Conference Updates
Attention NJ Library Trustees!Apr 8 2014 - 10:17amAttention New Jersey Library trustees! Are you looking for continuing education opportunities? The New Jersey Library Association has the perfect conference planned for you from June 2 through June 4 in Atlantic City. One of the four preconference programs scheduled on Monday, June 2, entitled “Takin’ It to the Streets” provides you with the opportunity to hear about New Jersey libraries that are transforming outreach to their communities. On Tuesday, June 3, the first full day of the conference, you’ll find many programs and speakers of interest on topics like personnel matters, policies and advocacy. You can attend your choice of sessions about employee performance reviews, advocating effectively with local officials, and using social media to promote your library and engage your community. Two of Tuesday’s sessions in particular that are guaranteed to be popular with trustees include: “New Job titles for 21st century Librarians” and “Fostering the Board/Director relationship.” The first full day culminates in the NJLA Awards Ceremony, which is an outstanding reception honoring librarians, libraries, trustees, and those who advocate on behalf of libraries. The award ceremony will not only provide you with ideas that you can share with your director and fellow board members, but it will make you very proud that you are associated with libraries. The second full day of the conference on Wednesday, June 4 begins with the NJ State Librarian’s Breakfast, an opportunity for you to hear about the latest developments in initiatives that help the NJ library community. Then it’s on to sessions about makerspaces, union contracts, policies, developing a brand for the library, and so much more. In between all these sessions there is also time for you to visit the exhibits and learn about all the new products and services that can bring more customers into your library! The exhibitors are very willing to answer questions and with technology changing so quickly, you are guaranteed to learn something new just by waking though the large exhibit space. And don’t forget: this conference is in Atlantic City! You are a tireless volunteer and you deserve a mini vacation. Hotel rooms at the Revel Resorts are discounted for conference attendees, every room has a beautiful view of the ocean and the choice of restaurants both inside and around Revel make Atlantic City a superb personal and professional destination. Talk to your library director soon and register for this fantastic conference. Registration can be done via phone by calling 609-348-0500 or 855-348-0500 by May 16 and indicate that you are with the NJ Library Association, or online at https://resweb.passkey.com/go/NJLA2014. Hope to see you in AC! - Jayne Beline, 2014 NJLA Conference Co-Chair |
NJLA Annual is for Everyone!Apr 1 2014 - 1:01pm
Our Annual Conference is an opportunity to showcase projects and ideas of libraries and library professionals all across the great state of New Jersey. But it’s also an opportunity to bring in speakers from other parts of the country to share expertise and connect with NJ librarians. The NJLA Conference Committee places a tremendous value on the participation of professionals from across the country at our Annual Conference. Did you know that Atlantic City, NJ is a 1-hour drive from Philadelphia, a 2-hour drive from New York City and less than 3 hours from Baltimore? Atlantic City is also home to a variety of transportation options including air, bus & train. No matter where you are, you’re not too far from one of the best State Conferences in the northeast! This year we’ll be hosting keynote presenters Steve Berry (Tuesday), New York Times Bestselling novelist and author of The Lincoln Myth, and Nate Hill (Wednesday), the Assistant Director at the Chattanooga Public Library and creator of The 4th Floor Project. From the beach & boardwalk to dining, entertainment & gaming, Revel Resorts has a little bit of everything. Come to the New Jersey Library Association Conference in Atlantic City and see what it’s all about! - Allen McGinley, 2014 NJLA Conference Co-Chair |
to revel (verb): to enjoy oneselfApr 1 2014 - 12:56pm
Revel Resorts in Atlantic City is a world-class hotel and conference venue highlighted by gaming, dining, entertainment, and an amazing spa. The meeting room level provides ample space for our more formal Conference sessions, but also opportunities for exploration, networking, and casual conversations with other attendees. (And did we mention there is an indoor outdoor pool? Because there is! You can get in the pool indoors, swim underneath a wall and be outdoors. It’s seriously amazing.) Spaces like the Outdoor Sky Lobby and bar/restaurants like Village Whiskey offer exceptional opportunities for connecting with old friends over appetizers & cocktails or just relaxing around the bonfire after a long day of serious conferencing. The NJLA Annual Conference at Revel Resorts is about learning, collaborating, and soaking in the new, exciting ideas shared by colleagues, but it’s also about relaxing and re-energizing. Revel Resorts offers the perfect blend. So join us in AC! Our Annual Conference is the largest source of revenue for our New Jersey Library Association. We get together every year for all the reasons listed above. But we also do it to support (both financially & spiritually) this great network of library professionals. We look forward to seeing you there! Book your room today! Call 609-348-0500 or 855-348-0500 by May 16 and indicate that you are with the NJ Library Association, or go to https://resweb.passkey.com/go/NJLA2014. - Allen McGinley, 2014 NJLA Conference Co-Chair |
Creating Our Futures – NJLA 2014 President’s Program and Keynote SpeakersMar 26 2014 - 2:32pm
NJLA's Annual Conference, Creating Our Futures, has a great program lined up for you from June 2nd through June 4th at Revel Resort in Atlantic City. Please join me on Monday evening for the President's Program. One of the great privileges NJLA’s President has is the selection of conference Keynotes and the President’s Program. I gave a lot of thought to this year’s speakers and I hope you will agree that they all have much to offer NJLA members and conference attendees.
