I have been a librarian for a very long time (got my M.L.S. – no M.L.I.S for me! – in 1979) and I’ve been a member of NJLA since at least 1986.
I remember the first conference I attended; it was in Cherry Hill and I knew NO ONE. But, from a chance meeting at that conference, I started getting involved in the Administration Section and…well, I don’t want to go on about all of the various sections, committees, and positions on which I’ve been active.
I’ve attended countless meetings over the years and traveled thousands of miles for these meetings – in the year I was President, I drove over 4,000 miles! I’ve met librarians from north, south, east and west New Jersey and I consider many to be friends.
Learn something!
But, the conference – that is the special experience I look forward to each year. First, there is always something new to learn and, if you stop learning, you stop growing. And, learning from colleagues that, after the conference, you can just contact for an exploratory chat is truly valuable.
But, may I also be frank? Sometimes hearing a presentation just validates that what we are accomplishing in our own library is really something we should be proud of. Who hasn’t attended a program and thought – we were doing that a year ago?! So, that should spur us to get involved in committees or sections and share our own achievements. It’s not bragging, it’s pride in the good work of a team in the library.
Connect with people in your profession
Second, all of the surveys of the conferences I have seen over the years (and, I have seen a lot, as I have chaired the conference five times) have indicated that one of the reasons librarians value the conference is the opportunity for “networking”. That is code for “seeing people I don’t normally get to see outside of formal meetings and just talking”. That means checking in to see how they are doing and sharing your latest triumphs or tribulations (conversations along the lines of – am I crazy or are they?) That means a chat about fun interests, then circling back to professional issues. It may mean having a drink or a cup of coffee with a colleague while you figure out a difficult situation.
This kind of exchange almost never happens during the rest of the year. People are busy, meeting time is limited (or is online), schedules are crazy. This is an opportunity to connect with people in your profession, the profession you chose for whatever reason, the profession of which you are proud to be a part and the folks who occupy that profession with you.
The perpetuation of tradition
Now, many people won’t necessarily agree with this reason, but the idea of the tradition of the conference, and the little bit of pomp and circumstance that we inject into it, really appeals to me. This association began in 1890 (and the first President was the President of the Board of Trustees from Paterson, by the way) and we are still going strong. The Leadership Luncheon, the Badge of Office with the names of the Presidents engraved in it (if you haven’t seen it, you must, must, must be sure to track down the President or President-Elect to do so), honoring our best and brightest at the Awards reception – these all remind me that we come from a proud tradition and I will do my best to help that tradition move forward.
While it is true that we no longer induct the President at an evening reception at which the women wear cocktail dresses, I believe it’s important to recognize that being elected to that office is quite an achievement, as well as a responsibility. But, we can still have fun and celebrate, cocktail dresses or not!
-Cindy Czesak, Director, Paterson Public Library
NJLA Executive Board, Member-at-large
NJLA Urban Libraries Section, Chair