If we’re wrong and you already knew all five, then you win a free library card. (Just kidding! Actually, anyone who lives in Hoboken can simply present proof of residence at the library and get a free card—which is the ticket to all of the free services and programs below.)
1. The library is now open on Sunday! That’s right—you asked and you got it. Sunday library hours for adults and kids are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (Alas, no senior bus on the weekends, but the senior bus now stops at the library during the week; it runs Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on an hourly basis.)
2. All kinds of special help are available for anyone needing assistance during this economic crisis. Just log onto the library’s website (http://hoboken.bccls.org) and press the “Get Help” button on the home page or see a reference librarian in person. You can receive work tools, financial tools, housing information, health resources, parenting tools and help specifically designed for senior citizens.
3. Looking for a good book? It’s easy to sign up for a free monthly or bi-monthly newsletter with recommendations in any genre you like: biography and memoir; fantasy; history and current events; kids’ books; mind and body fitness; picture books; science fiction; thrillers and suspense; business and personal finance; fiction A-Z; home, garden and DIY; mystery; romance; teen scene—and also library monthly events. Get to the signup through the library’s website (scroll all the way down the homepage and click the box that says NextReads), or call or email the reference librarians (201)-420-2347, or hobref@bccls.org). For that matter, you can always ask one of the librarians to recommend one of his or her favorite books.
4. The library is a great place to learn a new language or to find works in any language you already know.
• The Friends of the Hoboken Library sponsors free English as a Second Language sessions, which will start up again on a weekly evening basis at the library in January. For more information (or to volunteer to tutor!), send an e mail to info@hobokenfol.org. In addition, the library has one laptop with ESL on Rosetta Stone (a self-guided learning program).
• The Mango online learning system, available free through the library, can help you improve your English—or learn another language, such as Spanish, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian or Russian. You can go at your own pace and study when you have the time, using a computer at the library or at home.
• The BCCLs system (composed of more than 70 libraries, of which the Hoboken library is one) offers a world language catalogue online, including languages with a non-Roman alphabet. Chinese, Korean, and Russian are currently available with Japanese, Gujanti, and Hindi coming soon. (Go to http://www.bccls.org)
5. Talking is encouraged…at the library’s monthly book discussion group. The next title is “Best Friends Forever” (a novel about two high school friends who reconnect at their reunion) by Jennifer Weiner. The discussion, held on December 9 at 2 p.m. and again at 6:30 p.m., is the perfect opportunity to make friends in town and share thoughts about a great read.
Want to help support the library? On your next visit, look for the holiday Giving Tree and consider “purchasing” an ornament (i.e. making a donation); you can dedicate your gift to someone. This effort is sponsored by the Friends of the Hoboken Library, and all proceeds go to the library.
Library Hours
Monday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Tuesday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Wednesday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Thursday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Children’s Room and Young Adult Department Hours
Monday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Wednesday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.