The NJLA Conference Committee is pleased to share a personal message from our CUS Luncheon speaker, ACRL President Cheryl Middleton, to NJLA Conference attendees.

Hi, I’m Cheryl Middleton, the current president of the Association of College & Research Libraries. At my day job, I am the Associate University Librarian for Research & Scholarly Communication at Oregon State University Libraries. My portfolio includes research services, resource sharing, collections and acquisitions, and emerging library technologies. I am one of the rare birds that has spent all of my professional life at one institution. I started as a science reference librarian, worked as a department head of reference and undergraduate services and did a stint as the head of access services. In 2013, I changed gears and accepted my current appointment. No matter where I am placed in the library, my passion has always been about supporting lifelong learning to enable citizens to make informed decisions that benefit their lives and contribute to the good of society.

I am very honored and excited to be coming back to NJLA. Believe it or not, when I was a paraprofessional, I attended a NJLA conference that was held at Seton Hall University. It was one of the highlights of my professional development at the time.  In anticipation of my return to NJLA and your membership getting to know me, I have been asked to let you know what I think the current challenges are for all types of libraries. From my perspective, the biggest challenges libraries face in today’s climate are continual threats to our federal and state funding and keeping access to information from all perspectives balanced and open. Today’s libraries are grappling with issues of social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusiveness, and we are working to provide safe spaces for all users while upholding our professional values. As I think about the challenges and how libraries might address them, my mind immediately focuses on how important it is that librarians craft those safe spaces. We need to continue to nurture hard conversations and build collections that represent diverse points of view, as well as share our successes and failures across our profession to address these complex issues of social justice, EDI and safe spaces.

So, what do I do for fun?  I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and love to garden, camp and fish with my family during the non-rainy season and during the rainy season, I read a lot and knit and quilt a little!

See you all in Atlantic City!

-- Cheryl Middleton