New Jersey State Library

New Jersey State Librarian Norma Blake was the keynote speaker for the New Jersey Association Of Library Assistants 22nd Annual Conference, "Staying Motivated in the Midst of Change". The event was held at the Enterprise Center at BCC and featured instructional presentations, hands on computer training, workshops and panel discussions. Congratulations to the Association for putting together an outstanding conference.

LINKS:
Photos from event
NJALA
NJSL Home page

At its annual state conference, the New Jersey Library Association recognized the contributions and achievements of librarians and community members who had made a difference in 2008 – including two Librarians of the Year.

The Honors and Awards Reception began with a tribute to New Jersey State Librarian Norma Blake in recognition of her selection by Library Journal as National Librarian of the Year. As a legacy to Blake’s outstanding commitment to libraries, the association created a scholarship in her name. The scholarship will be awarded at next year’s NJLA Conference to a student pursuing a Masters of Library and Information Science degree. Those wishing to donate to the scholarship fund may send a check made out to NJLA to: Norma Blake Scholarship, NJLA, PO Box 1534, Trenton, NJ 08607.

As State Librarian, Blake was among the first to recognize the need to recruit new librarians. It was under her direction that over $1.5 million in scholarship funds were received from the federal government through the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.

Complete list of awards and recipients
Photos
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The New Jersey State Library is delighted to announce that State Librarian
Norma Blake has been selected by Library Journal magazine as their 2008
Librarian of the Year! She will be honored at this week’s American Library
Association Conference in Philadelphia, as well as have her picture on the
front cover of their mid-January issue along with an interview Library
Journal editors conducted with her last month.

To read Library Journal’s article go here

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I recently had the honor of accepting an Innovation Award from the Council of State Governments for the New Jersey Knowledge Initiative. This national award is intended to bring greater recognition for exemplary programs that show creativity in effectively dealing with problems and issues that are regional in scope. The CSG Innovation Award Program considered hundreds of state programs and projects, and we are so proud to have received this award that recognizes the foresight of State Library and its partners in establishing and operating NJKI as well as the foresight of the State Legislature and the Governor in funding this innovative project. NJKI encourages economic growth and strengthens high-tech projects. It is a model that other states are interested in emulating. Given the success of NJKI, we are pressing forward to secure full funding to continue the initiative.

• We are proud to report that NJLBH scores high in customer satisfaction based on a comprehensive survey. The survey distributed to all NJLBH customers in all NJ counties showed 98 percent rated their overall experience with NJLBH as either excellent or good; 100 percent said they would recommend the library to a friend; and 99 percent reported the library improved the quality of their life. Seventy-five percent of NJLBH’s customers are over the age of 65. A total of 1,115 customers responded and returned their surveys.

• Four Diversity Grants have been awarded by LDB and accepted by East Orange Public Library, Ocean County Library System, West Deptford Free Public Library and Bergen County Cooperative Library System in partnership with the Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium. The grants will help to strengthen or expand programs that serve residents who may encounter difficulty using traditional library services.

• Our Marketing Department continues to promote the services offered by the State Library and public libraries through the NJ Library Network. New projects include developing a promotional campaign with NJLA for the National Reading Group Month; compiling a mailing to libraries this month that will include materials on the YouTube/Comic Drawing contest about why users love their libraries; and designing, producing and printing a variety of collateral material for the different bureaus of the State Library. There are also plans to conduct a workshop to help libraries create effective outreach events.

• Attendance at instructional sessions offered by SLIC continues to grow with 31 state workers at the Division of Motor Vehicles attending two, one-hour lunchtime talks presented by the Genealogy Collection Librarian on how the State Library’s collections support genealogy research. Another 16 people attended two more mid-day sessions presented at the State Library that focused on using U.S. Census records for family history. Similarly, two sessions on navigating legal databases attracted 17 interested individuals. We are glad to serve state government workers and the public with these special programs that we offer on a regular basis.

SPOTLIGHT ON BARBARA DOYLE

Barbara Doyle is a long-standing employee of the New Jersey State Library. She has been a faithful staff member since 1996, and she spoke glowingly about the wonderful people she works with. Barbara’s favorite job is to put books back on the shelves. Her least favorite time at work is when the email is down. I think we can all agree with that! At home in Lawrenceville, Barbara likes to play computer games. Her favorite computer games involve America’s sweetheart detective, Nancy Drew. When not on the computer, Barbara likes to watch cop shows on TV. She also likes to watch scary movies. When I mentioned a few plot details, Barbara was quickly able to tell me that my favorite scary movie was entitled, “When a Stranger Calls.” Barbara’s duties at home include dishwashing and setting the table. As Barbara’s two brothers and three sisters could probably tell you, Barbara loves her chocolate. She counteracts its effects by swimming or using the exercise bike. Barbara’s favorite trip was to Disney World. Another thing we agree on is that we both would really like to go there again–soon!

I had the wonderful honor and opportunity to attend and speak at the grand opening of the Regional Technology Assistance Center at the New Jersey Library for Blind and Handicapped. The center offers state-of-the-art technology and resources for people with visual impairments. Located at LBH headquarters in Trenton and operated by the NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the center represents a partnership between the State Library and the NJ Department of Human Services that has been enhanced by a generous private sector contribution from the Comcast Foundation, which provided $20,000 to buy a SMART board and additional technology.

