New Jersey State Library Newsletter

LONG BRANCH — As the recession begins to take its toll, the city’s Free Public Library has found ways to respond: The newest initiative, called the Virtual Career Center, gives people short on computer literacy the opportunity to hone their skills in potentially lucrative ways.

But the Virtual Career Center is more than just a few tutorials on keyboarding or how to work a mouse. The center seeks to provide a link between those who are hiring employees with those who wish to be hired.

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The Virtual Career Center is found on the library’s Web site and is the product of a year of planning by Tonya Badillo, who works in the Gates Computer Lab. Read this article from the Asbury Park Press here.

The Huffington Post, a daily online news magazine reaching more than two million visitors per month, posted an op-ed on Dec. 11 written by American Library Association President Jim Rettig entitled, “Libraries Stand Ready to Help in Tough Economic Times.”

Here is an excerpt:
“When economic times get tough, the average American family’s solution is to get creative. In rethinking their budgets, many families across the country are turning to a familiar place - the public library.

As one South Florida man discovered, canceling his home Internet access and taking advantage of the free Internet service offered at his local public library could save his family over $700 a year.

He’s not alone. More than any other time in the past two decades, Americans are heading to their libraries in droves and tapping into a host of free services –from books to Internet access to entertainment to programming and events. A new Harris Poll found that around 75 percent of Americans have a library card and have visited their local public library in the past year - up from 65 percent two years ago.

We already know that through their power to educate and to inspire libraries level the playing field for underserved communities. It is the library that opens the door to life-changing books and provides access to the world beyond our communities. Perhaps most importantly, libraries exist as centers of culture, community and learning.

As the nation continues to experience a sharp and jarring economic downturn, local libraries are providing valuable free tools and resources to help Americans of all ages through this time of uncertainty. From offering homework help to assisting with resumes and job searches to helping patrons navigate unemployment insurance forms, now more than ever libraries are proving that they are valued and trusted community partners…”

You can read the entire article at Huffington Post

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From an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer…

“… Gov. Corzine has issued an executive order creating a commission to arrange events honoring the 16th president next year, the bicentennial of his Feb. 12 birth. Pennsylvania and other states have formed similar commissions.

In New Jersey, the state library plans to raise money in February through Lincoln “Pennies for Peace” donations to help build schools and libraries in Pakistan.

Lincoln also will get his due in the schools as teachers fashion lessons and programs that recall his life. And Lincoln-related documents are expected to be displayed at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton.

… The bicentennial provides “a particularly good teachable moment,” New Jersey State Librarian Norma Blake said. “It’s a good time to have the children think about the importance of education to themselves and others.”

“When Lincoln addressed the General Assembly, he said, ‘The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am.’ Our ‘Pennies for Peace’ project ties together with that.”

The program is part of efforts started by Greg Mortenson, coauthor and subject of Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time…”
Read the full article in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.

See behind the scenes photos of the photo shoot here.

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On December 4, the New Jersey State Library, New Jersey Library Association and Ocean County Library hosted The Ultimate Marketing Boot Camp at the Ocean County Library’s Toms River Branch. Over 70 librarians from across New Jersey attended the full-day training event which was packed with high-energy sessions. The workshop was the brainchild of NJSL’s Nancy Dowd and Ocean County Library PIO, Heather Andolsen.

Participants got to choose from marketing tracks covering two key areas: fundraising and word of mouth marketing. Professionals from these fields presented workshops designed to give the tools needed to achieve success.

In the word of mouth marketing track Jeff Greene, executive director of client services at Gold Group/Gold Mobile, discussed the newest communication tools, including mobile marketing, and how to create an action plan to get started using WOM right away. Li Evans, a search marketing guru, explained how search engines work and the best way to get a Website noticed by them. Kathy Dempsey, Editor of Marketing Libraries, and Nancy Dowd, Director of Marketing for the State Library helped librarians pull it all together with a workshop designed to develop an action plan using WOMM techniques.

In the fundraising track, special events planners Rachel Holland and Amy M. Feinstein showed how to plan a successful fundraising event, while events expert Kathi R. Evans explained when and why to use an events planner. Scott Rodas, Special Events Coordinator at Ocean County Library, shared insights from his years of booking top talent on a library budget.

The workshops gave valuable information and training, especially to those librarians who registered for the new statewide marketing campaign, Solving Life’s Problems, sponsored by the New Jersey State Library and the New Jersey Library Association. NJSL and NJLA are encouraging libraries to develop a video that tells a compelling story about their library. Those videos will then be entered into a statewide contest. More workshops are planned. For information on the statewide marketing campaign, go to solvinglifesproblems.org. Librarians can register and library users can submit their stories there.

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The following article from this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer discusses how some libraries in S. Jersey are booking expansions. The article was written by Cynthia Henry.

“How cramped is the Margaret E. Heggan Library in Washington Township?
“We were storing books in the bathroom, that’s how bad it was,” said Sally Zbikowski, treasurer of the library’s friends group.

Children in the township - Gloucester County’s most populous - get squeezed out of story times, patrons wait for computers, and meetings are jammed into a tiny conference room.

But that could all be a memory as early as next fall under plans to move the outgrown public library into a renovated educational building twice the size of the current facility.”

Click here to read the Philadelphia Inquirer’s entire article

On December 9, 2008, State Library staff members gave a presentation to budget analysts from the Office of Management and Budget. The presentation was enthusiastically received. Many OMB staff signed up for a State Library card and commented how excited they were to begin using State Library resources.

Pictured left to right are: Leslie Witko, Law Librarian; Gregory Stankiewicz, Office of Management and Budget; Colleen Dazé, Associate State Librarian; Shaaron Warne, Reference Librarian, and Teri Taylor, U.S. Documents Librarian.

New Jersey State Librarian Norma Blake, Library Journal’s 2008 National Librarian of the Year, had the opportunity to visit the library LJ selected as Library of the Year: the Laramie County Library in Wyoming. “What amazed me about Laramie County Library and Lucie Osborn, its director, was how they and we are on the same page with what we want to do to show how libraries transform lives,” said Blake.

“This was a wonderful opportunity to share ideas and stories, discuss our successes and challenges, and open our eyes to library service in such contrasting locations,” added Osborn. “Wyoming and New Jersey are disparate in size and population, but the libraries in both states strive for the same outcomes: finding and incorporating up-to-date technology, meeting library users at their point of need, reaching out to communities, utilizing green construction and general practices, and maximizing our resources to provide the best in library service.”

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On December 9, 2008, the NJ State Library/Thomas Edison College Brightest Light selection committee surprised Ruth Pallante (at the copier), administrative assistant, naming her the NJ State Library’s Brightest Lights Award recipient. Ruth was recognized for “continually creating a pleasant environment for co-workers and all who encounter her. Her pleasant attitude and willingness to go above and beyond the duties of her job make her a Bright Light at The New Jersey State Library.”

Congratulations, Ruth!

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The New Jersey State Library has received a significant donation to the Genealogy Collection. The private collection of over 1,000 volumes was owned by a local genealogist, and includes 200 city directories; more than 100 city, county and state histories; some family genealogies; and about 300 genealogical reference volumes of various kinds. The generous donation was given to the State Library by the two friends of the genealogist who inherited them after his death ten years ago.

The State Library is also receiving a collection of issue briefs from the Forums Institute for Public Policy, Princeton, because it is closing. The briefs were produced over the past ten years and cover a wide range of health policy questions. All are in electronic format.

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