Seeking P-T Adult Services Specialist

Overview

The Pennington Public Library seeks a passionate and dedicated Adult Services Specialist to maintain the print and media collection and to plan, publicize and execute onsite and virtual library programs. This position helps keep the library running smoothly during daily operations by performing circulation duties, answering reference questions, as well as other tasks related to the maintenance of library materials, library appearance and library resources.

Principal Responsibilities

Programming, Publicity and Public Relations

  • Plans and coordinates adult library programs.
  • Manages program implementation (in-person and virtual).
  • Identifies patron and community needs.
  • Writes public information materials.
  • Creates program publicity and social media materials.
  • Represents the library at community events.
  • Collaborates with community organizations.

Collection Development

  • Researches and purchases adult and young adult collections.
  • Manages the collection budget.
  • Identifies patron needs and responds to requests.
  • Manages collection culling.
  • Creates library displays.
  • Maintains vendor relationships.
  • Works with staff on collection processing.

Volunteer Coordination

  • Recruits, trains and mentors volunteers.
  • Updates the volunteer manual.
  • Maintains Volunteer E-Newsletter
  • Plans the annual Volunteer Appreciation Gathering.

Patron Services

  • Covers circulation desk as needed.
  • Assists patrons with library resources.

Additional Responsibilities

  • Helps implement the Library Strategic Plan.
  • Oversees daily library operations.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications

  • New Jersey residency is required within one year of appointment.
  • Bachelor’s degree
  • Excellent analytical, organization, problem solving, and communication skills, both orally and in writing.
  • Ability to work on-site at the library building.
  • Ability to work independently and take initiative.
  • Strong interpersonal skills as well as a demonstrated ability to work as part of a team and interact effectively with volunteers and patrons.
  • Digital literacy skills
  • Availability to work a number of nights and weekends throughout the year to oversee programs.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with program planning, presentation and/or training
  • Experience with creating content for Instagram, Facebook, websites, and email campaigns
  • Experience creating with Google Tools, Canva, WordPress
  • Demonstrated creative ability in program development
  • Customer service or public interaction experience
  • Flexible schedule

Hours
10-12 hours a week. Schedule includes evenings and occasional weekend hours.

Salary
$20/hour, Compensation includes paid time off and enrollment into the New Jersey Defined Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP)

To Apply
Submit cover letter, resume, and three professional references to kha@penningtonlibrary.org. Documents should be sent as an attachment in PDF.
Hard copies may also be mailed to: Kim T. Ha, Library Director, 30 North Main Street, Pennington, NJ. Application Deadline: November 8, 2024

To download the print version of this job description: Adult Services Specialist

The Pennington Public Library is an equal opportunity employer.

 

Take Home Craft: God’s Eye Weaving Kits, 3/2024

FREE KITS – March 2024 

Weaving is a pastime of the main character of our Big Read title Circe by Madeline Miller. We welcome you to join us with your own weaving!

God’s eyes, also known as Ojos de Dios, were first made by the Huichol Indians in Mexico so that their gods would protect and watch over them. The God’s eye is a symbol of the all-seeing power and understanding unseen things.

For those who find an instructional video useful:

This event is part of the 2024 NEA Big Read – an initiative designed to broaden our imaginations and understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The featured book Circe by Madeline Miller retells a Greek story from the eponymous heroine’s point of view, giving voice to a lesser goddess Homer’s The Odyssey. We have curated a list of age-appropriate companion titles for our community’s young readers that explore traditional stories from cultures around the globe, ranging from the Greek mythology of Circe to Vietnamese legends. Please visit PenningtonLibrary.org/2024BigRead for a full calendar of events and more information.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. 

2024 NEA Big Read Program Information and Recordings

The 2024 NEA Big Read has completed, but you can still check below for our program recordings

Through the 2024 NEA Big Read initiative, the Pennington Public Library aims to brought our community together around one book, Circe by Madeline Miller. This program broadened our imaginations and understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. See below for program recordings.

Book Summary

Circe retells the story of the eponymous Greek mythological figure. Although traditionally viewed as a heartless, beautiful witch who turns men into swine, the Circe of Madeline Miller’s imagining has more depth. This Circe is a multidimensional, flawed, and empathetic character struggling to find meaning and worth in her immortal life. Through Miller’s detailed and honest first-person narrative, which takes place over thousands of years, Circe becomes relatable.

Born to Helios, god of the sun and the mightiest of Titans, Circe is strange, not powerful like her father, nor alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power–the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods from whom she is born or the mortals she has come to love.

We have also curated a list of age-appropriate companion titles for our community’s young readers. These books explore traditional stories from cultures around the globe, ranging from the Greek mythology of Circe to Vietnamese legends.

