Fall 2017 CUS/ACRL-NJ Newsletter
Speak Freely at the 2018 NJLA Annual Conference
By Adriana Mamay
The 2018 New Jersey Library Association Annual Conference theme is a big one. Speak Freely comes at a time where we all need to feel comfortable and confident in expressing ourselves, and it also recognizes the need for all library workers and supporters across the state, including academic librarians, to feel valued within NJLA. As one of three Conference co-chairs this year, I am truly honored to represent college and university librarians and will ensure that this year’s event is an invaluable one for academics.
In honor of this important message, the NJLA Conference Committee has opened up program proposals so that anyone can submit a program to be considered for this year’s Conference, regardless of membership status. In the past, we have limited proposals to those that are sponsored by active NJLA sections and committees, and while we still recommend collaboration within our professional groups, we want everyone to have the opportunity to share their expertise and ideas and to feel that they can speak freely. This year, anybody can submit a program proposal and we hope that you take advantage of this new opportunity.
We are very much looking forward to celebrating the diversity of knowledge, experience, and creativity of academic librarians in New Jersey. The only way to ensure that NJLA offers programs and events of interest to academic librarians, however, is to encourage college and university librarians to submit program proposals. We cannot offer academic programs without academic program proposals and I encourage you to reflect, strategize, and submit!
The program proposal form must be filled out completely online and submitted by Friday, November 10, 2017 to be considered for approval for the 2018 NJLA Annual Conference: https://fs19.formsite.com/njla/2018proposals/index.html. Programs will be reviewed by the NJLA Conference Committee in December 2017 and notification of program approval will be sent in January 2018. More information, including an FAQ, is located on our website, http://njlaconference.info. Additional questions can be directed to the NJLA Conference Chairs at njlaconference@njlamembers.org or myself at AMamay@middlesexcc.edu.
The NJLA Conference will be held on May 30 - June 1, 2018 at Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City, NJ. This year, the Conference will be on the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after Memorial Day, a time that we hope works well for academics. Be on the lookout in early 2018 for information about registration and prepare to Speak Freely!
Adriana Mamay is a member of the 2017-2018 NJLA Conference Committee. She is a Reference and Instruction Librarian at Middlesex County College.
From the President
By Leslin Charles
We continue to support the ACRL Plan for Excellence.[i] I have selected three areas of focus to share with you:
Student Learning: Advance innovative practices and environments that transform student learning.[ii]
Last academic year we hosted two free ACRL e-Learning Webinars: “Essentials of Usability Design for Library Research Guides” and “The Craft of Library Instruction: Using Acting Techniques to Create Your Teaching Presence.” Also, our User Education Committee, in collaboration with the Assessment Committee, hosted its annual summer workshop, “Diving Deep: Exploring New Possibilities in Information Literacy and Assessment.”
2018 VALE Users’/ACRL-NJ/NJLA CUS Conference theme is “Innovate, Create, Collaborate: Moving Libraries Forward.” It is a most appropriate theme that reflects our scholarship, services, and activities as we transform student learning at our respective institutions and in our wider library community.
Research and Scholarly Environment: Librarians accelerate the transition to more open and equitable systems of scholarship.[iii]
During our annual Open Membership meeting on September 8, our members decided that we should pursue the opportunity to bring an ACRL Roadshow Traveling Workshop to New Jersey.[iv] We are confident that a conversation on Scholarly Communication will be beneficial and a welcome topic for our membership. More to come!!
New Roles and Changing Landscapes: Academic and research library workforce effectively navigates change in higher education environments.[v]
We are alert to the needs of our membership and are agile in responding to situations needing advocacy. Our members support MentorNJ: Linking Library Staff Statewide (an initiative funded by Library LinkNJ and the NJ State Library) and host Job Shadowing activities at our respective institutions. Members also supported Net Neutrality Day of Action; Battle for the Net on July 12th.
Thank you for your membership. It is an honor to serve as your President this year.
Leslin Charles is the NJLA CUS/NJ ACRL Chapter President. She is also the Instructional Design Librarian at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
[i] “ACRL Plan for Excellence.” Association of College and Research Libraries, 30 October, 2017, http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/strategicplan/stratplan.
