New Jersey State Library Newsletter

The New Jersey State Library has been selected to direct a partnership between the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and four public libraries to participate in the expansion of the LEH’s award-winning family reading and discussion program, Prime Time Family Reading Time®, which will target Spanish-speaking families this year.

The State library is working with Princeton Public Library, Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library System, Kearny Public Library and Paterson Free Public Library in New Jersey. The national expansion of “Prime Time Family Reading Time� is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Full Story

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The New Jersey State Library is partnering with Union County College, New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission and Rutgers University as part of a national pilot project designed to increase the capacity of public libraries to serve adult learners in developing their literacy skills.

Built around Learner Web, an innovative software program in the final stages of development, the project will allow adult learners to engage in self-directed, self paced instruction making it appealing, comfortable and feasible for most working adults to use in developing their literacy skills. The Learner Web project also seeks to foster collaboration between libraries and community agencies in support of adult learners with basic skills needs. Full Story

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The New Jersey State Library and INFOLINK are pleased to announce the winners of the statewide comic and YouTube video contest. Courtney Wu of Basking Ridge, NJ won for her 30 panel comic on the Bernardsville Public Library. Elena Ordille of Hammonton, NJ won for her YouTube video on the Atlantic County Library/West in Hammonton. Over 17,000 votes were cast!

Links:
Full Story
Contest Page
Photos
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Disasters come in all shapes and sizes, from natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes to emergencies like fire, leaking roofs, and mold. An emergency can easily spiral into a disaster if you, and your institution are not prepared to respond. The State Library encourages all libraries to take part in a free, full day workshop: “A Matter of When, Not If… Preventing and Preparing for Library Disasters”. This outstanding workshop will be presented by the Northeast Document Conservation Center at four locations during May.

Contact: Michele Stricker at mstricker@njstatelib.org

Links:
Flyer with dates
Registration
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The New Jersey State Library is partnering with Barnes & Noble and the New Jersey Library Association to sponsor “Love Your Library” month in February 2008 to once again help fund the Statewide Summer Reading Program at all public libraries in New Jersey.

Barnes & Noble will donate a percentage of every sale from every customer who presents a book fair voucher at any Barnes and Noble store in New Jersey during the month of February. The funds raised from this month-long event will benefit the children and young adults who participate in the 2008 Summer Reading Program.

Links:
Full Story
Get a Voucher
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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

Voting ended on December 31 and over 17,000 votes were cast. We will be announcing the winners this month!

The State Library has been working with INFOLINK to sponsor a YouTube/Comic Contest. Young adults up to the age of 18 were able to submit a comic or video.

• Staff members from LBH were on hand at the Trustee Institute to demonstrate assistive technology software and devices to help people who are blind and visually impaired. LBH staff is available to present a variety of informational programs in cooperation with public libraries throughout New Jersey.

• The 5th Annual Trustee Institute was held Sept. 28-20 at Ocean Place in Long Branch. Over 200 trustees attended programs that followed this year’s theme of the Library as the Third Place, or as the keynote speaker referred to it, the “great good place�. As has been the case with our prior year programs, the State Library partnered with the NJ Library Association and the NJ Library Trustee Association on this popular event.

• The first meeting of the State Librarian’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Future of Libraries took place in September. The task force will meet once a month for four months, discussing one topic each month. The Task Force will produce a report to the State Librarian on the possibilities and opportunities it identifies to keep libraries relevant for customers now and in the future.

• NJKI Advocacy took center stage in September as many LDB staff were involved in a variety of activities including: planning a meeting regarding the continued funding of NJKI in FY08; reporting on the status of NJKI to library, business and legislative partners; preparation of advocacy documents for use by NJKI customers; meetings to present the case for NJKI to state legislators and staff; and continued participation in events designed to market and showcase this program.

• LDB’s youth services consultant was a guest on A.M. Connections discussing good books for parents and caregivers to share with their children.

