New Jersey State Library Newsletter

Thomas Edison State College has received a $5.1 million federal grant to support the New Jersey State Library’s Broadband Technology Opportunity Program, a project designed to add computer workstations, upgrade Internet connectivity and provide job search assistance and workforce development programs at hundreds of libraries throughout New Jersey.

The grant, provided by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunity Program, was announced on July 2 and was the only award made to a New Jersey institution in round two of funding. The award, along with a $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made to the New Jersey State Library, an affiliate of Thomas Edison State College, will be used to add computers at 124 libraries, upgrade connectivity at 79 libraries, and provide job search assistance, employment skills, workforce development programs and other online resources at 365 libraries across New Jersey. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave an additional $150,000 to the New Jersey State Library to support E-rate technical assistance, which will help sustain the project’s services.

“This grant will help to pave a road to economic recovery for our state,” said New Jersey State Librarian Norma Blake. “New Jersey job seekers are facing a job market in which access to computers and broadband Internet is a basic requirement for job searches, employment applications and workforce skills training. With this award, New Jersey libraries will provide the access to the Internet and free training to help get New Jersey residents back to work and stimulate the economic growth our state needs. We are pleased to partner with the New Jersey Library Association, NJN, the NJ League of Municipalities and the NJ Council of County Colleges.”

Dr. George A. Pruitt, president of Thomas Edison State College, said “New Jersey libraries are uniquely positioned to play a key role in our state’s economic recovery by greatly enhancing the accessibility of broadband Internet to New Jersey residents. The New Jersey State Library has an extraordinary record of developing and leveraging online resources for the citizens of New Jersey, including thousands of adult learners who are enrolled students at our institution.”

“This funding will provide critical resources needed to expand technology infrastructure at libraries across New Jersey,” said Michael Drewniak, Press Secretary to Governor Chris Christie. “The federal award, along with the generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will help New Jerseyans with the technology support they need to find work and develop new skills, while increasing access for underserved communities. As New Jersey begins its economic recovery, these resources will be an invaluable community asset and help people get back to work.”

A consortium of New Jersey’s community colleges will deliver training using its existing curriculum for library staff and job seekers. In addition, residents will receive online content and training developed by New Jersey Network, the public broadcasting network in New Jersey. This project is designed to enhance broadband capability and workstations in New Jersey libraries so they can become strategic job-creating facilities providing increased availability of job search assistance and workforce development programs. More than 5 million New Jersey residents will be served through this initiative.

BTOP Public Job Center Criteria and Project Goals:
• Establish libraries as “instruments of recovery” by providing job search assistance, employment skills and workforce development programs enabled by the increase in broadband connectivity in high-need communities
• Serve vulnerable populations (unemployed, underemployed or other vulnerable populations: non-English speakers, seniors, disabled, etc.)
• Provide technical support and other resources to support job search and career advancement by establishing libraries as community anchor institutions
• Job search assistance, employment skills and workforce development programs will be offered in partnership with community colleges and New Jersey Network
• Advance the use of E-services for training, employment, digital literacy, and education
• Stimulate employment and provide job opportunities.

Scope of the Project
The NJ Libraries Anchor Institutions as Instruments of Recovery project proposes to:
• Offer affordable pricing for high-speed Internet access services to libraries from the state’s major service providers
• Serve up to an additional 22,500 computer users weekly, offer in-person training for as many as 12,800 residents over the life of the project, and provide online content and databases to the approximately 440,000 unemployed and 230,000 underemployed residents of New Jersey
• Provide up to 938 new workstations to libraries across the state.

“Federal investments in connecting libraries to high-quality Internet services are critical to realizing the universal broadband access our country needs,” said Jill Nishi, deputy director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s U.S. Libraries program. “When libraries provide broadband to communities, they can deliver valuable online opportunities that help people find jobs, further their education, and access important government information. We hope that this BTOP award will help other public and private funders understand the importance of investing in public technology access at New Jersey’s libraries.”

