Bulletin Boards
Electronic Communications
The Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) provides a website and an email announcement capability as tools for residents and the committees of the residents association to communicate with each other and the wider world community. The announcement system provides a means for MLRA and its committees to announce meetings and events and includes email address management for residents.
The website, mlra.org, has public information about the Medford Leas Residents Association. It also has a password-protected private area with, among other things, information relevant to the residents of the two campuses, links to Administration documents and services, archives of committee documents such as meeting minutes and financial statements, and archives of the MLRA publications. Also within the private area is a page with videos (recorded by the theater technicians) of the MLRA monthly meetings, presentations such as Leas Forums, Great Decisions, and Pathways, and much more. The MLRA website has a blog, “Around the Leas,” for which contributions by residents are sought. The ECC also maintains a website for the Birders (mlra.org/MLBirders) as well as the Barton Arboretum website (BartonArboretum.org).
Friendly Visitors
Large Print Library
The Large Print Library’s collection of fiction and nonfiction books includes biographies, best sellers, popular authors, all genres of mysteries, as well as a selection of talking books. The LPL is located in the Community Building next to the Oak Room and is easily accessible to all. The large print collection is searchable via the MLRA online catalog.
Leas Lit
Leas Lit, a literary magazine, is published each December and June. It serves as an outlet for the creativity of authors and artists from among the residents of both campuses of Medford Leas and provides reading pleasure for the entire Medford Leas community. Residents submit stories, memoirs, essays, and poems. Resident artists provide appropriate illustrations for the texts.
Main Library
The Main Library has a collection of slightly over 5,000 books and classical music CDs. There is a section for Quaker books, another for books about New Jersey, one for end-of-life resources, and one of publications written by Medford Leas residents, past and present. There is also a good reference collection. About 250 books are added annually, half through purchase and half through resident donation. Books are catalogued and there is an online catalogue. Volunteers assist the librarian, checking in returned books, shelving books, and performing other tasks involved in maintaining the collection. An area displaying MLRA materials has binders prepared by the Album Service Committee, a complete file of Medford Leas Life and The Lumberton Campus Chronicle, an index of Medford Leas Life profiles of new residents, and the Meditation Garden Book of Remembrance.
Medford Leas Life
Medford Leas Life is a monthly newsletter written by residents for the Medford Leas community, and also is seen by the wider community in which Medford Leas operates. It publishes news, events, activities, and experiences of Medford Leas residents and staff. Copies are available in the library beginning in 1971 and online from 2000 in the private section of the Residents Association website.
Lois Forrest Nature Center Library
The Lois Forrest Nature Center Library, in support of the Barton Arboretum’s mission “to promote the appreciation and knowledge of horticulture and to emphasize the importance of integrating nature into people’s living, working and recreational environments,” maintains a collection of how-to and reference materials about local horticulture, as well as materials about birds and birding, ecology, and the nearby Pine Barrens. The collection is searchable via the MLRA online catalog. Most of the collection can be borrowed by Medford Leas residents and staff. The library also holds “Let’s Talk Gardening” programs on various topics.
The Voice
The Voice is a service for residents of the Medford Campus with vision impairments or any resident who wishes to know the menu for lunch or dinner that day. Dial 7 on the telephone to hear the menus. The committee of ten residents each have an assigned week to record the daily menu. This is a valuable service for those with vision problems or any resident who needs to know the menus for that day.
Lumberton Campus Chronicle
The Lumberton Campus Chronicle Committee produces a monthly newsletter that includes campus news, essays, other submissions of general interest, and important information from the Lumberton and Medford campuses. The Chronicle is available in print or via email and also in the private section of the Residents Association website.
Lumberton Campus Library
The Lumberton Campus Library Committee organizes and manages books and puzzles donated by residents. There are a computer, copier, and paper cutter for residents’ use as well. The fiction collection consists of books 10 years or younger; non-fiction is kept 15 years or longer. Older books are donated annually to the Burlington County Library for their book sale. Currently the total collection of fiction, non-fiction and paperbacks consists of nearly 1000 books. The collection is searchable on the MLRA website along with the other Medford Leas libraries.
Lumberton Clusters
Lumberton Clusters are a way for residents to meet each other and feel welcomed, especially into a new home. The campus has eight neighborhood clusters, each with at least two volunteer cluster leaders who initiate social events, share information, and help residents with questions as they move into their home. It is a rewarding job and over the years, new residents have been willing to take on the job of keeping clusters active in the community.
Lumberton Communications
The Lumberton Communications Committees perform a number of services for the Lumberton campus residents, including setting and enforcing rules for bulletin board postings and rules for posters displayed in the lobby, delivering mail between campuses, providing authorized notifications to residents via email, and interfacing with Medford Leas IT with content for the electronic message board.
In the private, password-protected directory, the MLRA Activities List and LCRA Committees List provide contact information for these activities.