• The New Jersey State Library is partnering with New Jersey Library Association, Monmouth County Library and the Women’s National Book Association to promote National Reading Group Month. Two authors will be appearing at the Monmouth County Library to celebrate the event. The State Library has distributed letters to state librarians throughout the country encouraging them to lend their support next year.

• The New Jersey State Library was a sponsor at the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce Conference and Expo where we continued to gain new NJKI users and advocates. The NJKI marketing consultant presented a workshop.

• Our marketing director presented a workshop entitled, “Six steps to Outreach Success�. NJSL and the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative sponsored the workshop, which was held at the Willingboro Public Library.

• The Marketing Dept. had three different articles published in their entirety in Interface, the newsletter of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA). The articles highlighted the broad array of the State Library’s work. One featured a Braille literacy arts event staged by LBH at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton Twp. while another focused on the Get a Library on Online program. A third article gave an overview of three NJSL marketing campaigns: Three Reasons, Super Librarian Comic Book and YouTube comic contest.

• The New Jersey Collection will be visited by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts to assess the New Jersey and Rare Book collections. The project is the result of a successful grant application made by SLIC.

• Our health/medical librarian compiled and sent a bibliography of recent health books for posting to the State Dept. of Health and Senior Services intranet. And our business librarian was a roundtable speaker at the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners meeting, where she gave an overview of library resources and how to find marketing and competitor information in business databases.

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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.â€? 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!

• At the end of July, LBH hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired Regional Technical Assistance Center located at the Library for the Blind and Handicapped. This state-of-the-art technical center is equipped with the latest in assistive technologies. This joint project of NJLBH and CBVI received additional funding in a technology grant from Comcast Foundation. As a result of the Comcast grant for $20,000, the lab is equipped with an interactive smart board, a handheld CCTV and a new generation Brailler.

• LBH completed a second year in its partnership with the TCNJ Workskills Program. We offered a variety of work opportunities to teens with multiple disabilities. Students reported to work at LBH and under the guidance of job coaches, rewound tapes, checked in books, opened boxes of Braille books and sorted returned books into bins for re-shelving.

Library Laws of New Jersey

Staff members have been working with the New Jersey Library Association and the Department of Community Affairs on recent issues such as excluding municipal libraries from the recently enacted 4% cap on new municipal tax revenue, the need for municipal libraries to receive the full one-third mill from the municipality and various trustee term issues.
The draft amendments to NJAC 15:21.12, the regulation developed to clarify the one-third-mill rules for municipal and joint public libraries, will not move forward until NJSL receives the Deputy Attorney General opinion regarding whether or not trustees may give any funding raised by the 1/3 mill law to the municipality to be used for non-library purposes.

NJKI Marketing/Advocacy

NJKI staff attended the ACT subcommittee working group meeting where the Deputy Chief of the Governor’s Office of Economic Growth Angie Maguire talked about how important NJKI and libraries are to the state’s economic growth strategy. This committee is charged with developing a new program to meet the needs of the state’s entrepreneurs and small businesses in a more comprehensive and productive structure.

The NJKI task force continued to meet and outline the strategy required to fill the gap in NJKI funding for the remainder of FY 08. As part of this strategy, additional legislative visits are being planned for September.

Training and online activities:

Four Reference USA and four JerseyCat Customization Training Sessions were held around the state last month.

As a result of LDB staff efforts, over 160 public libraries are now using Get A Library Card Online.

JerseyCat ISO compliance Preparation and Testing was completed last month and the first request using this system was sent on July 25. This is a huge accomplishment, as it will enable local libraries to update statuses, will reduce the amount of clerical work necessary by JerseyCAT staff and will result in speedier response time for out of state requests.

Four statewide preservation and conservation workshops were planned, scheduled and announced last month.

Planning Activities:

The new LSTA five year plan was completed and submitted to IMLS last month and we are awaiting their notice of approval.