Newark Public Library announces November programs
October 27, 2008
Media only, please contact:
Dennis Papp at (973) 733-7798

Highlighting the schedule of programs for the Newark Public Library is the return of college preparatory classes at the Springfield Branch Library at which high school juniors and seniors receive free assistance with completing admission and financial assistance applications and SAT prep sessions.

All of the Library’s November programs are free and open to the public. For more information, patrons should call the number listed with the program description. Some additional details may be available at www.npl.org for adult programs and at www.npl.org/Pages/KidsPlace/calendar.html for children’s programs, or by visiting the Library’s blog at www.nj.com/newark/npl.

Hooray for Children, the series that is fun for the entire family, will present Goowin’s Balloons: Fall Fest on Saturday the 15th, beginning promptly at 2pm. Join balloon artist Allynn Gooen as he invites the audience to participate in a zany story that celebrates the arrival of fall and Thanksgiving. For more information call 973-733-7797.

The November program for the Frances E.W. Harper Literary Society, which is dedicated to discussing books on the African Diaspora, will be on Wednesday, November 5, in the Main Library’s James Brown African-American Room, beginning at 6:30pm. The book under discussion will be Richard E. Miller’s The Messman Chronicles: African-Americans in the U.S. Navy, 1932-1943. For more information, call 973-733-5411.

The exhibition More Than Words: Artists’ Books and Book Art From the Special Collections of the Newark Public Library is installed on the third-floor gallery through January 4, 2009. It traces the trajectory of artists’ book and book art movements from their origins among European avant-garde factions in the early 20th century to the continued celebration today of the book as a medium for artistic experimentation and innovation.

Themed events for all ages will be presented during the run of the exhibition:

• Curator-led tours of the show.
• A special program on Wednesday, November 12, from 6:00 to 8:30 pm, at which there will be a screening of Proceed and Be Bold!, a documentary about Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., a letterpress printer and "book-builder" known internationally for his socially, politically, and racially charged works of art, and his focus on themes of African and African-American heritage, history, and culture. The screening will be introduced and followed by remarks by Kennedy, and accompanied by a one-day exhibition/sale of letterpress posters by the artist. The event is co-sponsored by the New York Regional Chapter of the American Printing History Association (APHA).
• A Family Book Arts Day on December 13, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, which will be an afternoon of book-making and paper exploration with members of the Book Arts Roundtable.

More Than Words was curated by Jared Ash, librarian, Special Collections Division, and organized in conjunction with RESISTANCE!, the Fourteenth Annual New Jersey Book Arts Exhibition and Symposium, to be held at the John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers University in Newark on November 7.

For more information about the exhibition or related events, please call Jared Ash at 973-733-7745, or email him at jash@npl.org.

The fourth-floor display on the Pulaski Skyway continues through December. Entitled Pulaski Skyway - NJ Treasure, the past and present of this remarkable structure is detailed in four exhibition cases. Covered are the construction, history, awards won, and special features of the cantilevered bridge, which opened in 1932, that spans the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, connecting Newark and Jersey City. The exhibition was co-curated by reference librarian Deirdre Schmidel, of the Library’s Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center, and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Division of Project Development & Bureau of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Solutions. For more information call Ms. Schmidel at 973-733-7775.

The Hispanic Heritage exhibition, entitled Reel Diversity: Film in the Hispanic World, continues on view in the second-floor gallery through December 20. It explores film as both an agent and a reflection of change in the Hispanic world. While economics has been, arguably, the predominant factor shaping film in North America, the same cannot be said for Latin America and Spain. Most Latino countries are developing countries, and film—as an agent of social cohesion and often an educational tool—takes on an importance and significance no longer seen in North America. The Western world experienced a cultural awakening in the 1960s; in Latin America, the decade saw the birth or revitalization of several national cinemas. Films by Latino filmmakers represent themes related to national identity while addressing transnational concerns. The exhibit will focus on five national cinemas: Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Cuba and Puerto Rico, and will also include a special section on the role and impact of Telenovelas (soap operas) in Latin America and around the world. The exhibition was curated by Ina Rimpau in collaboration with Ingrid Betancourt and Juan E. Cintrón.

The Library concludes its Hispanic Heritage programming with several November events. For more information about the celebration call 973-733-7772.

November 1, Saturday, Centennial Hall, 2 pm, Theatrical Performance, Mondongo Scam.
Written and performed by acclaimed Dominican artist Claudio Mir, Mondongo Scam is a solo theater piece that shatters stereotypes of all kinds. It is a humorous and insightful examination of the lives of so many immigrants living and working in the United States and their struggles for survival. The action takes place in a courtroom where Casiano Tapia, an undocumented Latino worker, is on trial for using social security cards and other documents of deceased U.S. citizens. Yet, the perspective shifts from the past to the present—interweaving various nationalities, genres, places and ages—as he is possessed by the spirits of the dead whose papers he has stolen.

