The Friends of the Library Bloomfield 80th Anniv. Celebration October 18 at Historic Oakeside Manor

Bloomfield, NJ, October 7, 2015 (Newswire.com) - The Friends of the Library, Bloomfield, the first Friends of the Library Association established in the East, celebrates its 80th Anniversary next month.  Township residents and other friends of the organization and the Bloomfield Public Library are invited to the celebration, Sunday, October 18, at Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center at 3:00 p.m.  The event is free and will feature author and journalist Mary Shaughnessy (Les Paul: An American Original) and poet Madeline Tiger, the introduction of special guests, including library director Adele Puccio, various dignitaries and the presentation of citations honoring the past and present of The Friends of the Library.  

This FREE event will also feature refreshments, including wine and hors d’oeuvres, and all attendees will be entered in raffle giveaways offered that day. Prizes include autographed books (Walk this Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith by Aerosmith and Stephen Davis, The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka, All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Frank Benton and a slip cased advance reader copy of Stardust by Neil Gaiman) and other surprise raffles.
The event is co-sponsored with the Bloomfield Cultural Commission.

I'm looking forward to the 80th Anniversary Celebration as a chance to greet library friends old and new and to invite all to join in our ongoing commitment to the Bloomfield Public Library.

Gary Iacobacci, Friends of the Library President

Friends of the Library President, Gary Iacobacci, notes this milestone “wouldn’t be possible without the work of those who have come before us, positioning the Friends to fulfill its mandate to aid and support the Library’s development with our programs such as book sales, community relations and our current long-term initiative, the Adopt-a-Chair campaign.”  He adds, “I’m looking forward to the 80th Anniversary Celebration as a chance to greet library friends old and new and to invite all to join in our ongoing commitment to the Bloomfield Public Library.”

ABOUT THE Bloomfield Friends Of The Library
The first Friends of the Library Association in a public library in the East was established in Bloomfield in 1935. The idea was put forward by Helen Scherff Taylor, the library’s public relations director (later director) who thought it would be a stimulating experience if there were a group of keenly interested people who could inspire more library service to the community.  The idea was passed to the American Association of University Women-Bloomfield Chapter and to the Women’s Club of Bloomfield, both of which sponsored the Friends of the Library.  The first meeting was held that same year.

The Bloomfield Friends of the Library has continued to support programs and purchases of materials and equipment ever since.

ABOUT THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Sunday, October 18, 2015, 3:00 pm
Oakeside Mansion/Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center, 240 Belleville Avenue, Bloomfield, NJ 07003 (corner of Belleville Avenue and John F. Kennedy Drive)
Parking (including police traffic and pedestrian crossing control) available on site and at the nearby Memorial Park lot.