2021 Conference Experiences in the Time of COVID-19

By Neil Grimes
Education & Curriculum Materials Librarian, William Paterson University of New Jersey
(Email: grimesn@wpunj.edu)

For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, I attended two in-person library conferences in fall 2021.

The first of the two was the 2021 national conference of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), held in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Oct. 21-23. Attending the AASL national conference was always a goal of mine, especially during the nine years that I served as an urban high school librarian in northeastern Pennsylvania.

To get to the conference I traveled on a plane for the first time since 2018. Dealing with the airport, security check-in, the five-hour flight, and navigating to the hotel was a nerve-wracking experience. Arriving at the Marriott hotel in Salt Lake City helped to put my mind at ease.

Before checking in at the Salt Lake City Convention Center on Oct. 20 I wondered how different this experience would be from other in-person conferences that I had attended before the pandemic.

Attendees selected a red, yellow, or green sticker for their name badges. Each color signified an individual’s comfort with social interaction. I selected the green sticker, indicating that I was comfortable with a hug or a handshake. Even displaying the green sticker, I found myself shaking very few hands.

Additionally, each attendee was given a see-through mask. All attendees were asked to wear masks while attending sessions and program activities, even though at times some people chose not to wear a mask. Most attendees didn’t wear masks when they were eating or drinking. There were several hand sanitizer stations throughout the convention center

Presenters had the option of not wearing masks during their presentations. I chose not to wear a mask when I presented my session on Oct. 23, Virtual Library Outreach to Support the Virtual Teaching and Learning Experiences of Faculty and Students: Supporting Teachers and Students in a Local Public School District.

My presentation focused on the ongoing virtual outreach that the Cheng Library at William Paterson University (WPU) has provided, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to the teachers and students in the Paterson Public Schools, the fourth-largest school district in New Jersey. I shared the success of WPU’s Real Men Read program and the important role that all libraries play in promoting literacy.

The most uncomfortable moments were the general and keynote sessions, held in a large ballroom, as well as the time that I spent in the exhibit hall, where there were large groups of people, some of whom were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

A highlight of the conference was the keynote address, “Why settle for outstanding when you can be UPstanding?” by Dr. Omékongo Dibinga. His most recent book, The UPstander’s Guide to an Outstanding Life, is a life balance book for students. In his book and in his keynote, Dr. Omékongo provided key steps that all people (especially students) must adopt to achieve greatness in their lives.

At the AASL research symposium I networked with school library educators from across the country, discussed trends in school library research, and discovered outlets to share scholarship in the school library field with practitioners.

The session Don’t Worry, Be Awesome focused on the importance of advocacy. Professors Jennifer Hill and Jane Presteback presented survey research on how school administrators view the role of the school librarian. They also shared practical ideas on how to communicate effectively with administrators and other community stakeholders.

The presenters noted that the average age of a K-12 school administrator in America today was 46 and that they would often overlook the value that a school librarian brings to the learning experiences and culture of their school. School administrators, library directors, and library deans are looking at how professional librarians and library staff bring value, contribute to the culture of learning, and provide meaningful and measurable outcomes. That’s what made this session so valuable to me!

The best takeaway from the 2021 AASL national conference was networking in person with other librarians. On Oct. 20 I went to dinner with school librarian Selena K. Campbell. (Ms. Campbell’s official title is K-12 Library Supervisor & Personalized Competency-Based Learning Coordinator at the Davis School District, the second-largest school district in Utah.) We talked about her role in leading and providing professional development and mentorship to librarians in her district.

After the conference, she invited me to give a virtual presentation through Microsoft Teams to her high school librarians on academic library outreach to the K-12 community and grants to support outreach initiatives. Hearing how librarians and library leaders have provided support and learning experiences to their communities during the pandemic was both uplifting and inspiring. Each librarian adapted and transformed their school library to meet and support students virtually, in person, or a hybrid of those two options. I look forward to attending the next AASL national conference in 2023!

I also attended and presented at the New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL) annual fall conference from Dec. 5-7 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. This in-person conference required all conference attendees to wear masks and offered hand sanitizer stations. Speakers could also take off their masks when presenting.

Highlights of the Hard Rock include its restaurants and displays of Frank Sinatra’s suit and rock music memorabilia. Another highlight included networking in person with New Jersey school library leaders Beth Thomas, Yveth Molinado, Tricina Beebe, and Mary Moyer.

I presented at sessions on New Jersey History Day with Yvonne Rouxon grants for school libraries. I also participated on a panel with academic librarians Gary Marks and Bonnie Lafazan, about the NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ’s outreach partnership with NJASL. Under this initiative, academic librarians provide virtual tours of their libraries to high school students.

