By Sean Patrick Murphy; Staff Writer
The Maple Shade Library has just added a new dimension to its services: folks can borrow items by mail.Mike Bennett, branch manager of Maple Shade Public Library, said "Library in a Bag" is a new pilot project that started in June.

The program, which is becoming very popular, is open to all Burlington County card holders in good standing.

Borrowers can request items in person, by phone or online.

Bennett said they try to mail two business days from time of request.

AdvertisementUsers can return items in the bag and pay for postage or in person to any of the 16 libraries in Burlington County.

"We hope that as this gets disseminated people will say, 'Oh, I don't have to go fill up my car with gas - I can request this and it will come as close as my mailbox,'" Bennett said.

He said due dates will be included in the bag and are the same as items normally checked out in person.

Sarah Thomson is Extension Services Librarian and Project Supervisor for "Library in a Bag."

She said the county-wide library system received a grant from the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative.

"We were very excited by the idea," Thomson said. "Many of our long time customers find it difficult to get to a library either because they work long hours out of the area, are care-givers for family members, have child care issues, are disabled themselves, or are just plain busy."

The county mailed 313 items in June, and just over 1,000 items (or more than 400 packages) in July.

Any library customer can place a hold on an item from any computer in one of the library branches, or from their home or office. They simply choose "mail," instead of "Maple Shade," when prompted for a pickup location.

The item then is pulled from the shelf and sent to the "Library in a Bag" area for mailing.

"We named the program, designed a logo, and purchased teal nylon bags with the logo on them for mailing, as well as padded paper bags, and rigid bags for DVDs," Thomson said.

The grant year for the program runs through June 30, 2009.

"If we are 'successful,' we could receive half as much money for a second year ending June 30, 2010," Thomson said. "We are feeling pretty successful so far."

TRENTON —With the inclusion of $2 million in the fiscal year 2009 state budget, New Jersey small business owners and entrepreneurs can, once again, tap into the New Jersey Knowledge Initiative, or NJKI, and access free market research data and analysis, industry news, sales leads and hundreds of thousands of peer-reviewed journals and magazines.

The New Jersey State Library's state-funded program is available to New Jersey library card holders through their local library Web site or by going to www.njki.org.

"We are very happy to be able to resume this important resource for our small business community," said Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian and Library Journal's Librarian of the Year, who initiated the program in 2005. "This level of funding will allow us to continue to make available the most used and valued general business databases of our customers, such as ReferenceUSA, Academic Search Premier, and Frost and Sullivan marketing reports."

The NJKI Task Force, composed of librarians from many types of libraries, as well as representatives of the government and the business sector, will begin selecting additional business resources to be offered remotely. Later on, if alternate funding sources are found, the NJKI Task Force may supplement NJKI with subsidized information resources, as needed, particularly in the biotechnology fields.

More information is available by visiting www.njki.org or by writing to Kathi Moeller-Peiffer, Associate State Librarian, at kpeiffer@njstatelib.org.

WESTAMPTON — Getting a book from a library usually means a trip there, but the Burlington County Library is now in the mail order business as well.

The library initiated free home delivery service this summer with its new "Library in a Bag" program. Gloucester County is the only other county library offering materials using this mail program.

Gail Sweet, Burlington County Library director, said there has been a tremendous response from the public already.

Since the startup in June, she said the library has sent out more than 400 packages that have included books, CDs and DVDs.

"We thought DVDs would be the most requested. They weren't. It was books," she said. "Despite what many believe, books are still popular. I think people just still enjoy curling up with a book."

Monday, August 04, 2008
By Lucas K. Murray
lmurray@sjnewsco.com
With gas prices as high as they've ever been and more people feeling the crunch of a faltering economy, employees of the Gloucester County Library System are seeing more and more new faces among the stacks of books, periodicals and electronic media.

"We're issuing more and more cards each month to people who haven't had them before," said Robert Wetherall, director of the library's Mullica Hill branch. "Last month we handed out over 500 new cards."

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He called the summer of 2008 one of the most successful the library has ever seen, estimating circulation of materials and participation in summer reading programs up as high as twelve percent in most of the system's seven locations.

I would like to commend the Clark Library for its wonderful summer reading program. Any program that encourages kids to read is really valuable. The reading program gives kids of all ages something to be besides watch television or play video games.

This year, the theme of the summer reading program is "Catch the Reading Bug." The theme keeps people of all ages interested. There are lots of books on the subject of bugs and a live butterfly display. There are also scheduled programs, guests and activities for kids, teens and adults. Prizes are awarded to kids for reading and this helps kids gets educated while they are having fun.

I always find something that interests me when I go to the Clark Library. Everyone benefits by spending more time at the library.

