By Gary Cooper
On Wednesday, October 7, 2009, libraries from across New Jersey will participate in another Snapshot Day, to collect photos and statistics of how libraries are being used, the number of people using them and how important libraries are to their communities.
Last February, the New Jersey State Library and the New Jersey Library Association launched a project called “Snapshot: One Day in the Life of New Jersey Libraries.” Its purpose was to capture the impact that New Jersey libraries have on their communities on a typical day, Feb 19. Librarians from all types of libraries were asked to participate: public and academic libraries, school and special libraries, hospital libraries and government libraries, from the tiniest facility to the largest county systems. A survey was created to record the activities, and hundreds of libraries responded with impressive results: 161,367 people visited those libraries. However, the number of people was only part of the picture. In addition librarians answered nearly 20,000 reference questions.
“Each day libraries across the state provide accurate information, employment help, assistance with navigating government Web sites, and a rich cultural experience to New Jersey’s residents. Snapshot Day allows us to highlight the activities that occur on a typical day in our libraries and gives our customers the opportunity to describe the prominent role libraries play in their lives,” said Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian.
Patricia Tumulty, Executive Director of the New Jersey Library Association, said: "In these difficult economic times we are trying to figure out what would happen if we had no libraries in New Jersey by taking a snapshot of the incredible things that go on every day in New Jersey libraries."
For more information about Snapshot Day, visit the website: http://snapshot.njlibraries.org
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