Ocean City Free Public Library Newsletter
 
Sunday, August 17th 2025
A picture of an open book set down on top of a beach chair.
Mindfulways Meditation Workshop Cancellation

Attention:

The Mindfulways Meditation Workshop scheduled for
Monday, August 18th has been cancelled. 
 
 
Create Your Own Embellished Lettering!
A Zentangle Color Workshop with Mimi Topping
Create Your Own Embellished Lettering!
A Zentangle Color Workshop with Mimi Topping

Monday, August 25th
1:00pm - 2:30pm
Room N111
 
Online registration is required and seats are limited.

To register, please click here.
 
 
Author's Luncheon: Fiona Davis 
Author's Luncheon featuring Fiona Davis: Thursday, October 9th at the Flanders Hotel. Assigned seating begins at 11:30am. Tickets go on sale (online only) Friday, September 5th. For more information, please visit https://friendsvolunteersocfpl.com/
For more information on the Author's Luncheon, please click here. 
 
 
Classic Film Night Series
CLASSIC FILM NIGHT
Chris Maloney Lecture Hall

Ocean City Free Public Library

Mondays at 6pm



August 4 – Some Like it Hot (1959)

August 11 – The Americanization of Emily (1964)

September 8 – Father Goose (1964)

September 22 – Topkapi (1964)

September 29 – Torn Curtain (1966)
Military Film Series 
In Dedication to our Military Veterans, the Ocean City Free Public Library will be showing the following films….

Friday, August 1st at 6:30pm

“Sahara”

Saturday, August 9th at 1pm

“Kelly’s Heroes”

Saturday, August 16th at 2pm

“Hell to Eternity”

Saturday, August 23rd at 1pm

“Battle of Britain”

Friday, August 29th at 6:30pm

“Destination Tokyo”

All film screenings are free and open to the public.

They will be held in the Chris Maloney Lecture Hall in the Ocean City Free Public Library.
Ocean City Free Public Library 2025 Book Club 

Join our discussions live online monthly!  
 
Meets online on Zoom every 3rd Wednesday at 6:00pm
 
 
Click here to register! 
 
Books:
 
August 20th: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
September 17th: Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen
October 15th: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
November 19th: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
December 17th: Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce
 
 
Computer Workshops

Fridays
9:00am - 10:30am
 

No Class on Friday, August 22nd!
 
 
Word Processing Basics - Beginner Class
Friday, August 29th
 
Learn basic word processing features using MS Word. Create, format, and edit simple documents. This is a beginner course.
 

Create Flyers using MS Word
Friday, September 5th

Review of Word-processing basics. Create/format simple flyers for personal use or for your group or club using just textboxes and graphics!! Fun and easy class.
 

Insert Tabs into your Document using MS Word
Friday, September 12th

Learn how easy it is to set, move and align data using tabs in your MS Word document.
 

Using Tables in MS Word Documents
Friday, September 19th

Learn to insert tables in your Word document. We will create, format, sort simple tables; and also compare the use of tables vs tab settings for columnar data in a document. 

 
Simple Newsletters using MS Word
Friday, September 26th

Learn to create and format eye-catching newsletters for personal use or for your group or club. Learn to set up and save a masthead; format columns; add pictures and enhancements to your project.  
 
 
No signup needed. All classes are free and open to the public.
For more information, please call (609) 399-2434 ext. 5240 or click here.
  
 
The 8 Dimensions of Wellness: Intellectual Wellness
The 8 Dimensions of Wellness: Intellectual Wellness
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Ocean City Free Public Library
Description
The 8 Dimensions of Wellness: Intellectual Wellness

With CHRIS ZELLERS, MPP, FCHS Educator/Assist. Professor

Well-being is an important part of living a healthy and fulfilled life. There are 8 components of wellness defined by SAMHSA and this presentation will discuss Intellectual Wellness while suggesting ways to achieve it for better life-balance and stress reduction.
For more information and to register, please click here.
 
