To: Jason Sowards, Chair, Council of Chapter Presidents
From: Dennis Kim-Prieto, President, New Jersey Law Librarians Association
Re: Annual Report 2017-2018
Date: 7 September 2018
While NJLLA is a small chapter, our year ending in June 2018 was highly productive. We were able to sponsor several programs, raised funds to assist local charities, and continued to share resources and information among our members.
Financials
Financially, NJLLA is doing quite well, with over $22,000 in our savings account. This does include an annual loss of approximately $650, due in large part to expenses associated with the Annual Meeting. Generally, the bulk of our income consists of membership dues, and the largest expense we regularly incur is our Annual Meeting.
Programming
We held several programs over the course of the year, each of which drew about 20% of our membership. The Annual Meeting was the best attended, featuring then-AALL president Ron Wheeler discussing implicit bias in the professional and personal realms. Other meetings included viewing Bryan Stevenson’s keynote from AALL 2017; a panel on pro-bono legal work led by firms and in-house counsel, as well as a history of the practice of law in Newark delivered by a Rutgers’ administrator with extensive experience in legal publishing in New Jersey. Overall, we offered a great deal of valuable programming during the past year.
Other Achievements
We were able to offer two awards this year: one to an outstanding library student with an interest in law librarianship, and one to an active member to assist with expenses incurred in attending AALL. We were also able to make several significant gifts to local charities supporting families and children. Finally, we are awarding a long-time member a lifetime NJLLA membership upon her retirement from the profession, as a means of demonstrating her value to the Association.
Looking Ahead
We are currently in the planning stages of a joint meeting with other nearby local chapters. We are identifying potential locations and figuring out dates for this event. We are also looking at revising educational and training programs, which have fallen by the wayside over the past few administrations.
Current Leadership
The current Executive Board of NJLLA, running through May 2019 is as follows:
Dennis Kim-Prieto, President
Wei Fang, Vice-President/President-Elect
Sheryll Rappaport, Past President
Judith Simms, Treasurer
Brittany Persson, Secretary
Kimberly Jackson, Member-at-Large
Dinah Minkoff, Member-at-Large