[iv] “ACRL Road Show Traveling Workshops.” Association of College and Research Libraries, 30 October, 2017, http://www.ala.org/acrl/conferences/roadshows.
[v] Ibid.
2017 Technology Innovation Award Winners
Last spring, the NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ Technology Committee was pleased to congratulate the winners of the 2017 Technology Innovation Award, David Cupo and Hao Zeng of William Paterson University for their project, Customizing VuFind to Enhance Discoverability of Library Resources. Unfortunately, we were not able to get this announcement in the last newsletter, so we would now like to extend Cupo and Zeng's moment in the spotlight.
For more about their project, see their VALE Poster Presentation here.
The Technology Committee gave Honorable Mention to Lotta Sanchez of Hudson County Community College for her design of 3D Printed Port Covers for the HCCC Library's computers.
It is never too early to start thinking about nominations for the 2018 Research Award, which will be awarded at the 2018 NJLA Annual Conference at Harrah's in Atlantic City this spring.
Member Spotlight: Carina Gonzalez
NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ has a new member spotlight this month: Carina Gonzalez, Outreach Librarian at Raritan Valley Community College! Visit the Member Spotlight page to learn more about Carina.
Job Shadowing and MentorNJ
By Zara T. Wilkinson
As we all know, New Jersey’s library community is nothing if not supportive! Here are two New Jersey initiatives that are offering help and support to library school students and new library professionals as they enter the field.
The NJLA CUS/NJ ACRL Job Shadowing Program allows library school students to learn more about academic librarianship and to explore the field as a potential career path. The program pairs interested students from LIS programs in and around New Jersey with academic librarians for one-day job shadowing visits. These visits are informal and usually last a couple of hours. Generally, they involve a tour of the academic library, including staff areas; a chance for the student to ask questions; and the opportunity to meet other librarians and library staff. Job shadowing visits are short and imply no ongoing commitment or mentoring relationship. Even so, they provide students with a glimpse at the day-to-day work of an academic librarian, as well as a chance to understand more about the different types of jobs available in colleges and university libraries. Academic librarians in New Jersey who are interested in being shadowing by library school students should contact zara.wilkinson@rutgers.edu.
MentorNJ is a joint project of the State Library of New Jersey and LibraryLinkNJ. MentorNJ is intended to bring together experienced and new librarians and other library staff, creating opportunities for the development of mentoring relationships. MentorNJ maintains the New Jersey Library Mentors’ Directory, a listing of librarians who are open to being contacted by those who are looking for advice or guidance. In addition to the directory, MentorNJ plans both online and offline networking events, which have taken the form of two webinars; a number of sponsored or co-sponsored panels at the New Jersey Library Association; and three annual free networking events held at the Monroe Township Library. The most recent MentorNJ networking event was held on October 13, 2017, and had over seventy attendees, including both public and academic librarians. Past MentorNJ events have included resume reviews, mock interviews, and free professionals headshots. For more information about MentorNJ, please see the MentorNJ website: http://librarylinknj.org/MentorNJ.
Zara T. Wilkinson is a Reference / Instruction Librarian at Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers University, Camden. She can be reached at zara.wilkinson@rutgers.edu.
From the Newsletter Archives
The Newsletter Editors were both excited to see their libraries mentioned in the Fall 1997 throwback edition! Ramapo College was excited to complete a five-month renovation, and twenty years later they are about to embark on a much bigger renovation project that goes well beyond two group study rooms with VCRs! Is your library mentioned in this issue?
Announcements
Berkeley College
Julie Hunter has been appointed to the position of Associate Director of the Online Library at Berkeley College. She was previously a Research and Instruction Librarian at Berkeley College.
Matthew LaBrake has recently accepted the newly created position of Senior Director of the Online Library & Technology Services. He was previously the Director of the Online Library at Berkeley College.
Amanda Piekart has been appointed the Director of Research and Instructional Services at Berkeley College. She was previously the Information Literacy Instructional Designer at Berkeley College.
Monmouth University
Eleonora Dubicki was promoted to Professor at Monmouth University in July, 2017.
