New Jersey State Library Newsletter

The New Jersey State Library, in partnership with PSEG Foundation and Praxair Foundation, reminds students, parents and teachers that free homework help is available to them at 109 public libraries through the popular Homework Help NJ program. Students in grades kindergarten to 12, and in introductory college courses, will be able to get free help with their math, science, social studies and English assignments via the Internet. This online tutoring program, delivered by Tutor.com, allows students with library cards to chat online with tutors who can help them tackle their homework problems. Spanish-speaking tutors are available for help with math and science assignments.

Homework Help NJ is available through NJ libraries in Belvidere, Bridgeton, Camden, Deptford, Elizabeth, Elmer, Franklin Township, Gloucester City, the Gloucester County library, Harrison, Jersey City, Monroe Township, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, Paulsboro, Penns Grove, Pennsville, Pitman, Princeton, Salem, Washington Township, Wenonah, West Deptford, Westville, Willingboro, Woodbridge, Woodbury, Woodstown, and all the public libraries in Burlington, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties. The assistance was made possible by a $250,000 grant from PSEG Foundation, with additional grant funding from Praxair Foundation..

Homework Help NJ is designed to provide the highest quality of one-on-one instruction. Tutors are available online and on demand, 7 days a week from 2 to 10 p.m. Whether students need just a few minutes of help or a significant amount of time to better understand a complex concept, certified Tutor.com tutors work with students to help them build their confidence and do well in school.

A new service called Adult Career Center is also available, which provides adult customers with tutors to help them study for standardized tests, such as the GED; review and proof-read resumes and cover letters; and have access to a resource center containing test preparation materials, job search tips and ways to help their children with homework. The Resource Center materials are available 24/7.

The State Library established Homework Help NJ in select libraries under a Cornerstone Grant of $265,000 from PSEG Foundation in 2007. It was also made available to all students enrolled in NJ After 3 after school programs. Over 90 percent of those who used the service said that it had helped them complete homework assignments, improved their grades and made them more confident about their school work.

“The New Jersey State Library, through the NJ Library Network, has long been committed to the education of young people and adults through a variety of programs we have funded and encouraged local public libraries to offer,” said Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian. “The extra assistance available to students from Homework Help tutors has the potential to instill a sense of success and accomplishment that will carry forward into the school day.”

Students who live in one of the 110 designated municipalities can connect to a Homework Help NJ tutor through their local libraries, or from their home PC or Mac with their library card number. The program Web site is www.homeworkhelpnj.org. In addition, students enrolled in NJ After 3 can access Homework Help NJ at local program sites. NJ After 3 nonprofit partner sites include Boys & Girls Clubs, faith-based groups, museums, universities, community development corporations, YW/YMCAs, and others.

Tutor.com has been delivering its Homework Help® service to students in the U.S. through libraries since 2001. More than 5 million homework help sessions have been delivered to date–with an average of 5,000 sessions each evening.

Photo: Julie Weintraub, director of client services for Tutor.com, shows Carrie Stafford and her sister Grace how to use the Homework Help NJ program available through many New Jersey libraries.

An article by Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Consultant for the NJ State Library, about the State-wide Summer Reading Program appeared in July’s NJ Afterschool Action, a monthly e-newsletter put out by the NJ School-Aged Care Coalition for afterschool programs. Sharon is a member of the coalition’s advisory committee.

READ THE ARTICLE

The New Jersey State Library, in conjunction with the Atlantic Highlands Public Library and Hudson Mermaid Productions, will host a free outdoor screening of the award-winning movie Greetings from the Shore on Thursday, August 12, at 8:30 p.m. at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor Gazebo, 2 Simon Lake Dr., Atlantic Highlands.

Greetings from the Shore is a coming-of-age romance starring Paul Sorvino, David Fumero and Kim Shaw. It was filmed entirely on the Jersey shore, primarily in Lavallette. The story is about a young girl who, after her father dies, spends one last summer at the Jersey Shore before heading off to college. When her plans fall apart, the girl stumbles into a mysterious world of Russian sailors, high-stakes gambling and unexpected love. Director Greg Chwerchak calls the film “a semi-autobiographical tale. It’s a bit like Dirty Dancing at the Jersey Shore.”

Those attending should bring lawn chairs or blankets and the screening is weather permitting. Following the screening, Chwerchak and writer Gabrielle Berberich will answer questions from the audience and sign DVDs of the movie. “Gabrielle and I both benefitted tremendously from public libraries growing up,” Chwerchak said. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the State Library for this free event.”