 
 
OC Author Talk: Phyllis Coletta, Author of
How to be a Good Dog - Learning to Sit, Stay and Heal

 
Cover art of "How to be a Good Dog" by Phyllis Coletta
Author Phyllis Coletta and her black lab, Onyx.
How to be a Good Dog - Meditation for Skeptics, Dog Lovers, and People Who Can't Sit Still
 
Tuesday, August 19th
6:30pm - 8:00pm
 
"How to Be a Good Dog - Learning to Sit, Stay, and Heal, uses the tenets of dog training as a relatable, effective way of learning to train our minds. We teach puppies with love, patience, and focus, and we can do the same with our feral thoughts, bringing peace and transforming the wild mind from enemy to ally.
The book is a hilarious romp through the park, with the author shamelessly sharing stories from her seriously unenlightened life and her journey from frantic Chihuahua to old black lab."
 
 
Phyllis Coletta is a local author who raised three boys in Ocean City, as a single mom, driving her straight to a crossroads in her early 40s where “it was either booze or Buddhism.” She found traditional meditation teaching semi-annoying and not a good fit for an unholy, loud girl from Philly. After a brain bleed in November of 2023 forced her to sit still for months, she decided to write a book about meditation for people who can’t stand books about meditation.
 
Phyllis has been a litigation attorney, high school teacher, EMT, writer, cowgirl, and Zen Buddhist chaplain. She lives in Somers Point (currently dogless in her empty nest), acting just like her beloved labs: following her nose and napping in the sun.
 
For more information, please click here. 
 
 
Meet Margaret Mandell,
Author of And Always One More Time: A Memoir
Cover art of "And Always One More Time: A Memoir" by Margaret Mandell
Author Margaret Mandell
Meet Margaret Mandell, Author of And Always One More Time: A Memoir
Join us for an Author Talk, Q&A, and Book Signing.
 
Wednesday, August 20th
6:30pm - 8:00pm
 
And Always One More Time: A Memoir
 
“A moving, insightful, and beautifully crafted story of losing one great love and finding another.”
--Kirkus Reviews
 
The loss of a life partner strikes over one million women every year—shattering the present, leaving the future in doubt. At 65 years old Margaret Mandell loses her husband of 45 years to a fast-moving disease, and she cannot conjure a future without him. The bed is half empty. Her body betrays her. Laughter is elusive.
 
Filled with longing, chased by memory, Mandell begins to write letters to the man she loved, retracing their history together. But when a tenderhearted college professor steps quietly into her life, when he listens, attentively, as Mandell reads her accumulating stack of letters out loud, she is forced to recalibrate her vision of life—what is still possible, what is still necessary, how much love one heart can hold.
 
Wise in the ways of C.S. Lewis’s A Grief Observed, suspenseful in the tradition of Joyce Carol Oates’s A Widow’s Story, and as universal in its truths as Steve Leder’s The Beauty of What Remains, Mandell’s memoir offers hope in the aftermath of greatest loss. At 35,000 potent and swift-moving words, And Always One More Time can be read in a single setting.
 
For more information and to register for this event, please click here.
 
 
Author Talk and Book Signing:
Major General William M. Matz Jr., US Army, Retired 
Author Talk and Book Signing: Major General William M. Matz Jr.,US Army, Retired, author of "My Toughest Battle: A Soldier's Lifelong Struggle with Polio." Monday, August 25th at 6:30pm. General Matz grew up in Ocean City and Delaware County, Pennsylvania! Autographed books will be available for purchase.

To register for the author talk, please click here. 
 
 
Functional Foods: Mushrooms
Functional Foods: Mushrooms
Tuesday, August 26, 2025 
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Ocean City Free Public Library
Description
Functional Foods: Mushrooms

With Anneliese Kuemmerle, MS, RDN, FCHS Program Associate II

This program will increase participants’ knowledge about mushrooms including historical, processing and preparation facts. It will create an understanding of the current research and health benefits of mushrooms and identify the recommendations for including mushrooms in a healthful plant-based diet.
 
For more information and to register for the Functional Foods: Mushrooms program, please click here.
 