Eleonora was a presenter at the Electronic Resources and Libraries conference in Austin, TX April 3, 2017, Marketing Your Library’s Digital Resources.
Her article, based on research from the original correspondence between twenty-nine New Jersey communities and the Carnegie Corporation requesting funding for library buildings, was published this summer. Carnegie Libraries of New Jersey: 1900-1923, New Jersey Studies Journal: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2.
Pictured above: Carnegie Library, New Brunswick, NJ (Postcard circa 1905 and photograph 2014 from author’s collection)
Sara Margaret Rizzo has joined Monmouth University as the Systems Librarian. Previously, she was the Electronic Resources/Serials Management Librarian at Caldwell University.
Middlesex County College
Adriana Mamay, Reference and Instruction Librarian at Middlesex County College, has been promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor.
Raritan Valley Community College
Megan Dempsey, Instructional Services Librarian at Raritan Valley Community College, was promoted to Associate Professor in July. Megan has been at RVCC for ten years and is currently serving as the Library Chair. In addition to coordinating the Library’s Information Literacy program, Megan is now collaborating with the Co-Director of the college’s Center for Teaching Learning and Scholarship to spearhead a campus-wide Open Educational Resources initiative.
Rider University
Heather Dalal has been promoted to Associate Professor-Librarian with tenure at Rider University.
Heather Dalal (Rider University) coauthored Video Marketing for Libraries; A Practical Guide for Librarians with Robin O'Hanlon and Karen Yacobucci.
Rutgers University Libraries
Victoria Heenan Wagner joined Rutgers University Libraries in April. She is the new Associate Director and Coordinator of Medical Education at the Robert Wood Johnson Library of the Health Sciences. In this role, Wagner will lead efforts to integrate technology, online and curriculum-based instruction and evidence-based practice to support medical education, residency training, research, and patient care outcomes. The Robert Wood Johnson Library supports the robust academic, clinical, and research programs of New Jersey’s academic health center, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, RBHS.
The College of New Jersey
Social Sciences Librarian Erin Ackerman's article, "'I’ve got my ten peer reviewed articles. Now What?' How political science research methods textbooks teach students about scholarly context," was named to the ALA Library Instruction Round Table's (LIRT) list of the top 20 library instruction articles published in 2016. The write up of LIRT's top 20 is available at in the Library Instruction Roundtable News. The article was co-authored by Brian K. Arbour, Associate Professor of Political Science at John Jay College, CUNY, and was published in the Journal of Academic Librarianship. Click here to read more.
Cathy Weng and Erin Ackerman (The College of New Jersey) published "Towards Sustainable Partnership: Examining Cross Perceptions of Public and Technical Services Academic Librarians" in the most recent issue (October 2017) of Library Resources & Technical Services. The article is available online via this link.
William Paterson University
Cara Berg, Reference & Co-Coordinator of User Education at William Paterson University recently published an article in Reference Services Review, and presented at American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference.
- Berg, C. (2017). “Ready-to-go assessment: The implementation and design of a general assessment tool”. Reference Services Review, 45(2), 201-210.
- Berg, C. (2017) "Game Night in the Library: Learning about Plagiarism with Team Trivia," American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, Chicago, IL. (June 24, 2017).
Sarah Hughes joined the Cheng Library in September 2017 as the Access Services Librarian. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and minor in Cinema Studies from Rutgers University and a Master's of Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute. She previously worked in academic and medical libraries settings including Dominican College, New York Medical College and Princeton HealthCare System.
Annamarie Klose Hrubes, Digital Initiatives Librarian, William Paterson University, gave two presentations recently. On October 18, 2017, she co-presented “Using Excel and VBA with APIs to Wow Your Colleagues and Patrons” with Hao Zeng, Yeshiva University, at the ExLibris Northeast User Group Conference (ENUG 2017, http://e-nug.org/enug-2017/) at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, New Jersey. The session demonstrated the use of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in Excel to automate library work. On October 21, 2017, Klose Hrubes presented “James P. Allaire & the Howell Works at Allaire State Park” at the Annual Great Falls Symposium on the Industrial Archaeology of the New York – New Jersey Area in Paterson, New Jersey (http://www.roeblingsia.org/symposia.html), sponsored by the Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology. The presentation involved a brief history of Howell Works, an 1830s industrial village centered around the bog iron industry, and subsequent efforts to preserve it that lead to the foundation of Historic Allaire Village at Allaire State Park.
