Category: Blog

Passing of Lucy Rieger

NJLLA Friends,

We have gotten the sad news that NJLLA member Lucy Rieger passed away on November 26th from pancreatic cancer. Lucy was a long-time member who served as President and on various committees over the years. Her business, Library Update, has been a fixture in many of our libraries and recently celebrated 47 years in business. She was caring, compassionate, dedicated, and a literal ball of energy. The eulogy included a story about Lucy’s work ethic and motto – “file with a smile!”  She will be greatly missed.

Her obituary – https://www.feeneyfuneralhome.com/tributes/Lucy-Rieger

Her memorial service – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI_cwBG54X4

Newark Public Library Visit

NJLLA members gathered for an enjoyable in-person event at the Newark Public Library on September 24th. Kudos to Aimee Sachs for organizing such a successful event and providing more details below.

Dale Colston, Assistant Director for Special Collections, gave seven NJLLA members and one non-library guest a tour of the Newark Public Library. We all enjoyed learning about the building’s history, touring the Philip Roth Room, and looking at the hallway exhibits. We stopped at the Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center where librarian Tom Ankner talked a bit about the focus of the collections and highlighted the legal resources. But what impressed us most was seeing how the NPL is an active and integral part of the community – those front doors kept swinging open! Afterwards, we grabbed a bite to eat at McGovern’s and talked shop.

September Program: Tour of the Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center at the Newark Public Library 🗓

Join us for our September 2024 Program – a tour of the Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center at the Newark Public Library

The Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center, aka the NJ Room, at the Newark Public Library is a statewide reference center focused on history and genealogy. It is also a research-level collection of materials relating to New Jersey, Essex County and Newark. The NJ Room includes the print version of the New Jersey Statutes Annotated, the ordinances of the City of Newark, county statutes for Essex County, and the published decisions of the New Jersey state courts. It also maintains state chapter laws back to the mid-19th century. Please join us for a one-hour in-person tour as we view a select few documents from this historical collection.

Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Time: 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: Newark Public Library, 5 Washington Street, 3rd floor, Newark, NJ 07102

Parking: Available at the Newark Museum of Art, 49 Washington Street, and across the street at 494 Broad Street, the Genova Burns building. Street parking is free after 6:00 pm but quite limited.

The Program Honorarium will be donated to the Newark Public Library in memory of Nicole M. Peaks, branch library director of the Third Circuit Court in Newark, NJ for the past 12 years. Nicole was not a member of NJLLA but was an active member of AALL and a frequent presenter on legal research topics. She was always willing to help fellow librarians and was instrumental in the planning of this tour. Nicole passed away on June 29, 2024 and will be missed.

To register for this event, email Aimee Sachs, asachs@gibbonslaw.com by September 19th.

Recap of the Law Library of Congress Virtual Research Training

On Wednesday, March 13, 2024, Louis Myers II, one of the public services librarians from the Law Library of Congress, gave NJLLA a very detailed overview of the Law Library of Congress after some basic background about the whole Library of Congress.  He covered Public Services, Foreign & Comparative Law, Global Legal Collections, the online catalog, digital resources, the Law legal Research Institute and an introduction to the other areas and departments of the Law Library of Congress, using their web page as a guide.  Barbara J. Bavis answered questions and listed URLs in the chat so we would have some resources for remembering what Louis covered. 

The staff of the Law Library of Congress has been busy digitizing and organizing many collections and resources, allowing librarians, such as our group, and other patrons to use these collections from outside of the building, although many resources are only available in print, microform or by use of a database from within their building. The best resources seem to be the law librarians with subject specific or country specific knowledge. The Law Library’s web site as well as Congress.gov, which Louis also covered, are well organized and the link and availability of search from the site are a welcome addition to our local resources.

As with our training from Cynthia Lambert from the New Jersey State Law Library, we have presentation materials and recordings on the NJLLA website, available to members only once you sign in to the website. Each of the two sessions concluded with methods to reach the staff of each institution.

NJ Law Library
reflaw@njstatelib.org
609.278.2640 x 102

Law Library of Congress
Ask A Librarian
202.707.5079

NJLLA Founders Grant Now Available

The New Jersey Law Librarians Association is excited to send one of our chapter members to the American Association of Law Libraries (“AALL”) Meeting & Conference in Chicago, July 20-23, 2024!

