NJSLA Blog

2011 NJSLA Board Elections

The 2011 NJSLA Board Elections have opened and ballots have been emailed to all Chapter members.  If you are a member of NJSLA and have not received a ballot, please email us at [email protected]

 

Volunteer a few hours of your time to help the next generation of special librarians!

We got the following request from Madelyne Burr, President of the Rutgers student chapter of SLA (RUSLA). They need 2-3 special librarians and if possible 1 law librarian too represent special libraries at their upcoming Career Fair to be held at Rutgers SCI on April 21st from 4:00 - 6:30 pm.

Please contact Madelyne directly at [email protected] if you are interested in participating.

Just a few hours of your time can help influence the next generation of special librarians!

Regards,
--Cheryl Erenberg
NJSLA Director of Communications

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:  <[email protected]>
Subject: Rutgers MLIS career fair
To: [email protected]

Greetings from Rutgers!

On April 21st there will be a  Career Fair held for MLIS students in the Rutgers' School of Communication and Information.  The fair is sponsored by 2 student groups (LISSA and RUSLA) and will involve a number of people. The idea is to have librarians from various sectors (academic, public, school, law, etc. etc.) available to speak one-on-one with students. There will also be a separate event which pairs NJLA librarians with students to review their resumes.

In addition, we would also like to have representatives from professional organizations (such as NJ SLA) available to speak with the students. I am on the planning committee for the event and as such, have been tasked with procuring librarians. I was wondering if anyone from NJ SLA would be interested in helping to staff the SLA table? The fair will run from apprx. 4:00-6:30pm and I believe it will probably be pretty well attended.

We would love to have at least 2 NJSLA representatives. It would also be great if we could get at least 1 law librarian.

Thank-you very much!!!
Madelyne Burr, President RUSLA
[email protected]

Hi from NJSLA's new Director of Communications

Hi, Everyone -

If it isn't obvious to you yet, I've never blogged before. Is it like writing an email for work or dashing of a letter to a friend? Or is it more like a personal diary that you all get to sneek a peek at?  Either way there's a first time for everything, so here goes....

I'm really excited about my new role as NJSLA Director of Communications this year. The Board met last night and everyone seems to be really interested in getting our member communications going in some great projects for 2010.

Whether in face-to-face meetings, NJSLA's Blog (thanks Eric!), revamping the NJSLA website (thanks Kate!), resuscitating our newsletter, NJSLA's Bulletin (thanks Sandra!), or improving our NJSLA listserv,  we are all excited about getting to know our members better and getting everyone more involved.

• Are you good at Publisher and love choosing just the right font? You can volunteer for our new Newsletter Committee.
• Are you up on the latest Website Designs and love content management? You can volunteer for our Website Redesign Committee.
• Do you like to blog about library topics? You can volunteer to be a blog editor and get your voice out there.

One of the greatest things about NJSLA is getting to know each other and building our human networks which ultimately will help us find jobs, find resources, find answers, make friends and most importantly have a good time.

If you're interested in helping with any of our Communications efforts this year, feel free to drop me a line.

Talk to you soon,

--Cheryl

SLA Makes It Easier to Volunteer

SLA President-elect Anne Caputo has launched a 2010 Call for Volunteers, that makes it very easy to see and apply for volunteer opportunities using a Web-based form. They new volunteer form (linked from Anne's letter to members) will help you find opportunities you may not know existed, apply in one place without worrying about whom to contact, and focus your thoughts on why and how you'd like to get involved. (Don't worry: It's a short form, not a job application.)

For example, SLA currently is looking for volunteers to serve on the following association-wide groups:

Committees:

• Bylaws
• Cataloging
• Association Governance
• Diversity Leadership Development Program
• Research and Development
• Technical Standards

Advisory Councils:

• Emergency Preparedness and Recovery
• First Five Years
• Information Ethics
• Information Outlook
• Professional Development
• Public Policy
• Public Relations
• Student and Academic Affairs
• Virtual Worlds

(I had heard of most of them, but not all of them!)

Also, volunteers for opportunities other than committees and councils will be forwarded to the appropriate division, chapter, caucus or nominating committee without any vetting by Anne or the advisory group members.

If you're interested in volunteering with the New Jersey Chapter, you could fill out the online form, or just ask me or 2010 President Sandra Baker. We'd be happy to welcome you. Two opportunities that come to mind are: Membership (welcoming new members and pointing people in the right direction when they have questions about their membership) and Program Planning for our chapter's 75-year anniversary.

Eric Schwarz
NJSLA President

Got a Programming Idea? You Can Make It Happen!

The NJSLA recently (March 16) held a working dinner meeting to come up with programming ideas. The meeting was held at the home of Ruth Wolfish, former NJ Chapter President and currently the SLA Chapter Cabinet-Chair Elect. Thanks to Ruth for hosting us, arranging for the food and drinks, and coming up with a fun format with special prizes from her employer, IEEE.

