PAST ROUNDTABLE ARCHIVES
Last Spring the Burlington County Library System conducted three Historians Roundtables. Burlington County Historian, Joe Laufer, was joined by his friend and fellow historian, Paul W. Schopp, and former county historian, Dave Kimball, in the informal chats at the Mount Holly Library and Lyceum, the Library Company of Burlington, and the Evesham Library during the spring. “We originally planned to hold the forums at the Headquarters Library in Westampton, but decided to take the show on the road because of the constraints of space caused by the major reconstruction being conducted here,” Laufer stated from his office located adjacent to the New Jersey Room of the county library. “In a way, this will be a plus, enabling us to bring the program to local communities,” the historian commented. The round tables encourage the public to air their historical questions and issues with these experts, and with other local community historians who are invited to participate.
FIRST ROUNDTABLE: Saturday, February 26, 2011 - Mt. Holly Library and Lyceum.
“It is fortuitous that we will be using two of the most historic libraries in the county for the first series of roundtables” Laufer reflected. The Mount Holly Library and Lyceum, originally known as The Bridgetown Library, received its charter on June 11, 1765 from His Majesty George III of England, through William Franklin, then Governor-General of New Jersey. The library is the fifth oldest in the state.
Click here for summary of the first Historians' Roundtable - Feb. 26, 2011
SECOND ROUNDTABLE: Saturday, April 16, 2011 - Library Company of Burlington City.
In 1757 British monarch King George II chartered the Library Company of Burlington for founder Thomas Rodman and John Reading as chief officer and it is New Jersey’s oldest library in continuous operations since that date. The second roundtable was held here on Saturday, April 16 from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Burlington City facility. "This project will give the people of Burlington County an opportunity to experience these very historic libraries," Laufer stated.
Click here for summary of second Historians' Roundtable - Apr. 16, 2011
THIRD ROUNDTABLE: Saturday, June 18, 2011 - Evesham Library
The third open forum was held on Saturday, June 18 from 10 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at the Evesham Library, 984 Tuckerton Road, Marlton. In cooperation with the Evesham Historical Society, attendees were invited to a light lunch at the Historic Innskeep House, Headquarters of the Society, immediately after the meeting.
Click here for the agenda for the third Historians Roundtable - June 18, 2011
Click here for a summary (minutes) of the third Historians Roundtable 6/18/11
FOURTH ROUNDTABLE: Saturday, September 24, 2011 - Batsto Visitor Center, Batsto Village
The first program of the fall series was hosted by the Batsto Citizens' Committee at the Batsto Visitor Center in Washington Township on Saturday, Sept. 24 and feature guest speaker Dennis Niceler. Dennis is the collections manager for the Absecon Historical Society, and will discuss archival cataloguing and arranging, including a brief overview of "Past Perfect" software tools.
Agenda for Roundtable IV (Sept. 24)
Power Point Presentation shown at Roundtable IV (Sept. 24)
FIFTH ROUNDTABLE: Saturday, October 22, 2011 - Roebling Museum, Roebling, NJ
On Saturday, Oct. 22 the program moved to the Roebling Museum in Florence Township. For directions to the Roebling Museum, visit their website, www.RoeblingMuseum.org.
Agenda for Roundtable V (October 22, 2011) - Annotated as Minutes after meeting.
Power Point Presentation shown at Roundtable V (Oct. 22)
SIXTH ROUNDTABLE: Saturday, December 3, 2011 - Cinnaminson Library, Cinnaminson, NJ
On Saturday, December 3rd, the sixth roundtable discussion will be held at the Cinnaminson Library. The guest speaker will be Gary Saretsky, photographer, educator and archivist of the County of Monmouth. His topic will be “Photographic Conservation.” Other items of current historical interest will be a part of the program agenda.
The Cinnaminson Library is located at 1619 Riverton Road. To register for the upcoming discussion, go to www.bcls.lib.nj.us and click on "Events," then "Cinnaminson Library" and the date, December 3. Or, for more information, call Joe Laufer at the Burlington County Library at (609) 267-9660, ext. 5020 The Historians’ Roundtable program is open to the public and registration is encouraged.
