NJSLA Chapter Highlights

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ORGANIZATION
ACTIVITIES
PUBLICATIONS
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
 
ORGANIZATION

Founded:
April 25, 1935, at a meeting attended by 28 general and special librarians. Prior to this time special librarians attended meetings of the New York Chapter.

Purpose:
The New Jersey members of the Special Libraries Association, realizing the need for a more intensive knowledge of the state's special library resources, and desiring to cooperate more effectively in their development, as well as to promote friendship among professional neighbors, wish to establish a New Jersey Chapter of the Special Libraries Association, and ask the Executive Board of the Association to approve this step. By thus organizing, we believe we can develop a mutual exchange of ideas; give added inspiration to our work; give opportunity for discussion of individual projects of work that will save duplication of effort; and serve as a clearing house of information.

Name:
New Jersey Chapter, Special Libraries Association

Address:
Please contact Board Members through e-mail

Affiliation:
With the Special Libraries Association as the New Jersey Chapter June 11, 1935. Geographical boundaries for the New Jersey Chapter were approved by the Special Libraries Association on February 3, 1978.

Membership:
Founding members numbered 28; present membership is approximately 300.

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ACTIVITIES

Meetings:
The Chapter conducts at least four regular meetings from September to May each year, often preceded by dinner programs featuring outstanding speakers or may offer panel or table discussions.

Committees:
Each year various committees are appointed to promote and implement the activities of the Chapter. Committees include Business Manager, Bylaws, Career Guidance, Employment, Finance, Government Relations, Membership, Nominations/Awards, Professional Development, Program, Communications, etc.

Events:
New Jersey has been host to six annual conferences of the Special Libraries Association in 1916 and 1919 in Asbury Park and in 1923, 1926,1950, and 1959 in Atlantic City.

On April 24, 1985 the Chapter celebrated its 50th anniversary. Distinguished guests in attendance included state senators Leanna Brown and Matthew Feldman; President-Elect of SLA, Robert Malinowski; and sixteen past Chapter presidents. The featured speaker was John Berry, Editor-in-Chief of Library Journal. In May 1995 the Chapter celebrated its 60th anniversary with a gala celebration in conjunction with the year's annual meeting.

Recognition:
Eight New Jersey special librarians have been President of the Special Libraries Association. Five of the national Presidents were also President of the New Jersey Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. 

The eight individuals are:

• Frank Spaulding 1986-1987
• Efren W. Gonzalez 1971-1972
• Frank E. McKenna 1966-1967
• Winifred Sewell 1960-1961
• Katherine L. Kinder 1956-1957
• Betty Joy Cole 1946-1947
• Alma C. Mitchill 1938-1940
• John Cotton Dana 1909-1911

Alice Rankin Distinguished Lecture Series:
In honor of C. Alice Rankin, Chapter President 1961-1962, the New Jersey Chapter's distinguished lectures have been named for her.   A list of the lectures appears below:

