Message Board

Hi, my name is Gurpreet Singh and I'm a library Assistant at the Fair Lawn Public Library. I have been running a Mehndi , also known as Henna, Program now for several years and it has been a great success. This is a program where children from ages 11 to 18 learn the background information of mehndi such as, where it comes from, the significance of it, tradtional values, different designs and its meaning and much more. Price starts at $150 and includes all materials and travel time. All partcipant will recieve a Henna design using all natural plant products. A permission slip is required and provided. Contact me for more information at g_ksingh116@yahoo.com Gurpreet Singh Maurice M. Pine, Fair Lawn Public Library :: Fair Lawn, NJ

We just had a magician, John Carlson (www.magicshow.com or 1-888-55-MAGIC), at a recent event and he was fabulous! He was hysterical and has the kids (and parents) were laughing the entire time. John also incorporated library things into the show and the audience participation was wonderful. For example, instead of the magic word being “abracadabra” it was “I love to read” and all the kids would shout it out - it was great. I highly recommend him. In addition to his magic shows, he also told me about his entraining and educational performances. He has one that ties in the summer reading theme, Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales - it looks like a lot of fun! Katie Hardesty Cherry Hill Public Library :: Cherry Hill, NJ

I received this e-mail from Karen Land today, Fri., March 24. Unfortunately, June is out for us since we don't start our program until July 10. Dear New Jersey Librarians: I have been compiling a list of libraries in New Jersey that might be interested in an Iditarod talk this summer. Because of the high cost of travel, I would need at least 10 visits in the state to be able to come that far east from Montana. There were many schools and libraries in Texas that wanted me to come this spring, so I had everyone put the word out there and, amazingly enough, I have over a dozen scheduled now - so I am traveling there just for the talks. Unfortunately, I figured up my travel budget and I’m going to have to charge $500 per talk to be able to afford the trip. I hate to do it but the price of gas, hotels, and my time away from work force me to do so. I hope you all understand. If you’re still interested and we can line up 10 talks, I can plan a trip for mid to late June. I will need to come directly from my Ohio visits in early June. Please let me know if you are interested either way. That way I can move ahead with planning for others. I know many of you wanted July but that will keep me away from home a little too long. Sorry. Thanks for your interest. I would love to come to New Jersey. Please spread the word if you’re interested. We might be able to pull this off yet! Sincerely, Karen Land Lisa Hewel West Milford Township Library :: West Milford, NJ

Actually, any Wednesday will do - July 12, 19 and 26 or August 2, 9 and 16. Has anyone heard back from Karen about July 12? That would be perfect as a kickoff for us. I will also e-mail her directly. Lisa Hewel West Milford Township Library :: West Milford, NJ

I have not yet heard back from Karen. We have something already scheduled for July 12, but we would be happy to have her visit any other time thereabouts. Jenifer Williams Milltown Public Library Jenifer Williams Milltown Public Library :: Milltown, NJ

I'm interested in having Karen visit my library. I e-mailed her to let her know. The week of July 10th (specifically July 12th) would be perfect for us. Stephanie Burke North Bergen Library :: North Bergen, NJ

I'd consider having Karen as a speaker for our YA summer programming. However, our first program isn't scheduled until July 12. Does this fit in with anyone else's plans? Lisa Hewel West Milford Township Library :: West Milford, NJ

Our library is very interested in the "musher" talk for summer reading that Gina Mitgang of Ridgewood Public Library mentioned. (Remember Pinkwater's "Aunt Lulu"?) I'll email Karen Land shortly. Jenifer Williams Children's Librarian Milltown Public Library 20 West Church St. Milltown, NJ 08850 jeniwill@lmxac.org Jenifer Williams Milltown Public Library :: Milltown, NJ