For more information contact the Atlantic Highlands Library at 732-291-1956 or go http://greetingsfromtheshore.com.

At the 2010 New Jersey Library Association Annual Conference, the NJLA History & Preservation Section honored Michele Stricker, deputy director of the New Jersey State Library’s Library Development Bureau, with the Susan G. Swartzburg Preservation Award for her leadership, creativity and commitment in the field of preservation and conservation of library resources. The award has been presented since 2003 and honors the memory of Susan G. Swartzburg, a librarian and author whose leadership in New Jersey inspired and influenced many others in the areas of preservation of library materials, archives and the book arts.

According to the committee, “we have all had cause recently to reflect on the value of the work done by the State Library, and … the impact a dedicated and energetic leader can have within that institution in forwarding the mission of the History and Preservation Section. This award recognizes Michele’s activity in dealing with the big picture issues in New Jersey.”

In her five years at the State Library, Stricker has taken on the role of preservation, conservation and disaster-preparedness specialist in addition to her other duties. She has diligently brought to the attention of NJ libraries workshops, grant opportunities and program presentations, and has most recently worked with the American Library Association on programs and resources for the first ever ALA Preservation Week, May 9-15, 2010.

Her other accomplishments include creating workshops for NJ librarians on “How to Survey your Public Library’s Preservation Needs;” “A Matter of When, Not If: Preventing and Preparing for Library Disasters;” and “Fund-raising for Preservation;” and the creation of a Preservation Resources Web page on the New Jersey State Library Web site that has information on state, regional and national preservation programs, institutions, organizations and funding sources. She has partnered with the Newark Museum, Rutgers University Libraries, the New Jersey State Museum and the New Jersey State Archives on an Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Connecting to Collections grant for the purpose of developing a statewide conservation plan. She was responsible for the selection, purchase and dissemination of eighty-five disaster response kits to NJ libraries that attended the 2008 disaster preparedness workshops, as well as the grant posting for the Library Regional Response Network Initiative grant that funded the contents of one emergency response locker with $10,000 of emergency supplies to be used in the case of a large-scale disaster.

The Burlington resident 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.

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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On Wednesday, April 14 at the New Jersey State Library, Trenton, Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian, was joined by librarians and school children from around New Jersey, to present a check for $14,000 to Laura Andersen public relations manager for the Central Asia Institute, and Fozia Naseer, from the Azad Kashmir area of Pakistan.

After the check presentation, the school and public libraries that raised the most money were recognized. The New Providence School District, which raised $3,270.30, was represented by Amy Nagel, media specialist, and Christian Fraehmke, a student, and his family, to accept the award in the school library category. Accepting the public library award for the Rockaway Township Public Library and the Copeland Middle School, which collected $1,169.84, was Barbara Hauck-Mah, reference librarian. Also receiving recognition were Bridgeton’s West Avenue School ($1012.25), Glen Rock’s Academy of Our Lady ($509.12), Medford’s Cranberry Pines Elementary School ($485.58), Woodbridge Public Library ($462), Hamilton Township’s Morgan Early Elementary School Act Club ($411), and Lambertville’s South Hunterdon Regional High School ($401.55), which had a dozen students in attendance.

“We are really pleased to see that so many children and teens are spearheading this campaign in their schools and libraries,” said Blake. “By learning about what their pennies can do for children on the other side of their world and by taking an action to do something, they have become global citizens and library champions.”

After the ceremony, Naseer visited Monroe Township’s Woodland Elementary School, to talk about her life in Pakistan.

Throughout February and March 2010, 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. One hundred public and school libraries joined the State Library and the Talking Book & Braille Center in the campaign.

After failing to reach the summit of K-2, Mortenson, emaciated and exhausted from his experience, staggered into a poor remote village whose residents nursed him back to health. He noted the children had no school or school supplies, using the ground and sticks to practice their multiplication tables. He promised to build them a school, and since then has made it his life’s work to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to educate students where no schools existed. His mission has been to promote education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of these two countries.

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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 New Jersey State Library, in partnership with PSEG Foundation and Praxair Foundation, announced that free homework help would now be available to the students, residents and users of 109 public libraries through the popular Live Homework Help NJ program. Students in grades kindergarten to 12, and in introductory college courses, will be able to get free help with their math, science, social studies and English assignments via the Internet. This online tutoring program, delivered by Tutor.com, allows students with library cards to chat online with tutors who can help them tackle their homework problems. Spanish-speaking tutors are available for help with math and science assignments.

