The Lion’s Den Café at the Eastern Branch will serve up refreshments as well as nutrition programs. The role of local libraries in Eastern Monmouth County is evolving to accommodate residents in need of social and community services amid a difficult economic period.

Local libraries have moved beyond books and CDs and have taken on expanded roles as community resources, making them more relevant now than ever. Even in the age of social media and the Internet, library use is up. According to the New Jersey Library Association (NJLA), 2008 statistics show library attendance at more than 46 million statewide, up approximately 8 percent from 2007.

The Red Bank Public Library (RBPL) strives to provide services to all patrons and has tailored programs to meet the needs of the Spanish-speaking and bilingual population of the borough.

According to library Director Deborah Griffin-Sadel, the special programs extend from English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to inclusive bilingual programming.

The RBPL partners with Monmouth County Literacy Volunteers to present yearround ESL programming, Griffin-Sadel said.

“They provide tutors and materials, we provide the space; it’s been a great partnership,” she said.

The free, Thursday night class normally has 10-20 students, Griffin-Sadel said.

“What’s impressive is that most of the people stick with it throughout the program; that’s not necessarily true of a lot of ESL programs,” she said.

Griffin-Sadel said that the library also provides conversational English programs during the summer and provides space for one-on-one language tutors for those who prefer that format or cannot make the class.

For children, the library will once again offer bilingual story time on the second and fourth Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. beginning Jan. 15.

Each month, Griffin-Sadel said, will have a theme and include stories in English and Spanish, songs and crafts.

“It’s a program that’s good for Spanish speaking children, but it’s also good for English-speaking children who are learning Spanish,” she said.

Griffin-Sadel recommends ages 4 to 8, but that age range is not strict.

The library has a growing collection of Spanish and bilingual books, she said.

“It’s small but it’s growing. We just placed an order for a whole bunch of Spanish-language children’s books, and we will be upgrading that collection.”

However, Griffin-Sadel said the library also faces challenges in serving this unique population.

“Many of the Hispanic population are leery of joining the library because it’s a government institution and they are concerned about giving us anything that has their address,” she said.

“Many of them are here illegally and they are obviously concerned about giving up their identity and address.”

But patrons have nothing to worry about, Griffin-Sadel said.

“The laws of the State of New Jersey protect library patrons’ right to privacy.

“We cannot release any information to any government agencies without a court order,” she said.

This reluctance to join the library hinders some patrons’ use of services, she said.

“We have some who could probably join the library and use the computers for free, but prefer to pay a dollar per hour so that they don’t have to give up their information.”

Residents do not have to join to attend programs, she added.

Griffin-Sadel said that the language barrier also presents a challenge to library staff, not all of whom speak Spanish.

“We’ve been trying to hire someone who is fluent in Spanish and English, and most of the time it just doesn’t happen,” she said.

RBPL also provides many services beyond bilingual programming, including a computer tutor program.

“The tutors will take anybody, from a complete beginner to someone who is pretty sophisticated and wants to improve their knowledge,” Griffin-Sadel said.

“Some people want to update their computer skills in order to get a job or complete a résumé.”

Furthermore, she said that RBPL recently received a grant from N.J. Natural Gas to purchase laptop computers, which will be used in computer application classes in the spring.

The RBPL is part of the Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium (LMXAC), which means that library patrons have access to 2 million titles, Griffin Sadel said.

“Because we’re part of the LMXAC consortium, we have access to the collections of over 20 different libraries throughout the state.”

Patrons of the RBPL may also utilize Job and Career Accelerator, an online job database and resource.

“It will help you to develop your résumé. Even if you’re not terribly good at computer formatting, it will build you up a beautiful-looking résumé. It will help you find jobs in your area and track your job search,” Griffin-Sadel said.

“It’s like one-stop shopping.”

For additional job search assistance, the Eastern Branch of the Monmouth County Library System, Shrewsbury, houses the Career Information Center of the library system.

“Different things make different branches unique; this truly makes Eastern Branch unique,” said Colleen Dee Berry, spokeswoman for the Monmouth County Library system.

“This is well attended and is really providing a huge service to ranks of unemployed in our area.”

Berry said that recent graduates also use the services, which include monthly job assistance programs and access to databases.

Charlie Gross, Monmouth County Library’s Career Information Center librarian said that the Job and Career Accelerator helps people at different stages in their career search.

“If they’re coming in looking for ideas for a career choice, it helps them with that with a questionnaire,” he said.

Gross said that the program also helps with finding jobs through the Simply Hired database.

“They can go directly to a database that shows them what jobs are available right now in that field. It adds a little reality to their career choice.”

The program also provides résumé writing assistance, including templates for specific job categories.

“If you put in your occupation it will show you examples of résumé other people have written for that particular occupation,” Gross said.

Computer training is another program provided by the Monmouth County Library associated with this program.

“The county colleges are going to be putting together computer instruction programs to be set up in public libraries,” Gross said, adding that he would soon meet with the instructor from Brookdale to plan the classes.

“We’re finding that at all levels of job hunting these days people really need some basic computer instruction.

“Many people over age 40 … are not comfortable with computers,” he said.

Gross said there are also many computer tutorials on the Job and Career Accelerator site.

“There is a heavy, free computer instruction aspect to this,” he said.

According to Gross, the classes would begin in February or March.

“The State Library, New Jersey Library Association and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges all got together and got a grant from the stimulus funds of the federal government,” Gross said.

Interested library members can go to www.jerseyclicks.com to locate the database and log in using their library card number.

“The computer recognizes your library card number and gives you access to the database,” he said.

The recently opened Lion’s Den Café at the library’s Eastern Branch serves up hot treats and will soon offer nutritional advice.

Debbie Disakias, a certified nutritionist and caterer, runs the café and will present programs as part of the library’s Nutrition 101 program, said Berry

Disakias will present the first program, “Eat This, Not That,” on Jan. 12. The program, aimed at an adult audience, will cover healthful eating and wise food choices.

Future programs will focus on diabetes and healthful pizza for children.

The café itself serves hot and cold beverages, teas and hot chocolate, wraps, panini and soups, Berry said.

In the summer, Berry said, the menu will change to refreshing, warm-weather food such as smoothies.

The café is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sundays 1-4 p.m. The café will be closed on Fridays.