The most popular topics from the 10 participants were:

• Legal ethics for special librarians.
• "Catalog Around," with members doing volunteer cataloging work for a nonprofit organization such as a historical society or synagogue/church (but not limited to those types of groups). The person proposing the idea cataloged materials for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference using LibraryThing, over an extended period of time. You can see her work online.
• Members sharing career success stories.
• Book club.
• Survey of e-resources, with vendors invited to a "try it before you buy it" event.
• Events on Web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter, and on e-books and e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle. Check out the SLA's Innovation Laboratory and Innovation Wiki for more tips and tricks. (Note: You'll need to sign up for the wiki in this case.)

Other ideas included:

• Organizing tours such as those at Revolutionary War/historic sites in Morristown or Princeton, the Big Onion Tour in New York City, and a tour of the Newark Public Library, where the NJSLA archives are kept.
  
• Participating in resume and career workshops offered by local libraries. NJSLA members can offer useful advice to the many people who have lost their jobs in this very tough economy.

Please contact me, and I'll put you in touch with the person who proposed any specific idea you'd like to work on.

— Eric Schwarz, NJSLA President

View Album

Get your own

Save the Dates: Exciting SLA Events in New Jersey Coming Soon!

Please save the dates below and join your SLA colleagues in the New Jersey and Princeton-Trenton Chapters.

Wednesday, March 4 (South Brunswick, 5:30 p.m.): Presidential Libraries: The Last Campaign. Contact Brian Lewin. Organized by Princeton-Trenton SLA.

Friday, March 6 (New Brunswick, 9:30 a.m.): Rutgers LISSA Career Day. Contact Mary Fran Daley. Organized by the Rutgers Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA).

Monday, March 16 (Bedminster, 6 p.m.): NJSLA Program Planning Social. Contact Eric Schwarz. Organized by NJSLA.

Wednesday, March 25 (Somerville, 7 p.m.): Networking Meeting and Webinar: Managing Change & Finding Partners in Your Organization. Contact Susan Katz. Organized by NJSLA.

(as of March 31 - Postponed due to personal issue): Wednesday, April 1 (Far Hills, evening): Wine-Around social. Organized by NJSLA.

Late April (New Brunswick, tentatively set for 6 p.m.): NJSLA Signature Event: Alice Rankin Distinguished Lecture. More details to come. Contact Eric Schwarz. Organized by NJSLA.

Wednesday, May 27 (Princeton, time to be announced): Tour of the Frank Gehry-designed Lewis Library at Princeton University. Contact Elana Broch. Organized by Princeton-Trenton SLA.

NJSLA Program Planning Social - March 16 in Bedminster

NJSLA will hold a social event and discussion of programs planned for 2009, from 6 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m. Monday, March 16. There will be no formal program, so you can arrive later than 6 if needed. The social will be held at the home of former Chapter President Ruth Wolfish. A light dinner will be served, and all are welcome, as long as you RSVP to Eric Schwarz. (Eric will send you the address and directions once you RSVP, preferably by March 11.)

For more information on our programming ideas and need for volunteers, please see the previous blog entry. (You're welcome to come even if you don't have time to volunteer now.)

Career Day for Students, Recent Grads and Professional Mentors - March 6 in New Brunswick

The Rutgers LISSA (Library and Information Science Student Association) is sponsoring a Career Day for students, Friday, March 6. This is an opportunity for SLA members to network with Rutgers students and recent grads.

The Career Day will start at 9:30 a.m. and will be held in the Pane Room of the Alexander Library on Rutgers' College Avenue campus in New Brunswick.

Leslie Burger, director of the Princeton Public Library and past ALA President, will deliver a keynote address. A resume workshop which will include one-on-one feedback from librarian volunteers. There will also be networking time after the speakers and workshop.

This is not just an opportunity for last-semester students. All students and recent alumni are welcomed and encouraged to attend. This is a fantastic opportunity to soak up some wisdom and to network with
professionals in the field and your own classmates.

To sign up, please email Mary Fran Daley a brief description of which field(s) you are interested in (youth, schools, tech services, management, archives, acquisitions, corporate, academic, public reference, etc.). Please attach your most recent resume in MS Word to this email. So that we
have the right balance of volunteers for the resume reviews, please send this email by Wednesday,
Feb. 18. LISSA will send participants a confirmation after Feb. 23.

NJSLA Seeks Program Planners

In 2008, your New Jersey chapter of the SLA (NJSLA) held career networking meetings throughout Central and Northern New Jersey; hosted SLA President Stephen Abram; went out to a Somerset Patriots game; and found out how to "Put Yourself First … Discover Your New Niche in Our Changing World."

All of this is possible with the help of volunteers finding sites and speakers, handling registrations, greeting fellow members, writing and distributing notices for the meetings, photographing the event and posting those photos, and several other tasks that make an event successful.

We're looking for volunteers for the 2009 Program Committee. Although it may sound like a lot of work, we have a framework and lots of tools (such as online registration) to make the job easier. If you've ever thought that we're missing out on some good ideas or could handle programming better, please let me know of your interest. Almost all of the work can be done from your home or office, so please consider volunteering.

Please email me for more information. (The link will open a message with my phone number included. If for some reason that does not work, please contact email directly: eric AT ericthelibrarian.com, with AT replaced by @.)

Best regards,
Eric Schwarz
NJSLA President 2009