Live Homework Help NJ had been available through 24 NJ libraries in Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, Willingboro, Elmer, Penns Grove, Pennsville, Salem, Woodstown, the Gloucester County library, Deptford, Franklin Township, Monroe Township, Paulsboro, Pitman, Washington Township, Wenonah, West Deptford, Westville, Woodbury, Gloucester City. The 2010 expansion to include all the public libraries in Burlington, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties was made possible by a $250,000 grant from PSEG Foundation. Additional grant funding from Praxair Foundation brings the program to the communities of Belvidere, Bridgeton, Princeton and Woodbridge.

Live Homework Help NJ is designed to provide the highest quality of one-on-one instruction. Tutors are available online and on demand, 7 days a week from 2 to 10 p.m. Whether students need just a few minutes of help or a significant amount of time to better understand a complex concept, certified Tutor.com tutors work with students to help them build their confidence and do well in school.

A new service called Adult Career Center will also be available, which will provide adult customers with tutors to help them study for standardized tests, such as the GED; review and proof-read resumes and cover letters; and have access to a resource center containing test preparation materials, job search tips and ways to help their children with homework. The Resource Center materials are available 24/7.

The State Library established Live Homework Help NJ in select libraries under a Cornerstone Grant of $265,000 from PSEG Foundation in 2007. It was also made available to all students enrolled in NJ After 3 after school programs. Over 90 percent of those who used the service said that it had helped them complete homework assignments, improved their grades and made them more confident about their school work.

“The New Jersey State Library, through the NJ Library Network, has long been committed to the education of young people and adults through a variety of programs we have funded and encouraged local public libraries to offer,” said Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian. “The extra assistance available to students from live Homework Help tutors has the potential to instill a sense of success and accomplishment that will carry forward into the school day.”

Students who live in one of the 109 designated municipalities can connect to a Live Homework Help NJ tutor through their local libraries, or from their home PC or Mac with their library card number. The program Web site is www.homeworkhelpnj.org. In addition, students enrolled in NJ After 3 can access Live Homework Help NJ at local program sites. NJ After 3 nonprofit partner sites include Boys & Girls Clubs, faith-based groups, museums, universities, community development corporations, YW/YMCAs, and others.

Tutor.com has been delivering its Live Homework Help® service to students in the U.S. through libraries since 2001. More than 5 million homework help sessions have been delivered to date–with an average of 5,000 sessions each evening.

In photo, Karin Emmitt of Pedricktown and her daughters Shannon (center) and Kailyn check out the Homework Help NJ program now available in 109 communities across New Jersey.

Four public libraries in New Jersey will benefit from the expertise of a group of librarians who addressed space challenges at their own libraries and led the transformation to improve the interior areas to better serve their customers. The “SWAT Team of Library Transformers,” Jayne Beline, director of Parsippany - Troy Hills Library; Cheryl McBride, director of North Brunswick Library; Kathy Schalk-Greene, director of the Mount Laurel Library, and Gloria Urban, director of the Vineland Library, will work with the selected libraries as expert consultants regarding their projects.

The SWAT Team was created and is funded by the NJ State Library on the recommendation of the State Librarian’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Future of Libraries. The team is tasked with assisting libraries with their transformation projects. Libraries were selected for the program by submitting an application detailing their needs and transformational goals, and had to commit $5,000 to the transformation. All projects will be completed by Dec. 31, 2010.

The selected libraries are Caldwell, Matawan-Aberdeen, Midland Park and Gloucester County Library’s Glassboro Branch.

The Caldwell Public Library opened in 1917 as a small one-story brick structure funded with the help of a grant from Andrew Carnegie. Expansion had compromised the original charm of this “Carnegie Library,” so the proposed transformation will restore the grandeur of the original library, organize the space to reflect the warm “heart of our town” feeling, improve signage, optimize available space, and establish a new technology center.

The Gloucester County Library Glassboro Branch was once an Acme food store, circa 1950. The proposed transformation will improve lighting, brighten the interior, arrange library materials in a more inviting and easily accessible way, and better utilize the interior space.

The Matawan-Aberdeen Library showed a 257 percent increase in DVD circulation over last year, with demand for new and old movies increasing. Their transformational challenge is finding space for this popular service in their 9,880 square foot library, to include how the DVD’s are arranged and displayed for their customers.