 
Functional Foods: Coffee 
Tuesday, September 30, 2025 
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Ocean City Free Public Library
Description:
Functional Foods: Coffee with Anneliese Kuemmerle, MS, RDN, FCHS Program Associate II

This program will increase participants’ knowledge about coffee including its plant origin and historical, processing, and preparation facts. It will introduce participants to the current research and health benefits of coffee and identify the recommendations for including coffee in a healthful plant-based diet.

For more information and to register for the Functional Foods: Coffee program, please click here.
 
 
Dementia Education Workshop
Tuesday, September 30, 2025 
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Ocean City Free Public Library
Description
DEMENTIA EDUCATION WORKSHOP

Join us for an empowering
workshop that focuses on the
common concerns of dementia
along with actionable advice and
support.
This workshop is free and open to
the public.
Light refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP by 9/24 to Michele Musto at 609-391-6321 or mercolani@umcommunities.org
 
 
The 8 Dimensions of Wellness: Social Wellness
The 8 Dimensions of Wellness: Social Wellness will be presented by Chris Zellers, MPP, FCHS Educator/Assistant Professor for Cape May County

Cape May Court House, NJ – Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County Family and Community Health Sciences (FCHS) program is partnering with the Ocean City Public Library to present the workshop, The 8 Dimensions of Wellness: Social Wellness, from 12 to 1 pm on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

The program, part of the new Lunch and Learn Series for the Ocean City Public Library running through November 2025, is offered both virtually and in-person at the Ocean City Public Library, 1735 Simpson Avenue, Ocean City, NJ.

The 8 Dimensions of Wellness: Social Wellness will be presented by Chris Zellers, MPP, FCHS Educator/Assistant Professor for Cape May County. “There are 8 components of Wellness defined by SAMHSA and this presentation will focus on social wellness while suggesting ways to achieve better well-being,” said Zellers.

In her position, Zellers educates the community on wellness, nutrition, and fitness. She has extensive experience collaborating with partners to create healthy food environments in the areas of Policy, Systems and Environmental Change. In addition to community health policies, Zellers works to educate residents on topics to improve their overall health and prevent chronic disease with a holistic approach to a well-lived quality lifestyle that includes physical activity, a nutrient-dense diet, and quality sleep.

Please follow us on Facebook at FCHSCapeMayCounty for the latest FCHS program details. Also, for up to date information on the Cape May County Family and Community Health Sciences Program, visit our website capemay.njaes.rutgers.edu.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County educational programs are offered to all without regard to race, religion, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
For more information and to register, please click here.
 
 
English Language Learner (ELL) Classes 
Free English classes! Sponsored by St. Peter’s United Methodist Church & OC Free Public Library. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels are welcome! Classes and books are free! Classes start: September 16th and meet every Tuesday from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Classes meet at St. Peter’s Church at 8th Street & Central Avenue, Ocean City, NJ 08226. Advanced registration is not required. For more information, contact Connie Pritchard at 609-231-9059 or whatsapp: 1-609-2319059 or constancejpritchard@outlook.com
Author Talk with Steve Wick, Author of The Ruins 
Cover art of The Ruins by Steve Wick
Author Steve Wick
Author Talk with Steve Wick
Monday, September 29th
6:30pm
 
In his gripping and electric novel, The Ruins, the grim horrors of Nazis in America collides with the manufacturing of the suburban dream - by a brilliant new voice in crime fiction.
 
Steve Wick grew up in southern New Jersey, went to college in Colorado, and began his journalism career at the tiny Colorado Springs Sun newspaper. He worked on the Phoenix Project, a collaborative effort by a group of journalists to continue the work of Phoenix Republic reporter Don Bolles, who was murdered in June 1976.
 
Steve was a long time editor and reporter at Newsday, the Long Island newspaper, where he shared in the paper’s 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for the paper’s coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800. He lives in Cutchogue, on the North Fork of eastern Long Island. Learn more at Steve Wick – Official website.
 
 
For more information on this event, please click here.
 
 
August Young Adult Events 
Children's Resources 
 
Click here for the August Calendar of Children's Events!
 
 

The Ocean City Free Public Library
1735 Simpson Ave.
Ocean City, New Jersey 08226
(609) 399-2434

https://www.oceancitylibrary.org/
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