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Commentary – Cheryl O’Connor, Executive Director |
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Last Saturday, my husband Dan was driving us north on the Harlem River Drive on our way to the GW Bridge. I was enjoying the view of the Bronx across the river. Soon after spotting Yankee Stadium, I saw the H.W. Wilson Publishing Company building topped with its famed lighthouse. There on the side of the building was a huge FOR SALE sign in red letters. It’s one thing to process the H.W. Wilson Company’s merger with EBSCO Publishing last spring; it’s another to absorb the shock of that For Sale sign. Dan immediately spoke about the trip his Syracuse library school class took to tour the H.W. Wilson headquarters back in the 1960s. I talked about my Rutgers SCILS reference course lecture on databases and Herbert Wrigley Wilson’s impact on the field. Here we were reminiscing about the changes at H. W. Wilson – a company founded in 1898. The operative word here is reminiscing.
With competition to library services, vendors and publishers increasing, with customer expectations sky high, and with budgets strained to the limits, there is continuing stress for librarian, library vendor and publisher alike. I was heartened to meet with IMLS Director Susan Hildreth at Rush Holt Day in Monroe Township this past week. She is a high energy, fearless colleague whose first job was in New Jersey at Edison Public Library. IMLS recently completed its 2012-16 strategic plan: Creating a Nation of Learners which you can view on the IMLS website. Director Hildreth shared her vision that “libraries succeed by constantly evolving” in a January 13, 2012 article in the Huffington Post. It serves us to read not only her article but the range of pro and con comments that follow it. Later this winter, LibraryLinkNJ will ask for membership feedback as we develop activities for FY13. Please contribute to the discussion and help shape the direction of our future. While reminiscing feeds the heart, we need joint, concrete action and commitment in the membership to take us forward.
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LibraryLinkNJ Forums are Open For Business! |
| The infolink-l and cjrlc Google Group listservs retired from your inboxes last week. In their place, we encourage you to participate in the Forums on our website. |
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Full details of the enhanced functionality of the Forums, along with a handy FAQ, are available for you to peruse. Want to customize how frequently you receive email notifications from the Forums? We’ve developed detailed instructions for that, too. Come join the conversation!
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Crisis Prevention Workshops: Respect, Service and Safety at Work -- Register Today! |
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Would you like to …
- Respond effectively to disruptive situations in the workplace?
- Provide quality service in the most difficult circumstances?
- Demonstrate respect in all interactions?
Any workplace environment facing difficult or disruptive customers, employees, or visitors will benefit from this unique program.
Three dates, three locations:
- 3/27/12 - Monroe Township Public Library (Middlesex County)
- 3/28/12 - Montville Township Public Library
- 3/29/12 - Mt. Laurel Library
Complete program description & registration details available here. Don’t miss out!
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New Jersey Libraries-on-the-Go |
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LibraryLinkNJ stands ready to help you bring your library’s mobile presence up to date! We’ve negotiated discounts with three reputable vendors and are offering a menu of options to suit libraries of every size and type. Apply for the subsidy level that makes the most sense for your library and community! Applications are due by 4 PM on February 29.
Full details of the project, including an FAQ to answer member questions, are available on our website. Please send all questions regarding NJ Libraries-On-The-Go to Program Coordinator Sophie Brookover.
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Super Library Supervisor: Stepping Up To Supervisor
Registration Opened 10:00 AM on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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This annual series of training workshops in supervisory skills has been serving the New Jersey library community for over 10 years. We offer five full-day workshops for up to 25 participants, who must attend all sessions.
Workshop topics are:
- What it Means to be a Supervisor
- Communication Skills
- True Colors (Improving Work Relationships) & Mentoring/Coaching
- Conflict Resolution
- Personnel Documentation & Evaluation
You must have a User Account to register. You can register here.
If you are unable to register yourself that day, have a colleague register in their own name (system does not allow registering others) and have them send a notice with your name and contact information to jroukens@librarylinknj.org.
Deadline for registration is Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at 12 noon.
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Handheld School Libraries Unconference -- co-sponsored with the New Jersey Association of School Librarians! |
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Saturday March 24, 2011 --
Middlesex County College, Crabiel Hall, Edison
Registration is open!
Unconference: a crowd-sourced day of conversation and exploration of a central theme; a collaborative learning event where the attendees create the agenda and new discussions and sub-groups form spontaneously as ideas emerge during the day.
How will these ereaders / tablets / smartphones / mini-computers
Change and Reinvent
School library programs, services, collections, and learning spaces?
Everything is up for discussion – let’s explore and learn together in these crowd-sourced conversations!
Want to learn more about UNconferences? See this page!
This event is especially for New Jersey School Librarians, but we welcome participation from Public and Academic Librarians, too!
School Librarians!
Register with a classroom teaching colleague
or administrator!
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Discount Offers |
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Now there are many ways to find out about real savings for your library. All LibraryLinkNJ product discounts will be posted in the following places – take your pick!
New Discounts:
- Facts on File -- discount valid til 12/31/12
Facts on File offers trusted materials on a wide range of subjects, including streaming video and e-learning modules.
To see all current discounts, visit the Discounts Page.
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| Newest Arrival – Delivery Tote Bins
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Members on the Velocity Delivery Service should expect to see LibraryLinkNJ’s tote bins by next week. The bins will be phased in informally across the Cooperative from the two Velocity sorting facilities in the north and in the south. Some of you may have to supplement the bins with boxes as in the past. |
It is the responsibility of participating libraries to safeguard and use the tote bins only for the delivery service. If we lose a large percentage of the bins in the first year, we may have to consider assessing libraries for additional bins. Let’s hope we do not have to go there.
This is an experiment because of the U.S. Postal Service’s recall of all its white postal bins. We cannot put you or the Cooperative at risk. With input from the Delivery Services Task Force and Executive Board approval, LibraryLinkNJ is now in the delivery bin business. Help us make this work with open communication and feedback on the forums please. Thank you. |
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