In closing, I look forward to the next in-person NJASL conference in December 2022! Here’s hoping for more normal in-person conference experiences in 2022.

Bottom photo: Gary Marks (Reference and Outreach Librarian, William Paterson University), Bonnie Lafazan (Library Director, Berkeley College Woodbridge campus), and Neil Grimes at the NJASL Fall 2021 Conference.

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Unexpected Path Leads a Would-Be Band Director from Texas to a Music Library in New Jersey By Sarah Mason Music Outreach Librarian at Talbott Music Library, Westminster Choir College of Rider University (Email: smason@rider.edu) Well, how did I get here? To be honest, it was not the path I had expected I would take. Throughout high school, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: become a Texas band director. I grew up about an hour and a half from the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, which is known for the quality of its music, especially bands, and attended a relatively small school. I had started playing the flute in sixth grade and had continued throughout junior high and high school, leading me to fall in love with music in general. So, after graduation, the path ahead seemed clear: I would get a bachelor’s degree in music education and become a band director. It didn’t turn out that way. Throughout my bachelor’s studies, I didn’t feel “cut out” to be a band director and decided to look instead into elementary music education. But the more I looked into it and attended education-related classes, the more I realized that that wasn’t the correct path for me, either. Somewhat late in my degree, I switched from the bachelor of arts in music education to a more general bachelor of arts in music. My academic advisor warned that I wouldn’t find work without the teaching certificate. But I felt like it just wasn’t my calling and that I would find something else: maybe music therapy, maybe just teaching private flute lessons, maybe something completely different. During this same time, I started to fall in love with libraries. I had worked at two libraries throughout my undergraduate degree — part-time as a circulation assistant for the local public library, and then part-time as a student worker in circulation (and eventually a few hours on the reference desk) at my university library. Toward the end of my senior year, I started doing research on working in libraries and discovered that you need a master’s degree to be a librarian. After some consideration, I decided that I would likely really enjoy being a librarian and started researching library schools. (It is worth noting here that the university I attended did not have a music library, just a small section of the stacks devoted to music, so I hadn’t yet encountered the idea of a specialized library.) Around the same time, the director of bands had invited a guest artist to perform with our ensemble. She spoke to our conducting class and mentioned that she was a music librarian as well as a performer. It was an eye-opening experience to realize that I could connect the two things I enjoyed so much — music and working in libraries! She suggested that I reach out to a music librarian whom she knew at a nearby university. A few months before I graduated in 2015, I met with the music librarian over coffee. The librarian gave me a few school suggestions that had specialized classwork in music librarianship, and I ended up applying and being accepted to the one school I had hoped for due to its great music librarianship track, Indiana University. A small-town Texas girl was moving to the Midwest! I moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where I attended library school and graduated in 2018. While attending library school, I was able to work in multiple areas in various libraries. One position was in cataloging at the rare books library, one in public services at the music library, one in audiovisual preservation at multiple locations, and more. I tried to get as much experience as possible, and it allowed me to test out working in each area to see what I liked best and what I most excelled in. The more I got to work in libraries, the more I realized that this was my calling. I met some wonderful future colleagues in my cohort and through the libraries themselves. I networked further at local and national conferences of the Music Library Association to network even further. After I graduated with my MLS, my biggest obstacle was finding a job. Though I had applied to academic and public libraries all over the country, I had not expected to find a job on the East Coast, much less in New Jersey. I was thrilled once I was far enough in the interview process to visit the campus of Westminster Choir College. The people I spoke with through my interview process were great, and I really liked what I saw of the school and the surrounding area. After attending my in-person interview, I waited a few weeks with bated breath and finally got the offer email in late September 2019. I was ecstatic and accepted the position, rushing to find an apartment and schedule a cross-country move before starting the position a few weeks later in mid-October. Since then, I have had the opportunity to work with fantastic colleagues and to explore local associations such as NJLA. Though the pandemic has made an impact on the first few years of my career here, I have enjoyed every opportunity (virtual and in-person!) that I have had to work with colleagues, students, faculty, staff, and community members alike. My life took a turn that I hadn’t expected post-undergrad, which led me in a direction I never thought I’d take. But I am incredibly grateful for how things turned out, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have met many wonderful people in the short amount of time I’ve been in New Jersey and in NJLA, and I look forward to the future. Bottom photo: Westminster Choir College librarians Joshua Henry and Sarah Mason pose in identical masks. Top of Page

Second Annual NJLA Public Relations Spotlight

The second annual NJLA Public Relations Spotlight program, held virtually on Jan. 13, was lauded by attendees as an uplifting event. (Watch the recording.)

