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friends FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY Animal magnetism Creatures great and small enhance the library experience for young people (and their adult friends) on the third floor By KAYLIE NELSON CONNECTIONS STAFF While the natural world is the focus of our reading clubs this summer, animals are in the spotlight year-round on the third floor of the library, where, with help from the Friends, children can make connections with special friends. Tanks for the memories Children visiting the third floor can check out Finding Nemo on DVD, but they can also check out some of their favorite characters in real life in the library’s third-floor aquarium. It draws the attention and excitement of parents and children alike, who stop by to gaze at the colorful community living inside. “They come right out of the elevator and go right to the aquarium,” said one mother, with her 4-year-old and 18-month-old in tow. “They like the colors because the fish are so bright, and the bubbles are a big hit.” The 300-gallon saltwater tank is the home to a vibrant colony of tropical fish and living coral. At the desk, there is a guide to the original set of fish that lived in the aquarium when it was first installed, when the new library building opened in 2004. While some fish have gone to that great library aquarium in the sky, the guide still helps identify most types of fish living in the saltwater tank. New marine residents move to the underwater neighborhood every so often, and the two blue and yellow hippo tang fish— which kids might better recognize as Dory— are the only surviving members of the original aquarium family. Catherine Dean of Robbinsville and her 1-year-old son Christian have been coming to Princeton Public Library since he was 9 months old because their local library doesn’t have a story program for children so young. The aquarium is an added bonus to their trip up here. “I like that it gives him access to a marine environment,” Catherine said. “It’s so much better than seeing them in the pet store.” The aquarium was given by Barbara and Henry Freedman and Ann and Leighton Laughlin. It costs about $750 a month to maintain and it is serviced by Allquatics, who visit every other weekday to clean the glass and ensure proper levels of bacteria in the water. 10 connections THE PRINCETON PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWSLETTER The celebrity canine While the library brings in a variety of noteworthy speakers, we have our very own celebrity here every Friday at 3:30 on the third floor. Emma, a hulking, 95-pound English Labrador, is a trained therapy dog whose job it is to listen to struggling readers practice in a safe environment. “It’s win-win-win all around, putting animals together with children who are struggling or just learning to read,” said Ann Woodrow, the Youth Services Department librarian responsible for bringing this program to the library. “Animals just bring your blood pressure down.” Woodrow decided to bring a therapy dog to the library almost three years ago, when she first learned about the national program that began in Salt Lake City, and says the program—and Emma’s fame—have been picking up and growing ever since. Children can register to read to Emma for 20 minutes every Friday. “Emma’s a great resource,” said Mark Scheibner, whose daughter Hannah, 8, has been reading with Emma for the past two years. “It’s just another one of the great services provided here.” Emma and her owner, Joe Turner, are especially extraordinary because they are one of only a few teams that are acceptable to be around very young children. Emma is very gentle and has no problem letting even the tiniest tots crawl up to touch her nose and pet her. “We’re really lucky to have Joe and Emma,” Woodrow said. “A great adult and the dog with a great temperament is the perfect com- Hannah Scheibner reads to Emma in the Story Room. A child delights in the third floor fish tank. more Friends news on Page 19 bination. It’s Joe’s generosity and his time that makes the program what it is,” Woodrow said. Six-year-old Emma was certified through Therapy Dogs International four years ago, and has been working steadily ever since. She visits libraries, nursing homes, hospitals and schools three days a week, even visiting summer schools. “She’s a busy girl,” said Turner. “That’s what she does, and in between she sleeps.” Emma has earned quite a bit of recognition for her hard work. She has been featured in The New York Times and on Philadelphia’s Action News, and has a legion of dedicated fans even beyond those who come to read to her. “The thing that’s so great about her is that anybody who comes in, even the most jaded, attitude-filled teen, when they see Emma, their faces lighten up and they just seem to soften,” Woodrow said. And, just like all celebrities, Emma is not without her fan mail. Since she started as a therapy dog, Turner has collected all of the art work children give to her, and made all of the pictures into a collage. Turner has been sure to make Emma, who has just about become the library’s mascot, available after-hours for all the “Emma groupies” in town. He brings her to library events, like the Princeton Children’s Book Festival, and to the library a little bit early to meet and greet her fans before work. “She definitely likes the attention,” said Allison Santos of the Youth Services staff. “Sometimes she has to get pushed to go to work.” Emma has earned the attention for all that she’s accomplished, transforming her visitors into confident readers. “We have really seen children blossom by spending time with her,” Woodrow said. “Children improve their reading skills and speaking skills, and we’ve seen those who are afraid of dogs get over their fear just by spending time with Emma.” www.princetonlibrary.org
THE 2007 ANNUAL REPORT The State of the Library An interview with Library Director Leslie Burger For the Annual Report Issue of Connections, Library Director Leslie Burger sat down with Connections staff writer Kaylie Nelson to talk about 2007 and what’s ahead for Princeton Public Library. KN: First, can you reflect on some of the library’s accomplishments of 2007. What were some of our great successes? LB: We had a lot of successes in 2007. The public’s interest in the kind of programming that we do here at the library continues to grow. We had record-breaking attendance for some of our series. Our author events remain popular because they provide an opportunity for people to get up close and personal with an author and hear a little bit more about the life of a writer; I think it’s very attractive to many people. And the Friends had their most successful benefit ever featuring author Richard Ford. So, we continue to bring crowds in, people are continuing to borrow books and watch movies and listen to CDs. We’ve introduced some new formats that are enabling people to get content in different ways and that’s through some of our downloadable audio books and a huge library of downloadable music from Alexander Street Press. We adopted our first-ever strategic plan, which is really important for us, it provides direction and focus for the kind of services that we deliver. KN: And it must have been nice to hear what The New York Times had to say about the library. LB: It’s always wonderful when the library receives good press and we were particularly thrilled that when The New York Times did a story about how libraries have changed. The Princeton Public Library was prominently mentioned and referred to as the model for a modern library. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Leslie Burger explains how to operate one of the new Playaways audio books to the Rev. Jeffrey W. Mays of Christ Congregation Church in Princeton. “There are just so many opportunities to think about new ways of delivering service that were just totally unimaginable to those of us working in the library field just five years ago. Everyone who works here becomes really energized when we think about how we can harness the power of emerging technologies.” – Leslie Burger Unless otherwise noted, all progamming is in the Community Room, first floor connections THE PRINCETON PUBLIC LIBRARY NEWSLETTER 11
Page 1 and 2: With news from The Friends of the L
Page 3 and 4: Summer Reading 2008 Monday, June 16
Page 5 and 6: Preschool Bug Parade Even the young
Page 7 and 8: Simultaneous Chess Event Grandmaste
Page 9: tech Pecha Kucha Night Pecha Kucha,
Page 13 and 14: A Mr. and Mrs. Muhammad R. Abbasi F
Page 15 and 16: Hilary Hays and Hugh Cline Carolyn
Page 17 and 18: R Tamar and Ted Rabb Anne and Jack
Page 19 and 20: SAVE THE DATE: The Friends of the L
Page 21 and 22: THE ALL-EVANOVICH NIGHT IN TRIBUTE
Page 23 and 24: A scene from Juggling Life. Monsieu
Page 25 and 26: Jazz Trios Students in an advanced
Page 27 and 28: spotlight PRINCETON READS Achebe sp

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