Category: Blog

NJLLA Annual Holiday Party 🗓

Join NJLLA at the annual holiday party on December 2, 2020 from 5pm-6pm. For the first time, it’s virtual!

Show up to the zoom party in festive attire – prizes will be awarded! There will also be games, crafts, drinks, and most importantly – good conversation and company!

The Holiday party is for NJLLA members only. RSVP as soon as possible, but if you would like to receive a party package, RSVP no later than November 23rd to Brittany.Persson@shu.edu with a mailing address.

The Community Service Committee will be donating children’s books and pajamas to the Pajama Project. Join us by dropping off your book and pajama donations, or having them shipped directly to the various drop off locations. If you email a picture of you dropping off your donation we will share it at the party.

Thank you to Thomson Reuters for generously sponsoring the holiday party!

AALL’s Emerging Leader Award

Let’s show our NJLLA Pride, and nominate one of our own (or yourself – self-nominations are permitted)!   

AALL is now accepting nominations for the Emerging Leader Award. This award recognizes newer members who have made significant contributions to the profession and have demonstrated the potential for leadership and continuing excellence.

Selection criteria include:

  • The nominee must be a member in good standing of AALL
  • The nominee must be in their first 10 years of law library experience
  • The nominee must not have previously received an Emerging Leader Award
  • The nominee must have made a significant contribution to the Association and/or the profession.
  • The nominee must have shown outstanding promise for continuing service and leadership. Specific examples of their continuing activities must be provided.

The nomination deadline is February 1st, 2021. Letters of recommendation can take some time to gather and holidays are approaching, so we encourage you to begin the process as soon as possible in order to meet the deadline.

More details on the award, including a link to the Nomination Form, can be found here: Emerging Leader Award

November Program: Teaching & Learning in the Virtual World 🗓

Join us for a discussion of new approaches, tips, tricks to teaching, learning and working in the virtual workplace. The discussion will be moderated by Gayle Lynn-Nelson and Johanna Bizub. Members contributed ideas and we look forward to members sharing additional thoughts, problems, struggles and solutions.

DATE: Thursday, November 19, 2020
LOCATION: WebEx
TIME: 1:00 to 2:00 pm
RSVP: Email your RSVP to Kathy Taggart, ktaggart@lowenstein.com, by Tuesday, November 17th. You will then receive a calendar invite with WebEx details.

Community Service Project:
Our annual November Community Service Project is traditionally a food collection. Since we are virtual, we are suggesting that you donate to your local food pantry or through a collection box at your grocery store. The Community Food Bank of New Jersey also offers online donations at www.cfbnj.org. Click the Donate Now button.

Contribute to the Upcoming November Program

Members,

NJLLA is planning a virtual discussion on November 19, 2020, from 1-2 pm entitled “What We’re Doing: Creating New Ways to Teach, Reach and Thrive in the New Hybrid Environment.” We hope it will be a lively and informative session for all. Details about the November program will be forthcoming under a separate announcement.

In preparation for this program, we would love for members to address the questions below and share your experiences ahead of time to give us a jumping off point during the program. Please send your answers or struggles to our meeting coordinator Johanna Bizub at jcbizub@verizon.net or call Johanna at 973-714-3408.

Our work situations have changed dramatically. Some are still all virtual and some are working a few hours or days in the office. We are all being creative and we would like to share what our members have found to be helpful. We know there are still some areas where we have not yet found solutions.

Questions:

Are you still working from home?
Have you returned to the office? If so, how many hours or days?
Have your working hours been affected?
Has your budget been adjusted?
How are you dealing with everything virtual? Meetings, phone calls, trainings?
Home office settings — did you change anything to make it work better? How are dealing with materials that can’t be sent via email?
Vendor interactions, including returning materials, filing, invoices — What are you doing? Does it work?

NJLLA Virtual Annual Business Meeting – June 19, 2020 🗓

The New Jersey Law Librarians Association invites our Membership to participate in our first ever Virtual Annual Business Meeting.

The teleconference will be held via WebEx on Friday, June 19, 2020 at 12:00 noon (EDT).

