We are so looking forward to many aspects of this year’s NJLA Conference, not least of which include two amazing women speaking from experiences both inside and outside our field of librarianship. All Conference attendees are invited to attend the keynote sessions.
Along with the NJLA President’s theme, the keynote speakers at the NJLA Conference often set the tone for our three-day experience, and we are thrilled that this year we are truly SPEAKING FREELY and celebrating our voices!
On Thursday, May 31 from 10:10-11:00 AM in the Wildwood 1 Ballroom, we welcome you to a talk given by New Jersey’s own Dr. Nicole A. Cooke. Nicole is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information Sciences at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, having graduated from Rutgers University with a PhD in communication, information, and library studies in 2012 (where she was an ALA Spectrum Doctoral Fellow). Previously, she was an instruction librarian and tenured assistant professor at Montclair State University’s Sprague Library. Her research interests include human information behavior, particularly in an online context, eLearning, and diversity and social justice in librarianship.
Dr. Cooke is the 2017 recipient of the ALA Achievement in Library Diversity Research Award and the 2016 recipient of the ALA Equality Award and the Larine Y. Cowan Make a Difference Award for Teaching and Mentoring in Diversity. In 2007 she was named a Mover & Shaker by Library Journal. She is also the author and editor of several books, including Information Services to Diverse Populations: Developing Culturally Competent Library Professionals (Libraries Unlimited, 2016) as well as the upcoming Fake News and Alternative Facts: Information Literacy in a Post-Truth Era (ALA, 2018).
Dr. Cooke’s keynote address is entitled Speak Freely: Reflective, Equitable, and Inclusive Conversations for All. As our society becomes increasingly and simultaneously more diverse, political, intersectional, controversial, and divided, it is becoming more difficult to have honest and productive conversations about hard topics. People initiate conversations and offer their viewpoints under the umbrella of free speech, but it is not guaranteed that these conversations are free from harm or consequence for all participants. This talk from Dr. Cooke will agitate the idea that everyone cannot speak freely, or even participate, in conversations about race, privilege, oppression, discrimination, etc., without being harassed, shut down, further marginalized, or encountering some form of retribution. This talk will explore some of the barriers and enablers of open and critically reflective conversations, and suggest some strategies for working towards equitable and inclusive dialogue for all.
In an age where news and information are routinely ignored, facts are seen as political weapons, and ideology trumps all, we must learn to speak freely and in truth. On Friday, June 1 from 10:10-11:00 AM in the Wildwood 1 Ballroom, Dr. Khadijah Costley White will discuss how we all survive in an information age full of misinformation.
Dr. White is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Previously she worked as a journalist on an Emmy-nominated team at NOW on PBS (formerly NOW with Bill Moyers) and a New York City Teaching Fellow. Her upcoming book, Branding Right-Wing Activism: The News Media and the Tea Party is a multi-platform study that discusses the media’s role in the rise of the Tea Party; it will be released by Oxford University Press in August 2018. She has published work in numerous scholarly journals and books, and presented her research at conferences and universities around the world. White's writing and commentary on topics such as race, social movements, news, and politics has appeared in Vice, National Public Radio, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Root, Huffington Post, BBC, Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Quartz, Gizmodo, Buzzfeed, and more. In 2007 the National Association of Black Journalists and United Nations awarded her a reporting fellowship to Senegal. She has also received the University of Pennsylvania Women of Color at Penn Award, an Emerging Diversity Scholar citation from the University of Michigan, and was a White House intern on the Obama administration’s Broadcast Media team. Additionally, she has consulted for the Ken Burns’ film company “Florentine Films” and served the MacArthur Foundation as an external advisor in journalism and media. She received her PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and is a proud Swarthmore College alum.
As an activist and community organizer, Dr. White has helped lead community actions against police violence, mobilized concerned citizens via social media, organized events and programs related to racial justice, convened panels, lectures and teach-ins, and spoken at rallies and other community events.
We hope that you will join us in listening to these two accomplished speakers speaking freely about these vitally relevant issues that affect our professions and beyond, and add your voices to these important conversations at the 2018 Annual NJLA Conference.
Registration is open, and Early Bird prices run through May 2.
-Kate Jaggers and the 2017-2018 Conference Committee