December 4, 5, 6 -

Hard Rock Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ

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Announcing our Keynote Speakers

Author Malinda Lo

Malinda Lo is the New York Times bestselling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, winner of the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, as well as Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers honors. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Lambda Literary Award. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or visit her website at malindalo.com.

Author Jarrett Lerner

NJASL is pleased to announce that one of the keynote speakers for our Annual Conference on December 4th at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City will be author and illustrator Jarrett Lerner. Author-illustrator Jarrett Lerner is the award-winning creator of the EngiNerds series of Middle Grade novels, the Geeger the Robot series of early chapter books, the activity books Give This Book a Title and Give This Book a Cover, and The Hunger Heroes series of graphic novel chapter books. Jarrett is also the creator of the forthcoming illustrated novel in verse A Work in Progress, a forthcoming set of early readers, and more. All of Jarrett’s books are published by Simon & Schuster. In addition to writing, drawing, and visiting schools and libraries across the country, Jarrett co-founded and co-organizes the #KidsNeedBooks and #KidsNeedMentors projects. He is also the founder and operator of Jarrett Lerner’s Creator Club. He can be found at jarrettlerner.com and on Twitter and Instagram at @Jarrett_Lerner. He lives with his wife and daughters in Massachusetts.

Author Josh Funk

Josh Funk writes silly stories such as the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series (including The Case of the Stinky Stench, Mission Defrostable, Short & Sweet, and the forthcoming The Great Caper Caper), the How to Code with Pearl and Pascal series (including How to Code a Sandcastle and How to Code a Rollercoaster), the It's Not a Fairy Tale series (including ​It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk, It's Not Hansel and Gretel, It's Not Little Red Riding Hood, and the forthcoming It's Not the Three Little Pigs in the fall of 2022), the A Story of Patience & Fortitude series in conjunction with the New York Public Library (including Lost in the Library and Where Is Our Library?), Dear Dragon, Albie Newton, Pirasaurs!, A Night at the Bookstore: A Barnsie & Noble Adventure,My Pet Feet, and Dear Unicorn coming in the fall of 2023!

Since the fall of 2015, Josh has visited (or virtually visited) over 500 schools, classrooms, and libraries and he is a board member of The Writers' Loft in Hudson, MA.

Josh grew up in New England and studied Computer Science in school. Today, he still lives in New England and when not writing Java code or Python scripts, he drinks Java coffee and writes manuscripts.

For more information about Josh Funk, visit him at www.joshfunkbooks.com and on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @joshfunkbooks.

Position Statement on Censorship in our School Libraries

The New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL) strongly supports the right of children of all ages to read a wide variety of material with differing viewpoints and perspectives. Censorship denies free access to information and stifles intellectual freedom. 

NJASL believes that school librarians and parents/guardians are partners in a child’s journey to becoming a lifelong reader/learner. Respect for and by all parties in pursuit of this goal should be paramount: Threatening librarians, teachers, or school board members to the point that they do not feel safe in their jobs is not acceptable, and should be roundly condemned by all concerned. 

School Librarians are committed to upholding the highest standards in providing information and resources. We firmly believe that it is our responsibility to provide equitable access to diverse and inclusive material that is representative of social and racial justice, the pursuit of truth and opposes efforts to suppress world views. School library media specialists are committed to curating material that reflect multiple viewpoints. 

The American Library Association Library Bill of Rights states that “Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment” and “Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas” (https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill). 

Furthermore, the American Library Association Code of Ethics enjoins librarians to “uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources” ((https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics). 

Acting in accordance with these principles, NJASL supports school librarians who stand up to censorship within their schools, supports the use of equitable reconsideration policies, and supports collections with diverse representation. 

A recent survey of candidates running for school board positions across New Jersey this November by the New Jersey Association of School Librarians shows significant support for the role of school librarians in education by current and future district leaders. This is true for candidates from small and rural school districts as well as from large urban or suburban ones. There was wide geographic representation with candidates from South, Central, and North Jersey responding

Read the Full Press Release (pdf file attached)

Click on Link to View Full Survey Answers From School Board Candidates:  The names of all who responded to the survey are listed along with their responses.