Beyond the Binary: Understanding & Celebrating Gender Diversity

Join NJLA and your colleagues as we continue our series of virtual keynotes. As an exclusive member benefit, participation is completely free!

Date: Friday, March 13th at 10:00 a.m.

Program Description: 

In this program, you will learn about gender definitions, proper etiquette, legal issues, and more. Our panelists will share firsthand accounts, as well as examples of library programs and policies. As a result of this program, you will gain access to information and resources that will enable you to become an ally in your community.

Speakers:

• Branwen Drew (she/her/hers), US Air Force Research Laboratory-Rome Research Site          
• Deena Caswell(she/her/hers), MSLIS | Supervisor of Outreach and Diversity | Cherry Hill Public Library
• Ellis Butler (they/them/theirs) | Library Assistant, Cherry Hill Public Library

Moderator:
 
Theresa Agostinelli
Reference & Instruction Librarian (pt), Middlesex County College
Adjunct Librarian, Brookdale Community College

Co-sponsors:

NJLA Professional Development Committee,NJLA Diversity & Outreach Section

Registration is FREE for all NJLA Members. Space is limited, so please secure your spot.

This Virtual Keynote will take place online via Zoom meeting. All registrants will be emailed instructions prior to the event. 

Please contact Theresa Agostinelli tagostinelli@middlesexcc.edu if you have any questions.

2020 DO-IT Conference
Libraries and Social Work: Connecting People, Services, and Professionals

When: Wednesday, March 18, 2020, 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Where: Monmouth County Library System, Manalapan Branch
125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan, NJ 07726

This year's DO-IT Conference brings together library and social workers for a free day-long conference focused on connecting librarianship and social work. You will come away with actionable steps and tools to assess whether a social worker would be the right addition for your library, how to finance such a program, and discover how various libraries have woven social work into their everyday services.  Hear directly from and brainstorm with service providers, innovative colleagues, social workers who already work in libraries, and their advocates as we work to provide even better services for our patrons.  Let’s DO-IT together!

Already excited?  Join the conversation on our new Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/njladando

Sponsored by:
NJLA Diversity & Outreach Section
NJLA Professional Development Committee
New Jersey State Library

Contact:
Carina Gonzalez, cgonzalez@sclibnj.org and Jen Sulligan, jsulligan@sclibnj.org

Technology Unconference

Date: Thursday, April 23rd
Time: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Location: Monroe Township Public Library, 4 Municipal Plaza, Monroe Township, NJ 08831
Cost: Free to NJLA individual and institutional members.

Who is this event for and why should you attend? This unconference is for all library employees who use or interact with technology in any capacity to perform their job duties. An unconference aims to break down a traditional conference by allowing attendees to work together and lead conversations on the topics that most interest them. Attend to engage with your colleagues in libraries across the state to discuss challenges associated with technology use, technology anxiety, and technology training in libraries. This unconference will aim to give attendees a chance to learn from each other and share insight into how they or their libraries have worked to tackle issues such as: training or empowering staff to use new and existing technology, maintaining technology in libraries, and using technology in libraries to solve problems.

To help the Leadership & Education Subcommittee plan for this Unconference and for future technology resources and offerings, please take a few minutes to complete the the following survey. This survey will help us accomplish two main goals: understanding potential topics for the unconference and understanding general attitudes of library staff regarding technology use. Even if you can't attend the unconference, completing this survey will be extremely beneficial. Click here to complete the survey.

Registration will open about a month before this event.

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NJLA has started a podcast series that will consist of interviews with current NJLA members throughout New Jersey.

Professional Development Committee member Amanda Piekart recently interviewed Cara Berg, current ACRL-NJ/NJLA CUS President (pictured). In this episode we ask Cara what success in librarianship looks like, how she responds to failure. She also explains her "why" as a librarian.

 

Listen to the podcast

 

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Librarians of Color Roundtable

Keisha M. Miller, (Teen Librarian & Volunteer Coordinator) and contributing members of the LOC Roundtable

In the Fall of 2018, I attended the Leadership Academy presented by the NJ State Library. It is one of the most meaningful professional development opportunities I’ve had in my career, because it was the springboard for still more professional and personal growth. The Librarians of Color Roundtable has been a brainchild of mine for some years and took more structure while I was at the academy. After endless support and several conversations later, LOC Roundtable was approved by the NJLA Executive Board in June 2019. Since then we’ve had two meetings and plan to have at least two more ahead of this year’s annual NJLA conference. To attend a Librarians of Color Roundtable meeting, either virtually or in person, you must be an NJLA member. The next Librarians of Color meeting is being planned for February.

Members of the LOC Roundtable are optimistic about the future. One member said, “I would like us to be a cognitive authority in this topic so that other groups refer to us when making big plans to ensure that our people are considered, acknowledged, and made to feel welcome.” Maintaining the presence of the LOC Roundtable is important to me and many others, and toward that end, liaisons will be appointed for other NJLA sections and committees. The goal is to have this roundtable become a section of NJLA for librarians, library employees, and students of color in pursuit of their MLIS allowing them to be a part of a professional network that is reflective of them – and to have a platform where they are seen and heard.