One viewer remarked that the song created by Union Public Library’s Justine Ferrara and Kristian Brito ”was a bop!” 

Projects conceived and executed by Melissa KR Hozik of East Brunswick Public Library and Michael Pucci of South Orange Public Library inspired others to consider new ways of creatively delivering their message and including their colleagues in the process. 

Keisha Miller, NJLA Librarian of the Year, moderated the program. Judith Pissano, Honors and Awards Co-Chair, encouraged the audience to submit their own work for consideration. Nominations for the 2022 Honors & Awards will be accepted until April 1, 2022.

2021 Public Relations Award Winners by category

Information Literature
South Orange Public Library: “One Year Later" infographic (Michael Pucci)

Campaign
East Brunswick Public Library: “Option Green: Climate Change & Community” campaign (Melissa KR Hozik)

Surprise Us! (two winners)

• South Orange Public Library: “We Miss You!” staff video (Michael Pucci)
• Union Public Library: “Shelf Help” video (Justine Ferrara and Kristian Brito)

Pictured: (top, from left) Judith Pissano, Justine Ferrara, and Kristian Brito; (bottom, from left) Michael Pucci, Keisha Miller, and Melissa KR Hozik.

23rd Annual NJ Academic Libraries Conference

The 2022 NJ Academic Libraries Conference (previously known as the VALE Conference) was presented on Friday, Jan. 7. If you missed the conference, you can access presentation materials by visiting the conference website. As conference planners receive presentation materials, they will be added to this site.

There were 10 poster presentations, 12 breakout sessions, one roundtable discussion, and six lightning talks.

The keynote speaker, Trevor A. Dawes of the University of Delaware (pictured), spoke to conference attendees about rethinking EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) initiatives in libraries. The keynote was well-attended and attendees posed thoughtful questions at the keynote conclusion.

Throughout the day, conference attendees interacted via a special conference Slack channel and had the opportunity to socialize and network during themed lunches.

The four breakout sessions were very well attended, and there was a lot of really great information shared by talented library presenters. Many attendees participated in discussions, asked questions, and got advice.

The conference planning committee is already looking forward to 2023. If you or someone you know wants to be part of the planning process, please email Alyssa Valenti (alyssa.valenti@raritanval.edu)!

Recent LibraryLinkNJ (LLNJ) Highlights

• LLNJ and MentorNJ hosted a webinar by author and diversity consultant Dima Ghawi on Nov. 5, 2021. Dima’s presentation, Beyond the Image of Diversity: How to Create a Culture of Inclusion, explored the steps libraries can take to create truly inclusive environments for library staff. This webinar served as a kickoff to the MentorNJ EDI Meet-ups (visit the MentorNJ Meetup page to learn more) and a recording of the event is available for a limited time on the event webpage. A LibraryLinkNJ login is required to access the recording.
• LLNJ’s Information Equity Conference, held on Oct. 25, 2021, was a successful statewide virtual event presented with support from NJLA, NJASL, NJALA, the NJ State Library, and ACRL-NJ. The conference featured moderated roundtables, lightning talks, an action step planning session, and a keynote address from Rosy Wagner (Burlington County Library System) and Ashley Mitchell (Camden County Library System). The event brought together staff members of all types of libraries to learn, share, and grow their competencies in a wide variety of areas related to information equity. Conference recordings are available on the LLNJ YouTube channel.
• Jenna Ingham (Verona Public Library), Kaley Iacovetta (Collingswood Public Library), and Kel Rowan (Ocean County Library) reprised their successful NJLA Conference program In, Out, & In Between as an LLNJ webinar on Oct. 12, 2021. The webinar shared strategies for supporting LGBTQIA+ youth in the library, and was co-sponsored by NJLA. A recording of the webinar can be found on the LLNJ YouTube channel

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• Professional Development Links
• Webinars and Other Training Events: Upcoming and Archived
• PD Newsletter Archive (with links to other NJ library newsletters)

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Eric Schwarz, Newsletter Editor
Chair, NJLA Professional Development Committee
Generalist Librarian (part-time), Englewood Public Library
Librarian (part-time), Berkeley College
Reference Librarian (part-time), Clarence Dillon Public Library

Molly Hone
Assistant Director, Montville Township Public Library

Selwa Shamy
Past Chair, NJLA Professional Development Committee
Interim Director / Assistant Director, Montclair Public Library

Please contact the Professional Development Newsletter Editorial Board (pdnewsletter@njlamembers.org) if you have suggestions or content to contribute.

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