You can RSVP by emailing NJLLA Treasurer Kathy Taggart at ktaggart@lowenstein.com. You do not have to RSVP again if you have already done so. Attendees will receive a link and password prior to the meeting. The RSVP deadline is Thursday, June 18th at 5 pm.

If you’d like to submit a question ahead of time to be answered during the Open Discussion, enter it into Survey Monkey here. 

The Agenda for the Meeting:

  • Introduction and Housekeeping Rules
  • Call to Order
  • Approval of Minutes of the Last Annual Business Meeting
  • Approval of the 2019-2020 Treasurer’s Report
  • State of the Association (Summary of Committee Reports)
  • Outgoing President Remarks
  • Approval of Slate of Candidates for 2020-21 Executive Board
  • Incoming President’s Address
  • Open Discussion

We look forward to seeing you all there!

-NJLLA Executive Board 2019-2020

Executive Board Message about Diversity and Solidarity

NJLLA Members,

We are furious about the acts of violence and unjust deaths of black people that have been happening in our country over the last few days, weeks, and centuries. We denounce these actions, and stand in solidarity with the black community, with the activists, and with all allies who are lending their voice to demand change.

Together, we will make change happen.

Together, we will do better.

Be safe.  We are here for you.

The Executive Board
#BlackLivesMatter

NJLLA 2020-2021 Nominees for Office

NEW JERSEY LAW LIBRARIANS ASSOCIATION
2020-2021 NOMINEES FOR OFFICE

In accordance with Article IX, Section 1 (b) of the bylaws, the Nominating Committee is pleased to present its candidates for the following offices:

PRESIDENT
(Appointed automatically by succession.)
Brittany Persson
Seton Hall Law Library
Newark, NJ

VICE-PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECT
Kathleen Agno
Greenberg Traurig
Florham Park, NJ

PAST PRESIDENT
(Appointed automatically by succession.)
Wei Fang
Rutgers Law Library
Newark, NJ

TREASURER
(Appointed to a 2 year term.)
Kathy Taggart
Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Roseland, NJ

SECRETARY
Karen Botkin
Verizon
Basking Ridge, NJ

MEMBERS-AT –LARGE
Latoya Rosario
Prudential Insurance
Newark, NJ

Janice Schouten
Porzio, Bromberg & Newman
Morristown, NJ

ADDITIONAL NOMINATIONS:
The Nominating Committee solicits the membership for input during the selection process and it is deemed that the nominees presented are the candidates of the membership. However, any member in good standing in the Association may make additional nominations by petition. The member must contact the President at least 15* days prior to the annual meeting, submitting the petition in writing, endorsed with the signatures of at least 10 other members, as specified in Article IX, Section 1 (c) of the Association’s bylaws. (*normally 30 days)

ELECTIONS:
Election of officers will occur at the Association’s annual business meeting (virtual) on June 19, 2020.

PDF of Nomination Slate

NJLLA Annual Meeting and Future Plans

Dear Members of NJLLA,

We hope that all of you and your families, friends, and coworkers are doing OK during these tough and unprecedented times.

Prior to our lives being upended in March, NJLLA’s primary objective for 2019-2020 was to realign our bylaws and procedures manual to be more current, relevant, and to meet the changing needs of our members.  This objective is even more necessary now than when we first started the year due to the changes in our reality.  Now that we have settled into this new reality, we are ready and excited to continue with our objective, and to create more virtual programming for the upcoming year.  If you would like to be a part of this new chapter in our chapter, we could use your help!  Please continue reading to see how you can be an active member.

Annual Meeting

Unfortunately, we have had to delay our Annual Business Meeting to meet other obligations and priorities related to COVID-19.  The good news is that the planning for a our now virtual annual meeting is underway, so please save the date for Friday, June 19th from 12:00-1:00 and keep your eyes peeled for the forthcoming electronic invitation, as well as the Executive Board nominations list.  If you already know you will attend, email Kathy Taggart at ktaggart@lowenstein.com to receive the WebEx calendar invitation when it’s ready. 