LBH staged a great kick-off event for the center, and we were gratified that so many people attended and that the local media covered the event to help get the word out on this new resource that will provide the visually impaired with computer training to help them at work, home and in the general community. My special thanks to all those who helped LBH Director Faith Lundgren to officially open the center and who spoke to the audience at the event including Vito DeSantis as CBVI’s Executive Director, Anne Kohler as NJ Department of Human Services Deputy Commissioner and Kimberly Smith as Regional Director of Community Affairs for Comcast.

• The Mid-Atlantic Futures Conference, which the NJSL helped to organize and participated in a few months past in Atlantic City, was such a success and so vital to libraries, I am convening a Blue Ribbon Futures Panel. The State Library recognizes that it is imperative to have input from the people who are shaping the future of New Jersey’s libraries. Everyone in the Library community is welcome to apply, including NJSL staff, and the deadline to apply is August 15, 2007. Ultimately the panel will make recommendations to me, which will be discussed at the next NJLA conference.

• Despite relentless efforts on the part of the State Library, we have not been able to restore a million dollar cut in NJKI budget by the State. Presently there is enough money to continue the program with access to all the proprietary databases until the end of February 2008. However, our efforts continue. There is a meeting scheduled for July 30 with Executive Director of Higher Education Jane Oates to discuss the next steps for the program. Meanwhile, NJKI continues to garner national and even international recognition. NJKI is one of 11 finalists for an Innovation Award from the Council of State Governments and a presentation will be made at their conference in Quebec City in mid August.

• Our marketing campaigns are going well. The “Three Reasons You Love Your Library” campaign includes billboards, train station posters and bus placards. In fact, a Thomas Edison State College trustee mentioned that he saw the train station poster in Newark for the “Three Reasons” campaign and was drawn to it, only to discover it was a New Jersey library project. He was very complimentary. The next statewide campaign will be “Solving Life’s Little Problems”, something that libraries do very well.

• There is a new phone system at the State Library for the first time since 1986. It goes into operation on August 1, 2007. The directory of new telephone numbers with extensions will be available on our website and the new general number is 609-278-2640 although the existing main numbers will remain in place indefinitely.

• The State Library is contracting with the Northeast Document Conservation Center on preservation workshops and preservation surveys of libraries, with the focus on public libraries due to the funding source. Library Development Bureau Consultant Michele Stricker is receiving further training to provide other in-state workshops on preservation.

SPOTLIGHT ON ROB ZANGARA

Say hello to a real Jersey guy, Rob Zangara, head of New Jersey State Library’s Information Technology Department. He was born in New Brunswick and went to Rutgers to pursue degrees in English and Political Science. After becoming a publishing house editor, Rob was discovered to be the most technologically advanced person on staff. As his technical expertise grew, Rob gravitated to TMP, the parent company of Monster.com. Fortunately for NJSL, Rob got tired of working in Manhattan.

Rob is a real music buff with very eclectic tastes – jazz, alternative rock, international music, etc. Rob use to play golf but finds that he spends most of his leisure time with his first loves, his wife Heidi and his two boys, Dean and Theo.

Rob and his family have seen much of the USA, particularly Oregon, California, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming where he and family visit relatives. He also enjoys the Island of St. John where he was married. Rob’s all time favorite trip was to Italy, where he hopes to take his boys someday, as he found the Italians to be very child friendly.

People sometimes stereotype technologists as techies who only speak to other techies in some kind of language that is foreign to the rest of us. The people who do this have obviously not met Rob Zangara and his wonderful IT team at NJSL!

The New Jersey State Library and its partners have been reaching out to our customers and looking into the future to ensure that libraries remain relevant and useful in a changing society.  The Mid-Atlantic Futures Conference that we sponsored in partnership with the state libraries of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware and PALINET was a stellar success. Over 400 people gathered from libraries to listen, learn and be inspired by the ideas from speakers outside of the library field. There was such an overwhelming response that we followed up with a meeting of New Jersey participants at Princeton Public Library.

We were so ignited by the ideas that we had heard, I have instituted a “Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Future” to continue the groundbreaking work begun by the conference.  Recognizing that it is imperative to have input from the people who are shaping the future of New Jersey’s libraries, I am offering an open invitation to anyone currently working in a New Jersey library who has an interest in the future of libraries to apply for a possible appointment to the Task Force. You can read details about the conference and the Task Force in the report below from the Library Development bureau.

Other exciting news I have to share with you is the State Library has filled several key positions. We are pleased to announce the appointments of Kathleen Moeller-Peiffer as the director of the Library Development Bureau and Victoria Rosch as assistant director.  In addition, I am pleased to announce that Adam Szczepaniak has joined the Library for Blind and Handicapped as the assistant director.

This summer we continue our statewide marketing campaign with billboards across the state at transit stations, on buses and billboards promoting the Three Reasons Campaign and the Super Librarian YouTube/Comic Contest.

I wish each of you best of luck with your summer programs. Not only are you enriching the lives of those who come through your doors but you are building the foundation for the next generation of library users. -Norma