The Midland Park Memorial Library was built in the 1950’s and expanded over the years. The transformation will address the main circulation area so that new materials will stand out, and update and improved the overall ambiance.

“With the guidance of our experts, by the end of the year these libraries will be able to show the dramatic, visible transformations in their floor plans resulting in the same improved customer service that was achieved in the SWAT Team members’ libraries,” said Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian. “This program will serve as a demonstration project for other libraries, both in NJ and nationwide, that library interiors can be transformed without a lot of money.”

Photo above, from left (standing): Michele Stricker, deputy head of Library Development, NJ State Library; Gloria Urban, Vineland Library; Kathy Schalk-Greene, director Mount Laurel Library; Cheryl McBride, director of North Brunswick Library; Jayne Beline, director of Parsippany - Troy Hills Library, with the paint roller.

From left: Anne Wodnick, director of Gloucester County Library; Carol Wolf, branch manager, Glassboro ; Michele Stricker, deputy head of Library Development , NJ State Library; Melissa Hughes, director of Midland Park Library; Karen Kleppe Lembo, director of Caldwell Public Library; Susan Pike, director of Matawan-Aberdeen Library.

Ever wonder how to store old baseball cards? How to carefully handle a fragile old family photo? How to preserve your digital diary or your quilt collection? Everyone who saves things, from family mementos to world-class collections, has similar questions.

Libraries care for their vast and varied collections everyday, so they are the perfect places for learning about preservation. In recognition of this, the American Library Association will launch its first Preservation Week May 9–15, 2010. The New Jersey State Library is partnering with ALA in developing and piloting a new workshop to help your library celebrate collecting and preservation in your community, and to highlight your institution as a source of preservation information.

Preservation is a theme that can be used to bring in people and develop new audiences in your library. You do not have to be an expert in preservation to present informative programs to the public. This workshop will give you the ideas and resources you will need to develop successful preservation programming for your customers.

Participants will learn some basic preservation strategies for assisting the public in caring for their family treasures, as well as ideas for fostering preservation awareness and developing outreach programs in your community.

Possible outreach and awareness ideas include digitizing family photographs or papers, digital archiving and metadata for the home photographer, display of family treasures, sharing your family food heritage, a memories “road show,” caring for family documents, scrapbooking for posterity, organizing family collections, home movie day, quilt/wedding dress care, and disaster recovery for important family papers. Register now for what promises to be an interesting and informative workshop for library directors, preservation staff, or program/outreach managers.

Cost: $20 (covers continental breakfast and lunch)
Time: 9:30– 3:30 workshop (9:00-9:30 Registration)

March 30: Parsippany Troy Hills Public Library
March 31: Hasbrouck Heights Public Library
April 7: East Brunswick Public Library
April 8: Cherry Hill Public Library

Space is limited. Registration and payment takes places online at: https://secure.thriva.com/Reg/Form.aspx?IDTD=1607587&IDRPH=1659115

For further information please contact Michele Stricker, Deputy Director, Library Development Bureau, New Jersey State Library at mstricker@njstatelib.org.

In April 2009 at the NJ State Library,Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian (left), presented Christiane Leitinger, director, Pennies for Peace, Central Asia Institute, with a check for $13,400. The money was raised by over 75 New Jersey public and school libraries.

Throughout February and March 2010, the New Jersey State Library, the New Jersey Library Association and libraries throughout New Jersey plan to again honor the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, as part of the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commemoration, by collecting pennies.

Lincoln firmly believed in education, equality, opportunity and peace. To help continue his legacy, the State Library and NJLA are encouraging New Jersey libraries to participate in the Lincoln Pennies for Peace Campaign. All funds collected will be donated to Pennies for Peace which collects funds for the Central Asia Institute co-founded by Greg Mortenson, the subject of the bestselling biography, “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School At A Time.” The money will be used to build school libraries in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“Last year, school and public libraries from all over New Jersey raised over $13,400 in pennies. The campaign really caught on with young people and children, because they all could be part of the fundraiser just by putting in a few pennies. We found the ‘children helping other children’ aspect resonated with them,” said Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian. So far, almost 90 public and school libraries have joined the 2010 campaign.

The original Pennies for Peace was conceived by students in a Wisconsin elementary school in 1996. Since then, over 16 million pennies have been raised by over 700 schools in all 50 states, including over 10 million pennies in the past year. The program is designed to educate children about the world beyond their experience and show them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time.