About the Opportunity Online Broadband Grant Program
States participating in the foundation’s Opportunity Online broadband grant program received technical and consulting assistance to develop competitive funding proposals for BTOP, and will receive federally-required matching funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to support their respective BTOP-funded projects. Participating states will also receive assistance to help secure additional federal E-rate funding to sustain broadband connection costs in the future. The foundation solicited letters of interest for the Opportunity Online broadband program from state libraries seeking to acquire significant additional broadband access for public libraries. The foundation chose to support states that articulated the most compelling and feasible projects aligned with the objectives of the BTOP program. The foundation also considered a state’s need for assistance in developing a competitive BTOP proposal.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Learn more at www.gatesfoundation.org or join the conversation at Facebook and Twitter.

The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program was established to support the development of library leaders, to recruit and educate the next generation of librarians, to attract high school and college students to consider careers in libraries, and to assist in the professional development of librarians and library staff. Through a grant received under this program in 2006, the New Jersey State Library and its partners, the NJ Library Association, Thomas Edison State College, the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University and the Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, recruited individuals to become librarians or further their education with the idea of creating a “Multicultural, Multilingual Library Staff.” Those recruited to obtain an undergraduate degree attended Thomas Edison State College; those pursuing an advanced degree attended Rutgers University.

At the NJ Library Association Annual Conference in Long Branch, the 28 scholars whose educational goals were supported by this grant were recognized for their accomplishments.

AA Degree
Terri Carpenter, Bridgeton Library
Shileen Shaw, Newark Public Library
Elias Vazquez, Ocean County, Lakewood branch

BA Degree
Aurelia Rodriguez, Newark Public Library
Violet Valentin, Gill Memorial Library
Audrey May Samuels, Plainfield Public Library
Ellen Rice, Jersey City Public Library
Lisa Morris, originally from Trenton Public Library

MLIS Degree
Sharon Shrieves-Ward, Trenton Public Library
Thomas Michael Eck, Mt. Holly Library
Michele Dupey, Jersey City Public Library
Paulette Doe-Williams, Willingboro Public Library
Alice Caffrey, Cumberland County Library
Tonya Badillo, Long Branch Public Library
Rosary Van Ingen, Hoboken Public Library
Nicole Gardner, Vineland Public Library
Christal Blue, East Orange Public Library
Janice People, Plainfield Public Library
Megan McCarthy, Monroe Public Library

Degrees in Progress to be finished by 11/2010:
Lolata Greggs, AA, Newark Public Library
Malakia Oglesby, BA, Asbury Park Public Library
Thalia Sweet, BA, Long Branch Public Library
Sandra Jones, BA, Atlantic City Public Library
Jamie Vigue, MLIS, Atlantic County Library, Pleasantville branch
Angelica Mullen, MLIS, Atlantic County Library, Pleasantville branch
Theresa Michelle Rausa-Campbell, MLIS
Edith Beckett, PhD, New Jersey State Library
Hannah Kwon, PhD, Rutgers University (originally from Newark Public Library)

Photo: Megan McCarthy (left) of the Monroe Public Library with Michele Stricker, deputy director of the NJ State Library’s Library Development Bureau.

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US Department of Agriculture Rural Development State Director Howard Henderson has announced that funds may be available for the construction or renovation of a library in rural communities. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has set a goal providing $100 million of USDA’s Community Facilities American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding including grants for public libraries.

This program can help New Jersey create and save jobs in construction and library service fields. “By improving rural library facilities we will only enhance educational opportunities and improve economic conditions in America’s rural communities for both adults and children,” said Henderson. A new or renovated library facility in a rural community can even be a catalyst for renewing that community’s downtown area.

Norma E. Blake, New Jersey State Librarian, and Patricia A. Tumulty, Executive Director of the New Jersey Library Association, will be assisting the Rural Development Office in identifying communities which fit the guidelines of the program.

“The State Library is most appreciative of both Secretary Vilsack’s and State Director Henderson’s support for public library service in rural communities,” said Blake. “My staff and I look forward to supporting the Rural Development Office in any way possible.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity for libraries serving our rural communities,” added Tumulty. “Funding to renovate or construct new facilities is needed by many communities to meet the growing demands for increased access to library services.”

Municipalities, counties and special-purpose districts as well as non-profit corporations are encouraged to apply for these special ARRA funds as soon as possible. Funds will remain through September 30, 2010, or until all dollars have been awarded. For information call Rural Development Business & Community Director Kenneth Drewes at (856) 787-7753 or visit their website at www.rurdev.usda.gov/nj.

