NJSLA 2010 Board Election Runs Oct. 31 through Nov. 20, 2009; Learn About the Candidates and Vote!

The nominating committee and officers of the New Jersey Chapter of SLA (NJSLA) are excited to offer our candidates for election to office for the year 2010. There is one contested office. You are also free to nominate candidates for any of the offices.

The offices of Secretary, Treasurer and Director of Communications are all two-year terms, for January 2010 through December 2011. SLA, like ALA and some other organizations, has a three-year term for chapter and unit leaders. So, whoever is elected President will serve 2010 as President-Elect, 2011 as President and 2012 as Past President.

The official descriptions of each office are in our Chapter Practices document at http://units.sla.org/chapter/cnj/documents/NJ%20SLA%20Chapter%20Practices%202005.pdf  (shortcut: http://bit.ly/njslaprac).

The primary election tool is via online ballot using the SLA’s survey solution from the company SurveyMonkey, with personal emailed ballots sent to chapter members as of Oct. 28. (Organizational and honorary members are ineligible to vote.) Paper ballots are being sent to members with no email address on file with SLA; those who have opted out of receiving SurveyMonkey emails; and to others by request at [email protected]. If you are sent a paper ballot, you may not also vote online.

The election will run from Oct. 31 through Nov. 20, 2009. All votes must be cast or received by 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 20. The ballot will not ask your name or email address, and no personally identifying information will be released in the tally.

 

Further nominations, accompanied by written acceptance of the nominee, may be entered by petition of 10 Chapter members, and shall be filed with the Nominating Committee at least 30 days before the annual business meeting. In practice, you may nominate a candidate for any office by entering that person’s name on the ballot, with the understanding that she or he has agreed to serve. At least 10 members must make the same write-in nomination in order for it to be effective. The business meeting and holiday party will be held Dec. 15, 2009. That means that write-in candidates must be submitted by Nov. 15, which is earlier than the voting deadline. Since Nov. 15 is a Sunday, write-in candidates will be accepted by mail through Nov. 16.

 

The candidate who receives the largest number of votes for any office shall be elected. In the event of a tie, election shall be by majority vote of the members present at the annual business meeting on Dec. 15.

For information on chapter events and getting involved, or questions about this vote, please email us at [email protected] or visit our blog at http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/njsla. The Annual Meeting and Holiday Party will be held Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the Rutgers Club in New Brunswick. More details will be posted to the blog in early November.

Best regards,

Eric Schwarz

NJSLA President, 2009
 

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Candidates for 2010 Elected Office,

New Jersey Chapter of the Special Libraries Association (NJSLA)

 

For President-Elect 2010 (President 2011, Past President 2012): One candidate, or write in your choice.

 

Sherry Markowitz

Sherry is an alert editor in the Market Insights group of AT&T.  Sherry has been at AT&T for over 35 years. She received her M.L.S from Rutgers in 1987 and started her library career then. Prior to that, she was a manager in other parts of AT&T. Sherry has been a member of SLA since 1989. Positions held with the NJSLA chapter include Public Relations Committee, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Email: [email protected].

 

For Secretary (2010-11): One candidate, or write in your choice.

 

Suzanne Lipman

 

 

Suzanne Lipman is currently employed as an information specialist at Medco in northern New Jersey where she performs literature searches, fields reference questions, and coordinates document delivery. Suzanne has taught online as an adjunct instructor for library and information science graduate students at Syracuse University. She received her Bachelor's degree in English from Rutgers University and her Master's degree in Library and Information Science from Drexel University where she was inducted into the Beta Phi Mu honor society.

 

Statement: I would like to become Secretary of the SLA New Jersey chapter since it is a chance for me to become more involved in the chapter and give back to an organization in my field which has given me worthwhile opportunities through its online resources, networking events, and social gatherings.

Email: [email protected].

 

For Director of Communications (2010-11): Choose one of the two candidates, or write in your choice. (Candidates are listed alphabetically.)
 

Cheryl Erenberg

Cheryl Erenberg graduated from Rutgers University in 1999 with a Masters of Library Science. In the past ten years, she has worked in a variety of special library settings including corporate, association, and hospital information centers. Her knack for technology, web development,  and content management are complemented by her experience in client-facing reference, research, and training activities. Her dedication to delivering client-focused products and services earn ed her the 2006 B.E.S.T. Award from Atlantic Health for excellence in customer service. Cheryl has been a member of the New Jersey Chapter of SLA since 1999 and has served as Bulletin Editor (2003–2004) and Business Manager (2001-2003).  She also was the recipient of the New Jersey Chapter's President’s Award in 2004. Cheryl is active in several other library associations and has co-authored two posters on medical librarianship.

 

Statement: I would like to become the New Jersey Chapter's Director of Communications because I want to address what I feel is a great challenge for us as a chapter and as an association.  In an age of information overload, we must provide clear, open, two-way lines of communication between our Board and our members. The voice of the membership should inform the decisions of the Board and the ideas of the Board should reflect the best interest of our members. I feel that is best accomplished by integrating our communication resources, whether physical or technological, into a strategic communication initiative. We need to balance the Chapter blog, website, and listserv, and other new technologies with in-person meetings and networking opportunities. We need to expand our communication focus in order to attract new members, while maintaining our relationship with our existing members. I feel as Director of Communications, working with other members of our Board, I could help make an impact on these issues.

Email: [email protected].

 

Erica Friedman

 

Erica's career in online communications began in 1971, when her father brought home a computer. It was large enough to need a gurney to be moved and when she played Tic-Tac-Toe with it, it would short out the entire block.

 

Her career has spanned the use of BBSs, Usenet,  Gopher and now she can be found on multiple social networking sites - many not nearly as well-known as Twitter and Facebook.
 

Erica has been a member of SLA and worked in the pharmaceutical world as a business and regulatory searcher since 1990. She has worked for both agencies and Pharma companies, but her heart and her passion resides in working with small and micro-businesses, teaching them to harness to power of their own networks.

She is a strong believer in the power of the Internet to combine communication and information and turn it into the knowledge people need to make critical business decisions.
 

As Director of Communications, Erica will bring decades of cutting-edge experience with online communications and vision to see applications not yet thought of, tempered with a solid understanding of the realities of the business world.

Email: [email protected].

 

 

For Treasurer (2010-11): One candidate, or write in your choice.

 

Sonal Shukla

 

Sonal Shukla has held positions in the field of library and information science for more than 15 years. Currently, she is the Director of the Information Resource Center at Embryon Inc. (an Advanced Health Media Company). In her role as the Director, she is in charge of developing, maintaining, and promoting the Virtual Information Resource Center, a web-based biomedical library. She also assists in strategic planning and marketing the Information Resource Center’s capabilities to the employees. Sonal has held positions in nonprofit as well as corporate settings, providing with her diverse experience in the field of library and information science. Prior to her job at Embryon, Sonal worked at i3 Research (a United Health Group Company) as Manager of Library and Information Services.  Earlier in her career, Sonal worked in the medical libraries at various hospitals and medical centers.

 

Sonal has worked as NJSLA Treasurer from 2007-2009 and as a Membership Secretary of Health Sciences Libraries of NJ from 1995-1997. Sonal received her MLS from Rutgers University and Bachelor’s Degree from University of Mumbai. She has completed 18 credits in Graduate Program of Biomedical Informatics at UMDNJ. Sonal also has a Diploma in Advertising and Marketing.  Her hobbies include reading and Hindustani classical music. 

Email: [email protected].