New Jersey State Library Newsletter

On Friday, April 17, at 10 a.m., at the New Jersey State Library, Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian, was joined by librarians and school children from around New Jersey, to present a check for $13,400 to Christiane Leitinger, director, Pennies for Peace, Central Asia Institute.

Throughout February and March 2009, the New Jersey State Library, the New Jersey Library Association and libraries throughout New Jersey honored the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, as part of the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commemoration, by collecting pennies in support of Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute. Over 75 public and school libraries joined the State Library and the Library for the Blind and Handicapped in the campaign.

After the check presentation, the school and public libraries that raised the most money were recognized. Students from the New Providence School District, who raised $3,036.43, were on hand to accept the award in the school library category. Accepting the public library award for the Glen Ridge Library, which collected $1,169.84, was its director John Sitnick. Also participating in the program were Joyce Powell, president of the New Jersey Education Association, and Pat Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association.

“The one thing I heard from libraries all over the state was just how much fun this was,” said Blake. “We are committed to doing this again next year and to getting even more of our libraries involved. I will also be attending a meeting of all state library directors and I hope to get other states adopting this project to raise money for this worthwhile cause.”

According to Leitinger, The New Jersey State Library and NJLA conducted the first and to this date only state-wide campaign for Pennies for Peace. “Libraries have a special place in Greg’s heart,” she said. “When he first started this project, it was a librarian who showed him how to do the research so he could find contacts to ask for donations. Pennies for Peace has now constructed 78 schools, is helping 100 other schools pay for teachers and has impacted the lives of 28,000 students including over 14,000 girls. On behalf of those children, thank you.”

Leitinger also announced that Mortenson had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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As part of National Library Week, the New Jersey State Library hosted a lunch-time book talk with author Margaret Thomas Buchholz on Thursday, April 16. The topic of her slide show was from her book New Jersey Shipwrecks, 350 Years in the Graveyard of the Atlantic, which chronicles shipwrecks along the Jersey shore from 1642 to 1992.

Buchholz was the publisher of The Beachcomber from 1955 to 1987, and is still editor of that Jersey shore newspaper. She has written or edited five other books.

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John’s passion brings attention to the State Library’s rare-books collections.

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ASLCA/KLAS/NOD AWARD GOES TO “LIBRARIES AND AUTISM: WE’RE CONNECTED”
A Cooperative Project of Two New Jersey Libraries

April is both National Library Month and Autism Awareness Month; and with picture perfect timing, the Association of Cooperative and Specialized Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association, announced the 2009 winner of the ASCLA/KLAS/NOD award: “Libraries and Autism: We’re Connected,” a remarkable project developed by Margaret Kolaya, director of the Scotch Plains Public Library, and Daniel Weiss, director of the Fanwood Memorial Library, both in New Jersey. The success of the video and web-based project is the result of the cooperative partnership the libraries have embraced over the past 4 years, and the contributions of many partners and participants. The award, sponsored by ASCLA, Keystone Systems, and the National Organization on Disability, recognizes a library for “an innovative and well-organized project which has successfully developed or expanded services for people with disabilities.”

This extraordinary initiative employs a sophisticated, yet user-friendly website, www.thejointlibrary.org/autism , to impart information on the autism spectrum disorder through text and electronic media and, most notably, to train librarians to reach out to, and serve, people with autism. Citations to print and non-print materials, websites, and organizations concerned with the autism spectrum abound. Special features include an Autism Overview PowerPoint presentation and a 19-minute customer service training video, both of which are downloadable. The video demonstrates some behavioral patterns exhibited by people with autism and shows effective techniques that librarians can use to respond positively, making these patrons feel welcome in the library. Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian said that, “the project exemplifies the best work that libraries can do to help people – to be a valuable resource for parents and families, making their lives easier and better”

Supportive materials include: a list of workshop consultants; publicity logos; sample publicity release; a non-verbal communication tool; customer service tips; and a unique storybook template, “This is My Library,” which can be customized by the individual library to provide a visual pre-visit tour of the library for the child with autism. A “Libraries and Autism: We’re Connected” decal for the library door or window is available on request.

Kathleen Hegarty, Chair of the ASCLA Awards Committee, commented on the choice of “Libraries and Autism” for the award: “This outstanding project has launched a virtual campaign to make libraries aware of people on the autism spectrum and, most notably, to train librarians to serve this growing, underserved population. Its accessible website offers valuable background information, a superb customer service training film, and supportive materials and graphics, all of which can be downloaded. State sponsorship, able project leadership, the involvement of the autism community, and highly effective promotion have contributed to the success of an initiative that has had national impact.”

The video is intended to form the basis for workshops such as those held by the project for its own library staff, local school media specialists, and selected libraries in New Jersey. It has been the springboard for workshops presented by Ms. Kolaya and Mr. Weiss in NJ and other states, among them, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The basic customer services skills and techniques provided can serve as universal models for best-practices library service to all members of the pubic. Information and contacts for providing in-depth workshops for libraries and other organizations is available through the website.

As a component of the project, the training video has been distributed to every public library in New Jersey as well as to many schools, special and academic libraries. The Pennsylvania State Library has also replicated 1000 copies. Other promotional efforts—a comprehensive release sent by PR NewsWire and MultiVU to thousands of local and national media outlets as their pro bono site of the month - have evoked enthusiastic responses from libraries nationally and internationally as well as from individuals in the autism community.