Helen knows a lot about branding and social media. In 2008, she brought characters from AMC's drama "Mad Men" onto Twitter. Her work as @BettyDraper has attracted 35,000 followers, a Shorty (Twitter) award and press coverage in Time and the Wall Street Journal. She is also a branding advisor to the Poetry Society of America and is board member and lead on a current rebranding effort for Scoville Memorial Library in Salisbury, CT. We’ve moved things around a bit this year to make exhibits more accessible and the Keynote sessions more comfortable. We’ve put our Keynote speakers on the stage of Ovation Hall and you’ll be seated comfortably at tables. On Tuesday I hope you will start your conference by attending Steve Berry’s Keynote. If, like me, you love it when NJLA brings authors to the conference then you know this is a Keynote not to be missed. Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of eight Cotton Malone adventures, four stand-alone thrillers, and four short-story originals. I admit I am a huge fan of Steve Berry’s work and am hoping to read his latest Cotton Malone novel (The Lincoln Myth – scheduled for release May 20, 2014) before I get to the conference. Steve is taking time from his book tour to join us in Atlantic City. On Wednesday our Keynote is Nate Hill, Assistant Director at the Chattanooga Public Library, where he started The 4th Floor project. The 4th Floor is a 14,000 square foot flexible community library space: some days it is a makerspace, others it is a coder dojo or hackerspace, and still others it serves as an event, production, and presentation space. Nate's talk will tell the story of the rapid development of this space, it will offer insight into teambuilding and organizational structures for creative library spaces, and it will present actionable ideas for implementing similar solutions in participants' own libraries – regardless of how much space you actually have! In addition to his work in Chattanooga, Nate serves as a co-chair of the Digital Public Library of America's Marketing and Outreach Committee, and he's been recognized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as an American representative for the International Network of Emerging Library Innovators (INELI) program. Nate was also named a "Mover and Shaker" by Library Journal in 2012. I hope you agree that we have a great line up waiting for you in Atlantic City! I look forward to seeing you there. - Eileen M. Palmer, NJLA President |
Making the Case for Conference!Mar 24 2014 - 11:47amWe'd love to see you at the NJLA Conference on June 2-4, 2014 in Atlantic City, NJ! Making the case for time off and support for travel and expenses to attend a conference requires a solid understanding of the potential benefits to your institution, supervisor, and colleagues. And you need to be able to communicate those benefits clearly—especially in times of tight budgets and reduced staff. Use the information that follows to help make your case!
For a convenient overview of the conference content, dates, scheduled events, hotels, registration rates, and informational links, check out njlaconference.info. - Kate Vasilik, 2014 NJLA Conference Committee |
We are excited to announce that we will once again be offering the NJLA Member rate for Conference attendance to library professionals who are members of other State Library Associations.
The NJLA President’s Program, Monday at 7pm, is entitled Libraries in Space. I am very excited to introduce Helen Klein Ross to NJLA. In her program she will challenge us to explore the power of libraries in the social media space and why simply staking claim there isn't enough. We'll look at why branding is more than logo and graphics and why a strong brand unified across platforms is key to galvanizing new usage and support. And what can libraries learn from innovations by others on the digital frontier?
Find out why others go to the NJLA Conference! Put a call out to colleagues asking what they get most out of attending Conference, or take a look at what other professionals in the field have to say at Pages
