SJRLC Connections

Meet the Authors: NJ Statewide Children’s and Young Adult Author Conference

Meet the Authors: NJ Statewide Children’s and Young Adult Author Conference

 

Register now for the annual NJ Statewide Children’s and Young Adult Author Conference, April 11, 2008, sponsored by the NJ State Library and the Children’s and Teen Services Sections of NJLA. The registration form is available on the NJYAC website at http://www.njyac.org and on the NJ State Library website at http://www.njstatelib.org under the heading Library Development Bureau, then click on LDB News and select 2008 Author Conference Registration Form. It will also be posted on NJLA’s website, http://www.njla.org very soon.

This fun and stimulating day of author presentations will be held at the Woodbridge Public Library, 1 George Frederick Plaza, Woodbridge, NJ. The program will be held from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

A light breakfast and lunch will be included.  Come for coffee at 9:30 AM, with the program to start at 10:00 AM. 

Copies of the author’s books will be available to purchase and have signed by the authors.

 
Featuring authors/illustrators: 

• Sarah Beth Durst, author fantasy Into the Wild “Amusing, but not profound.” – School Library Journal
• Kevin C. Pyle, author of the graphic novel Blindspot  “Perfectly captures a shining moment of boyhood” - Booklist 
• Marie Lamba, author of the teen novel What I Meant “Realistic and well-paced.” – Kirkus

 In addition to the other authors, Tonya Bolden will also be there.

Her newest nonfiction book is George Washington Carver. Her other nonfiction books
for readers in grades 6 and up include: Take-Off (Bk & CD): American All-Girl Bands During World War I; M.L.K.: The Journey of a King; The Champ: The Story of Muhammad Ali;Wake Up Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists; and Cause: Reconstruction American 1863-1877.

 
For more information, contact Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Consultant, NJ State Library, srawlins [at] njstatelib.org, 609-278-2640 ext. 116.

NJLA Registration now open

NJLA conference information and registration is now available at www.njla.org/conference/2008.  (You can even register online this year!)

Information includes:

• keynote speakers (Sarah Vowell? -- Um, YAY!)
• poster sessions
• the draft schedule
• the preliminary program
• list of sponsors
• the registration form

The preconferences will be added for the Tuesday schedule - although you can find them on the schedule, in the program and on the registration form.
      
Early Bird Registration is avaialable until April 4th.  Note that all hotel reservations MUST be made by April 15th for the conference rate.

Check it out: www.njla.org/conference/2008

 

A big thanks to Cindy Czesak (Chair) and everyone on the NJLA conference committee for putting together another great program!

       

Garden State Book Award Winners

The Children's Services Section of the New Jersey Library Association announces the following recipients of the 2008 Garden State Children's Book Award:

EASY-TO-READ BOOK

ONE NOSY PUP
by Carol Wallace, illustrated by Steve Bjvrkman

EASY-TO-READ SERIES BOOK

HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE GREAT GRANDPAS
by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Sugie Stevenson

FICTION, GRADES 2 - 5

LUNCH MONEY
by Andrew Clements, illustrations by Brian Selznick

NON-FICTION, GRADES 2 - 5

RUNNY BABBIT: A BILLY SOOK
by Shel Silverstein

The Garden State Children's Book Awards were established in 1977 in order to give recognition to books for elementary grade readers. The nominees are selected
by a committee of the Children's Services Section of the New Jersey Library Association on the basis of literary merit; the winners are chosen by popularity
with readers. A three-year lapse from the original publication date is allowed in order to determine popularity.

The awards are given in three categories, with the option of one additional series category: a work specifically designated as Easy-To-Read by the publisher; a work of fiction for grades 2 - 5; a work of non-fiction for grades 2 - 5. Awards, presented annually at the NJLA spring conference, are given to both the author and the illustrator.

This year's conference will be held at the Ocean Place Conference Center in Long Branch, from April 29-May 1 with the awards presentation luncheon on May 1.

For further information, visit the NJLA website at www.njla.org, or contact Sandy Holtz, Chair, Garden State Childrens Book Awards Committee, by phone at
973-762-1622 x5013 or email at sholtz[at]maplewoodlibrary.org.

NJLA Reference Section Program

Posted on behalf of Lisa Coats, NJLA Reference Section
Vice-President & Co-Editor of Newsletter

Dear Colleagues,

The NJLA Reference Section invites you to attend an event on March 11, 2008 from 2:30pm to 5:00pm at Columbia High School Media Center in Maplewood, NJ.  There will be speakers from Maplewood and S. Orange public libraries, Columbia High School and Seton Hall University who will outline the history of the Academic School and Public (ASAP) multi-library collaboration project.