The project is a part of the “Welcoming Library Spaces for the Autism Community and Their Families” incubator project which was made possible by a contract with INFOLINK: The Eastern New Jersey Regional Library Cooperative. The Cooperative and its services are funded by the New Jersey State Library which is responsible for the coordination, promotion, and funding of the New Jersey Library Network. Cheryl O’Connor, Executive Director of INFOLINK stated; “We are thrilled by the enthusiasm this project has generated within both the library and autism communities. The need is now for libraries to serve the autism community, and this professionally produced staff training film empowers them to do so effectively. ”

The ASCLA Awards Committee chose this project for the ASCLA/KLAS/NOD Award because of its national significance. Its focus on people with autism has highlighted for libraries everywhere the need for service to this growing and underserved population. The staff training media and supportive materials of its website offer the means by which libraries can undertake this task. The project can be easily, successfully and inexpensively replicated on a local basis. In addition, its website with its valuable array of informational and staff training resources suggests a possible model for preparing librarians to work with people with other disabilities who may also be underserved by libraries. The award will be presented to Mr. Weiss and Ms. Kolaya at the ASCLA President’s Program on Sunday, July 12 at the Annual American Library Association Conference in Chicago.

For more information, please contact either Ms. Kolaya at 908 322-5007 X 202 or Mr. Weiss at 908 322-6700 or send a message to autism@thejointlibrary.org.

State Librarian Norman Blake will present the keynote address for the 2009 Utah Library Association Conference, Utah Libraries: Turning Up The Volume!. Blake is nationally recognized as an innovator, advocate and pioneer in the library field. Blake was nominated for Librarian of the Year 2008, because of her leadership in developing new programs that build collaborations among various communities to extend and expand library services in New Jersey and beyond.

April 7, 2009

Dr. John A. Crowe, Superintendent of Schools
The WoodbridgeTownship School District
P.O. Box 428, School Street
Woodbridge, NJ 07095

Dear Dr. Crowe:

In fiscally tough times, some school districts choose to target their school library media program in an effort to trim budgets, yet it is these programs run by school library media specialists that provide professionally selected, ample school library collections that can be rotated among classrooms and shared by all students in the school. This is the most economic means to provide children with a print-rich environment necessary for their literacy development. The State Library recognizes that school libraries are places for learning and need to be staffed by highly-qualified, professional school library media specialists. Not only are students nurtured, but they learn to love reading, use technology and think critically in school libraries. Certified school librarians should be viewed as essential to students’ basic education; they are “literacy leaders” for students and staff alike. They pave the way for students, and teachers to find their way through the complexities of the Internet, keep them safe, and help them interpret what they find.

The State Library applauds New Jersey’s Commissioner of Education, Lucille Davy, who has brought NJ into the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). On their website (www.21stcenturyskills.org) P21 recognizes the American Association of School Librarians, a charter member of P21, as a “long-time advocate of information literacy and traditional literacy in school libraries.” They further state that the “Partnership shares their convictions regarding the importance of access, use and evaluation of information. It enables students to give meaning and value to facts, figures, messages and texts that fill our lives,” These skills are best taught by those trained to teach them, school library media specialists.

The State Library urges our school administrators, boards of education and lawmakers to specifically include libraries staffed by certified librarians as part of basic education funding. Please ensure that students in New Jersey’s school districts will have equal access to books, print and electronic resources for learning, and the services of a certified school library media specialist. If we do not have this commitment, we are setting our children up for failure in a high tech, knowledge-based, global society in which they are growing up.

Sincerely,
Norma. E. Blake
State Librarian

c: Governor Jon Corzine
Lucille E. Davy, Commissioner, New Jersey, Department of Education
Brian Molnar, President, Woodbridge Township Board of Education

There’s been a lot of movement going on at the State Library in the Collections area on the 4th Floor. George Nicholas, contractor for the move, and Deborah Mercer, New Jersey Collections Librarian, are shown providing growth space for the NJ State Library’s Jerseyana, genealogy, reference, law and state documents collections.

We need your Best Practices Award entries. Why? Because we want to have solid proof that New Jersey public libraries are excelling at early learning programming and making a difference for the future of New Jersey. We want to share the impact that New Jersey’s public libraries make on so many young lives and show why public libraries are deserving of continued and increased funding at all levels. Now is the time to share your best practices.

We are looking to recognize four public libraries from across New Jersey that have innovative and successful programs in place for children from birth to three years, their families and caregivers. The four winning public libraries will each receive a $500 award from the New Jersey State Library and will also be recognized with a Senate proclamation for their outstanding program.

We are looking for public libraries that offer creative and unique early literacy programs for children from birth to age 3 that have the ability to be replicated in similar communities and have proven effective in reaching the targeted audience.

In a one-page document, please include a short description of the program; how many sessions the program is; how many children, families or caregivers participated; and how you publicized the program. Please submit copies of any flyers or brochures for the program, press releases, newspaper articles or photos.

An example of a winning program might include a program demonstrating an innovative approach to using the book Art, by Patrick McDonnell, the 2009 One Book NJ read-to-me selection.

Winners will be chosen by April 30, 2009 and the winning public libraries will be notified in May.

We look forward to sharing your award-winning innovative programming across the state!

This contest is being held in conjunction with May’s Get Caught Reading Month, sponsored by the Association of American Publishers.

The deadline for Best Practices Award entries is Friday, April 17, 2009. Send your submissions by e-mail to Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Consultant, New Jersey State Library at srawlins@njstatelib.org.