Agenda for Historians' Roundtable VI - Dec. 3
Click here for POWER POINT shown at Historians' Roundtable VI
HISTORIANS' ROUNDTABLE SCHEDULE FOR 2012 ANNOUNCED
Burlington County Historian Joe Laufer has announced the schedule of Historians’ Roundtables for 2012. This is the second year for this highly popular and well-attended series. Six roundtables were held in 2011, and five have been scheduled for 2012. Hosted by Laufer and fellow historians Paul W. Schopp and Dave Kimball, the program brings together officers and members of local historical societies and history organizations throughout Burlington County. The programs are held at different locations throughout the county and provide networking opportunities for historians and history buffs as well as opportunities to discuss common problems and history-related issues. Consultants are engaged for selected meetings to provide professional advice and expertise dealing with specific history topics.
THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN TWO CHANGES IN THE 2012 SCHEDULE AS ORIGINALLY ANNOUNCED DUE TO EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES. THE FIRST ROUNDTABLE ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR PAULSDALE ON FEBRUARY 18 WILL BE POSTPONED DUE TO THE TEMPORARY UNAVAILABILITY OF ONE OF THE HISTORIAN COORDINATORS OF THE PROJECT AND THE SECOND ROUNDTABLE TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 14 IN THE NEW COUNTY LIBRARY AUDITORIUM WILL NOT BE SCHEDULED FOR THAT LOCATION BECAUSE THE COMPLETION OF THE CONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN DELAYED. BOTH THESE ROUNDTABLES WILL BE RE-SCHEDULED INTO ONE EVENt AT A LOCATION AND DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED LATER THIS MONTH FOR A DATE AND LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR MARCH. NOTIFICATION OF THE RE-SCHEDULED EVENTS WILL BE POSTED HERE AND E-MAILED TO PAST PARTICIPANTS.
THE ROUNDTABLES FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2012 WILL BE HELD AS ORIGINALLY ANNOUNCED:
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - Historians Roundtable III - Pemberton Library, Browns Mills.
Saturday, September 22, 2012 - Historians Roundtable IV – Billiard Room of the Smithville Mansion, Eastampton.
Saturday, November 17, 2012 - Historians Roundtable V - Bordentown Library.
The Roundtables are free and open to the public and run from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.. Further information is available on the County Historian’s Website: www.Burlcohistorian.com. Registration is recommended for each program by using the County Library events registration calendar at www.bcls.lib.nj.us.
ABOUT THE HOSTS OF THE HISTORIANS' ROUNDTABLE
County Historian Joe Laufer's biography appears elswhere on this website. His colleagues, Paul W. Schopp and David Kimball, are well-recognized for their historical research and knowledge of Burlington County history. Paul W. Schopp, a resident of Riverton, has been a student of history for more than 35 years and has worked as a professional historian in the Cultural Resource field for the past 24 years, specializing in regional history, transportation history, and the history of technology. Paul is Senior Historian with an international engineering and infrastructure firm. A former executive director of the Camden County Historical Society, in 1994, he co-authored the 488-page book, The Trail of the Blue Comet, the history of the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Southern Division. He has completed 7 successful National Register nominations. A variety of specialty and peer-review journals have published his numerous articles and monographs.
David Kimball majored in history, with a minor in government at the University of Maryland. He spent most of his career employed by the National Park Service as a researcher, tour guide, planner and instructor. He was a major player in the National Parks Service celebration of the Bicentennial at Independence National Park in Philadelphia. In his retirement, Dave has been active as a docent, board member and President of the Old Burlington County Prison Museum. He is a trustee of the Burlington County Historical Society and wrote "Venerable Relic: The Story of the Liberty Bell." A monograph of selected actions from the minutes of the Burlington County Board of Freeholders is about to be published. Dave served as Burlington County's historian from 1992 to 2000. He is a resident of Willingboro.
Joe Laufer was appointed County Historian in 2003. Currently President of the H.B. Smith Industrial Village Conservancy, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Jack Allen Memorial Country Living Museum and the Roebling Main Gate Museum. He is a past president of the Southampton Historical Society and has served on the Board of Trustees of the Burlington County Historical Society. Joe has created a portfolio of over thirty themed illustrated lectures on historical subjects of local and national interest.
The Historians' Roundtable is free and open to the public.
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