LDB August 2007
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Library Laws of New Jersey
Staff members have been working with the New Jersey Library Association and the Department of Community Affairs on recent issues such as excluding municipal libraries from the recently enacted 4% cap on new municipal tax revenue, the need for municipal libraries to receive the full one-third mill from the municipality and various trustee term issues.
The draft amendments to NJAC 15:21.12, the regulation developed to clarify the one-third-mill rules for municipal and joint public libraries, will not move forward until NJSL receives the Deputy Attorney General opinion regarding whether or not trustees may give any funding raised by the 1/3 mill law to the municipality to be used for non-library purposes.
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NJKI Marketing/Advocacy
NJKI staff attended the ACT subcommittee working group meeting where the Deputy Chief of the Governor’s Office of Economic Growth Angie Maguire talked about how important NJKI and libraries are to the state’s economic growth strategy. This committee is charged with developing a new program to meet the needs of the state’s entrepreneurs and small businesses in a more comprehensive and productive structure.
The NJKI task force continued to meet and outline the strategy required to fill the gap in NJKI funding for the remainder of FY 08. As part of this strategy, additional legislative visits are being planned for September.
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Training and online activities:
Four Reference USA and four JerseyCat Customization Training Sessions were held around the state last month.
As a result of LDB staff efforts, over 160 public libraries are now using Get A Library Card Online.
JerseyCat ISO compliance Preparation and Testing was completed last month and the first request using this system was sent on July 25. This is a huge accomplishment, as it will enable local libraries to update statuses, will reduce the amount of clerical work necessary by JerseyCAT staff and will result in speedier response time for out of state requests.
Four statewide preservation and conservation workshops were planned, scheduled and announced last month.
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Planning Activities:
The new LSTA five year plan was completed and submitted to IMLS last month and we are awaiting their notice of approval.