After refreshments, a brief tour and the speakers, the Reference Section will have a business meeting.  We invite all to attend and get involved in the section.

Click on the link below to the program flyer:
http://www.njla.org/sections/reference/ASAP.pdf

Please RSVP to Lisa Coats at lcoats[at]monmouth.edu (732-923-4537) by March 7, 2008.
Hope to see you there!
Lisa Coats
NJLA Reference Section
Vice-President & Co-Editor of Newsletter

NJ Academy of Library Leadership

The New Jersey Academy of Library Leadership is a four-day retreat at the Stella Maris Retreat Center in Long Branch, NJ.

The program is FREE and is ideal for a mid-career librarian who is ready for increased involvement in the New Jersey library community. It is open to all types of librarians from all types of libraries.

Applications are now being accepted for the FIFTH Academy taking place May 4-7, 2008.

Those interested should send a resume and a letter of institutional support to

Connie Paul, Executive Director
CJRLC
4400 Route 9 South, Suite 3400
Freehold, NJ 07728.

Up to 25 applicants will be accepted.

More information (including an agenda for the retreat) available at:

http://www.cjrlc.org/Flyers/njall_2008.htm

National Library Week is April 13-19

Posted for the NJLA PR Committee:
--------------------------------------------

National Library Week is April 13-19!

To publicize this event, the NJLA Public Relations Committee recommends using ALA's templates for press releases and letters to the editor to get some stories in your local newspaper.

It's really quick and easy, all you have to do is add your library's name, address and phone number in the blanks then fax, email, or send to your local newspaper. They even have a spot where you can add information about any programs you are hosting! Here's the direct link:

http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/natlibraryweek/nlw.htm

Good luck!
NJLA Public Relations Committee

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Garden State Teen Book Award winners

Courtesy of Kimberly L. Paone,  Supervisor, Adult/Teen Services,  Elizabeth Public Library

The votes are in (and counted) and I'm happy to announce this year's Garden State Teen Book Award winners:

Fiction, Grades 6-8
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
[runners-up: Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan]

Fiction, Grades 9-12
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
[runners-up: My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult and Peeps by Scott Westerfeld]

Nonfiction, Grades 6-12
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
[runners-up: Red Hot Salsa by Lori Marie Carlson, ed. and Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti]

This year, there were 805 votes total, from 61 participating school and public libraries.  Thanks to all of you that contributed votes on behalf of your students!  The NJLA YA section is currently working hard to put together the 2008 ballot, so you can look for that at NJLA.   

One Book NJ News

News from Kate Vasilik, 2008 Chair, One Book New Jersey
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Just a few things to keep you up-to-date for OBNJ 2008...

Most public libraries should have already received the OBNJ posters.  If you have not received yours by next week, please first check your building (libraries were only sent one poster per building) or your library system headquarters (posters for branch libraries were sent to your main building).  We do have a number of extra posters.  If you would like a second poster for your building, please email me.  Also, posters were only sent to all of the public libraries in the state - if you are a school library, or know of a school library, who would like to display a poster, please let me know.  Please also let me know where the poster can be delivered (preferably with your CD&L number).

Launch Week is quickly approaching!  Make sure to get your programs up on the website calendar (www.onebooknj.org) as soon as they are planned.  All libraries with programs scheduled during Launch Week, February 10-16, 2008, are automatically entered into a random drawing to win a free set of this year's OBNJ selections.  Also, if you place an order with Cafe Press (www.cafepress.com/onebooknj) this week, your products should arrive mid-February.  Check out some of the cool products with images of the OBNJ logo or this year's poster image!  Use these products are give-aways and prizes during Launch Week.  A OBNJ t-shirt can work as a great promotion year-round!

Kate Vasilik
2008 Chair, One Book New Jersey

One Book NJ is presented by the New Jersey Library Association in collaboration with and funded by the New Jersey State Library, which is responsible for the coordination, promotion, and funding of the New Jersey Library Network.

Katherine Vasilik, Young Adult Librarian
Franklin Lakes (NJ) Public Library
tel: 201-891-2224 x105
fax: 201-891-5102
vasilik [at] bccls.org
kate_thelibrarian [at] yahoo.com

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters, in the end. [Ursula K. LeGuin]

One Book New Jersey is proud to be back for its sixth year!

Check out the One Book New Jersey website (www.onebooknj.org) for more information on Launch Week & Cafe Press!  Posters will be packaged and sent to NJ libraries soon, and you should receive your poster by the end of January.