Gary Marks, Jr. joined the Cheng Library faculty in September 2017 as the Reference & Outreach Librarian. Gary holds BA degrees in History and Political Science and an MA in Public Policy & International Affairs from WPUNJ. He also received a graduate degree in Library Science from Rutgers University and is currently a PhD candidate studying Public Policy Law & Administration. Gary started working in the Library as a student assistant in 1997, and has continued his service in the Cheng Library ever since, working in both Lending Services and Interlibrary Loan prior to his current role in Reference. Outside of the Library Gary has also served as an Adjunct Instructor for Pioneer Success Seminar and Political Science and is currently the Legislative Representative on the NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ Executive Board.
“Speak Freely”: Free Speech and College Campuses
By Gary Marks, Jr., Legislative Representative NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ
Throughout U.S. history the 1st amendment has become a cornerstone of the free expression of ideas and information. We are however, a society that is often fraught with conflict and disagreement, and oftentimes find ourselves embattled in controversy regarding the protection of or the protection from the expression of controversial ideas or thoughts. Since the 1960’s, venues of Higher Education have been a locus for experiments in expression and censorship. Often at the center of those experiments is an age-old debate resonating the balance between the freedom of ideas and the protection from the harm those ideas could inflict. In today’s times many campuses across the U.S. are still engaged in this balancing act. As such the reemergence of Campus Free Speech Zones, or the prohibition and exclusion of speech that is deemed unpopular has become a renewed topic, one that academic libraries should take note of.
Academic Libraries have a long-standing tradition and obligation to the free expression of information and an outspoken opposition to censorship. For many institutions this concept is often a pillar of core mission or vision statements. To uphold these longstanding traditions, we must first understand the concept of Campus Free Speech Zones, as well as policies on campuses that infringe upon 1st amendment rights that would be otherwise protected outside of the campus environment. In simplest terms Free Speech Zones are designated campus locations where individuals can disseminate literature, have open public discourse, or engage in other forms of public protest. A major concern lies in which activities are relegated to these zones and where they are located on campus. Related to, but not always aligned with free speech zones are campus policies that may infringe upon the free expression of thoughts and ideas. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) publishes an annual report analyzing many public and private institutions and reviews the existence of such policies. In 2017, of the nearly 500 institutions analyzed, FIRE found that roughly 40% had policies in place that they deemed “severely restrictive” of individuals freedom of speech on campus (FIRE 2017).
Why provide this brief introduction of this topic? As you may know and as illustrated in the recent NJLA Fall NEWSletter by NJLA President Michael Maziekien, the theme of this year’s NJLA conference is “Speak Freely”. In my opinion, this is not just a theme as much as it is a symbol of our obligation to our users as Librarians. Thus, I now embark on a journey to spark enthusiasm, intrigue, and engagement on the part of academic librarians to share our efforts of “Speaking Freely” and advocating for the free dissemination of ideas and thoughts. I will be sharing stories, legislative initiatives, and controversies over the next few months related to the topic of Free Speech and College Campuses (keep an eye out for the Fall Legislative Digest in November) and I welcome you to respond, share, and comment. I invite you to join this journey, share your thoughts, speak freely, and bring your endeavors to the NJLA conference in May. We must Speak Freely and Loudly (ironically) as Michael suggests as our profession deems nothing less (NJLA Fall NEWSletter 2017).
Any opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect any positions or opinions of NJLA or NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ.
Gary Marks, Jr. is the Legislative Representative NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ and is the new Reference & Outreach Librarian at William Paterson University's Cheng Library. He can be reached at marksg@wpunj.edu.
Helping Undocumented Patrons Hold On To Their Dreams
The Evelyn S. Field Library at Raritan Valley Community College provides an information station for undocumented patrons
By Jennifer Sulligan
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2017 issue of NJLA NEWSletter. It is republished with permission from the author and the NJLA NEWSletter.
