Saturday, July 17, 2010 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 141 Hoover Avenue (corner of Hoover & Pleasant – Directions & Map)

• Enjoy a 30-minute interactive presentation at 10:30am and 1:00pm Given by Walter Stochel of the Metuchen-Edison Historical Society.
• Browse old photos of the area, local homes and landmarks!
• Discover our history through maps, displays and other memorabilia!
• Members of the Metuchen-Edison Historical Society will be there to answer questions & share stories!
• Parents can relax and participate in the program while children are engaged in supervised activities!

Bring Your Own History!
Dig out those old photos and come over with a friend!

A FREE event sponsored by Friends of the Edison Library, Metuchen-Edison Historical Society and Clara Barton Library Supporters
Please contact us for more information.

Clara Barton Library will be OPEN FOR BUSINESS from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on this Saturday! Check out a book while you’re there!

A Town Hall meeting regarding the announcement was well attended by people from the Clara Barton area of Edison, many of whom were angry and upset about the closure. Edison’s Mayor Antonia Ricigliano proposed that the Library Board of Trustees meet with her to see if there was anything that could be done. That meeting was this week, as were a number of other meetings on the subject.

The Township Council have reallocated $100,000 from elsewhere in its budget so that the branch may stay open at least until the end of the year, to allow for time to explore the options. A task-force is being put together to look for ways to raise the necessary funds to keep the library open. Permission is also being sought to use around $70,000 that remains from a neighborhood preservation grant made to the area.

Friends of the Library President, Graham Gudgin, and Treasurer, Becky Gudgin were asked to speak at a community meeting held on Thursday in Clara Barton. They explained what The Friends of the Edison Public Library does and its relationship with the library. They also invited people from the area to join The Friends.

Friends of the Edison Public Library have offered our assistance to both the Library and the community group, as long as it falls within the scope of our organization.

Things are looking a little more hopeful for the branch library – we wish everyone involved much success with their efforts to keep it open.

Here are two recent local news stories on the subject:

Edison’s Clara Barton Branch Library gets a reprieve — for now – NJ.Com (Star Ledger)

Edison library branch gets reprieve from closing – MyCentralJersey.com (Home News Tribune)

We had a very successful Fall Booksale this year. Far from the poor economy keeping people away, we think that many people were buying used books rather than new ones!

More photos of the sale can be seen in an album on our Facebook page (you don’t need to be a Facebook member to view them).

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us. If you have a 2010 calendar handy, please make a note of the dates of next year’s sale: Saturday and Sunday, November 13th and 14th, at the North Edison Branch Library, Grove Ave., Edison, NJ. See you there!

Friends of the Edison Public Library's Booth at Metuchen Country Fair 2009

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth at Metuchen Country Fair. We had a great time! Congratulations to the winners of our “Name the Author” game, and we hope to see a lot of you at upcoming events.

Pictured is our booth just before opening. From left to right: Friends’ President Graham Gudgin, Secretary Chris Rose and Phyllis Muska. More photos can be seen in a photo album on our Facebook page (you do not have to be a member of Facebook to view this album).

Please come visit us at booth 91, which is at the train station end of Main Street, near (but on the opposite side of the street to) “What’s the Scoop.”

Please come and say hello and play our “Great Books” game to win a prize. There will also be give-aways, information about The Friends, what we do, and events we have planned.