Please join your fellow NJ libraries by recognizing OBNJ's official Launch Week during February 10-16, 2008 -- plan a program, prepare booktalks, provide giveaways, be creative!  Check the OBNJ website for great program ideas, related films, and read-alikes for each of the 2008 selected titles.  Remember: February is Love Your Library Month, so invite all of your library users to be a part of Launch Week!

Please remember to post all of your related programs to the OBNJ calendar.  All libraries with a program scheduled during the week of February 10-15 on the calendar will be entered into a raffle to receive a set of 2008 titles.  Winners of the Launch Week Raffle will be notified by February 25.

One Book New Jersey is on Cafe Press!! www.cafepress.com/onebooknj

Help promote and support One Book New Jersey!  Check out our site on Cafe Press for some fantastic gift ideas, contest prizes, and giveaways at programs and during Launch Week.  Grab something for yourself and something for your loyal library users!  Proceeds from Cafe Press go directly to the New Jersey Library Association in support of programs like One Book New Jersey to benefit NJ libraries and library users.

Barnes & Noble and New Jersey libraries work together to promote "Love Your Library" Month

Thanks to Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Consultant, NJ State Library for this information.
----------------------------------------------------

The vouchers for the "Love Your Library" promotion with public libraries and Barnes and Noble have been posted on the NJLA and NJYAC websites and are available to download and copy as needed.

As part of the event, libraries that do a display in their libraries promoting February as "Love Your Library" month with Barnes and Noble will be judged for their creativity.  The judges may not be able to get to all the public libraries personally to see the displays so they hope that libraries will submit digital photos of their displays. They can be e-mailed to me at the State Library anytime during the month of February.

One change since the initial announcement - activity sheets will not be available.

Barnes & Noble and New Jersey libraries work together to promote "Love Your Library" Month 

The New Jersey State Library is partnering with Barnes & Noble and the New Jersey Library Association to promote "Love Your Library" month in February 2008 to once again help fund the Statewide Summer Reading Program at all public libraries in New Jersey. Barnes & Noble will donate a percentage of every sale from every customer who presents a book fair voucher at any Barnes and Noble store in New Jersey during the month of February. The funds raised from this month-long event will benefit the children and young adults who participate in the 2008 Summer Reading Program. The theme of the 2008 Summer Reading Program is "Catch the Reading Bug" for the children and "Metamorphosis" for the teens. 

To participate in this program, a customer must use a voucher at the time of purchase. Vouchers are available to download from the New Jersey Library Association, www.njla.org and the NJ State Library's Youth Services web page, www.njyac.org.

In order to encourage as many public libraries to participate in this statewide event, Barnes & Noble has also generously agreed to give libraries the opportunity to win some incentives by participating in this event. These incentives include:

1. A $150 Gift Card: Libraries would be invited to do a display in their libraries promoting February as "Love Your Library" month in partnership with Barnes and Noble supporting the Statewide Summer Reading Program sponsored by the New Jersey State Library and New Jersey Library Association. These displays would be judged and the winning library will get a $150 B&N gift card. 
   
2. A $150 Barnes & Noble Gift Card for Libraries: Each Barnes & Noble store will distribute vouchers to a library in the town where they have a store. The library must put the name of their library on the vouchers.  At the end of the month a voucher will be drawn from all entries collected from all the stores in NJ and the winning library will receive a $150 Barnes and Noble gift card. The more vouchers that are given out from each library, the more chances that library has to win the gift card. Libraries not in a town where a Barnes and Noble store is located can download the vouchers from the NJLA or NJSL websites.
   
3. Gift Basket and $25 Gift Card for Customers: Each voucher would also have an entry form on it for an individual to have the opportunity to win a prize. The winning customer would get a gift basket for "family night" that would consist of a game, DVD, popcorn, a book by David Carter called "Love Bugs" and a $25 B&N gift card.

Possible Outreach opportunity

Some stores will be looking to have their local library host a program during the month. We encourage you to accept the invitation if you receive a call from a community relations manager. This is a wonderful way to promote the program. Not only will you be able to showcase your library, you'll also be able to remind your audience to use their voucher when they purchase materials. Of course, it would be great to remind them that every purchase with a voucher benefits all public libraries of New Jersey.  You won't be able to hand out vouchers in the stores during this month, but you can remind the people in your audience to ask for a voucher when they make a purchase, if they haven't brought one with them. 

For more information, contact Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Consultant, NJSL, srawlins [at] njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 116.