On November 29, 2016, Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) President Michael McDonough issued an important message to students via the college newspaper, The Raritan Valley Record. The message, delivered a week after the 2016 presidential election, addressed the wave of anti-minority actions occurring on college campuses, and underlined RVCC’s commitment to inclusion and diversity:
“We will not tolerate any acts of discrimination or hostility towards our students or towards our colleagues. We will celebrate the rich diversity of our student body and of our faculty and staff. We will encourage all students, regardless of age, income, national origin, gender identity or gender expression, race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability to join our community and to feel safe and secure. We will promote acceptance and civility. We will value critical inquiry, creative expression, and the creation of new knowledge. We will affirm that Raritan Valley Community College promotes the transformative values of accessible, affordable public education. We will imagine a campus and a community where all are honored and equal and where the possibilities of achievement are endless.”
The Spring 2017 semester was just beginning at RVCC as the 45th U.S. president was settling into office, spreading uncertainty across diverse populations. RVCC’s Evelyn S. Field Library is unique in that it serves not only students and faculty but also members of the community, thanks to its lending agreements with both the Somerset and Hunterdon County Library Systems. Carina Gonzalez, RVCC’s outreach librarian, noted that undocumented students—current and prospective—are in need of assistance. They want access to information: what their rights are, how to get started in college, the scholarships that are available to them, legal services, health resources, access to on-campus support, and immigration services. She tasked me and a colleague, adjunct librarian Suzanne Kosempel, with collaborating on creating an information station for undocumented students.
Meet Our Neighbor- The Maryland Chapter of ACRL
By Claire L. Holmes, MLS, Past President, ACRL-MD
Greetings from the Maryland chapter of ACRL! We’d love to share our chapter’s recent activities with the New Jersey academic library community. Because ACRL was held in Baltimore in March, 2017, the 2016-2017 academic year was a busy and exciting one for academic librarians in Maryland and the wider mid-Atlantic region.
Maryland’s chapter of ACRL is the academic division of the Maryland Library Association. Our executive board includes a President (currently Sara Arnold Garza from Towson University), a President Elect (currently Mike Kiel from University of Baltimore), a Secretary (currently Robert Miller from University of MD, University College), and a Past President (currently me, Claire Holmes, from Towson University). A typical programming year for our chapter includes daylong professional development programs in the fall and early summer, planned by committees of chapter leaders and members. In addition, ACRL-MD sponsors several offerings geared toward academic librarians at the annual Maryland Library Association conference, held in May each year in partnership with the Delaware Library Association.
Throughout the year, ACRL-MD provides several opportunities for members to engage in professional development and networking. Our monthly business meetings are held digitally through Blackboard Collaborate, and every other month we include an online journal club discussion. Discussion facilitators volunteer to lead an examination of two articles from the most recent issue of College & Research Libraries, for which ACRL-MD members vote on their article preference. Last year, we started inviting article authors to participate in the discussion, and that has been a well-received enhancement!
My Notes From IFLA 2017
By Maria Deptula
This past August I was fortunate to attend my first International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Conference, of which this year’s theme was:
Richard E. Bjork Library of Stockton University Welcomes Our Very First Special Collections/Archives Librarian
By Kerry Chang-FitzGibbon
Due to the growth and expansion of Stockton University, especially the proximity to Atlantic City, the archives and special collections at Richard E. Bjork Library are growing leaps and bounds. Historic and valuable collections have been donated from the communities in the surrounding areas. We needed a highly experienced and qualified librarian to curate, conserve and preserve the valuable archives and special collections, to engage with donors, communities and organizations, to create strategies for long-term donor stewardship, and to provide leadership in developing the collections.
We are thrilled to welcome Heather Halpin Perez to be the Special Collection/Archives Librarian, to continue and expand her work at Stockton University.
Ms. Perez received her Master of Library Science, with a concentration in Archives, from University of Maryland. She was the Head Librarian in the Adult Services Department, and Head Archivist at the Atlantic City Free Public Library, where she managed the operations of the Atlantic City Historical Museum, including curating and mounting new exhibits and supervising employees. She wrote, was awarded, and administered two grants: New Jersey Council for the Humanities/ Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit and the New Jersey Historical Commission Project Grant. She served as a historical consultant for TV series Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Bootleg Productions, 2010-2014).
