Financial Literacy in 2012

 The new year will be here before we know it and this means resolutions.  How many of you resolve to get your finances in order year after year?  Are you planning to do this in 2012? Well, we are here to help you. This winter we will be working with the Society for Financial Awareness (SOFA) to bring you financial education seminars on a variety of topics.  SOFA is a non-profit corporation that works with companies, family businesses, and community groups to offer free educational programs to the public. Check out their website for more information about SOFA.

Since there are so many possible seminar topics, we are asking you to choose which ones you would like the experts to present.   You can choose from topics such as Getting "Fiscally Fit", College Planning, Understanding 401k Rollovers, Legal Lessons for Life, and several others.  The library is currently conducting a survey to help decide on the topics for our upcoming seminars. Click here to take the survey and be entered to win a 2.0 GB Flashdrive/MP3 player combo. The deadline to take the survey is December 22nd. Look for the upcoming seminar announcements in late January!

eReader Hour at MAPL

Questions about eReaders are quickly becoming the most popular inquiry at our library. With the holidays approaching we are pretty sure some of you will be unwrapping a new Kindle, Nook, iPad, or Kobo this winter. Your new eReader will probably come with many questions. How do I borrow free ebooks from the library? How do I turn this thing on? What's the difference between an Adobe EPUB EBook and Kindle Book? Luckily, the library has your answers. You can bring your eReader, or your eReader questions, to the library Monday nights from 7 pm to 8 pm for our eReader Hour. We can show you how to navigate your device, borrow free books from ListenNJ, transfer books from your computer, check your account, and answer any other questions you may have.

If you can't make it into the library at that time, we have many other resources that can help. You can take one of the "cheat sheets" next to the reference desk, or find an online version of them on our website by clicking the "eReader Guide" link on the left side of our home page. You can click here to go there now.

Happy reading and listening!

This post was written by our Computer Assistant, Curtis Clark.

Jersey Shore Authors

“Are you from Jersey? What exit?” Everyone knows the old joke. But as a true New Jerseyan, you know that our state is rich in natural beauty, culture and historical significance. Perhaps that’s why it attracts such a wealth of authors of both fiction and non-fiction. This month, the library is showcasing the Jersey Shore Authors. And, no, I don’t mean Snooki and the Situation. No matter what kind of book you enjoy, there’s an author that’s right for you. The queen of suspense, Mary Higgins Clark, makes her home in Spring Lake and Saddle River. She’s added two new books, I’ll Walk Alone and The Shadow of Your Smile, to her already impressive body of work. And, straight from international headlines, is the heart-wrenching story of Tinton Falls resident David Goldman, and his five-year custody battle to get his son back from Brazil. You can read about it in his book, A Father’s Love: One Man’s Unrelenting Battle to Bring His Abducted Son Home. Please visit MAPL’s display on Jersey Shore Authors, and pick up a brochure that features these titles and more titles by other great local authors.

We are thrilled to have one of these Jersey Shore residents/writers coming to the library to discuss her book, Looking Through A Keyhole: A Memoir, this Saturday, November 12th at 2pm. Come and meet Julia Spencer and her seeing eye-dog, Irene. Anyone struggling with a
life-altering condition will find her story inspiring and motivating. Hear about her fears, her hopes, and her most candid responses to her visual loss and how she prevails over adversities. There will be a Q & A, book signing and her books will be available for purchasefor $16.

To register for this event, please stop by the library or contact Jill at (732) 583-9100 or email jstafford@lmxac.org.

This post was written by Susie Benanti.

Take advantage of Overdrive Advantage!

By now most people are aware that you can checkout and download free ebooks and audiobooks from the library through ListenNJ. (Please see my post from May 31, 2011 if you would like a summary of ListenNJ). Listen NJ is a program we share with many other libraries throughout New Jersey and because the program is shared with so many, there is often a wait period for new releases and other popular titles. To decrease this wait period, the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library is purchasing additional copies of popular ebooks through a program called Overdrive Advantage. These additional copies are available only to the patrons at the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library so your wait time for these titles will be significantly reduced or nonexistant. At the same time, you also have access to all of the books available to everyone in the Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium.

To take advantage of the program you'll need to sign into ListenNJ with your library card as soon as you see the above yellow and orange sunburst icon. This icon lets you know which titles are part of the Advantage program, and while we don't own every title that is part of the Advantage program, we are constantly adding new titles just as we are always getting new books into the library. Hopefully you will now notice a decrease in the wait time for that ebook you've been dying to read!

Do you Mango?

Did you know we have a fun, fast and easy language learning program called Mango Languages? The best part is it's free for Matawan Aberdeen Public Library patrons and you can use it with you library card anywhere there is internet access.

Mango is the easiest and most effective way to learn to speak a foreign language. Mango is available in two versions:

Mango Basic:
Perfect for a foreign language beginner, Mango Basic teaches everyday greetings and helpful phrases in a short period of time. The courses, which require only two to five hours of time to complete, are currently available in 34 foreign languages and 15 English as a Second
Language (ESL) courses.

Mango Complete:
Mango Complete offers a 100-lesson course that digs much deeper and is designed to provide a more complete understanding of the entire language and culture. It is available in 31 foreign language and 14 ESL courses. Foreign language courses include Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. ESL courses include Polish, Spanish and Portuguese.

To learn more about Mango and get a short preview of what the program has to offer, you can visit the company's website at www.mangolanguages.com. Click here to get started on the courses themselves!

Class is in session!

It's back to school time again! Have you thought about enrolling in classes to update your job skills or simply to learn a new hobby? What's holding you back? Money? Class times that don't work for you? The campus is too far away? Well now you can enroll in classes and it won't cost a dime, you don't need to leave your house, and you can attend anytime that is convenient for you ... 24/7!

The library has just begun subscribing to Universal Class. Through Universal Class you can chose from over 500 non-credit on-line courses and take up to 5 of these courses at one time. You'll have real live instructors (many are PhDs) and you'll be able to interact with your classmates. You can choose from professional development classes such as Business Management 101, Quicken Deluxe 2010, or Legal Terminology 101 - just to name a few. You can also take personal enrichment classes such as Digital Scrapbooking, Fashion Design 101, or Introduction to Music Appreciation.


All you need to get started is a Matawan Aberdeen Public Library card and a valid email address. Click here to register for Universal Class and get ready to learn something new!

Financial Rating Series Online

Find the Safest Bank or Credit Union in Your Area

Avoid the Weakest Insurance Companies ... and Find the Best Ones

Pick the Best-Performing Stocks

Find the Best Mutual Funds ... to Make Sure Your Retirement Funds are Safe.

With all the talk about bank failures and the stock market these days, our new database couldn’t come at a better time. The user friendly interface allows you to easily research the financial strength ratings for more than 21,000 banks, credit unions, or insurance companies. Each company is given a grade from A+ through F (they even give out an E, a very weak rating). This information come from Weiss Ratings, a provider of independent ratings on the nation’s life and annuity insurers, property and casualty insurers, and health insurers, including HMOs. You can also find ratings for over 6,000 stocks and 16,000 mutual funds. The stock and mutual information come from TheStreet Ratings, a leading provider of investment ratings and analysis covering thousands of Bond & Money Market Mutual Funds, Stock Mutual Funds, Exchanged-Traded Funds and Common Stocks.

The database provides users with more than just ratings. There are helpful worksheets and other free financial planning tools. You'll also find a comprehensive glossary of banking and investment terms.

Library Journal wrote a wonderful review about the new database. Click here to read the article and then go here to check out the database.