 

Great opportunity to hear Joan Frye Williams

From NJLA, great opportunity to hear Joan Frye Williams:

The New Jersey State Library and New Jersey Library Association invite you to attend an extraordinary program: Managing the Library Experience …  changing the experience for your customers as well as yourself, with Joan Frye Williams. This powerful and humorous program will help you to learn everything you need to know about what to start, what to stop and how to ensure your customers will return. And have fun while you’re learning.

Whether you’ve seen her before or not come see Joan Frye Williams, who wowed them at the Mid-Atlantic Library Futures Conference, at the Old Bridge Public Library on January 16, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The cost of the program is $20 for NJLA members and $30 for non-members.  Directions:  http://www.oldbridgelibrary.org/directions.htm

 

The deadline for registration: January 11. Call NJLA at 609-394-8032 or email srice@njla.org for further information.

Send registration form with payment (check or credit card) or

PO

to: NJLA,

PO Box 1534

,

Trenton

,

NJ

  or Fax to: 609-394-8164

Registration form at: http://www.njla.org/programs/jfwilliams_registration.pdf

One Book New Jersey Selections

From Kate Vasilik, Chair, One Book New Jersey 2008
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Start brainstorming for ways to use this year's One Book New Jersey titles in your library!

The Readers Advisory Roundtable and the 2008 One Book New Jersey committee are proud to announce the selections of each category:

• Read to Me: Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel
• Middle Grade: The Sisters Grimm: Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley
• Teen: Dr. Franklin's Island by Ann Halam
• Adult: The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

More news from OBNJ will be announced over the next couple of months, including raffle information and details of a statewide launch in February 2008.  In the meantime, start thinking of great ways to program and promote these titles at your libraries this year!

Kate Vasilik
Chair, One Book New Jersey 2008

One Book NJ is presented by the New Jersey Library Association in collaboration with and funded by the New Jersey State Library which is responsible for the coordination, promotion and funding of the New Jersey Library Network.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to all those who earned NJLA Awards at the April conference in Long Branch! 

The links below lead to the list of awards and their winners, as well as photos of the ceremony.

2007 NJLA Honors & Awards recipients

http://www.njla.org/honorsawards/library/2007/

Photos of 2007 NJLA Honors & Awards presentations

http://www.flickr.com/photos/njla

Workshop: Print vs. Electronic Resources: What's a Librarian to do

Posted on behalf of Paul Schroeder, NJLA Reference Section President

We're all struggling with the issue of print and electronic resources.  Is one better than the other?  Does it depend on the product and/or your situation? 

If you have questions like these come to our program: "Print vs. Electronic Resources:  What's a Librarian to do?"

Link to program flyer:http://www.njla.org/sections/reference/PrintElectronic.pdf
"Print vs. Electronic Resources:  What's a Librarian to do?"
Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (coffee at 9:30 a.m.)
Location:  Mt. Olive Public Library,  202 Flanders-Drakestown Road, Flanders, NJ 07836
PHONE:      (973) 691-8686
Directions:  http://www.mopl.org
Please RSVP to Sherry Kowalski at kowalski@main.morris.org

This program sponsored by the Reference Section is a follow-up to our 2006 NJLA conference program on print and electronic resources.

This will be an informal gathering.  Our "panel" is Angela Camack, Sussex County College, Eduardo Gil, Montclair State University, David Lisa, Long Branch Public Library and Karen Parry, East Brunswick Public Library.  The panel will jump-start the conversation by sharing their thoughts and experiences on this topic.  The remainder of the program will be a group discussion.  Please come with questions, thoughts and experiences to share with the group. 

This is an ongoing process.  We won't be able to answer all questions or even cover the scope of this issue at one sitting.  Our goal is to start a discussion and learn some tools to help us deal with this.

Please RSVP to Sherry Kowalski at kowalski@main.morris.org

Award nomination time!

 

Posted on behalf of Jennifer Konopacki, Chair, NJLA Honors & Awards Committee: 

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It is my pleasure as Chair of the NJLA Honors & Awards Committee to announce that the nomination process has begun for the NJ Library Community to recognize excellence. The nomination forms for all the NJLA Awards (Librarian of the Year, Library Champions, NJLA/NJASL Partnership, Public Relations and Marketing, etc...) can be found on the NJLA website, www.njla.org.   Please click on "Honors & Awards, Celebrating Our Best" for information and forms on all awards.   

The deadline for submission is March 2, 2007. Should you have any questions, please contact me.

Jennifer Konopacki, Warren Township Library – SCLS
email jkonopac@sclsnj.org