By Gary Cooper
On Friday, August 23, Miss New Jersey 2013, Cara McCollum visited the NJ State Library, received her NJSL library card, met with staff and received a brief history of the library from John Shaw.
She then went to the NJSL Talking Book & Braille Center where she recorded a book for children, "Pony Crazy," written by Catherine Hapka. She learned about some of the services offered by TBBC and was presented a Braille library card.
As a long time avid reader, this Princeton University graduate’s platform is “Giving the Gift of Reading.” “I believe in the power of books, each one has opened my mind and my horizons just a little bit more.” For this reason, she believes books are particularly important for children in underprivileged situations, thus her involvement with Toys for Tots, the Birthday Book Project, which she started in 2008, and recording a book for children who cannot read a book due to a vision or other impairment at TBBC.
Miss New Jersey Cara McCollum will be competing in the Miss America pageant on September 15 when it returns to Atlantic City after a 9 year absence. These events stress her support for libraries and the importance of reading and the availability of books for all children.
all the photos on the State Library Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/njlibraryevents/