Photo from left: Michele Stricker, Deputy Director of Library Development for the NJ State Library, Maria Esche, director Moorestown Public Library, Kathy Schalk-Green, director Mount Laurel Public Library, Christine King, director Willingboro Public Library, Gail Sweet, director Burlington County Library, Westampton, and Kim Ruth, Burlington County Library.

The New Jersey State Library announced that the Burlington County Library, 5 Pioneer Blvd., Westhampton, has been awarded $10,000 in emergency supplies to be used in case of a large-scale emergency. The Library Regional Response Network Initiative provides the supplies needed by libraries to build a regional partnership for emergency response in the event of a large-scale disaster. It also ensures that the emergency supplies are readily accessible to every library in the network and that volunteers will be available to help. Network libraries include the Burlington County Library System, and the public libraries of Willingboro, Mount Laurel and Moorestown.

The supplies, which include Shop Vacs, dehumidifiers, plastic crates, brooms, mops and hard hats, are to be used to rapidly clean and preserve a library’s contents in the event of flood, fire or other disaster. The equipment is being stored at the Westhampton site in a tractor trailer, which makes mobile response to other libraries in the network possible.

The program, which is supported by the NJ State Library through funding by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, will serve as a pilot project on how NJ libraries address disaster response and recovery, and provide a model that can be replicated by librarians seeking to create their own regional response network.

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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed nearly $3.4 million in grants to bolster Internet connections for libraries in five states, and announced partnerships with 14 additional states, including New Jersey, to help public libraries compete for federal broadband stimulus funds. Nationally, libraries report that patron demand for high-speed Internet access is growing faster than their ability to provide increased bandwidth. A recent American Library Association study reports that 60 percent of all libraries say their current Internet speed is insufficient.

New Jersey will participate in the foundation’s new Opportunity Online broadband grant program, which will help libraries develop proposals for federal broadband stimulus funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) established through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The grant received by the New Jersey State Library will be used to assist in writing a grant proposal for submission to the BTOP for “last mile” connectivity, making public libraries community anchor institutions for broadband. The “last mile” is the final leg of delivering connectivity from a communications provider to a customer. It is typically seen as an expensive challenge because “fanning out” wires and cables is a considerable physical undertaking.

Currently, many NJ libraries are unable to offer adequate broadband connectivity for customers due to last mile limitations. This includes many underserved urban areas, as well as more rural and remote parts of the state.

The Gates Foundation grant provides a consultant who will work out of the State Library for 14 weeks compiling the grant proposal. If BTOP funding is awarded to the NJ State Library, the Gates Foundation will pay the 20 percent matching funding required by the BTOP.

“Improving connectivity to our libraries will allow for better access for the many New Jersey families who do not have computers or access to the Internet at home,” said Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian. “Our libraries have seen a dramatic increase in computer demand due to the recession’s impact on their communities. Their customers need this access for job searching, research, filing government documents and for homework assistance. Bolstering these last mile connections will allow our libraries to keep up with the increased demand for wireless internet connectivity; network applications and services; and offer expanded training programs and services.”

As a national leader in the direct delivery of technology services to public libraries, the NJ State Library is uniquely positioned to deliver enhanced, efficient and successful last mile connectivity to the state’s libraries. Through the JerseyConnect program, New Jersey libraries already benefit from an effective, stable and scalable statewide middle mile network infrastructure. With this network and support structure in place, the NJ State Library will be able to focus solely on the crucial last mile connection from the library to the statewide network.

“Federal, state and local government investments in connecting libraries to broadband are important steps toward realizing the vision of universal broadband access,” said Jill Nishi, deputy director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s U.S. Libraries program. “When libraries have access to broadband, they can effectively deliver critical educational, employment, and government services for residents who lack Internet access elsewhere. As community anchor institutions, libraries can also help drive local broadband adoption.”

Nearly 40 percent of Americans, often those with lower incomes and lower levels of education, still do not have high-speed Internet access at home. In most communities (70 percent), the public library is the only provider of free Internet access available to residents.

The BTOP is expected to award federal stimulus grants to private and public sector applicants starting in early 2010 to expand broadband infrastructure to more communities across the country and to help new Internet users benefit from broadband access.

