Dear Colleagues,

Jennifer R. Nelson has been chosen to serve as the new State Librarian for the New Jersey State Library, effective Feb. 2, 2021.

After an exhaustive nationwide search, with nearly 40 highly qualified candidates, Jennifer’s more than 30 years of diverse and relevant experience stood out among the candidates. She will replace Mary L. Chute, who will retire in February.

Jennifer currently serves as the director of Minnesota State Library Services, a division which administers Minnesota’s state and federal programs for libraries and the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library. She provided leadership, consultation and support to the Minnesota library community in planning, developing and implementing high-quality library services statewide. Jennifer is also an active member of the national organization of Chief Officers of State Library Agencies. In this capacity she has recently played a key role in efforts focused on developing the organization’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion statement and advancing efforts in data collection regarding new and evolv ing library service models. In addition to her state-level work, Jennifer also has 20 years of experience at large urban and county libraries.

Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a master's degree in library and information studies and a master's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was named a Library Journal “Mover and Shaker,” and has been honored by the Minnesota Governor with the Governor’s Award for Continuous Improvement, among other accolades. Widely published, Jennifer is co-author of "Technology and Literacy: 21st Century Library Programming for Children and Teens" (ALA Editions, 2012); lead writer of Measures that Matter: National Action Plan for Public Library Data and Outcomes, Chief Officers of Stat e Library Agencies, 2018; and author of “Celebrating Scratch in Libraries,” School Library Journal, May 2009.

Jennifer and her family are excited about their move to New Jersey. With family ties already in the state they are looking forward to getting involved in community activities, especially with the Paralympic sports community.

Please join me in welcoming Jennifer Nelson as one of the newest members of the Thomas Edison State University and New Jersey State Library organization.

Merodie A. Hancock, PhD  | President
p: 609-984-1105
f: 609-989-9321

Thomas Edison State University
111 W. State St. | Trenton, NJ 08608