November 15, Saturday, Auditorium, Argentinean Films/Screening and Commentary, Camila—1:00 pm, 1984. 105 minutes.
An engaging drama of both political and romantic clout, this Oscar-nominated film directed by Maria Luisa Bemberg recounts the true story of a young Catholic socialite from Buenos Aires, Camila O'Gorman, who falls in love and runs away with a young Jesuit priest, Ladislao Gutiérrez, in 1847. Camila had the courage to defy the paternalistic order of family, church and state in 19th Century Argentina. Although the historical facts were well known to Argentineans, government censorship prohibited the filming of this story until 1982. In Spanish with English subtitles.

La historia oficial—3:30 pm, The Official Story, 1985. 110 minutes.
In the mid-70s, Argentina's military dictatorship carried out a brutal campaign of torture and murder against thousands of its own citizens. Set in 1980’s Argentina, the film follows the sheltered wife of a wealthy businessman who finds herself face to face with a legacy of terror as she begins to discover that her own daughter, adopted at birth, may have been stolen from a family of 'los desaparacidos' (the disappeared ones). Directed by Luis Puenzo. Starring Norma Aleandro, Hector Alterio, and Amalia Castro. In Spanish with English subtitles.

November 18, Tuesday, Centennial Hall, 5:30 pm, NJHRIC Networking Event/Book Presentation, Cuentos: Stories From Puerto Rico.
The Support Network of the New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center at the Newark Public Library hosts a networking reception featuring the presentation of the book Cuentos: Stories From Puerto Rico, edited by Kal Wagenheim. Cuentos is a bilingual anthology of twelve short stories by six of Puerto Rico's leading writers. Themes vary in time from the 16th century Spanish conquest to the migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States; in mood from the black humor of Emilio Díaz Valcárcel's "Grandma's Wake" to the poignancy of José Luis González's "There's A Little Colored Boy in the Bottom of the Water"; and in style from the baroque of Emilio Belaval's "Spectralia" to the spare, tough prose of Pedro Juan Soto's "The Champ." Each story is published in both English and the original Spanish.

November 22, Saturday, Auditorium, 2 pm. Youth Event, NJ Teens Making Films.
Screening of short films and public service announcements written and produced by teens participating in Aspira’s Youth Filmmaking Academy and La Casa de Don Pedro’s Youth Program. The young filmmakers will introduce their films and participate in a question and answer session at the end of the program. Special presentation of Amina: Life Through the Eyes of a Young Muslim, a documentary short produced by Sarah Jane Pattwell, and featured in NJN’s Images/Imágenes Show last year. This event is being developed in partnership with Aspira of NJ and La Casa de Don Pedro.

Free computer classes—in English and Spanish—are being held in the Technology Training Center, which is located on the third floor of the Main Library. Class size is limited to ten participants. Some classes are designed for first-time computer users (Mouse Clinic, Typing), while others are for those with more computer literacy (Word Processing, Email, Blogging, Internet, Creating a Résumé). For more information on the calendar of classes for the month, please call 973-733-3603, or visit www.npl.org/Pages/Computers/.

The Weequahic Branch Library, 355 Osborne Terrace, 973-733-7751, will hold three programs: on Friday, November 7 at 3:30pm, there will be an arts & crafts on celebrating fall by making and coloring leaves of all shapes and sizes for a paper tree; on Friday, November 14, the movie Pride, which tells of the first African-American swim team and the obstacles they overcame, will be shown; and on Friday, November 21, at 3:30pm, celebrate Thanksgiving by making a "hand" turkey and writing about something for which you are thankful.

The Springfield Branch Library, 50 Hayes Street, 973-733-7736, will begin another year of college preparatory classes on most Wednesdays, from 5pm to 7pm, and most Saturdays, from 11am to 1pm. High school juniors and seniors are invited to attend these free sessions for assistance with completing college, SAT and scholarship applications, college admission essays, financial aid assistance, and SAT prep sessions.

The Main Library Children’s Room, 5 Washington Street, 973-733-7797, invites children aged 2 to 4 to play, sing and listen to stories on Wednesdays in November, from 9:30am to 10:15am. Their parents or caregivers will get tips on how to prepare their youngsters for the wonderful world of reading. Registration is required.

The Madison Branch Library, 790 Clinton Avenue, 973-733-8090, will hold a Thanksgiving story hour for children aged 4 to 8 on select Tuesdays (November 18 and 25) and Thursdays (November 6, 13, and 20) at 10:30am. Children can make a jewelry box or picture frame on Thursday, November 13 at 3:30pm. On Thursday, November 6, 13, and 20, from 4pm to 5pm, teens can learn how to use the online catalog to search materials for class assignments. On Wednesday, November 12, 19, and 26, from 5pm to 7:35pm, there will be a viewing of This Christmas (rated PG-13), a movie about the Whitfield family’s Christmas holiday gathering.