States participating in the foundation’s Opportunity Online broadband grant program will receive technical and consulting assistance to develop competitive funding proposals for BTOP, and will receive federally-required matching funds from the Gates Foundation, contingent on a successful BTOP award. Participating states will also receive assistance to help secure additional federal E-rate funding to sustain broadband connection costs in the future.

The foundation solicited letters of interest for the Opportunity Online broadband program from state libraries seeking to acquire significant additional broadband access for libraries in their respective states. The foundation chose to support states that articulated the most compelling and feasible projects aligned with the objectives of the BTOP program. The foundation also considered a state’s need for assistance in developing a competitive BTOP proposal.

The foundation has invested $350 million in grants and support to install and sustain computers in libraries and train thousands of library staff in all 50 states and U.S. territories. The foundation continues to support libraries through investments in programs, research, advocacy training, and public awareness efforts that will help libraries sustain high-quality online access for patrons in partnership with their communities. For more information, visit: www.gatesfoundation.org/libraries.

The New Jersey State Library has awarded a grant to the New Jersey Library Association to continue One Book NJ (OBNJ) to New Jersey readers in 2010. OBNJ is an exciting program that libraries and their partners promote across the state to bring people together through their love of books by encouraging them to read the same novel and participate in discussions and other events centered on it.

OBNJ celebrates reading, literacy and all that New Jersey’s libraries do that has made them the community gathering place for people of all ages. The NJSL serves as a leader in the provision, promotion and support of excellent quality library and information services for all people in New Jersey. Their support for One Book New Jersey will help to ensure another successful year of this valuable program.

“The New Jersey State Library is proud to once again partner with the New Jersey Library Association and the Secretary of State to support One Book NJ. This excellent program helps bridge our communities together through reading, discussions and programs at local libraries,” commented Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian.

One Book Projects were initiated by the Washington Center for the Book in 1998 and have spread to communities throughout the United States. The NJSL has partnered with the NJLA to present OBNJ since its initiation in 2003.

This year’s reading selections are:
Adult - The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Young Adult - The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Middle Grade - The Tale Of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Read to Me - Click Clack Moo : Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

One Book NJ is presented by the New Jersey Library Association’s Public Relations Committee and Children’s Services and Young Adult Sections, in collaboration with the New Jersey State Library and the Secretary of State. Local and statewide events will occur between January and April, with major events planned for National Library Week during the month of April.

The New Jersey State Library is pleased to announce the appointments of Victoria Rosch (photo left) to the position of Associate State Librarian for Special Projects, Peggy Cadigan (center) to the position of Associate State Librarian for Innovation & Outreach Strategies, and Michele Stricker (right) to the position of Deputy Head of Library Development.

In her new position, Rosch will be responsible for working on pilot and other special projects, advocating for legislative priorities, overseeing construction issues and assuring compliance with various administrative requirements and priorities. She will continue to write regulations and serve as a resource for library law. She began her career with the New Jersey State Library in the Library Development Bureau in 2003, and has served for the last two years as deputy director of the bureau. Her responsibilities included managing the Per Capita State Aid grant program and regulation updating, and serving as the state data coordinator and as a resource for New Jersey library law. For the 12 years prior to joining the staff of the State Library, Rosch held various positions of increasing importance at the Gloucester County Library, including eight years as the library director. She is a graduate of Rutgers University – Camden and received her Masters of Public Librarianship from Rowan University. She is a member of the New Jersey Library Association and the American Library Association.

Cadigan’s duties will include giving presentations on the future of libraries both in and out of state, and addressing varied audiences of library professionals and other interested parties to present information about State Library programs and projects. She will explore ways to enhance the State Library’s services to the libraries and residents of the state by engaging in partnerships and seeking development opportunities. She is also planning a follow-up to the Mid-Atlantic Library Futures Conference which she convened with other partners in 2005. Her most recent successful venture was the creation and implementation of “Snapshot Day,” held in 2009 in partnership with the New Jersey Library Association. The purpose of Snapshot Day was to capture the impact that New Jersey libraries have on their communities on a typical day. A survey captured the daily activities of libraries across the state, and revealed that, in just one day, more than 160,000 people walk through the doors of New Jersey’s libraries. The American Library Association will be promoting Snapshot Day as a national event. Cadigan graduated magna cum laude from Hobart & William Smith College, Geneva, N.Y., and received her Master’s degree in Library Science from Rutgers University.