She developed and oversaw 3 oral history projects, presented at conferences and made numerous media appearances, including NJTV, NPR Marketplace, HBO Documentary and NBC Nightly News on the history of Atlantic City.
Explaining Ourselves: NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ Marketing and Outreach
By Kate Hossain and Hilary Westgate
Have you ever wondered about the mouthful of acronyms that make up NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ? For academic librarians in New Jersey, it can be a little confusing to understand what these different groups are. Here’s what you need to know: NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ is really two groups under one umbrella. We make up a section of the New Jersey Library Association (NJLA), the state library association, which is NJLA CUS. We are also the state chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the national association for college librarians, which is ACRL-NJ. (These are both completely separate from VALE, which is NJ’s consortium for academic libraries, not librarians.)
The NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ Marketing and Outreach Committee is working hard this year to clear up some of these points of confusion and make it easier for academic librarians to get involved. As a committee, this is part of our outreach efforts as we work to promote our organization, NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ. We’re also interested in learning and sharing ideas around library marketing and outreach in our own individual institutions. At last year’s VALE conference, we organized a panel called “Changing the Way Users See Your Library: Academic Libraries as Marketing Agents,” in which NJ academic librarians reported on their successes and challenges in outreach, marketing, and related assessment at their institutions.
This year, the Marketing and Outreach Committee hopes to foster more connections at the annual NJLA conference. Look for more details on a social event for academic librarians and other conference sessions on marketing. We hope to see you there!
If you are a librarian interested in outreach, either for your library or for NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ, please consider joining us. The committee’s 2017-2018 co-chairs are Hilary Westgate, Reference, Instruction, and Outreach Librarian at Ramapo College of New Jersey, and Kate Hossain, Reference and Instruction Librarian at Bergen Community College. Please contact hwestgat@ramapo.edu and khossain@bergen.edu for more information.
Stockton Librarians Go Global
By Kerry Chang FitzGibbon
Kerry Chang FitzGibbon, Periodicals Librarian and Eric Jeitner, User Experience Librarian were selected to present their poster: “Using Assessment to Reclaim and Transform Library Space” at the 9th International Evidence Based Library & Information Practice Conference (EBLIP9) held on June 18-21, 2017, at Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa. We were very fortunate that, this year, the conference site was right in our neighborhood.
The International Evidence Based Library & Information Practice Conference (EBLIP) is a biannual international conference for the library and information science community.
The Conference aims to bring together librarians, researchers and practitioners to discuss evidence-based practice in libraries, present research, and share best practices.
The International EBLIP conference has been held biennially since the inaugural conference in 2001 in Sheffield, UK. In subsequent years, the Conference was held in Canada, Australia, Sweden, United Kingdom, etc.
Eric speaking to attendees about our poster at EBLIP9.
Attendees of previous conferences have hailed from all over the world, including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, India, Nigeria, Finland, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Germany, Indonesia, Morocco, Italy, Qatar, The Netherlands, Jamaica, and Malaysia.
The successful creation of Stockton’s Learning Commons provided us the incentive to showcase our project. We are very proud of our library’s learning commons, and wanted to share our success story with other libraries.
Berkeley College Nine Campus Libraries Come Together at LibraryCon2017
By Dina Meky, on behalf of Berkeley College Library Con2017 Task Force Members
“Did Berkeley College librarians dress up in costumes?” Possibly that would be the initial reaction when first reading this article about LibraryCon2017 at Berkeley College. LibraryCon2017 was a first-ever, week long professional development conference of twenty Berkeley College librarians from nine campuses that took place at the Berkeley College campuses of Newark and New York City, 41st street building. The mission of LibraryCon2017 was to enrich cohesiveness amongst all librarians, with a clear vision in moving forward with the continued success of Berkeley College Library services.
In the past, professional development at the Berkeley College Library libraries had been limited to a single day or in the form of workshops that took place throughout the year. The task of planning professional development was designated to one of the seven library committees and various task forces. For this year’s professional development, the bar was raised to achieve a full productive week of learning objectives and strategic outcomes with all Berkeley College Librarians onboard.