Past Programs & Events

Speaker & Lecture Recordings

Sunday, February 25 @ 3:00 pm via Zoom
Kickoff: Author Daniel Mendelsohn (An Odyssey: A Father, A Son and an Epic) in Conversation with Rev. Dr. Gordon S. Mikoski, Ph.D.)
Recording Available

Thursday, February 29 @ 7:00 pm via Zoom
When a Bit-Part Player Becomes the Protagonist: Examining the Impact of a Retelling
with Storyteller Joanne Epply-Schmidt
Recording Available

Thursday, March 14 @ 1:00 pm Hybrid In-Person and via Zoom
Nutrition the Mediterranean Way with Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health
Recording Available

April 2, @ 7:00 pm via Zoom
Author Keynote: Madeline Miller in Conversation with Author/Illustrator George O’Connor.
In partnership with the Hopewell Valley Regional School District and the Miami Book Fair
Recording Available

Speakers & Workshops

March – April 2024 Available @ Pennington Public Library & through listed local businesses 
Take Home Craft: God’s Eye Weaving Kits

Sunday, March 3 from 1:00 – 4:30 pm @ Hopewell Valley Central High School
A Little Like Spell Work: Writing About Crafts and Crafting
(A Guided Autobiography Workshop)

Wednesday, March 6 @ 7:00 pm via Zoom
Art Talk: Explore Ancient Greece with the Princeton University Art Museum

Saturday, March 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm @ YWCA Princeton
Circe’s Strength: Self Defense for Women, Teens & Adults

Sunday, March 10 @ 3:00 pm @ Pennington Public Library
Cultivating the Herb Garden of the Gods with Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County

Wednesday, March 13 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm @ The Watershed Institute
Circe’s Magic: A Family Exploration of Plants (with a Craft and Tea!)

Saturday, March 16 @ 2:00 – 3:30 pm @ Pennington United Methodist Church
Family-Friendly Art Workshop: Discovering Your Magic
with Jane Zamost and the Hopewell Valley Arts Council

Wednesday, March 20 @ 7 pm @ Pennington Public Library
Circe’s Loom: Hands-on Weaving Presentation with Twist Knitting and Spinning

Saturday, March 23 from 10:00 – 11:30 am @ Pennington Public Library
Family Art Workshop: Daily Life in Ancient Greece & Make Your Own Greek Vase
with the Princeton University Art Museum

Wednesday, March 27 from @ 7 pm via Zoom
Flavors of Greece Cooking Class with Thirsty Radish
Recipes:
Marinated Pork
Feta Dip
Quinoa Salad with Grilled Lemon Dressing

March 28 – April 6, Drop-In @ Pennington Public Library
Make and Take Eclipse Viewers 

Saturday, April 6, @ 1:00 – 2:30 pm @ Pennington Public Library
Wild Edibles: A Foraging Talk & Walk with Author Debbie Naha-Koretzky

Sunday, April 14, @ 3:00 pm @ The Pennington School
A Way with Words: An Afternoon of Multicultural Storytelling
with Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum

Friday, April 26, 8 pm @ Washington Crossing State Park Observatory
“Such a Constellation Was He to Me”: Stargazing
with Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton

Book Discussions

Thursday, March 7 @ 2:00 pm via Zoom
Companion Book Discussion: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Pennington Library Adult Book Club

Tuesday, March 12 @ 7:30 pm, Pennington Public Library
Companion Book Discussion: Galatea by Madeline Miller
Too Busy for Books Book Club

Thursday, March 28 @ 7:00 pm via Zoom
Book Discussion: Circe by Madeline Miller

Thursday, April 11 @ 7:00 pm, Pennington Public Library
Book Discussion: Circe by Madeline Miller

2024 Big Read Kickoff: In Conversation with Author Daniel Mendelsohn, Recording Available

Sunday, February 25, 2024 @ 3 pm via Zoom

Author Daniel Mendelsohn in conversation with Rev. Dr. Gordon S. Mikoski & the Pennington Public Library

“But which is the true self? the Odyssey asks, and how many selves
might a man have? As I learned the year my father took my Odyssey course
and we retraced the journeys of its hero, the answers can be surprising.”
Daniel Mendelsohn, An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic

Daniel Mendelsohn

Daniel Mendelsohn is an internationally bestselling author, critic, essayist, and translator. Born in New York City, he received degrees in Classics from the University of Virginia and Princeton. After completing his Ph.D. he moved to New York City, where he began freelance writing full time; since 1991 he has been a prolific contributor of essays, reviews, and articles to many publications, most frequently The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. In February 2019, he was named Editor-at-Large of the New York Review of Books and the Director of the Robert B. Silvers Foundation, a charitable trust that supports writers of nonfiction, essay, and criticism.

