Each year after our annual conference we solicit responses from our attendees on their experience. We ask them about what they liked, what they didn’t like, and what they hope to see more of in the future. The top request we receive at the end of each year: more outside speakers. And by outside speakers, we hear requests for librarians from other types of libraries, librarians from out of state, and non-librarians, people from professions that both compliment ours as well as exhibit characteristics totally unlike what we do. And to be perfectly honest, those are always my favorite presentations, too. There is no better inspiration than hearing from someone who does something totally unlike what you do. It jogs your brain to start thinking about, well, hey, why can’t I do something like that?

The problem: traditionally only people active in NJLA Sections and Committees could propose sessions, and though they often invited outside speakers, that’s a limited pool of knowledge and resources to draw from. Last year the NJLA Conference Committee made a decision to open up program submissions to everyone, regardless of membership status, involvement, or profession. And we received a really positive response! So we did it again this year, and the turn-out for outside speakers was even greater.

Take a look below as we spotlight some of those unique speakers and submissions, and we hope you’ll give them a nice warm NJLA welcome at conference!

PRECONFERENCES: Almost all of our preconferences are led by non-librarians this year!:

What Makes a Proposal Great? Beyond the Basics of Grant Writing for your Library

• Brittany Campese, Founder and Principal of Vision Driven Consulting, LLC, has been working in the nonprofit sector for 15 years and combines her education in women's studies and nonprofit management to provide holistic support to change-makers and artists. Her community-based consulting, facilitation, and training dovetails well with New Jersey's community-oriented public libraries.

Exclusively Inclusive:  Tips and strategies from Professionals outside Libraryland

• The speakers for this program are all specialists in their fields and work with children with special needs and disabilities everyday. Their knowledge and insight can help us answer questions about different diagnosis as well as give facts and advice on how to incorporate children from this community in programming.

I want to know her! How to leverage your network and your personal brand

• Karen Yankovich is a Digital Strategist who works with individuals and businesses to help them build their brand. As librarians, we know so much of what we do is marketing ourselves and our work to show our community our worth, so we can use some business savvy! Karen will also be doing a regular breakout session on leveraging social media to advertise library events.

Active Shooter Training

• Laura Kendall is a retired paramedic and certified police instructor and the perfect person to  train librarians to be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

The All of Us Research Program and Public Libraries: New Opportunities for Health Literacy

• Hailing from a medical library, our speakers provide a slightly different approach to health literacy than we may be used to in our more public spheres.

KEYNOTES: We are excited to bring librarians back to their roots with some big-name authors this year!

• Nell Irvin Painter is a distinguished and award winning scholar and writer. She is the author of seven books and countless articles relating to the history of the American South. Dr. Painter will be discussing her latest book, Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over, about her experiences returning to school to pursue art.
• Chris Bohjalian is a critically acclaimed novelist whose gripping fiction explores contemporary social issues and how they play out in the lives of ordinary people, as well as sheds light on some of the most important moments in history. We’re also hosting a OneRead focused on his book The Sandcastle Girls that we hope you will join us for on Friday at 2:00. A Librarian book club? What’s better than that!

BREAKOUT SESSIONS:

• Circulating iPads at the library for the learning disabled - Hear about a how a Girl Scout Gold Award candidate took inspiration from her brother to help her local library
• Sex Between the Stacks: Enhancing Sensitivity and Preventing Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Among Library Staff and Visitors & Building a Foundation for Long-Term Library Funding - A lawyer with years of experience representing public libraries talks shop about how to prevent sexual harassment and sexual assault of and by staff and visitors as well as how to develop a foundation to support your library.
• Bring Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to Your Community - A public librarian from Lewes Public Library in Delaware talks about how she implemented the Imagination Library into her community.
• Census 2020: Critical for our Communities - With the 2020 Census on the horizon, these speakers are topic area experts that will provide critical insight and analysis most helpful to the work we do as librarians. 
• Developing Your Own Library Ambassador Program - Academic Librarians from East Tennessee State University will describe their undergraduate student library ambassador program.
• Make the Library Board work for you - The President of the NJ Library Trustee Association will give some insider insight into how trustees and the library board work.
• Being Prepared for Anything: Safety and Security in the Library - Hear from certified safety experts on preventative steps staff can take to avoid unwanted incidents in their libraries.
• Exploring Our Past: African American Genealogy - Experts in African American Genealogy will share noteworthy organizations and strategies to help field reference questions.

And many, many more! So check out the full schedule and plan your schedule because, trust me, it’s going to be FULL!

--Emily Witkowski, Conference Co-Chair, 2019 NJLA Conference Committee