Save 1/2 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and put back in the warm pot.

While the pasta is cooking, saute the garlic in the olive oil over medium low heat in a large saute pan until very soft, about 10 minutes.  Add the dried pepper, and cook another 5 minutes.  Turn the heat up to medium high,  add half the shrimp, and saute until just pink.  Remove the shrimp and add to the pasta.  Saute the remaining shrimp until pink, add all the remaining ingredients, and then toss it all with the pasta.  Add a bit of pasta cooking water if necessary to loosen the sauce.


My favorite pasta and shrimp dish for 20 years used to be Pierre Franey's with tomatoes, basil and feta:  sorry Pierre, this is my new favorite.

This cookbook is on order for our Library, but until we receive it in, you can get it by putting a hold on it from other libraries in our Consortium.  Either go online to sbpl.info or call us at the Information Desk 732-329-4000 ext. 7286 and we can get it for you. 

And if you don't feel like cooking, you can try Todd English's ridiculously delicious food at the beautiful and gracious restaurant "ca va" at the Intercontinental Hotel in Times Square or at the Plaza Hotel's bustling Food Hall.

Diane Whitman
Reference Librarian
Todd English Fan

Free Online Classes

Did you know that the rate of growth in the medical billing and coding industry is expected to increase at a faster rate than most other occupations? Skilled medical billers and skilled coding technicians are in high demand. Your online training in billing and coding can help you find work in a variety of medical settings whether a private medical office or healthcare facility, a hospital or clinic, or even a claims examiner for insurance companies. If you're interested in learning a new career, or advance within your current career, or maybe learn new skills to start your own home business, taking courses in our online classrooms is a convenient way to start your education.


UniversalClass™ courses are a perfect fit for today's fast-paced and busy lifestyles. The classes require no special software or hardware. You can study on your own time without the hassle of commuting or arranging your work schedule and finding childcare.

UniversalClass™ offers over 50 courses in the category of Office Skills. If you’re interested in training for a new career, advancing within your current company, or just want to learn some new skills to stay competitive, our online courses can help. Taking an online course is such a convenient way to learn. You don't have to rearrange your work schedule or arrange for childcare, you can do your coursework when it works for you. Our courses are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and our professional instructors are there to grade your work and answer email questions.


Our skill-building courses include shorthand training, managing people, computer training from Excel to PowerPoint, terminology courses, project management, sexual harassment awareness training, courses to refresh your skills in grammar and punctuation, customer service training and so much more.

Just go the libraries website at http://www.sbpl.info/ and click on the databases link. Scroll down and click on Universal Class to start learning anything from job skills to cooking. Contact your library if you have any questions

Charter for Compassion

There is a movement in this country to learn compassion for those around you, near and far.  South Brunswick is joining this movement with a series of Cultural Community Conversations which was started by the Aging in Place Partnership, led by Jackie Rubel.  The schools, local clergy and the library are joining in the conversation.

The initial call to get back to being compassionate toward others was expressed by author and historian Karen Armstrong.  In 2008, she won a TED Prize which awards the recipient $100,000 and "one wish to change the world."  Karen Armstrong's acceptance speach where she makes her wish can be heard on the TED Talks website at www.TED.org.  The Wednesday Wisdom group heard this talk and several others who answered her call to "build this charter...to launch it and to propagate it until it becomes..."  She goes on to conclude her talk saying, "I'd like to see it in every college, every church, every mosque, every synagogue in the world, so that people can look at their tradition, reclaim it, and make religion a source of peace in the world, which is can and should be."

In November 2009, the completed charter, that was compiled by the multi-faith, multi-national Council of Conscience, was unveiled to the world and 83,657 people have affirmed its message so far.  You can read the Charter, learn more about it, its history, the council members who compliled it and ways that you can support it, at their website:  http://charterforcompassion.org/site/.  The basis of the Charter is very simple - it is the Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

Please join us and the Aging in Place Partnership to spread the message of the Charter.  Join the library Monday night bookclub on March 5 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the book The Faith Club by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner.  Come to the next Wednesday Wisdom program on March 7 at 1:30 where we will view and discuss four more TED Talks on the topic of compassion and join in the Continuing Cultural Conversation on The Faith Club and the Charter for Compassion to be held at the library on March 11, 2012 at 2:00.  This conversation will be led by several religious leaders in our community.  

Value Line Library Editions On-Line

Your South Brunswick library card will give you access to Value Line's Library Editions On-line.


Go to the library's database page  and scroll down to select the Value Line link. You will only need your library card barcode number.  No password is required.


Value Line Investment Survey Online and Value Line Small and Mid-Cap Survey Online are powerful  investment tools which  include: 


•Stock lookup to search for tickers and company names

•Industry lookup and search features

•Custom company reports

•Model portfolios

•“Quick Search” for Value Line rank changes

•“Real-Time” supplementary analyst reports

•Stock recap screen featuring quotes, news, option data, graphs, and Time & Salesv

•“Market Review” with index information on Dow Jones, S&P, CBOE, Russell, and NYSEv

•Value Line's Top 100 Ranked Stocks

You can start by using the 'Value Line Investment Education' section which will help you properly utilize their vast offerings. "How-to" guides and sample reports provide valuable information on using Value Line’s in-depth and professional research reports to help build your investment portfolio. Investing strategies and educational articles are easily accessible in this area, and help even seasoned investors to better understand the complex world of investments. In addition, Value Line's free, extensive investment terms glossary is at your disposal, should you need clarification in regard to financial terms.

Try it today! Contact the Information Desk if you need help.

Submitted by : Mary Donne Head of Information Services