Community Corner
Warren Library to Close for Painting Monday Until Early December
Some programs to be held in Warren courtroom, but patrons must pick up and drop off library materials at other branches.
Beginning Monday, the Warren Township branch of the Somerset County library system, will close for approximately four weeks for needed painting and renovations, including the women’s public restroom.
A sign near the municipal complex says the library will be closed through Dec. 7. That is a fairly good estimate of the time period, although library officials hope the building may open a little earlier, said Marcela Dunham, adult programming and public relations director at the library.
During the time of the closure, library patrons must pick up and drop off materials at other branches, even those materials ordered online, Dunham said.
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She added that the closest other branch of the county library system is the Watchung Library at 12 Stirling Road in Watchung.
However, she said that members of the county library system may bring or pick up materials at any branch of the county library system, including libraries nearby in Bridgewater, North Plainfield, Bound Brook and Somerville.
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Dropoff box outside Warren Library cannot be used
Dunham said the usual book drop outside the Warren Library cannot be used, since it will not be checked by staff while the building is closed.
"We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but could not find any other way to get the work done quickly and safely,” said Somerset County Library Director Brian Auger.
“You know how disruptive it is to paint your house — this is much worse as all the wall-mounted shelving and the books on them, have to come down first," Auger noted.
The book drop will be closed because of the areas being renovated and painted, and the fact that there will be no staff in the building, according to information from the county library system.
The library staff has been advising patrons to change the pick-up location for their holds to a nearby branch or to “freeze” them until December 7.
The book club meeting is scheduled to be moved to meeting room 1 at the Watchung Library from 7:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18/
Dunham thanked the township for allowing some programs to take place at the Warren Township Court Room, next to the library, sharing the same complex and parking areas.
The following programs are scheduled to take place in the Warren Court Room:
- Saturday, Nov. 16, at 2 p.m. “Meeting Eleanor Roosevelt” portrayed by actress Linda Kenyon.
- Monday, Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Parent/Teacher Program — Let the Brain Games Begin Toys and Games to Boost your Brain Power.
- Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. Identity Theft, presented by Kevin Lynch, from the Society of Financial Awareness.
- Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. The Music of the British Invasion, performed by the group “Carnaby Street!” led by Chris Roselle.
- Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. Teen Program: Finding Truth in Young Adult Fiction — A Panel of YA Authors.
Registration is open for these programs through the library website or by calling 908-754-5554.
Staff anticipates welcoming the community back on Saturday, December 7.
Information about Library services and resources is available at the library’s website at http://www.sclsnj.org or by calling 908-526-4016. The Somerset County Library System has branches in Bridgewater, Bound Brook, Hillsborough, Manville, at the Mary Jacobs Library in Rocky Hill, North Plainfield, Peapack & Gladstone, Somerville, Warren Township and Watchung.
Library to be open for program on Prohibition Gangsters this Saturday
The library will be open for a scheduled program from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in meeting room 1 this Saturday with author and storyteller Marc Mappen, who will applies a generational perspective to the gangsters of the Prohibition era.Those young criminals came to power with the Eighteenth Amendment, coming from cities around the nation to forward to disobey the law of the land in order to provide alcohol to thirsty Americans.
Today the names of those men — Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Nucky Johnson — are more familiar than ever, thanks in part to movie and cable TV programs such as "Boardwalk Empire."
Making use of FBI and other government files, trials transcripts and other materials, Mappen's book provides a lively narrative of shootouts, car chases, courtroom clashes and rub-outs in the roaring 1920s, the Depression of the 1930s and beyond.
Mappen is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Historical Commission, a professor at Rutgers University and the author of a number of books and articles about NJ. "Prohibition Gangsters" was featured in the New York Times. To read about it click on this link http://nyti.ms/15VqDbZ
Registration is required. Those who are unable to attend, after registering, are asked to notify the library at 908-754-5554, ext. 64, so those on the waiting list can be contacted.
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