Hello all - Anyone interested in joining me to try to entice this dynamic-sounding young "musher" to New Jersey to tie in with Creature Features and Paws & Claws at the end of June? I checked out her web site www.mymusher.com and emailed her (I have dibs on June 22 if she comes!) and it sounded like she'd at least consider it if enough other libraries were involved to make it worth the trip. Thanks! Gina Mitgang Ridgewood Public Library 125 N. Maple Avenue Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201) 670-5600, ext. 110 gmitgang@ridgewoodlibrary.org -----Original Message----- From: "Arlene Sahraie" Sent: 3/1/2006 4:52:00 PM To: mitgang@bccls.org Cc: Subject: Program Idea Gina: This is long but I thought of you and your programs and am passing it along. From: Karen Land Subject: [Publib] Iditarod Dog Musher Available to do Library and School Talks To: publib@webjunction.org Message-ID: <20060301153622.79002.qmail@web53601.mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Hello Librarians! I am an Iditarod dog musher and writer living in Montana. For the last 6 years, I have been doing Iditarod talks at libraries, school, conferences, etc.. I am originally from Indianapolis, Indiana and my family still lives there. I return to Indiana for a month every spring to do talks. I am now expanding talks to other areas and would love to come to your library if you're interested. Below I have posted an informal letter recently sent out to my "regulars" - the libraries and schools I go back to every year. For more information, go to my website at www.mymusher.com. I have a great booklist on there for suggested reading. Thank you for your time. Karen Land Dear Teachers and Librarians, I am once again planning a trip back to Indiana to do Iditarod Dog Mushing Talks. I will be in Indiana in early May. I will also be available to do talks in other states (I?ll be doing South Dakota for sure). So spread the word! Last year, I ended up doing over 40 talks in just a few weeks time. It was quite a marathon but, as you might know, I love to talk so it was fun for me (and Borage who loves to schmooze!). As most of you probably already know, I am not running Iditarod this year. In the fall, I sold many of my adult dogs to focus on my litter of ?white pups,? named after the First Ladies and last two Presidents (Martha, Barbara, Lou Hoover, Lucy Hayes, Lady Bird, Jackie-O, Bill, and George). It takes an incredible amount of time and money to train a dog team (by myself) and I just wasn?t set up to do Iditarod this year. I ended up running my 19 dogs in sprint races in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Canada - quite a new and interesting experience for me and the dogs. We had a lot of fun and did well (the pups finished in second place twice this season in fast, competitive sprint races - they LOVE to run!) To learn more about our season, go to www.mymusher.com and read my columns posted on the ?recent columns? page and my blog. So now for my plan - I will be back in Indiana in May. If you would like to have me come to your school or library, just email me with the best dates and times for you. I will put a new ?Spring Schedule? page on my web site so you can go to it to see the open times. This will be first come, first serve. Last year, I was able to squeeze almost everyone in so we shouldn?t have a problem. But please get to me as soon as you can with dates. That will make it easier to schedule and assure you a reservation. Basically, I am wide open now so just start by sending the dates that work best for you in May. If you are from a state other than Indiana, email me and we?ll work out a special time. The cost for the talks this year will be $350 per talk. If you can organize other talks in your area for the same day, I will do them for $300 a piece. Last year, many towns had me go to their elementary school, middle school, and high school plus their library (yes, 4 talks in one day!) and it worked out just fine. Many students loved the talks at their schools and came back to the library with their family that evening. The high cost of gas and travel has forced me to raise the prices. It is really crazy how much it costs to travel around to do these talks! Not to mention the new transmission and tires that I had to get for my truck due to high use. I hope the increased prices are not a problem for you. I will be bringing my sled dog (Borage, of course), sled, gear, and arctic clothing to the talks. I also have an all new powerpoint presentation and a short video of my team in action. It should be a lot of fun! Also, along with the best dates and times for you, I would like your contact information and a map of how to get to your location. Even if you think I already know how to get there, please send it anyway. Doing this many talks can get confusing and it works best for me if I can have a file of all of this information on hand as I travel. Thanks! Any other questions just email or call me at 406-225-3470. I look forward to seeing you all! And Borage looks forward to the petting, hugs, and kisses. This is his favorite time of year! Enjoy following the Iditarod this year. I?ll be posting some of my thoughts as the race marches on... wish I were out there! Take care and talk to you soon. Karen Land www.mymusher.com -- Arlene Sahraie Library Services Director BCCLS - Bergen County Cooperative Library System 810 Main St. Hackensack, NJ 07601 Tel.: 201-489-1904 FAX: 201-489-4215 Gina Mitgang Ridgewood Public Library :: Ridgewood, NJ