Category: Education

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.

October Program: Brownbag Lunch-and Learn 🗓

October Program
Brownbag Lunch-and Learn
October 15, 2024
from 12pm-12:45pm (via Zoom)

The NJLLA Program Committee will be hosting our brownbag lunch-and-learn topic series again this year! This year’s first brownbag will focus on the topic of: How do you use GenAI in your everyday life?

Over the past two years, we have been inundated with information about generative AI’s magical capabilities, but how are we incorporating this groundbreaking tool into our daily routines? Join us for an informal conversation about how NJLLA members are using these exciting software applications in both personal and professional contexts. (Spoiler alert: this invitation was co-written with a little help from ChatGPT!). Please submit your ideas, questions, and comments to the moderator, Amber Cain at amber.cain@shu.edu, by October 14th.

If you would like to RSVP to join the conversation, please email Kathy Taggart at ktaggart@lowenstein.com by Friday, October 11th for a Zoom invitation.

We look forward to seeing you!

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!

NJLLA Grant Winner Recap of AALL

NJLLA’s Founders Grant Award winner for 2023 was Roberta L. Matalon, the law librarian at Connell Foley LLP. Roberta attended AALL in Boston and has provided a recap of her time there. Read her essay about the terrific experience she had, the panels she attended, and the people she met. Roberta took some great photos of the event, which you can see in her essay. Of course AI was a major topic at the conference, so read to the end to find ChatGPT’s summary of the AALL Conference as well!

AALL / Bloomberg Law Continuing Education Grant

Are you thinking about putting together a meeting or a local or regional conference? Do you need additional funding to bring in speakers or record the event? Then, on behalf of the AALL/Bloomberg Law Continuing Education Grant Jury, we encourage you to apply for an AALL/Bloomberg Law Continuing Education Grant to receive funding to support educational programming that could benefit the entire AALL community.

Funding is available to cover expenses directly affecting the program, such as room rental, speaker fees, travel fees, and recording/broadcasting of the program. Funding cannot be used for food, advertising, or vendor-specific programming. This grant is a reimbursement grant meaning that expenses are reimbursed after the program, and you have submitted paid receipts. For detailed information, see the grant program FAQs.

Recently awarded grants include:

·         Pay Equity for Law Librarians: “In Their Own Words” (BLL SIS)
·         Critical Law Librarianship (LLNE-SNELLA Spring Meeting) 
·         Get Refusal & Domestic Violence in the Jewish Community (on behalf of CARLIG)
·         2022 Diversity Summit (on behalf of PLLIP & BLL-SIS)
·         NOCALL Spring Institute

The next deadline for grant applications is Oct. 31, 2022.

Apply for NJLLA’s Founders Grant

AALL’s Annual Meeting & Conference is happening IN PERSON in 2022! NJLLA offers a grant to assist one of our members to attend the conference being held in Denver, CO, this summer. The grant covers the cost of registration, transportation, and hotel accommodations up to $1,500.

Click here for the instructions and application, available as a fillable PDF. Please be sure to adhere to all rules and deadlines. This is a wonderful opportunity for one of our members so we encourage all to apply.

April Meeting: Identifying Fake News and Managing Its Effects with Dr. Asta Zelenkauskaite and Pablo Molina 🗓

Expert speakers specializing in Mass Communication and Information Security will discuss what fake news is, how it is created, and best practices for curbing its effects. This is a must-see program for anyone who has any responsibilities for curation, dissemination, or analysis of information.

Dr. Asta Zelenkauskaite

Asta Zelenkauskaite earned her PhD in Mass Communication from Indiana University, Bloomington with two minor specializations in Information Science and Linguistics. She is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Drexel University. Her research focuses upon the intersection between social media and mass media, analyzing the user-generated content contributions of social media users, their content selection practices, and the value extraction through theoretical frameworks of interactivity, gatekeeping, and Big Data. She has an extensive record of collaborations with computer scientists and information science scholars.

Pablo Molina

Pablo Molina serves as Drexel’s Chief Information Security Officer, charged with planning and implementing cybersecurity policy across the university. He has an extensive background in ethics of technology and information management and he regularly comments on stories about privacy, ethics of tech companies, and laws related to technology and information management. He has written extensively on technology and information management and is a regular speaker at conferences related to technology, education and policy, and has presented to the United Nations, the American Bar Association, the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute and others.

DATE and TIME: Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 12 noon to 1:30 PM
PLACE: McCarter & English LLP, Newark NJ. Directions
COST: $20 members / $25 nonmembers / $15 students
RSVP: By Wednesday, April 10th to Caroline Young, caroline.young.rutgers@gmail.com

Make check payable to: New Jersey Law Librarians Association
Mail to: Caroline Young, Rutgers Law Library, 123 Washington St, Newark, NJ 07102

Community Service Project: Collection for the Jersey Battered Women’s Service in Morris County. Current needs are girls and boys briefs, diapers, diaper wipes, pull ups, ziplock bags for freezer/refrigerator (all sizes!), aluminum foil, and plastic wrap. Travel mugs and refillable water bottles are also needed, as well as snacks, including animal crackers, pretzels, trail mix, fruit snacks, popcorn, nuts, cookies, juice boxes and bottles of water. Gift cards to discount stores and supermarkets are especially appreciated. Cash and checks made out to JBWS are also welcome. JBWS is a non-profit tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

November Meeting: International Legal Research in the 21st Century with Jootaek Lee 🗓

International Legal Research in the 21st Century

Jootaek Lee, JD, MLS, MA

Mr. Lee will explain the international legal system, its origins and history, and how to effectively approach international legal issues. He will demonstrate cost-effective internet research strategies and will introduce attendees to a variety of reliable online databases. He will address various topics, such as human rights, international environmental law, the law of the sea and international trade.

