Dear Colleagues, In my attempt to schedule the Directors' and Trustees' Check-ins to avoid the Rosh Hashanah holiday (and keep the two sessions on the same week) I inadvertantly scheduled the Trustees' Check-in on the Yom Kippur holiday.  I apologize for this aggregious oversight and from now one will be sure to check if there are any holidays or observances on days I schedule meetings or webinars.  The new date for the Trustees' Check-in is September 23rd at 7:00PM.  Please note that these sessi ...Continue Reading

NJSL is saddened to hear of the devastation wrought on New Jersey’s libraries by Tropical Storm Ida.  We have established a targeted Emergency Grant Fund to help libraries that were damaged by the storm or flood waters. An impacted library may request funds to mitigate the damage, replace materials or equipment, or support repairs. The grant amount will be determined once the number of impacted libraries is determined but expected to be in the $10,000 - $20,000 range. If your library was damaged and you are inter ...Continue Reading

Dear Colleagues, Please pass this along to your trustees. Please join us at 7:00PM on September 16, 2021 for a discussion about the Return of Funds statute and application process.  Please use the following link to register. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LDqf-iCwTk22uPZLCaMyvw Best regards, Bob Keith Director of Library Law, State Aid, and Statistics New Jersey State Library Street Address: 185 W. State St. Trenton, NJ 08608 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 520 Trenton, NJ 08625 P: 609-278-26 ...Continue Reading

Dear Colleagues, Please join us at 2:00PM on September 14, 2021 for a discussion about the Return of Funds statute and application process.  Please use the following link to register. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SPQvOIxKS_Oaz64ymn_C4w Best regards, Bob Keith Director of Library Law, State Aid, and Statistics New Jersey State Library Street Address: 185 W. State St. Trenton, NJ 08608 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 520 Trenton, NJ 08625 P: 609-278-2640x192 F: 609-278-2650 rkeith@PROTECTED T ...Continue Reading

Posted on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Health The New Jersey Department of Health has just released a grant opportunity for community organizations, faith-based organizations, libraries and healthcare systems.     Through the CDC, New Jersey Health Equity Response to COVID-19 funding opportunity is available now until Friday, September 24, 2021 - The Library Project is Activity C3 .This grant will provide funding to address COVID-19 and advance health equity (e.g. through strategies, intervent ...Continue Reading

The New Jersey State Library subscribed to the ebook platform SimplyE, hosted by LYRASIS, last year with CARES Act funding. NJSL plans to continue this project for a second year under its new name of the Palace Project (still maintained by LYRASIS). As advertised on NJPUBLIBS and NJSL Direct last month, there will be a webinar on this product hosted by LYRASIS staff on Wednesday, September 29th at 11:30am ET via Zoom at https://lyrasis.zoom.us/j/9167183861. All public library staff interested in this product development ...Continue Reading

Posted on behalf of LYRASIS The LYRASIS team would like to invite you to an upcoming webinar that will present the Palace Project and introduce the new mobile application called Palace that will be available to libraries across the state of New Jersey this fall. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, September 29th at 11:30am ET via Zoom at https://lyrasis.zoom.us/j/9167183861. As you might have recently seen, LYRASIS, in partnership with the Digital Public Library of America, has received a $5 million grant from ...Continue Reading

Dear Colleagues, The recording for the Promoting Public Health with the NJ Department of Health webinar is now available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tPndy6pXuQ Please note the video description has a link to the slides as well as the chat log.  Please let me know if you have any questions. Best regards, Bob Keith Director of Library Law, State Aid, and Statistics New Jersey State Library Street Address: 185 W. State St. Trenton, NJ 08608 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 520 Trenton, NJ 08625 ...Continue Reading

SHLB Webinars Upcoming: Establishing a Telehealth Center in Your Library Friday, August 20, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET Libraries play a critical role in maintaining the welfare and safety of our communities. As we move forward, telehealth in libraries will become increasingly important, enabling patrons who may lack Internet access to connect to their healthcare providers. Join Craig Settles, author of the “Telehealth Guide to Connecting Library Patrons to Better Health,” the India ...Continue Reading

THE ACCESS NAVIGATOR GRANT APPLICATION FOR LIBRARIES IS NOW OPEN Public Libraries in New Jersey are invited to apply to participate in the Access Navigators Program. The Access Navigators Program is a partnership with local public libraries to leverage resources directed towards achieving the participants’ goals. Shared resources are inclusive of, but not limited to: [*]Digital and Basic Literacy Training Resources [*]Broadband access (connectivity and devices) [*]Job Search and Job Training Programs [*]Business ...Continue Reading