Berkeley College Librarians pose with “Rocky” the customer service mascot, during this past summer’s LibraryCon2017.
Reflections on the British Collections and Archives course at Rutgers University
By Rachel Talbert and Lisa Thornton, Master of Information Candidates
International courses are now available to MI students at Rutgers, and in June, 2017, 15 Master of Information (MI) students participated in a summer session hybrid class which included nine days at Wroxton College, in England. The British Collections and Archives course, co-taught by Rutgers faculty members Kay Cassell and Marie L. Radford, allowed the students to visit numerous libraries and archives throughout the UK and to develop an understanding of their connection to British history and culture.
At the beginning of the course, Rutgers students received an overview of the history of libraries in the UK from Andrew Rose, librarian at Wroxton College, and explored the library’s archives. Wroxton was once home to Lord North, the Prime Minister who was credited with losing the American Colonies! It is now home to a beautiful college owned by Fairleigh Dickinson University, where the students lived in dorms and also attended lectures taught by British experts in the fields of academic, public and special libraries and archives.
News from SCARLA
By Katrina Zwaaf, SCARLA President
The 2017 fall semester brought a change in leadership for The Student College, Academic, and Research Library Association (SCARLA) at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information. When former co-president Kristen Matteucci left SCARLA for a leadership role in another student organization, Katrina Zwaaf stepped into the position as President. New SCARLA officers include Treasurer Rebecca Berkowitz and Webmaster Stacy Brody. Dr. Marie L. Radford continues to serve as Faculty Advisor.
SCARLA exists to promote students’ understanding of academic librarianship by organizing speakers, events, and trips. For the Fall 2017 semester, SCARLA has joined forces with the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA), the Rutgers University graduate student chapter of the American Library Association.
In September, a few SCARLA members attended NJ Chapter, ACRL/College and University Section of NJLA at Alexander Library. During this meeting, we learned about the different committees that make up the section as well as their activities.
In October, we chatted with Rebecca Sandoval about her experiences working at an academic library, public library and at a library vendor. Sandoval is currently the Technical Services Manager for the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey (SCLSNJ) where she oversees acquisitions, cataloging, and periodicals. She started her career in libraries working at Blackwell's Information Services (a serials subscription agent that later merged with Swets Information Services). In 2004, she moved into academia as the Coordinator for the Distributed Technical Services department at Rutgers University Libraries where she oversaw work on serials, electronic resources, holdings, bibliographic management, and government documents. During her time at RUL, she also completed a MLIS at Rutgers’ SC&I.
In November, we will hear from Daniel Geary, a Rutgers MLIS alum who has been working at Holy Family University’s library in Philadelphia as a Systems Librarian. While attending Rutgers he worked as a Library Assistant at the Center of Alcohol Studies Library, a Reference Assistant at Alexander Library and interned with Rutgers University Libraries’ Scholarly Communication Center. He is also a former president of SCARLA.
Looking towards the spring, we hope to schedule more speakers for our meetings, plan some special events, and possibly set up a discussion panel to further our understanding of current topics within academic librarianship.
Katrina Zwaaf be reached at kzwaaf@rutgers.edu.
Open Membership Meeting
Thanks for all those who made our Open Membership Meeting a success! This oh so photogenic group of librarians and library students met on Friday, September 8th at Alexander Library at Rutgers University, New Brunswick Campus. Join us next year!
Pictured above are the NJLA CUS / ACRL-NJ Executive Board members, committee chairs, members, and Rutgers University Master of Information students.
Smile and say, "President!" Meet Past President Heather Dalal, President Leslin Charles, and Vice President / President-Elect Bonnie Lafazan.
These librarians have a reason to smile: Amanda Piekart has been promoted, and Adriana Mamay and Heather Dalal have both been promoted with tenure!
Editors
The CUS/ACRL-NJ Newsletter is edited by Joan Dalrymple, Reference and Instruction Librarian at Bergen Community College and Katie Maricic Cohen, Interlibrary Loan, Reference and Instruction Librarian at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
Editors Joan Dalrymple and Katie Cohen pose for a picture during the Summer 2015 Marketing and Communications Committee Meeting at Monmouth University Library.