As we continue to give structure to the LOC Roundtable, I would like to initiate scholarships for minority students, invite guest speakers who cover topics that affect black and brown library employees – such as micro-aggressions and its variants, or recruitment and retention in the field for BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color). Visibility in all its forms is important; members of the LOC Roundtable will work together to highlight their collective work and profiles through various outlets available to the field of librarianship. Stay tuned!

On a celebratory note, roundtable members Amalia Daniels-Butler of Maplewood Memorial Library, Hebah Emara of Elizabeth Public Library, and Joy Robinson of Piscataway Public Library have received national recognition for their work in Children’s Librarianship, Technology and Research and Community Engagement. All will be attending the PLA and ALA conferences later this year. Regardless of the role your coworker has at your library, encourage them to attend a Librarians of Color Roundtable meeting – allies are welcome, as are opportunities for growth, inclusion, and partnership.
 

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Professional Development Tips From Your Peers

Sharon Rawlins, MLS

Title: Youth Services Specialist

Place of Work: New Jersey State Library

How do you stay up-to-date in our field?

I’ve worked in libraries for 34 years, 29 of them as a certified librarian. I wasn’t really aware of how long it has been until I was thinking about what to say in my acceptance speech as the 2019 NJLA Librarian of the Year at the NJLA conference last May. In the majority of libraries where I’ve worked, I’ve stayed for more than 10 years. What kept me there was the staff, the community and the fact that there was always something new to learn.

This is no less true now that I’m a consultant for youth librarians and staff throughout the state who work with young people. In offering readers advisory and workshops, I’ve found that being a member of ALA’s YALSA and ALSC divisions has been invaluable. The recent training I received through YALSA’s Transforming Teen Services: A Train-the-Trainer Approach on connected learning and computational thinking will really help me train other youth services staff.

I also like reading about library trends from the Pew Research Center’s reports. I find the Kids Count data on children’s education, health and well-being from Advocates for Children of New Jersey’s website really helpful to support grant applications.

ALA membership is expensive so I also take advantage of free webinars, especially those that help me with readers’ advisory. Even though I don’t work directly with youth anymore, I do presentations at conferences so I need to know what the latest books are. Booklist and SLJ offer regular free webinars and webcasts, and many publishers do too. 

I’m a huge adult science fiction and fantasy fan but I rarely have time to read it, although I keep up with it through Book Riot’s SFF free online newsletter. Book Riot covers trends in books for all genres and ages and also has great podcasts.   

When it comes down to it, networking is one of the best ways I stay current and energized. Once a month my fellow Youth Services Consultants from other states and I get together virtually to discuss different topics. I always get new ideas and really appreciate their different perspectives.  

Recommended resources:

• Pew Research Center’s reports
• Advocates for Children of New Jersey Kids Count

• Kids Count Data Book (National data)

• ALA’s Booklist webinars 

• School Library Journal Webcasts

• Book Riot: The largest independent editorial book site in North America, and home to a host of media. 

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Pathways to Success

Gladys CepedaGladys Cepeda, Bilingual Library Associate and current Library School Student (Rutgers University) Johnson Public Library, Hackensack NJ

Tell us a little bit about your current position and what you do at the Johnson Public Library? As the Bilingual Library Associate in the Children’s Department, I design and implement programming (in both English and Spanish), assist customers at the service desk, translate materials into Spanish and do collection development in both English and Spanish.

Did you always envision yourself working in a public library?                                                                                     No, I did not! It was a career I had never considered before.

What sort of educational and professional background did you have coming into this position?
I hold a Masters in Child Advocacy and worked as a preschool teacher for 13 years. My sister was working in a library part-time and knew I wasn’t happy in my career. She encouraged me to apply for library positions.

You are currently enrolled in a Library Science Masters Program at Rutgers University? What was your motivation for pursuing additional education in the field? My supervisors encouraged me to apply for Library School, and I wanted to be able to better serve the community that I work in.

What are your favorite things about your job? I like seeing my collections circulate. It makes me feel like I am doing a good job meeting the needs of the community. I enjoy interacting with children of various ages as well as their parents. I love programming and feel that our department does a great job offering a wide variety.

What challenges have you faced that you did not anticipate?I attend system-wide meetings and did feel that sometimes I wasn’t taken as seriously as my fellow colleagues that hold an MLIS. I have been able to grow in ways that I didn’t think that I would, coming from my background as an educator and advocate. I had been out of graduate school for quite some time, so getting back into that mode has been an adjustment. I am lucky to have supportive supervisors and co-workers and that has helped tremendously.

Do you have any advice for people looking to try a new career path? I would say go for it! I wish that I had known about this career as an option sooner and wish that I had entered this field earlier on.

What would your ideal career in “library land” look like?I would love a position that encompasses all of my skills and complete educational background. I have thought about becoming some sort of consultant dealing with advocacy and accessibility

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