Programming

In the upcoming year we will be shifting our programming to a virtual platform until safety guidelines  suggests we can shift back to in person programming.  If you are interested in virtual networking opportunities (e.g., happy hour, game night, baking night, movie night) and/or if you are interested in attending virtual substantive programs, please email Brittany Persson at brittany.persson@shu.edu with your programming suggestions and preferences (topics of interest and networking format preferences) as well as if you would consider being a speaker, or potential speaker suggestions and contact information.

Membership Renewals

Don’t miss out, renew!  Joanne Murphy, the NJLLA Membership Chair is amazing and has recently mailed Membership Renewal Forms to each member’s on file “Preferred Mailing Address.” Please be on the look out for these. 

 If you do not receive your renewal, click here for a blank renewal form. Joanne goes into the office regularly to pick up mail, to collect renewal forms and checks sent to her at Saiber in Florham Park. If you do not want to send it to Saiber, please contact Joanne directly at jmurphy@saiber.com so she can give you her home address. The Membership Committee is looking into setting up an electronic payment option but that is not something that cannot be done this year. Hopefully in 2021. Please contact Joanne if you have any questions.

Call for Volunteers

To volunteer to participate on one of our committees, please complete the following poll.  

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy!  Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Brittany Persson, NJLLA Vice President/President-Elect
and
Wei Fang, NJLLA President

2019 Annual Business Meeting & Program 🗓

“Transforming Workplace Culture in the #MeToo Era: How Laws on Sexual Harassment, Pay Equity & More are Influencing Workplace Experiences”

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Natalya G. Johnson, Esq., Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland Perretti, LLP
and
Alnisa Bell, Esq., Seyfarth Shaw LLP   

Natalya Johnson is a Labor & Employment attorney at Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland Perretti, LLP.  Natalya’s practices focuses on the representation and counsel of management in employment-related matters. She counsels clients on matters including restrictive covenants, discrimination, and retaliation cases. Natalya is also a frequent speaker at various continuing legal education seminars. She earned her J.D. degree from Cornell Law School and her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Cornell University. 

Alnisa Bell is a Labor & Employment attorney at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Alnisa represents employers in single-plaintiff and multi-plaintiff discrimination and retaliation cases, as well as has significant ERISA experience. Not only is she a skilled litigator, but Alnisa also counsels employers on compliance with state and federal laws. Alnisa serves as counsel in several high-profile litigations across the country relating to the #MeToo movement and speaks regularly on gender equity and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Alnisa earned her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law and her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Bryn Mawr College.

DATE:                                   
Wednesday, May 15, 2019

LOCATION:                       
Spanish Pavillion
31 Harrison Ave., Harrison, NJ
http://spanishpavillion.com

TIME:                                   
11:00 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Agenda:
Networking                                                                           11:00 – 11:15 a.m.
Annual Business Meeting & Election                              11:15 – 12:00 p.m.
Lunch Buffet                                                                         12:00 – 12:40 p.m.                                                                Program                                                                                12:40 – 1:15 p.m.

Please arrive promptly so the Business Meeting can start on time. Please see our Nominations Slate which will be voted on at this Annual Meeting.

COST:             Members: $30.00        Students: $10:00        Non-Members: $38.00

RSVP  by Thursday, May 9, 2019  to Johanna Bizub, jbizub@prudential.com

Community Service Project: Ronald McDonald House of New Brunswick Wish List – VISA/MC/Amex, Staples, Target, Amazon, Stop & Shop, Bed Bath & Beyond & Costco gift cards in increments of $10; coffee pods, paper towels, heavy duty paper plates (no Styrofoam), masking tape, pudding cups, solid white albacore tuna, heavy duty plastic cutlery, double-sided tape, packages of individual cereal boxes; checks payable to Ronald McDonald House of New Brunswick.  Thank you!

Check payable to: New Jersey Law Librarians Association
Mail to: Johanna Bizub, Prudential Insurance, 3 Gateway Center-100 Mulberry St, NJ-05-03-15, Newark, NJ 07102

Meeting Flyer PDF