After failing to reach the summit of K-2, Mortenson, emaciated and exhausted from his experience, staggered into a poor remote village whose residents nursed him back to health. He noted the children had no school or school supplies, using the ground and sticks to practice their multiplication tables. He promised to build them a school, and since then has made it his life’s work to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to educate students where no schools existed. His mission has been to promote education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of these two countries. To date, the Central Asia Institute has established 130 schools, educating over 51,000 students.

Now those schools need libraries. “We believe that Lincoln would have been proud to have New Jersey libraries adopt this campaign in his honor,” said Blake. “Lincoln would have been very supportive of helping children in other areas of the world receive an education to help them become insightful leaders and active participants in global peace.”

The following libraries/library systems are participating:
Ridge High School Basking Ridge
Belvidere High School Library
Bernards Township Library
Bloomfield Public Library
Bloomfield High School
Bloomingdale Public Library
Brick Branch of the Ocean County Library
West Avenue School Bridgeton
Bridgewater Library
Pemberton Branch of BCLS Browns Mills
Sandshore School Library Budd Lake
Butler Public Library
Old Turnpike School Califon
Cape May County Cape May Court House
Carteret Public Library
Cedar Grove Public Library
Richard Stockton Elementary Cherry Hill
Clifton Public Library
Clinton Twp. Middle School
Henry Inman Branch Library Colonia
Cranbury Public Library
Cranford Public Library
Orange Avenue School Cranford
Demarest Public Library
North Dover Elementary Dover
Twin Rivers Library East Windsor
Robert Morris School 18 Elizabeth
McCloud Elementary School Englewood
Dismus Middle School Englewood
Fords Branch Library - Woodbridge Public
Franklin Lakes Public Library
Freehold Public Library
Academy of Our Lady Glen Rock
Morgan Early Elementary School Act Club Hamilton
Sunnymead School Library Hillsborough
Pascack Valley High School Hillsdale
Miller Branch Library Jersey City
Kearny Public Library
South Hunterdon Regional High School Library Lambertville
Leonia Public Library
Chapel Hill Academy Lincoln Park
Passaic Valley High School Little Falls
Little Ferry Free Public Library
Livingston Public Library
Mahwah High School
Taylor Mills School Media Center Manalapan
Manasquan Public Library
Cranberry Pines Elementary School Medford
Campbell Elementary School Library Metuchen
Metuchen High School
Middletown Township Public Library
Milford Public Library
Woodland Elementary School Monroe Township
Monroe Township High School
Monroe Township Public Library
Pascack Hills High School Montvale
Lazar Middle School Montville
Moorestown Public Library
Mount Laurel Library
Fleetwood Elementary School Mount Laurel
Gloucester County Library System Mullica Hill
Neptune Public Library
New Providence School District Libraries
West Essex Middle School Library North Caldwell
West Essex High School North Caldwell
Otto Bruyns Library Northfield
North Plainfield High School & Middle School
Nutley Public Library
Ocean City High School
Park Ridge Public Library
Parsippany-Troy Hills Library System
Peapack Gladstone Branch Somerset County
Leeds Ave School Pleasantville
Ringwood Public Library
Woodside School Library River Vale
Robbinsville High School
Rockaway Township Library
Copeland Middle School Rockaway
Rutherford Public Library
Sayreville Public Library
Somerville Public Library
Sparta Public Library
Oak Knoll Lower School Summit
Tinton Falls Public Library
New Jersey State Library Trenton
Talking Book & Braille Center Trenton
E.T. Hamilton School Library Voorhees
Wanaque Elementary School Library
Valley View School Library Watchung
Watchung Public Library
BCIT Westampton
West Long Branch Schools
Westfield Memorial Library
Camden County Library System Westmont
Academy of Allied Health/Biomedical Sciences Woodbridge

Gary Cooper, public relations & media contact for the NJ State Library, presented Denise Milby of Little Egg Harbor with a Basket of Books she won for her school in a drawing held at the 109th Annual NJ PTA Convention in Atlantic City, Dec 2 & 3.

Alka Bhatnagar (center), analysis & trends specialist for the NJ State Library, accepted the Francis Keppel Award given for timely submission of public library data. The award, which was presented at the State Data Coordinators Conference, is given annually by the U.S Dept. of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Commission on Libraries and Information Science.

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.