Jootaek Lee is a reference librarian and assistant professor at Rutgers Law School. He is also an affiliated faculty member of the Program of Human Rights and Global Economy and a consulting expert at WaterLex. He had been a foreign, comparative, and international law librarian for more than seven years at Northeastern University School of Law. He is also a prolific author and scholar. His research focuses on human rights to land, water and education, the Asian practice of international law, especially human rights and international criminal law, legal informatics, Korean law, legal education and pedagogy in law. He has made numerous presentations at national and international conferences.

DATE & TIME:       Tuesday, November 13th, 2018, 12 noon to 1:30 PM

PLACE:                      Lowenstein Sandler, LLP

COST:                        $10 members; $12 nonmembers; $5 students

RSVP:                         By Tuesday, November 6th to Kathy Taggart, ktaggart@lowenstein.com

Community Service Project: Collection for the St. James Social Service Corporation, which serves the greater Newark area. Top needs: Canned goods, including green vegetables and tomato sauce; starches, such as rice and pasta; liquid and powder baby formula. Cash and check donations are also welcome. Community service donation checks can be made payable to the St. James Social Service Corporation.

Make meeting check payable to: New Jersey Law Librarians Association

Mail to:
Kathy Taggart
Lowenstein Sandler
One Lowenstein Drive
Roseland, NJ 07068

Meeting Flyer (PDF)

NJLLA Annual Meeting, AALL Visit & Executive Board Election 🗓

2018 Annual Business Meeting & AALL Visit

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:  Ron Wheeler, Immediate Past President of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and Director of Fineman & Pappas Law Libraries at Boston University.

“Greetings from AALL and Focus on Implicit Bias”

Ron is a dynamic speaker and a recognized leader in the areas of legal research/instruction and diversity/inclusion.  He will help us understand unconscious biases — social stereotypes about certain groups that individuals form outside of their conscious awareness — and the impact on perception and decision making.

DATE:   Thursday, May 10, 2018

LOCATION:
Iberia Tavern and Restaurant
80-84 Ferry St., Newark, NJ
Ample free parking available
Click here for Directions.

TIME:  12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Agenda
Lunch: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Program: 1:00 – 1:45 p.m.
Annual Business Meeting & Election:  1:45 – 2:30 p.m.

Please arrive promptly so that you can enjoy lunch & networking 

COST: Members: $20.00 —-  Students: $10:00 —- Non-Members: $30.00

RSVP: by Friday, May 4, 2018 to Johanna Bizub at jbizub@prudential.com

This program is generously sponsored by

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!

Lunch and Meeting checks payable to: New Jersey Law Librarians Association

Mail to: Johanna Bizub, Prudential Insurance, 751 Broad St., NJ-01-04-13, Newark, NJ 07102

2018 Annual Meeting Flyer
2018-2019 Executive Board Nomination Slate

The Business Meeting will include electing the 2018-19 Executive Board. 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.)
Dennis Kim-Prieto
Rutgers Law Library
Newark, NJ

VICE-PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECT
Wei Fang
Rutgers Law Library
Newark, NJ

PAST PRESIDENT
(Appointed automatically by succession.)
Sheryll Rappaport

TREASURER
(Appointed to a 2 year term.)
Judith Simms
Rutgers Law Library
Newark, NJ

SECRETARY
Brittany Persson
Seton Hall Law Library
Newark, NJ

MEMBERS-AT -LARGE
Kimberly Jackson
Lindabury, McCormick Estabrook & Cooper, PC
Westfield, NJ

Dinah Minkoff
Seton Hall Law Library
Newark, 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 30 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.
ELECTIONS: 
Election of officers will occur at the Association’s annual business meeting on May 10 2018.

Apply Now for NJLLA’s Founders Grant to Attend the 2018 AALL Conference

The AALL Conference in Baltimore is approaching fast! It’s time to apply for NJLLA’s annual Founders Grant. The purpose of this Grant is to financially assist a member of NJLLA to attend the AALL Annual Meeting. The NJLLA Grant covers the cost of registration, transportation, and hotel accommodations up to $1,500. Applications are due Monday, April 23, 2018.

Applicants must be members of the New Jersey Law Librarians Association. Prior grant recipients (within the last five years) and current members of the Grants & Awards Committee are not eligible to apply. The recipient must submit an article by August 31, 2018, describing his/her experience at the meeting for posting on the NJLLA website.

Full details are available on the application, available here in Word and fillable PDF.

Questions may be directed to the Chair of our Grants & Awards Committee, Kathy Taggart, at ktaggart@lowenstein.com or 973-422-6442.