| Upcoming Events & Programs The Friends of the Edison Public Library sponsors a variety of programs every year appealing to many interests! Check this page monthly for new information. Fall Book Sale The next Friends of the Library Book Sale will be Saturday and Sunday, November 15 (10am- 4pm) and November 16, 2008 (noon-4pm) at the North Edison Branch Library, 777 Grove Ave.,Edison. As usual, we need volunteers, both for the event and for other activities before and after the sale. If you have gently used books to donate or if you would like to volunteer, please email graham.gudgin@verizon.net or call Graham Gudgin at 732-738-4586. |
Take advantage of the convenience of on-line shopping and support The Friends at the same time, at no additional cost to you! Go to iGive.com, become a member, and designate “The Friends of the Edison Public Library” as your charity. A percentage of your purchases through this on-line shopping portal will be donated to The Friends at no additional cost to you. Choose from almost 600 name-brand businesses—clothing, furniture, computer equipment, books, toys, and more. For a limited time, you can earn us a bonus, if you join using a personalized link that we can send you, and if you shop within 45 days of joining. Send an e-mail to graham.gudgin@verizon.net requesting your special iGive.com link and we'll send you the link by e-mail. |
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Recent News The Library Celebrates Chinese New Year The Chinese American Dance Ensemble (CADE) is a folk dance group of about 70 students based in Edison. Students from the age of 7 to 17 meet every week for lessons to study traditional steps and movements of Chinese folk and court dances under the tutelage of Mrs. Chin-Wen Chao, the CADE's Choreographer and artistic director. On Sunday afternoon, February 3rd, they performed the Lion Dance, the Peacock Dance, The Dragon Captures the Pearl Dance and the Festival Delight dance to a crowd of over 40 enthusiastic people gathered at the main library to celebrate the Chinese New Year. In addition, Mr. Edward Yu demonstrated the traditional art of calligraphy, and the young musicians of Celadon Youth, which was formed to keep the eastern cultural heritage alive among the younger generation, entertained the crowd by playing various instruments. Celtic Harpist Helps Us “Love Our Friends” On Sunday, February 10th, The Friends of the Edison Public Library held a “Love Our Friends” event to recognize and thank our members and volunteers. With a Valentine theme, the main part of the event was a concert by Mary Kay Mann, who sang and performed on the Celtic harp, whistle and flute. Mary Kay delighted the audience with interpretations of Celtic songs of love (and being Celtic, often loss!). Top-Quality Donations Help Make For A Successful Fall Book Sale On Saturday and Sunday, November 3rd and 4th 2007, at the North Edison Branch Library, The Friends of the Edison Library had one of our most successful book sales ever. Hundreds of customers browsed through thousands of gently used books, CDs, audio-cassettes, and videos, walking out with boxes and bags full of bargains, while financially supporting the work of The Friends. Thanks to everyone who donated such great books! We were particularly impressed with the quality of book donations for this sale, and we heard quite a few comments from customers who felt the same way. FRIENDS AT METUCHEN COUNTRY FAIR Each October for many years, the town of Metuchen has held a Country Fair with booths staffed by volunteer organizations, churches, political factions, and many other non-profit groups in the area who wish to raise funds and/or get their message out. On Saturday, October 6, 2007, the Friends of the Edison Public Library occupied Booth No. 16 for a day of fun. The Friends had Halloween/Thanksgiving themed pencils, stickers, and stampers for the children. We gave out lots of fliers for our November book sale and let donors know how to donate books. We even signed up a few new Friends. The Friends are very grateful to Walker Shortbread Company, which donated 300 twin-packs of shortbread cookies, signage, and a wonderful gift basket containing boxes of cookies, a book about Scotland, and a tartan-clad teddy bear Strategic Plan: Edison Libraries for Tomorrow Initially prompted by a desire for the Friends to identify how we could best help the Edison libraries in the near future, and embraced by the Library Board of Trustees, Strategic Plan: Edison Libraries for Tomorrow (PDF File) summarizes the findings of a comprehensive survey of Edison residents. Both library users and non-users were asked their opinions about what the library is doing, and what could be done to improve the experience. We encourage you to read the report and watch for many of its recommendations to become reality. |
If so, we need you! The Friends often provide refreshments at our events, and while we can purchase commercially baked goods, or request that they be donated, home-baked goodies always go down well. If you would like to volunteer to occasionally bake for us, please call Graham Gudgin at (732) 738-4586 or send an e-mail to graham.gudgin@verizon.net |
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About Us More than 40 years ago, 130 Edison residents formed the Friends of the Edison Public Library to promote and support the building of the Edison Main Library. In 1995, the Friends incorporated, and the organization achieved 501(c)(3) non-profit status in May 1999. Through the years, the Friends have expanded their role to include:
Board of Trustees for 2008 |
| President: Vice-President: Treasurer: Secretary: Library Director: Asst. Library Director: Members at Large: Library Liaison: Trustee Emeritus |
Graham Gudgin Lynne Leitner Dorie Levin Pam Hartkopf Judith Mansbach Evan Davis Becky Gudgin Brian Santhumayor Chris E. Rose Roberta Schechter Sid Frankel |
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How To Join The Friends Membership in the Friends is one way of showing support for one of our community's most important resources-our libraries. Friends members receive:
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| Student/Senior Individual Family |
$5.00 $10.00 $20.00 |
Patron Benefactor |
$25.00 $50.00 |
| Lifetime membership | $250.00 | ||
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Memberships of $50.00 or more receive a bookplate. Membership Applications are available at all the Edison libraries. Dues may be paid by cash or check made out to the Friends of the Edison Public Library. Drop your completed form off at the Reference Desk of the Edison Main Library or send it with your check to: |
| Friends of the Edison Public Library C/O Graham Gudgin 700 Amboy Avenue Edison, NJ 08837-3555 |
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For more information, call Graham at (732) 738-4586 Matching Gift Programs Do you work for or are you retired from a company that has a matching gift program for charitable organizations? Check today to see if The Friends are eligible. You can double or triple your monetary contribution at no additional cost to you! Announcing Our “Refer-a-Friend” Program We are happy to announce an exciting new program in which we hope you will participate. Called “Refer-A-Friend”, the program will reward you for getting one or more of your friends to become one of our Friends. There will be small prizes for anyone who refers one, three, or five new Friends of the Edison Public Library members in 2008. At our Annual Meeting in November, we will award a larger prize to the person who refers the most new members in the calendar year. We are currently negotiating for a prize such as a gift basket or dinner for two – prizes will be announced in the next Library newsletter. Volunteer Opportunities We have many opportunities for volunteers. Our current primary needs are:
or email graham.gudgin@verizon.net How To Contact Us |
| Graham Gudgin Friends of the Library, President (732) 738-4586 graham.gudgin@verizon.net |
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