• 2009 - Peter Bromberg - Assistant Director for South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative (SJRLC) - "The Value of Leadership, the Leadership of Value: Remaining Relevant in Times of Change "
• 2008 - Stephen Abram - SLA president - "Reality 2.0: Transforming Ourselves and Our Association." Held May 5 at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center
• 2007 - Mary Ellen Bates - Principal and Founder, Bates Information Services.  Well known consultant, lecturer.  Interesting, Informative, Lively!
• 2006 - Jane Burke of Serials Solution - Jane Burke is a US based consultant
• 2005 - Carol Tenopir - Carol Tenopir, Professor - School of Information Sciences and Interim Director, Center for Information Studies University of Tennessee - E-Jounals and Print: How Usage Patterns Are Changing
• 2004 - Anne Mintz - Anne Mintz currently holds the position of Director of Knowledge Management at Forbes Inc.  She is the editor of Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet - "What a Tangled Web We Weave"
• 2003 - Guy St. Clair - President/Consultant for Knowledge Management and Learning at SMR International - Knowledge Services and Change Management in the Information Workplace
• 2002 - Carol L. Ginsburg - Deutsche Bank, Managing Director Global Business Information Services - Motivating Yourself and Your Team Through Crisis and Recession
• 2001 - Lucy Lettis – You Say You Want a Revolution
• 2000 - Stephen Abram - Shift Happens: Change and Opportunity in our Profession
• 1999 - Trudy Katz, from MasterCard
• 1998 -  Lawrence Prusak
• 1997 - James Rush, Executive Director of Palinet – Critical Technologies for the Information Professional
• 1996 - Guy St. Clair, President SMR International – Powerful Influence in Information Services: Playing the Organization Like a Musical Instrument
• 1995 - Rubens Medina, Law Librarian, Library of Congress - Beyond the Reference Desk: New Technology and New Tools
• 1994 - Jose-Marie Griffiths, Director, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Tennessee - The Impact of Special Libraries in the Corporate Environment
• 1993 - Pat Moholt, Asst. VP and Assoc. Dean for Scholarly Re-sources, Columbia University, New York - How Networking Changes Organizations
• 1992 - Toni Carbo Bearman, Dean, School of Library and Information Sciences, University of Pennsylvania - Special Librarian in the 21st Century - Changes and Challenges
• 1991 - Frank H. Spaulding, Consultant - International Librarianship
• 1990 - Dr. James R. Beniger, Associate Professor, Annenberg School of Communications, University of Southern California - Librarians Confront the Control Revolution
• 1989 - Herbert S. White, Dean of Indiana University School of Library and Information Sciences - Libraries in the Corporate Political Process
• 1988 - Roger K. Summit, President of Dialog, Inc. - Societal Implications of Online Information Retrieval
• 1987 - Joe Ann Clifton, Manager of Information Services, Litton Industries Inc., and President-Elect, Special Libraries Association - The Information Professional: Changes and Challenges
• 1986 - James M. Matarazzo, Associate Dean and Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College - Excellence in Corporate Libraries
• 1985 - John N. Berry, Editor-in-Chief, Library Journal - Ethics and Information Delivery
• 1984 - Patricia W. Berger, National Bureau of Standards - Current Federal Information Policy Issues - Implications for Librarians
• 1983 - W. Bradford Wiley, Chairman, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. - The Future of Publishing in the Electronic Age
• 1982 - G. M. Hopper, Commander, USNR, Ret. - Historical Perspectives and Lessons for the Future of Computing
• 1981 - V. B. Guiliano, Senior Consultant, Arthur D. Little Inc. - Prospectus for Teleworking
• 1980 - R. S. Taylor, Dean of the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University - Information Productivity
• 1979 - F. Wilfred Lancaster, Graduate School of Library Science, University of Illinois - Libraries in an Electronic Age
• 1978 - F. G. Kilgour, President and Executive Director of OCLC, Inc. - Future Access to Information

Education:
In 1978-79 a work/study program was established and funded by the New Jersey Chapter of the Special Libraries Association with Rutgers University Graduate School of Library Science (now the Graduate School of Communications, Information and Library Studies) to provide practical training for a library student in a special library.

PUBLICATIONS

Chapter Bulletin:
The Chapter Bulletin was first issued in 1936 and is no longer issued.

Manual:
The Chapter manual was first issued in 1953 and has been continually revised to guide the officers and committees in managing the activities of the Chapter

Membership Directory:
The SLA directory is available to members online. Previously, a directory of the members of the New Jersey Chapter had been issued periodically since 1936. The most recent directory had listed more than 400 members by personal name, including organizational and division indexes.

Consultation:
A brochure titled "The Special Library: A Real Resource" was prepared in 1987. Its purpose is to inform organizations that may need help in establishing or operating a special library that the New Jersey Chapter offers a free consultation service to assist them.

A brochure describing the New Jersey Chapter was prepared in 1988. Its purpose was to provide information on the Chapter to prospective members. 

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ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

Online Discussion Group:

Online Discussion Group:
The New Jersey Chapter has an online discussion group that anyone can join.  The discussion group provides a forum for announcements of Chapter programs, events and news.  To subscribe, choose the NJ Chapter from the online signup page. 

Website:
The New Jersey Chapter began showing a presence on the World Wide Web in 1996.  To visit the web site, go to http://www.sla.org/chapter/cnj.

The Special Libraries Association web site is found at http://www.sla.org/.