The Salem Community College County Bookmobile Library opened at 429 Hollywood Avenue – across the street from the campus. The library is open Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Membership is free; anyone who lives and/or works in Salem County is eligible. Visit the library or a bookmobile stop and complete an application. Officials present for the ribbon-cutting were (from left) Freeholder Melissa DeCastro, Carneys Point Mayor Joseph Racite, Freeholder Douglass Painter, Bookmobile Library Coordinator Margaret Masserini, President Michael Gorman and Board of Trustees Chair Dorothy Hall.

Salem Community College joined with Salem County and Carneys Point Township officials to open the new home of the County Bookmobile Library last month.

Coordinator Margaret Masserini pointed out the library begins its 36th year with a slightly different name: Salem Community College County Bookmobile Library. “That second word — Community — means a lot. We’re proud to be your community library,” she said.

In March, the College’s Board of Trustees voted to accept the Salem County Board of Chosen Freeholders’ offer to operate the Bookmobile Library, effective April 1, 2016.

The renovated 1,200-square-foot facility at 429 Hollywood Ave., which opened in mid-December, sits directly across from the campus.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony, President Michael Gorman thanked the SCC Board of Trustees for its vision in using the Bookmobile Library to help the College reach a broader section of the community.

Gorman also recognized the support and cooperation of the County government and Carneys Point Township — along with the diligence of his SCC staff — to convert the building, a former hair salon, to a community resource for all ages.

Gorman and Freeholder Douglass Painter acknowledged the hard work of Masserini along with her staff, volunteers and inmates from the Salem County Correctional Facility to complete what Painter described as the “Herculean task” of relocating the library from Mannington.

Painter noted the Bookmobile’s mission will not change but its vehicles will have a new look. “Not only is it your community college,” said Painter, the freeholder liaison with SCC, “this is your community Bookmobile Library. This will become a face of the College as it rolls around the county.”

Gorman anticipates the Bookmobile Library helping fill the void left when the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Library closed several years ago. “Hopefully, the residents will take advantage of it,” he said.

Carneys Point Mayor Joseph Racite said that he applauds the library’s relocation and the College’s decision to operate it. “It’s exciting from a Township perspective to see the Community College continue to move in such a positive direction,” he said, “especially since you’re right in the middle of our community.”

The library is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Membership is free for anyone who lives and/or works in Salem County. SCC students who live outside of Salem County are also eligible for free membership. Individuals may visit the library or a bookmobile stop to complete an application. For more information, call Masserini at (856) 351-2830 or email her at mmasserini@salemcc.edu.

SCC Exhibit Shines Spotlight on Self-Identity

Honorable mention awardee Chloe Welch’s artwork

First-place recipient Skyler Amburg’s artwork

Salem Community College students Skyler Amburg and Chloe Welch were honored at the closing reception and celebration for “Identity: An Exhibition.”

In all, 31 SCC students from the Portfolio and Professional Practice course were featured in SCC’s Michael S. Cettei Memorial Library. The art exhibit was organized by Assistant Professor Visual and Performing Arts Jenna Lucente.

The students’ work was juried by SCC Distinguished Alumnus and Artist-in-Residence Paul Stankard and Glass Education Administrator Kristin Deady.

“I commend Professor Lucente for challenging students to make their work personal,” said Stankard at a closing reception and celebration.

Amburg described her first-place piece and its inspiration: “My work is a kiln-cased glass mask with a fall arrangement surrounding it. I am showing my past as well my future with this piece, but I am also showing myself….When fall time comes, it fills me with so much joy because it is then when I feel like my real self and can take the mask off that I hide behind to be myself. ”

Welch’s painting received honorable mention. “My artwork shows what inspires me as an artist,” she said. “I like cute subjects, but also dark. I like my work to contrast whether in color or subject matter.”