New Jersey State Library Awarded IMLS Connecting to Collections Implementation Grant for $238,755

By Gary Cooper
Thanks to a $238,755 grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the New Jersey State Library will lead a two-year NJ Collections Care Initiative to address urgent collections care needs through educational programs and training. Intended to reach collections care professionals and volunteers, these programs will encourage the use of collections care best practices, support targeted fundraising and marketing, increase the use of existing resources, and accelerate the development of collaborative strategies.
Building on the success of New Jersey’s "Connecting to Collections" planning process, the State Library will continue its partnerships with the Connecting Care Consortium of New Jersey, known as C3NJ: the New Jersey State Archives, the Newark Museum, the New Jersey State Museum, the New Jersey Historical Commission and Rutgers University. Through this partnership, known as Connecting to Collections New Jersey, the public will incur long-term benefits through increased accessibility to unique and rare collection materials, improved security of important state collections through disaster planning, and the assurance that the great collections within the state will be preserved for the enjoyment and research needs of future generations.
Through the NJ Collections Care Initiative, traveling full-day educational programs will be delivered to four regions of New Jersey.  Four important sites in optimal locations have volunteered facilities to host these programs: the Free Public Library of Hasbrouck Heights (Bergen County), Wheaton Arts & Cultural Center (Cumberland County), Morris Museum (Morris County), and the Monmouth County Archives. These facilities represent the diversity of collecting institutions with a public library, archives center, historic site and a museum.  By presenting these programs in each region, the C3NJ task force will endeavor to attract small organizations that might be unable to invest the time and funding needed to attend programs at a distance. 
Under the oversight of the State Library, the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) will manage day-to-day communications, dissemination of information and registration for all the educational programs. 
In total, the NJ Collections Care Initiative will present eight traveling educational programs and one state-wide conference.  The subject choices for the eight traveling programs reflect the most requested training programs that were ranked on the electronic survey of New Jersey institutions:  Best Practices for Preserving Collections; Housing Solutions for Paper-Based Collections; Managing Digital Collections; Fundraising and Promoting Your Special Collections; Caring for Photographs; Archival Management; Collaborative Strategies for Collections Management; and Disaster Planning.
Because disaster planning is a critical need at collecting institutions throughout New Jersey, C3NJ will host a statewide conference that addresses important facets of emergency response and building networks for collaborative mutual aid.  Tom Clareson, LYRASIS senior consultant, and Laura Hortz Stanton, CCAHA director of preservation, will take an active role in organizing this special conference, drawing upon their extensive work with various chapters of Heritage Preservation’s Alliance for Response Program.  Presenters will include first responders and representatives from organizations such as FEMA and the NJ Office of Emergency Management.
For more information contact Michele Stricker, deputy director of the State Library’s Library Development Bureau, at 609-278-2640, ext 164 or [email protected].
About the New Jersey State Library The New Jersey State Library has three bureaus: the Library Development Bureau (LDB), the NJ State Library Talking Book & Braille Center (TBBC) and the State Library Information Center (SLIC). The State Library connects people with information through its service to libraries, government and people with special needs. The State Library, which is affiliated with Thomas Edison State College, coordinates, promotes and funds the New Jersey Library Network, of which we are a proud member. Last year, attendance in New Jersey’s public libraries was well over 51 million with total circulation of almost 64 million, an increase of almost 6 million. For more information, visit www.njstatelib.org.
About IMLS  The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Through grant making, policy development, and research, IMLS helps communities and individuals thrive through broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning.