Library News Feeds

Celebrate Maker Culture virtually with TBBC and NJ Makers Day.  Get creative, recycle old books, and make a fun gift for Hedgehog lovers in your life, or simply decorate your space.”

Luisa Martucci, Hispanic Outreach Coordinator at the Talking Book and Braille Center, showcases how to recycle old and unwanted books into cute and decorative hedgehogs.

Click Here for Written Directons

Click Here to Follow Along on YouTube

The post Celebrate Maker Culture virtually with TBBC and NJ Makers Day appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

During this winter season, TBBC, with generous support from the Friends of the NJ Library for the Blind & Handicapped, launched its inaugural Winter Reading Challenge for adult patrons. This initiative aimed to inspire reading during the chilly months, encouraging participants to track their progress from January 8th to March 1st, 2024. Together, our patrons accomplished an impressive feat, collectively finishing approximately 800 books! 

Each participant who completed at least one book earned a chance to win an Amazon Fire HD tablet in our prize drawing. The prize drawing was held on Friday, March 15th. We’re thrilled to announce that patron Paul Ressler was the lucky winner of the tablet! Paul shared his plans to enhance his reading experience by using the tablet to access BARD mobile.

The post Winter Reading Program Prize Winner! appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

The Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference is offering their pitch competition again this spring. They’ll be kicking things off with a Zoom workshop on March 27th, 1-2:15 p.m. on how libraries can make effective pitches to engage with local entrepreneurs, job hunters, nonprofits, and economic development initiatives.

Want to know what makes a business funding pitch stand out from the rest? Find out at Pitch Perfect: A Workshop for Libraries, a free event on March 27, 2024 from 1-2:15 p.m. on Zoom. Hosted by the Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference (ELC), this workshop will showcase past ELC pitch competition winners plus a “Pitch Me Anything!” panel of business and library experts who will share tips, best practices, and answer audience questions in an ask-me-anything style open discussion. From content to delivery, this workshop will give attendees the tools to build a compelling presentation and prepare them to compete for $7,000 in prizes in ELC’s upcoming pitch event (via Zoom on May 15, 1-2:15 p.m.), sponsored by EBSCO, Privco, SimplyAnalytics and Anonymous. The workshop will conclude with a networking session.

March 27: “Pitch perfect” workshop (1-2:15 p.m. via Zoom)
April 5: Pitch submissions deadline
April 15: “Top three” finalist libraries notified
May 15: Pitch competition (1-2:15 p.m. via Zoom, open to all)

• Geeta Halley (Round Rock Public Library): ghalley@roundrocktexas.gov
• LaMonica Wiggins (University of Pittsburgh): lmw129@pitt.edu
• Steve Cramer (UNC Greensboro): smcramer@uncg.edu

The post Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference 2024 Pitch Competition appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

The New Jersey Department of State’s Jersey Civic Engage initiative is excited to be part of Civic Learning Week, a national effort to prioritize civic education in order to sustain and strengthen our constitutional democracy! Scheduled for March 11–15 this year, Civic Learning Week is an annual nonpartisan event that brings together students, educators, policymakers, and leaders in the public and private sectors to highlight and further energize the movement for civic education in states and communities across the nation.

Today, the NJ Department of State invites you to join them in this important effort to make civic education a New Jersey and nationwide priority by engaging with Civic Learning Week in any or all of the following ways:

• Participate in and promote Civic Learning Week virtual activities. They’ve put together a list of suggested activities and access to sign up for them at: https://nj.gov/state/elections/jersey-civic-engage-events.shtml
• Attend the National Forum online Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Visit the Forum page to learn more and register. https://civiclearningweek.org/national-forum/
• Attend (virtual) the Featured Conversation at the National Forum with Justices Sonia Sotomayor & Amy Coney Barrett from 1:00pm – 2:15pm: https://civiclearningweek.org/national-forum/
• Follow @NationalCLW on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
• Follow Jersey Civic Engage on Facebook, Instagram, and X @NJCivicEngage
• Share their Civic Learning Week posts throughout the week. They’ll be using the hashtags #CivicLearningWeek and #NJCivicEngage
• Visit the Civic Learning Week website to learn more https://civiclearningweek.org/
• Become an official Civic Learning Week partner! Your commitment to—and championship of—civic learning will be recognized nationally through the campaign. By joining forces, partners can engage more students, educators, and community members in this movement.

The post The New Jersey Department of State’s Civic Learning Week appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

The New Jersey State Library is part of a multi-state initiative that is exploring artificial intelligence (AI) in libraries and library service. Together with Don Means (Gigabit Libraries Network) and R. David Lankes (University of Texas-Austin), the yearlong project will engage researchers in identifying essential questions related to AI and seeking practical applications in addition to a theoretical understanding. We’ll keep you posted on the project throughout the year.

The post NJSL Monthly Report – February 2024 appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

TBBC’s Winter Reading Challenge “Chilly Chapters”, will come to a close on March 15, 2024.  The conclusion will be celebrated with a prize drawing on Mar. 15th.  This year’s prize is A Fire HD 10 tablet, 10.1″, 1080p Full HD, 32 GB, black, without lock screen ads.  The winner will be notified by phone and/or email and will be announced in the Spring issue of the Newsletter.

The post March 15th – Winter Reading Challenge Prize Drawing!! appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

Users can easily access books via mobile app using their library card

The New Jersey State Library (NJSL), an affiliate of Thomas Edison State University, is pleased to announce the statewide roll out of the Palace Project, a new digital library service that offers free ebooks and audiobooks in one easy-to-use app. Through the Palace app, library users have access to over 20,000 items curated by the Digital Public Library of America and the New Jersey State Library. The app contains a vast collection of ebooks and professionally narrated audiobooks, ranging from classic novels to the latest bestsellers. Additionally, the State Library has curated its own digital lending collection within the app – the New Jersey Topics Shelf. This growing collection of digital books features New Jersey biographies, inventions, events, photographs and much more.

Users can access the Palace app on their preferred mobile device via download from the Apple or Google Play stores. The process for signing up is completely self-contained within the app, and will require a library card, an email address, and authentication through geolocation (anywhere in NJ). Books can be borrowed and read on your mobile device, and downloaded for use when you are not connected to the internet.

“This new e-reading experience allows users to access thousands of free books in one simple app. It offers unique content, including many titles without holds, waits or checkouts, making it perfect for use in the classroom, for book clubs and community events, and for those who just love to read,” said Michael Maziekien, Shared Services Project Specialist, New Jersey State Library. “The Palace mobile app transforms the way our patrons engage with our collections, making it easier than ever to explore, learn and connect.”

Learn more about the Palace Project, and how to access the Palace app, at: www.njstatelib.org/thepalaceproject.

The post The NJ State Library is providing all NJ residents with free access to over 20,000 eBooks & Audiobooks through the Palace Project appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

All New Jersey Palace Project users now have access to a new digital lending collection – the New Jersey Topics shelf! This growing collection of ebooks and digital audiobooks features New Jersey biographies, inventions, events, photographs and much more. New Jersey users of the Palace app (available for iOS and Android at https://thepalaceproject.org/), whether they belong to a participating library or use a Palace Statewide Virtual Barcode obtained through the New Jersey State Library, can log in and access the collection today. To view steps for setting up a Virtual Barcode, visit https://www.njstatelib.org/thepalaceproject.

The Palace platform (https://thepalaceproject.org/platform/),  which originated as SimplyE at the New York Public Library, is a set of digital content tools for libraries and their patrons, including an ebook marketplace, collection manager and patron-facing app for borrowing and accessing materials. New Jersey’s participating libraries can expand ease of discovery for their digital collections, while providing patrons with access to over 20,000 items curated by the Digital Public Library of America and the New Jersey State Library. The Palace Project is a division of LYRASIS, a non-profit member organization supporting libraries around the globe. If you have questions, or if you are interested in becoming a participating library, please email palaceproject@njstatelib.org.

The post New Palace Project Collection – New Jersey Topics appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

LNRB meets at least annually and advises the State Librarian on matters pertaining to necessary or desirable statewide and inter-regional programs or services; and types of interaction and linkage of the New Jersey Library Network with interstate and national library networks. The board is composed of 4 members appointed by LibraryLinkNJ Executive Board and up to four members appointed by the State Librarian. Each member of the library network review board serves for a term of two years, and may be reappointed for a second term.

The post New Members Appointed to Library Network Review Board appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

I am excited to let you all know that the New Jersey State Library will be accepting applications for a new position – Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives. Reporting directly to me, this individual will serve as a conduit for statewide and national strategic initiatives, coordinating projects that leverage the strengths of the New Jersey State Library and its component parts, to advance library services to the people of New Jersey. The position will be posted soon; in the meantime, please reach out if you have any questions for me.

We held the first meetings of the Network Library Services and Per Capita State Aid regulation working groups in early January. The lively meetings allowed us to set the stage for our future conversations and to create shared expectations. Please keep an eye out for upcoming Listening Sessions that you can participate in. Or feel free to forward your thoughts to me for distribution to the relevant working group.

Finally, I hope that this new year brings each of you joy – both personal and professional – and the opportunity to make meaningful connections that fill your spirit.

State Librarian

The post NJSL Monthly Report – January 2024 appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

The New Jersey State Library (NJSL), an affiliate of Thomas Edison State University (TESU), serves a variety of functions. These include delivering direct services to state government, state employees, and the public, as well as providing support for New Jersey’s network of libraries (academic, school, public and special). The State Library offers a law library, a research library, and a library for the visually and print impaired.

What follows is an overview of some of the many accomplishments at the New Jersey State Library during the 2023 calendar year.

The post NJ State Library 2023 Year End Wrap-Up appeared first on New Jersey State Library.

Join us for our annual New Directors Training that will once again be offered as a virtual event. As a new director, NJSL is here to support you in your role by offering basic training on a number of topics that are considered core knowledge for any leader of a public library in the state.

TOPICS INCLUDE:
• Library Law
• Budgeting
• Purchasing
• Strategic Planning
• Working with Trustees & Elected Officials
• Managing Library Staff and more!

Find out about the New Jersey State Library and how our departments can help you.

Please note that while this training is geared toward new library directors, ALL LIBRARY DIRECTORS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND!

The post Register for the 2024 Annual Virtual New Directors Orientation appeared first on New Jersey State Library.