The AALL Meeting & Conference is a unique opportunity that can be explored further by visiting their website at AALL Annual Meeting & Conference (aallnet.org). Our goal is to provide an enriching experience as the awarded member learns and networks with colleagues from across the country. The purpose of this grant is specifically designed to assist the grant recipient with the costs of registration, transportation, and hotel accommodations up to $1,500.00.

Please note:

  1. Applications are reviewed by a blind committee; therefore, questions should only be directed to the Vice President of NJLLA, Magalie Desince, via email at Magalie.Desince@gmail.com.
  2. Contacting any Grant Committee members directly regarding your grant application, or anyone else’s grant application, will be grounds for disqualification.
  3. Application Deadline: 11:59pm, April 8, 2024.
  4. Please read the full list of qualifications and requirements on the application before you apply.
  5. Use the link below to access the application

Even if you are not a grant recipient, we encourage you to be an Early Bird attendee. Visit the AALL conference link above for more information. The AALL Early Bird registration rate ends May 3, 2024. The Early Bird Hyatt Regency hotel registration rate ends June 22, 2024.

Message from the Chair: Good luck to all applicants! As the 2023 Founders Grant recipient, I thoroughly enjoyed attending and could not be more grateful to the association for providing this grant. I’m excited to give back and encourage you all to attend the conference. RLM

Questions should only be directed to the Vice President of NJLLA, Magalie Desince via email at Magalie.Desince@gmail.com.

2024 NJLLA Founders Grant Application available here.

NJLLA Virtual Training Series 🗓

For our February and March programs, the NJLLA Program Committee is offering two virtual training sessions with researchers from the New Jersey State Law Library and the Library of Congress.

Thursday, February 22, 2024 at 12:30 pm ET (via Zoom)
Cynthia Lambert from the New Jersey State Law Library will provide an overview of legal resources and services available to assist you with New Jersey-specific legal  and non-legal research.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 12:00 pm ET (via Zoom)
The Library of Congress has a vast array of resources available to support and enhance your research capabilities. This session will provide an overview of available legal and non-legal resources.

To register for either or both sessions, please email Kathy Taggart at ktaggart@lowenstein.com at least 24 hours in advance of the dates and times listed above to receive the Zoom invitations. Please indicate which sessions you would like to attend in your email. These sessions will be recorded.

NJLLA Book Club – October 18 🗓

The selection for NJLLA’s October Book Club is How Can I Help You by Laura Sims. Recently published, this page turner takes place in a small public library with a quirky cast of characters. The author, Laura Sims, is a friend of NJLLA member Zoraida (Zoe) Michaud, who has kindly arranged for the author to join us on our Zoom call. Zoe will serve as the moderator.

The Program Committee was able to locate copies locally in a number of libraries so hopefully you can do the same.


Please join us!
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
5:30 – 6:30 pm

RSVP to Kathy Taggart (ktaggart@lowenstein.com) to receive the Zoom link

NJLLA Brownbag Series: Pressing Issues Your Library Is Facing (Other Than AI) 🗓

SAVE THE DATE: September 28th from 12pm-12:45pm (via Zoom)

The NJLLA Program Committee is hosting a brownbag lunch-and-learn topic series this year! The inaugural meeting will focus on the topic of: Pressing Issues Your Library Is Facing (Other Than AI).

We are experimenting with a new structure. We would like for a few members (up to 5) to share their thoughts on the topic in 5-minute time slots, to be followed by 20 minutes of Q&A. We think this will provide a forum for members to share and for all of us to hear from several voices.

If you would like to RSVP to listen in, please email Kathy Taggart at ktaggart@lowenstein.com by Monday, September 25th for a Zoom invitation.

If you have ideas to share as a speaker and would like to sign up for one of the five 5-minute slots to discuss this topic, please email Kathy Taggart at ktaggart@lowenstein.com AND Amber Cain at amber.cain@shu.edu by Wednesday, September 20th to secure your speaking spot.

We look forward to connecting with members in new ways this year!