The NJ State Library (NJSL) is grateful for the many years of support that Newark Public Library and Rutgers University Libraries have played in statewide library network services. By providing reference services and access to collections, respectively, these partners have helped numerous New Jersey libraries better serve their patrons.
With the proposed reduction in library network aid for fiscal year 2025, NJSL allowed these statewide grants to expire in June 2024. While the library network appropriation was ultimately not reduced, NJSL is pausing to review the role of statewide grants as part of statewide library network services. Library network services include supplemental reference services from the New Jersey State Law Library, access to databases and digital content, maintenance of the statewide interlibrary loan system and support for interlibrary delivery through funding for LibraryLinkNJ as well as JerseyConnect.
NJ State Library’s Law Library
The NJ State Library’s Law Library provides specialized supplemental reference assistance to New Jersey libraries with law-related questions. The law library’s collection of New Jersey-specific resources is particularly strong, including primary material such as cases and Session Laws that date back to the colonial era. The library also has historical volumes of the New Jersey statutes and superseded pages from the New Jersey Administrative Code which allows the law librarians to discover exactly how New Jersey law read in the past.
The law library has also compiled an extensive collection of New Jersey legislative histories which often are the only resource that can help explain why a particular law was passed. The law library’s unique and extensive collection of legal material and databases, and our experienced staff of law librarians enable the State Library to answer questions from New Jersey libraries.
For more information, contact the Law Library.