January 6, 2020

Board Updates

January Board Meeting

The next Board meeting will be held on Thursday, January 16 starting at 2:30 at the LibraryLinkNJ office in Piscataway. It’s an open public meeting.

Online Town Hall Meeting

Registration is open for a Virtual Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, January 15, 11am - 12 noon. The purpose of the meeting is to:

  • Provide a mid-year update to the LibraryLinkNJ membership by Executive Board President, Chris Carbone,
  • Introduce our new Interim Director, Juliet Machie,
  • Say farewell to retiring Executive Director, Kathy Schalk-Greene, and
  • Offer an opportunity for questions and answers with the LibraryLinkNJ membership.

Registration will close when full or at 5 pm on Friday, January 10th, whichever occurs first.

This online meeting is open to all interested staff in LibraryLinkNJ member libraries, as well as to the general public.

Registration is required, as virtual seats are limited. We will send an access email to all registrants the day before the meeting.

Because registration fills up quickly, we encourage you to work with colleagues in your library or at nearby libraries to view the meetings jointly.

The Virtual Town Hall meeting will be recorded. The recording, along with supporting materials, will be available on the January Town Hall information page.

Note: This meeting has been rescheduled from December 18, 2019.

Interim Executive Director starts

Juliet Machie, LibraryLinkNJ’s new Interim Executive Director, started on December 10. Her email is juliet [at] librarylinknj.org. Please welcome her to the Cooperative.

Group Discount for Computers in Libraries Conference 2020

LibraryLinkNJ Group Discount for
Computers in Libraries Conference

March 31 - April 2, 2020
Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA

Information Today, Inc. has offered LibraryLinkNJ members a group discount registration price of $359 for their 3-day Computers in Libraries 2020 Conference (early registration rate is $499) until February 28, 2020. After February 28, the group discount will change to $369 ($519 without group discount). No discount rates are available for pre or post conference seminars and workshops. In addition, discount prices of $149 (regularly $219) on the Internet @Schools Track are also available. Lodging and travel arrangements must be made by the individual.

Early registration rates are valid until February 28, 2020.

Procedure for COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES LibraryLinkNJ Group Discount:

If you already registered, please contact the conference registration or Information Today customer service with group discount code: LLNJ20. 

Please find more information about

Super Library Supervisor Spring 2020 Series

Super Library Supervisor Spring 2020 Series Registration Opens Wednesday, January 29th!

The Spring 2020 Series of Super Library Supervisor will be held at the Monroe Public Library (Middlesex County) on the following dates:

  • March 25, 2020 - What it Means to be a Supervisor
  • April 8, 2020 - Personnel Documentation & Evaluation
  • April 22, 2020 - Running Successful Meetings AND Human Resources Basics That Every Supervisor Should Know
  • April 29, 2020 - Communications and Resolving Staff Conflict

Target Audience:

  • Library staff who are currently supervisors and have less than five years of supervisory experience.
  • Participants MUST be actively working as a supervisor at the time the series begins.
  • More experienced supervisors are welcome, if this is their first supervisory training.

Cost: $275, inclusive of all course materials, continental breakfasts and lunches for all 4 sessions.

For complete information on this series of workshops, and the link to register starting on Wednesday, January 29th, go to the Spring Series Super Library Supervisor page. Registration is online only. Registration is a commitment to attend all 4 workshops.

  • Registration will open at 9 AM on Wednesday, January 29
  • Registration will close on Friday, February 7 or when the limit has been reached, whichever comes first
  • Once we close registration, we will use a lottery process to select a final total of 35 participants
  • Registration only places you in the lottery
  • We will accept up to 50 registrants to be placed in the lottery

Please contact lyu [at] librarylinknj.org (Mi-Sun Lyu) or juliet [at] librarylinknj.org (Juliet Machie) with any questions.

On-Site, On-Demand Staff Development

On-Site, On-Demand Staff Development
– FY20 (July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020) Offer for All Members of LibraryLinkNJ

LibraryLinkNJ Provides a Subsidy of Up to $500 for a Staff Development Program Held at Your Library 
Let us Help You Make a Difference!

Ongoing professional education is essential in the work lives of all staff members, and we want to make it as efficient and cost-effective as possible. We will subsidize up to $500 of the cost of one staff development workshop a year for participating member libraries of all types. The On-Site, On-Demand Staff Development program directly supports our strategic goal of providing opportunities for staff to acquire new skills, advance their learning and grow professionally.

Key Points:

  • Members are not limited to a specific menu of on-site training options. We provide a variety of suggested options for your convenience.
  • You may either choose a workshop from our Suggested Programs & Consultants List or work with other vendors/consultants.
  • You have to book a program directly with a vendor/consultant, and then fill out the Subsidy Request Form.
  • LibraryLinkNJ offers a subsidy of up to $500 for each approved request.
  • There is a limited budget for this service, so please submit requests early.

For all the details on how this service works, go to The On-Site, On-Demand Page.

If you have any questions, please contact Mi-Sun Lyu, lyu [at] librarylinknj.org.

MentorNJ Updates - Upcoming Tech Meet-ups!

Technology Meet-ups:

Register now for the upcoming MentorNJ Technology Meet-ups! These particular meetups focus on technology in libraries, so from ILS systems, to social media, to IT issues, to makerspaces, to workshops and tech sessions, and much more, any topic related to technology and libraries is fair game. These meetups are for staff at any library type, and any staff level working with or interested in technology and particularly technology in libraries.

Site hosts at each location work with dbaldwin [at] piscatawaylibrary.org (Doug Baldwin), Head of Technology at the Piscataway Public Library, to moderate discussions at each event:

 Tech meet-ups
  • Friday, February 7, 2020, 10am-12pm
    • @ Burlington County Library - Main Branch (5 Pioneer Blvd, Westhampton, NJ 08060)
    • cnemphos [at] bcls.lib.nj.us (Christina Nemphos), Youth Services coordinator
  • Friday, April 3, 2020, 10am-12pm
    • @ Livingston Public Library (10 Robert H Harp Dr, Livingston, NJ 07039)
    • joseph.emery [at] livingston.bccls.org (Joseph Emery), Adult Services Librarian

Please use the registration form to attend.

If you have missed our past meet-ups, all meeting notes are documented in real time and shared with attendees, as well as made publicly available on the past meetups list (where you can find archived notes from the past meetings).

What is MentorNJ Small Meet-up?

This is an opportunity for local librarians and library staff to get together in an informal way and discuss issues and topics related to our daily work. MentorNJ encourages library staff to host or attend a NJ Library Meetup(s) so you can do more of what matters to you and meet colleagues near you who share your interests. Learn from others, and share your insights on targeted topics.

Anyone can host a meet-up and promote it online on the MentorNJ Meet-Up page. Everyone is invited to any meet-up with topics that are of their interest. Please find more about how you can promote your hosting meetup on the MentorNJ meetup page.

If you have any questions about MentorNJ meetups, please contact our meetup coordinators: