Library Staff

Main Branch (908)-354-6060

Branch Services

Children's Services

Circulation Dept.

Information Services

Teen Dept.

Local History

ONGOING PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN & TEENS (For infants to grade 12)

Baby & Me – Ages: 0-2: Stories, fingerplays, rhymes, and songs followed by some play time.

1000 Books before Kindergarten – Ages 0-5: Children get one plush finger-puppet for every 100 books read, and they also get to add stickers to their folder scene. Children who reach the goal of 1000 books before Kindergarten get invited to a special party where they will receive one certificate, one book, and a personalized button.   This program was started thanks to a grant from the Union County Freeholders. More info: http://www.elizpl.org/childrens%20dept%20documents/intro_2%20(3).pdf

Storytime & Craft – Ages 3+:   Stories with a theme, followed by an arts and crafts time. Done twice monthly.

Tween Zone – Ages 9-12: This is a program for older children who generally feel “too old” for storytime. It’s more of a hands-on program as they take part in doing different that involve arts and crafts, or STEM activities.   More Info: http://www.elizpl.org/childrens%20dept%20documents/TweenZone.pdf

Fudge Bunch Book Club – Grades 4-6:   A book club for children. Meeting weekly at intervals, children get to read and analyze one book at a time. A party is planned by the kids, once they get to finish reading and discussing the book. More Info: http://www.elizpl.org/childrens%20dept%20documents/FudgeBunch.pdf

Great Stories Club (librarian-led) & Fearless Readers (teen-led) – Grades 9-12: Book clubs for teens. These clubs meet weekly, to read & analyze various Young Adult novels, comics and non-fiction. Associated activities are also incorporated. Participants with good attendance receive certificates, which they may use to boost résumés, college applications, and more.

More info: http://www.elizpl.org/teen%20dept%20files/GSC-schedule-2019.pdf

Summer Reading Program – For ages 0-19: The busiest time of year! Our Summer Reading Club runs from June through August. We have a lot of programs such as storytimes, crafts, bingo, Lego Hour, and special performers. We’d love to have special performers year long, but due to limited funding, we can only bring them during the Summer. In addition to the programs, all summer reading participants have the opportunity to earn prizes for every book that they read. More Info: http://www.elizpl.org/childrens%20dept%20documents/Summer_Rev.pdf

Book Bingo – All Ages: For all ages and parents encouraged to play as well! – Come play Bingo with us, make new friends, and win books!  

Read Down Your Fines – Children and teens 19 and under can read in the Library to pay off their overdue fines. This can be done at any one of our four locations. Once signed in at children’s, teens or an appropriate desk at a branch, children and teens will receive one dollar ‘credit’ for every 15 minutes spent reading. Reading down fines counts toward overdue Library fines only and cannot be applied to lost/damaged charges.

In addition to the above ongoing programs, the library offers special programs celebrating Read Across America, International Children’s Book Week, NJ Makers Day, Halloween, etc. Special programs are generally well attended and may require registration. Other special programs include partnerships with

other organizations such as Kean University, Family Link, NJPAC, and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County among others.

ONLINE RESOURCES

(Good for kids & teens of all ages)

All available at http://elizpl.org/databases.html

TumbleBooks are animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you. TBL also includes National Geographic videos and games. With a school licence, teachers and students have access to the Common Core Portal, quizzes and teacher materials/lesson plans!

ABC Mouse helps kids learn to read through phonics, and teaches lessons in math, social studies, art, music, and much more. For kids age 2 to Kindergarten. IN-LIBRARY USE ONLY

Academic Search Premier contains indexing for 8,025 publications, with full text for more than 4,500 of those titles

Consumer Reports is an American magazine published since 1930 by Consumers Union, a nonprofit organization dedicated to unbiased product testing, consumer-oriented research, public education, and advocacy.

ProQuest has partnered with Ancestry.com to create Ancestry® Library Edition, one of the most important genealogical collections available today.  It has unparalleled coverage of the United States and the United Kingdom, including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada, Europe, Australia and other areas of the world! IN-LIBRARY USE ONLY

Free on demand, anytime, anywhere online learning for all ages and levels! Brainfuse HelpNow offers personalized homework help in all core subjects, preparation for SAT, GED, Citizenship, and career exams, essay writing and resume help, and more. Live tutors are available every day from 2:00pm to 11:00pm EDT.

Hoopla is a digital content provider of music, ebooks, audiobooks, movies, comics, and television, with currently more than 400,000 titles available across those formats. Library patrons have access to all content instantly, without having to place a hold or wait for a title to become available.

Registration is required. You will need your Library Card number and PIN code in order to register for an account. (View a tutorial here.) Users are allowed five checkouts per month. This service is provided via our membership in LMxAC.

Novelist, the complete readers' advisory solution, empowers librarians, engages readers and connects communities. Find your next read here, for adults, teens, or children.

RBdigital Magazines, the world's largest newsstand, offers full-color digital magazines for anytime, anywhere reading on desktops, mobile devices, and apps. Your library's collection of popular digital magazines includes both new and backlist titles with no holds, no checkout periods, and no limits.

Rosetta Stone offers libraries and their patrons the proven immersion method that more than 22,000 schools have trusted for over 20 years. The award-winning interactive approach has been used by millions of learners around the world and now is accessible in the library or anywhere, anytime.