Dear Editor:

As President of the Friends of the Hoboken Public Library for 2001-2002, I am writing to invite all Hoboken residents to join us in working to support the Library, located at 500 Park Avenue on Church Square Park.

The Library is one of our community's outstanding resources. It offers reference services, children's services, best sellers, Internet access, computers for word processing, music CDs, video cassettes and starting very soon, DVDs. All of these are free to Hoboken residents.

The Friends are a group of volunteers that help the Library by purchasing various items for children and adults that fall outside the Library's budget. The Friends' most recent gifts to the Library include three new computers for word processing and the funding to start a DVD collection. We also sponsor special programs throughout the year. By becoming a friend, by participating in some of the various activities we sponsor (see below) or even by becoming a more frequent patron of the Library, you will be expressing your support for this important situation.

Book sales: Our book sales are one way to raise money to finance our activities and contributions to the Library. Our next sale will take place in conjunction with the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival, now moved to the raindate of September 30 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Our sale will take place in Church Square Park, across the street from the Library and will feature gently used hardcover and paperback books in all genres and at bargain basement prices.

Tales for Tots: This fall, we will again sponsor the popular Tales for Tots story hour at the Library on the third Saturday of each month, October 20, November 17 and December 15. Tales are read from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Stories are geared toward children from ages 2 to 6. Admission is free, and registration is not required, but adults are asked to stay with their children during the program.

English as a Second Language: Another very popular program we sponsor is the conversational English tutoring program for adults. This fall we will have two concurrent sessions: on Monday evenings students will meet the tutors in small groups for conversation; on Tuesdays students will watch a special ESL video and discuss it with tutors.

Hoboken Sounds: The Friends have been working to expand the Library's Hoboken Sounds CD collection (selections from local recording artists) and we ask local musicians who have produced a CD to donate a disc.

Vanishing Hoboken: This oral history project, cosponsored by the Hoboken Historical Museum, is designed to capture, through interviews with long-time residents, business owners and workers, those aspects of local life -- cultural, industrial, professional --- that have disappeared or are threatened because of the continuing physical and demographic changes in Hoboken.

Again, let me say that the Friends welcome new members and volunteers. Donating even one hour of your time is valuable to us and to the Library.

To learn more about our work, to join us and to volunteer, please pick up information at the Library or email us at hobokenfol@yahoo.com.

Michelle Harmon, President

Friends of the Hoboken Public Library