Jimmy Dietze

Clark

Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, the Illinois Republican who sponsored the measure, says the proposal would keep sexual predators from contacting minors who are using a library computer.

But the American Library Association says Kirk's bill is yet another attempt by the federal government to interfere with library users' privacy and free speech.

If people in a community do not feel confident that their privacy will be protected, they cannot use the library as it was intended, for intellectual pursuit," said Emily Sheketoff, who heads the association's Washington office. "It will intimidate them."

It's the latest in a series of battles the association has been fighting with Congress over the past decade. Some highlights:

(by David Jimenez - July 23, 2008)
The Denville Public Library will be getting a facelift.

What started out five years ago as a plan to save money for the purchase of new carpeting has evolved into a major remodeling project that, if all goes accordingly, will become a temporary solution to an already overcrowded location struggling to accommodate a growing town.

“The remodeling project is a stop-gap measure that will let us better utilize the existing building space to serve our library patrons, which have increased substantially over the years,” said Board Trustee President Lorraine Hrobuchak.

MONROE — Mold, a leaky roof, no designated parking and faulty wiring are among the problems library officials said they've dealt with in the township library on Main Street.

A few times, library director Elizabeth Lillie said, birds have flown into the building through breaks in some older windows and set off alarms.

Lillie also highlighted chronic problems with the two-story library's chair lift.

"It doesn't always work. Someone has had to carry handicapped children up the stairs," she said. "It's tough to keep putting Band-Aids on problems. It's throwing good money away because you can't fix what's wrong with it."

And the township has moved on.

At Tuesday night's town council meeting, council unanimously approved six bids of various contractors worth $4,007,684 for a new library.

Asbury Park Press
ASBURY PARK — A $19,500 grant for the Asbury Park Public Library from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation means at least 12 new computers or double the number the library has now, said Malakai Oglesby, the library's information systems manager.

The foundation recently announced $8.1 million in online grants over two years to help public libraries in 11 states "improve and sustain free, quality access to computers."

In New Jersey, $969,800 in Opportunity Online grants are available to 83 libraries, which must apply and show they can meet requirements to match the grants.

The eligible libraries include Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Keyport, Bayshore Branch and Elberon Branch in Monmouth County.

The Internet age also happens to be the golden age of American libraries. Who would have thought it?

Instead of falling prey to the fast and easy glut of electronic information available in one's home via the personal computer, libraries — in all of their bookish glory — have instead been able to capitalize on the advent of computers and their links to the World Wide Web, mostly by luring patrons who want Internet services along with a good read.

Libraries have adapted in other ways few could ever have imagined, expanding their roster of services to include classes for children and adults, video clubs and video nights, even trendy coffee bars next to the stacks. Most amazing, libraries have morphed from a solitary experience into participatory community endeavors, places where neighbors can meet, learn a thing or two, and exchange ideas in a now fashionable setting.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By Heather Simione
hsimione@sjnewsco.com
PENNS GROVE Ñ The Penns Grove-Carneys Point Public Library continues along an uncertain path of meeting community needs as financial hardships become more evident along with the structureÕs physical deterioration and obsolete equipment.

In an effort to alleviate some of the pressures in cash-strapped communities such as Penns Grove, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has offered a grant to aid public libraries with their battle to fight illiteracy.

However, because libraries must provide funding to match the grant, the local library will most likely not receive the money.

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MIDDLETOWN — Jessica Lamonico, 6, is dancing in the library.

While she swings her arms to a Hannah Montana song, turned way up, the library staff doesn't seem to mind. Jessica is taking full advantage of the library's family Wii night, a free program offered Tuesday that allows library members to have free play on several different Wii games for two hours that evening.

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SHREWSBURY — While Monmouth County Library Director Kenneth Scheinbaum described the Eastern Branch's expansion project as "no easy feat," the hundreds who attended Sunday's dedication ceremony said they were thrilled with the final product.

"It's so cool," said 8-year-old Kara Forest of Red Bank, who said she saw a funny play and participated in face painting and drawing during the afternoon event.

"This is my most favorite place aside from the beach," Monmouth Beach resident Carol Spies said. "We all complain about our tax dollars, but when I come in here, I'm so happy I pay for this."

The collection of materials at Monmouth and Ocean county libraries is as diverse as the patrons who frequent them.

Census figures show that nearly one in five New Jersey residents was born in a foreign country.

In 2007, the Ocean County Library was awarded a $25,000 grant from the New Jersey State Library "to help start, strengthen or expand programs that serve residents who may encounter difficulty using traditional library services due to challenges such as age, disabilities or language," according to a news release about the grant.