Mendelsohn’s books include An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic (2017), named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Newsday, Library Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, and Kirkus; The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million (2006), which won the National Books Critics Circle Award and the National Jewish Book Award in the United States and the Prix Médicis in France; and a memoir, The Elusive Embrace (1999), a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. His tenth book, Three Rings: A Tale of Exile, Narrative, and Fate (September 2020) was recognized as a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and Literary Hub and received the Prix Du Meilleur Livre Étranger 2020 [Best Foreign Book Prize] in France.

Daniel Mendelsohn’s honors include the American Academy of Arts and Letters Harry Vursell Prize for Prose Style, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Barnes and Noble Discover Prize, the NBCC Citation for Excellence in Book Reviewing, the George Jean Nathan Prize for Drama Criticism, and Princeton University’s James Madison Medal. A member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Association, he sits on the Board of the American Council of Learned Societies and teaches literature at Bard College.

Rev. Dr. Gordon S. Mikoski, Facilitator

Gordon Mikoski, MDiv ’88, MA ’89, associate professor of Christian education, earned his MDiv and MA degrees from the Princeton Theological Seminary, and his PhD from Emory University. His research and teaching interests focus on Christian education, the sacraments, the doctrine of the Trinity, and practical theology. During the season of Lent for the past nine years, Rev. Dr. Mikoski has taught courses on classical literature in biblical perspective. In the first six years, he taught every one of Shakespeare’s 38 plays. For the past three years, he has focused on Homer and Virgil. This year’s focus will be on Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Rev. Dr. Mikoski has written and edited several books, including: Integrating Work in Theological Education, co-edited with Kathleen Cahalan and Ed Foley (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2017); and Opening the Field of Practical Theology, co-edited with Kathleen Cahalan (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014). He serves as the editor for Theology Today. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he served a church in the Detroit area for eight years before returning to academia. His wife, the Rev. Nancy Mikoski, serves as pastor of the Pennington Presbyterian Church.

This event is part of the 2024 NEA Big Read – an initiative designed to broaden our imaginations and understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The featured book Circe by Madeline Miller retells a Greek story from the eponymous heroine’s point of view, giving voice to a lesser goddess of Homer’s The Odyssey. Please visit PenningtonLibrary.org/2024BigRead for a full calendar of events and more information.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

In Conversation with Local Filmmakers of Capsules – Recording Available

Wednesday, November 29, 2023 @ 7 pm

Local filmmakers Luke Momo and Harrison Kraft discuss their filmmaking process with the Pennington Public Library.

Film Synopsis: After experimenting with mysterious substances, four chem students find themselves addicted in the worst way possible: they’ll die unless they take more.

2022 · 1 hr 10 min. · TV-MA
Drama · Sci-Fi · Thriller
Watch the film for free online

The film will be screened at the Princeton Garden Theater on Sunday, April 28, 2024 @ 7 pm

About the Filmmakers
Born in Princeton, NJ, Luke Momo (Director, Writer, Producer) earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy with a minor in visual arts from Fordham College Lincoln Center in the Class of 2019. As a student, he founded the Fordham Filmmaking Club. As a filmmaker, he directed Capsules, a feature film, alongside a series of short films including The Stamp Collector. He also interned for Marie-Louise Khondji at Le Cinema Club, a dynamic online cinema space.

Harrison Kraft (Cinematographer) is a director and cinematographer specializing in independent films. As a director, his credits include the short films Drug Rider and The Howling Wind. As a cinematographer, he has shot several independent feature films, most notably Cannibal Mukbang and Capsules.

Healthy Holiday Eating via YouTube

Presenter: Taryn Krietzman, Registered Dietitian from RWJ Barnabas Health

The holidays are a busy and celebration-filled time of year! We begin to anticipate the joys (and the MANY enticing dishes) of the season. It’s important that we prepare ourselves for these inevitable temptations, but still honor our favorite traditions and stay present with those we love. In this program, we will go over ways to make smart choices as we celebrate the season. Let’s enjoy the holidays while keeping the momentum of our health goals through the new year and beyond!

Handout:
Healthy Eating Plate

Featured Recipes:
Healthy Mashed Potatoes
Potato-Leek Soup
Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Sauce
Leftover Cranberry Sauce Vinaigrette
More Leftover Cranberry Sauce Ideas

About the Presenter
Taryn Krietzman completed her Bachelor’s degree and Dietetic Internship with the University of Massachusetts. After working as manager of the ‘Healthy & Sustainable Option’ dining facility at her alma mater, Taryn returned home to NJ to manage a plant-forward café at Rutgers. When the pandemic upended her career in food service, Taryn shifted gears from serving food to growing it. At the end of the growing season, she became the coordinator and driver of a Mobile Food Pantry. These two positions were incredibly transformative in igniting her passion for learning about agricultural food systems, public health and the links where the two meet. Taryn now works as a Community Nutrition Educator with RWJBarnabas Hamilton. She gets the most joy from seeing her pupils light up when learning where real food comes from and how transformative food can be.

In collaboration with RWJBarnabas Hamilton’s Better Health Program.