Nightline replaced by Internet Q&A
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — The growth of the Internet has dealt a fatal blow to the once-popular New Jersey Nightline, an information service offered through libraries statewide.
Library officials in the township have been informed that the state is not offering a new contract to continue the service, instead opting to begin Q&A NJ, an Internet-based service.
New Jersey Nightline, which will cease operations Dec. 30, has been offered by the East Brunswick Public Library for 11 years, according to the library’s director, Jason Stone. The service allowed people who had factual questions to call and ask a librarian to find the answer for them at the local library.
The state is going with the online service because the number of people using New Jersey Nightline has declined, Stone said. In the mid 1990s, at the peak of its popularity, the service in East Brunswick would get about 2,800 calls a month, he said. That number has declined by about half.
"People would call in with any kinds of questions they had," he said. "It had to be a short factual answer that could be given over the telephone."
The service employs librarians to answer questions Monday through Thursdays from 9 p.m. until midnight, and Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5 p.m. until midnight.
New Jersey Nightline was particularly busy Sunday nights during the school year, the time when many students are doing their homework. While the service would normally have two or three librarians per shift in East Brunswick, on those Sundays it would have four, Stone said.
Stone said the service only provides answers that could be found within five to 10 minutes.
Some were simple — "How did the corn flake originate?" or "Do turtles have teeth?" — while others required more work, such as asking that the "big bang theory" be explained in simple terms. Some of the questions have been for homework assignments, others were not.
Librarians fax or send the information they find to the questioners, or read it to them over the phone, he said.
The state paid the library $180,000 per year to run the service, Stone said. That money paid for the librarians, telephone costs, and for keeping the building open after hours, he said.
"It’s been a great service," he said. "Usage has declined, and I have to accept that. I understand the state library’s deciding to stop based on the declining usage."
Not everyone is happy to see New Jersey Nightline come to an end, though. One woman, who declined to be identified, said she is hoping the state reverses its decision and continues Nightline. She said people with disabilities and senior citizens in particular, rely on New Jersey Nightline for information.
However, Q&A NJ is meant to be a modern replacement for New Jersey Nightline.
"It’s something that wasn’t even thought about 11 years ago when Nightline appeared," Stone said. "Its hours of availability are certainly much more convenient."

