New Jersey Library Network

Background

The New Jersey Library Network was created by an act of the Legislature in 1983, at the request of the State Library and the statewide library community.  The Library Network Law, N.J.S.A. 18A:73-35a, created the New Jersey Library Network as a way for academic, institutional, public, school and special libraries to provide New Jersey residents with full and equal access to library materials and programs that might not otherwise be available to their communities.  The premise was that such cooperation would improve services while controlling the cost of maintaining local libraries.  The New Jersey legislature provides funding for the State Library, which is responsible by law for the coordination, promotion and funding of programs and services to the network members.  An eight-member advisory board provides input and is the liaison between the State Library and the library community in New Jersey.

As part of the New Jersey Library Network, LibraryLinkNJ, the statewide library cooperative, helps libraries of all types share resources, maximize purchasing power, realize economies of scale, collectively access high quality electronic resources, and implement new services models for 21st century service to New Jersey residents.  LibraryLinkNJ, through its funding by the State Library, also provides statewide delivery of library materials throughout New Jersey and continuing education and technical workshops for librarians and library staff statewide.  In addition to funding LibraryLinkNJ, other Network services funded through the State Library include:

• JerseyCat, the interlibrary loan system that connects residents to materials in over 700 libraries in New Jersey and nationwide;
• JerseyConnect, the electronic backbone which provides internet access, email hosting and other services to more than half the public libraries in New Jersey;
• JerseyClicks.org which has over 30 online resources that provide full text articles for research, homework and business needs;
• Statewide grants and programs such as the annual Summer Reading Program, during which over 100,000 children have read more than 1.5 million books statewide; Statewide Reference Services which provides subject experts and specialty collection resources as backup resources for public librarians; Preservation Training which funds workshops around the state on topics of preservation, conservation, and disaster planning/business continuity planning to libraries and Center for the Book, which with minimal state funding has been able to provide a New Jersey presence at the annual National Book Festival in Washington, DC as well as other New Jersey literacy-related programs.

Network Budget

The Network Budget is an annual appropriation from the State Legislature.  The budget had been funded at $4.777 million dollars for over twenty years but due to recent budget cuts has been funded at $4.299 million since FY 2011.  The budget year runs from July 1st through June 30th of each year. 

Click here to see the current FY 2012 Network budget.

Library Network Review Board

The Library Network Review Board (LNRB) is comprised of eight members: four appointed by the State Library and four appointed by LibraryLinkNJ.   Each member serves a two-year term, and represents a range of libraries within New Jersey: public, academic, and school, as well as urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Charge

From the bylaws:

The Board shall advise the State Librarian with respect to:

1. Necessary or desirable statewide and targeted programs or services
2. Types of interaction and linkage of the New Jersey Library Network with interstate and national library networks

In addition, the LNRB is charged with:

3. Educating and informing the New Jersey Library Network
4. Representing the field by identifying issues and concerns as well as success stories to the State Library

Library Network Review Board Members

• Susan Briant, Director, Haddonfield Public Library
• Carol Boutilier, Director, Sparta Public Library
• Steve Chudnick, Asst. Professor, Bankier Library, Dept. Chair, Brookdale Community College
• Anne Ciliberti, Director, David & Lorraine Cheng Library, William Paterson University of NJ
• Joan Hipp, Director, Florham Park Public Library
• Roberta Fitzpatrick, Assoc. Director, George Smith Library, UMDNJ
• Patricia Massey, School Library Media Specialist, South Plainfield High School Information Center
• Patricia Whitehead, Branch Services Librarian, Monmouth County Library Commission

Next Meeting

The next LNRB meeting will be held on April 4, 2012 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the NJSL Talking Book and Braille Center, 2300 Stuyvesant Avenue, Trenton, NJ. 

Meetings are open to the public.