As Deputy Head of Library Development, Stricker will be responsible for working on library law, trustee education, the Trustee Institute, preservation and disaster preparedness programs & grants, and other grants programs. She had been serving as consultant for Library Trustees, Preservation and Literacy at the State Library, and received certification as a Preservation Management Consultant from the Rutgers School of Communication & Information. She was one of only 70 representatives from libraries and museums nationwide selected by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to attend a national forum last June in Buffalo, New York, entitled “Stewardship of America’s Legacy: Answering the Call to Action.” Stricker holds a bachelor’s degree from Tyler School of Art of Temple University, a master of fine arts in Museum Studies from Syracuse University, a master of arts in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s in Library & Information Science from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. She is a member of the American Library Association Preservation & Reformatting Section, a board member of NJ Library Association History & Preservation Section, and Lyrasis Preservation Group.

Bringing together literary lovers of all ages from across the nation, the 2009 National Book Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The New Jersey Center for the Book will play a unique and special role promoting reading in the National Book Festival’s popular Pavilion of the States sponsored for the ninth year by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Alongside representatives from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. trusts and territories, the New Jersey Center for the Book will share information about state reading- and library-promotion programs, and answer questions about New Jersey writers, libraries, book festivals, book awards and reading promotion activities. In addition, several festival authors and illustrators will make scheduled visits to their state’s table to greet fans and sign autographs.

Other featured pavilions are dedicated to book genres ranging from history and biography to mysteries, thrillers, poetry and prose, as well as books for families and young people. Aside from visiting pavilions, festival-goers can meet and hear firsthand from their favorite authors, get books signed, have photos taken with PBS storybook characters and participate in a variety of learning activities.

Families and young people unable to make it to D.C. for the event can experience the festival virtually. The 2009 National Book Festival Young Reader’s Toolkit brings the festival into libraries, schools, homes and communities nationwide. Featuring information on festival authors who write for children and teens as well as podcasts of their readings, teaching tools and activities for kids, this interactive learning resource also shows educators, parents and children how they can host their own book festivals. The toolkit will be available late summer on the National Book Festival website, www.loc.gov/bookfest.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will serve as Honorary Chairs of the ninth annual festival. Free and open to the public, the festival is sponsored by the Library of Congress and will feature some 75 award-winning authors, poets and illustrators celebrating the joys of reading and lifelong literacy.

The NJ Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress, works to foster an awareness of the vital role of books, reading, libraries and literacy have in society. Past projects have included conducting workshops for teachers, showcasing NJ libraries at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. and conducting the Letters about Literature contest for young writers.

NJ Center for the Book Web site

The four state Regional Library Cooperatives have received funding from the New Jersey State Library, given to ensure equity of services while controlling costs statewide, and support delivery of statewide services such as JerseyCat, JerseyClicks and continuing education.

The Highlands RLC received $881,474; the Central Jersey RLC received $528,957; the South Jersey RLC received $704,946; and INFOLINK, the Eastern New Jersey RLC received $861,758.

JerseyCat is a statewide online catalogue for interlibrary loans, while JerseyClicks is a suite of valuable research sources available to anyone with a New Jersey public library card.

“The New Jersey State Library is pleased to continue its ongoing partnership with the Regional Cooperatives,” said Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian. “The funding is essential to maintaining libraries as centers for lifelong learning and information. The money provides for public access to valuable Internet resources, sustains a productive workforce and empowers citizens with access to news, information and services vital to them in today’s economy. We rely on the help, expertise and knowledge of the RLC’s about their local communities to deliver these services and resources efficiently and effectively,” Blake added.

The Regional Library Cooperatives and their services are funded by the New Jersey State Library which is responsible for the coordination, promotion and funding of the New Jersey Library Network.

The South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative has been awarded a grant of $200,000 from the NJ State Library to continue its management of QandANJ - a premier live reference service available free to New Jersey library card holders.

QandANJ is a 24-hour online information service staffed by professional librarians from participating libraries across the state. Combining the speed of the Internet with the savvy of professional librarians, QandANJ.org is among the busiest statewide Web-based information services in the United States.

The New Jersey State Library initially provided funding to the SJRLC to pilot and maintain this innovative program that has expanded to a highly successful statewide service. This will be the ninth year in a row the SJRLC has been awarded the grant to manage QandANJ.

