The World Language Materials and Culture Fair that was recently held at Bergen County Community College on March 15, 2007 was a resounding success.  The New Jersey State Library was proud to be a sponsor of this event.

As Mimi Hui, BCCLS Outreach Committee Chair, stated: This event built bridges with our friends at Bergen Community College, Highlands, and INFOLINK as we strive to meet the needs of the diverse populations we serve in our communities. This Fair started a dialog we hope will further discussion on what we can do to pave the way to bring all to the doors of our libraries.  For photos of the day, see:

Please join me in celebration of Women’s History Month on Tuesday evening, March 27, from 6-9 pm at the beautiful Montclair Art Museum for a reception and a wonderful panel discussion among some of New Jersey’s noted women authors. Eight women who have distinguished themselves in the fields of fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose, critical and analytical writing, will explore the issue of “Women Writers and the Things They Write About: Perception and Reality in the Creative Process.� Following the discussion, our panel will engage in a question and answer session with the audience. There is no charge for this event. I look forward to seeing you there.

Will libraries still exist in the next 20 years? Who will our customers be? What kind of information will they need and how will they want it delivered? If these questions intrigue you, you will want to participate in the Mid-Atlantic Library Futures Conference: Imagination to Transformation.

The state libraries of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware and a regional library consortium, PALINET, are the sponsors of this conference. Paramount to us in our planning process was the need to hear from people outside of the library world if we want to learn how to remain relevant. We have invited Professor James W. Hughes, Dean at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, a noted demographer, to show us how our world is changing, cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson, (Margaret Mead’s daughter) to discuss aging and lifelong learning, a noted architect from to discuss creating community centers in library spaces and Mary Madden from the Pew Research Center to discuss how Americans are using the Internet.

This is your opportunity to meet with visionaries from the disciplines of anthropology, architecture, public policy and science. By looking outside of the library, we seek to explore unique ideas that will make the difference. Be a part of this exclusive conclave and share your perspectives on how we can affect the future of libraries.

May 7-8, 2007
Borgata Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ

Keynote Speakers:
• Raymond Kurzweil – Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.
• Mary Catherine Bateson – Writer and Cultural Anthropologist

Featured Speakers:
• Bob Treadway – Futurist, forecaster, speaker and consultant
• Mary Madden – Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet Project
• Jeffrey A. Scherer, Architect, FAIA is a principal in the firm of Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd.
• James Hughes, Ph.D. – Dean, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, University
• Chip Nilges – Vice President, OCLC
• Joan Frye Williams – Information Technology Consultant

Visit http://www.palinet.org/futures/malfuturesconference.aspx for further details, registration, and hotel information.