“QandANJ is certainly a New Jersey success story and we are glad to continue our partnership with the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, which has pioneered the service from a pilot project with a handful of libraries to a program that now relies on the expertise of librarians from across the state. As an online information service, QandANJ is a model for the rest of the nation,” said Norma E. Blake, New Jersey state librarian.

QandANJ is supported by the NJ State Library, managed by the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, staffed by member libraries in the New Jersey Library Network and is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency whose mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people with information and ideas.

On August 25, 2009, at the Mount Laurel Library, the NJ State Library sponsored a workshop for interested librarians on developing the graphic novel collection at their library.

Presenters were (from left in photo): David Lisa, the State Library’s Urban Libraries and Adult Services Specialist; Sophie Brookover, librarian with Eastern Regional Senior High School, Audubon; David Inabnitt, librarian with the Brooklyn Public Library; Laverne Mann, librarian with the Mercer County Library; and John Cunningham, vice president of marketing for DC Comics.

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LONG BRANCH — The Long Branch Public Library has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the New Jersey State Library.

The grant was given to the library on June 9 to implement, strengthen and expand the capability of library staff in the areas of job seeking, unemployment and related services to library customers.

These services will include a model career center computer lab, a virtual career center and in-person as well as virtual training in the use of online resources.

Long Branch Library Director Ingrid Bruck said that the grant money is one of three pieces of good news the library received in June.
“We had three pieces of good news recently,” Bruck said. “We got the grant money, but we also found out that New Jersey Natural Gas [NJNG] will be purchasing some computers for $10,000 and that the state will use our virtual career center as a model on the statewide level.”

“We had three pieces of good news recently,” Bruck said. “We got the grant money, but we also found out that New Jersey Natural Gas [NJNG] will be purchasing some computers for $10,000 and that the state will use our virtual career center as a model on the statewide level.”

Bruck explained that the grant funds will help people qualify for jobs in the community.

The money will ultimately be used to fund a teacher and state-of-the-art computers to help with the training class.

“The state library funded a teacher so we can have classes for people without jobs,” Bruck said. “We got the grant so we can use it on a teacher and equipment.”

Bruck said a teacher has not been officially named yet.

The class will begin in the middle of July and run 16 weeks. There will be 12 people attending the class, according to Bruck, and the goal of the class is to get people re-employed.

“The focus of the class will be helping people getting back to work,” Bruck said. You can read the entire article in the Atlanticville Newspaper.

NJ State Librarian Norma Blake (second from left) with the IMLS scholars who attended the NJLA Annual Conference. If not for the grant, they would not have been able to afford to attend. With Blake are, from left: Janice Peoples from Plainfield Public Library, and Aurelia Rodriguez, Shileen Shaw and Lolata Greggs, all from the Newark Public Llibrary.

Scholars working on their degrees under the IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program were among the attendees at “Recruiting and Mentoring a Diverse Workforce for New Jersey’s Libraries” held at the Monroe Township Public Library.

Featured speakers included Nicole Cooke, president of the NJ Black Caucus of ALA; Maria Baratta, assistant director of the New Jersey State Library Braille and Talking Book Center; and Mario Gonzalez, director of Passaic Public Library and Executive Board Member of the ALA.

Fifty participants learned about the State Library’s model for securing a diverse library workforce and various recruitment and mentoring methods.

Pictured above are IMLS grant scholars from both the 2003 and 2006 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.

The Long Branch Public Library has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the New Jersey State Library to implement, strengthen and expand the capability of library staff in the areas of job seeking, unemployment and related services to library customers, to include a model career center computer lab, a virtual career center and in-person as well as virtual training in the use of online resources.

The initiatives under this program will serve as a model for other libraries to replicate in their efforts to increase their ability to serve their communities during difficult economic times.

“In response to these harsh economic times, New Jersey’s libraries are not just maintaining services, but adding programs to help their community members who have lost their jobs to learn new skills, to cope with new challenges and to ease their fears,” emphasized Norma E. Blake, New Jersey State Librarian. “Long Branch Public Library’s Virtual Career Center was one of those forward-looking initiatives which we wholeheartedly support and endorse.”

The Long Branch Public Library’s Virtual Career Center is supported the New Jersey State Library, which is responsible for the coordination, promotion and funding of the New Jersey Library Network.