Publications & Statements

Testimony of Patricial Tumulty, Executive Director New Jersey Library Association before the Assembly Budget Committee

MARCH 13, 2007

I am Patricia Tumulty, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Library Association. I am speaking today directly on behalf of the 1700 members of our Association and the 1500 members of the New Jersey Library Trustee Association. But more importantly, I am also speaking on behalf of the millions of residents of New Jersey who rely upon local libraries as their centers for access to literacy and information services.

I am testifying in support of the funding for library programs administered by the New Jersey State Library. Since 1995, the State Library has been affiliated with Thomas Edison State College. That affiliation was made permanent with the passage of legislation in July 2001.

The role of New Jersey’s libraries has greatly expanded in the last decade. I am not sure where the myth started that libraries are not relevant in the 21st century. Fortunately, reality is stronger than myth and our libraries are demonstrating that every day. Over 42 million visits to NJ libraries were recorded last year- more visits than to the casinos in Atlantic City, than people who flew from Newark International Airport or ever visited Giants Stadium. In addition, there are thousands of visits made electronically every day through the use of electronic resources which are provided through our libraries’ webpages.

Although statistics are impressive, the most important thing to remember is that each visit to the local library – whether in person or virtually- is important to a resident of New Jersey. Whether they are trying to find information on starting a business, have a question about their health, want to learn how to use a computer or assistance with educational assignments- library services empower them and directly impacts their quality of life. The public values its libraries. National public opinion surveys have demonstrated that people overwhelmingly support funding for library initiatives.

TWO CRITICAL FUNCTIONS

In addition to the traditional role as an educational resource in a community, libraries are now filling two new critical functions. Today’s libraries are providing extensive business resources for economic development and libraries are now vital community centers providing a wide-range of activities including literacy classes, cultural programs and computer training classes for adults to name but a few.

NEW JERSEY KNOWLEDGE INITIATIVE

The library community is extremely pleased that Governor Corzine has recommended $ 3 million to continue funding for the successful and innovative New Jersey Knowledge Initiative program. This funding is a recognition that NJKI plays a significant role in Governor Corzine’s Economic Growth Strategy for New Jersey which stresses innovation and opportunity for all residents of New Jersey.

Information is the foundation of innovation for the twenty-first century. KI brings the information resources essential for innovation directly to the residents of New Jersey.

NJKI provides entrepreneurs, small business owners, researchers and students with information tools through web access to collections of proprietary research materials in the areas of science, technology, medical and business for economic development. These are offered in college and universities in the state, the State Library, through public libraries and at business incubators and small businesses served by the NJ Economic Development Authority.

Legislative leadership particularly by Assemblyman Greenwald and Senator Bryant was essential in the development of this program. This program was begun in FY 05 under the leadership of the NJ State Library which developed a unique partnership of academic and public librarians who in consultation with the business community identified information resources which were essential for science and business development. The initial funding of $ 6 million provided funding for two years. With that initial funding the NJ State Library was able to subscribe to 12 full text online collections of scientific and business materials for a period of two years. These are materials which are not available free over the Internet can cost from between $200 to $20,000 annually to purchase separately by an individual library or company. One of the most important aspects of the NJKI program is that it has leveraged a small amount of money into a large buying cooperative. It is essential that funding be provided in this budget because these licenses expire at the end of this fiscal year.

From a dream, NJKI is now a reality. It provides convenient, free online access to over 10,000 full-text journals in science, medicine, technology and business. The program has become an essential research tool for researchers, scientists and business entrepreneurs. These journals cover such important topics for economic growth as nanotechnology, stem cell research and biotechnology.

Its success can best be demonstrated through the words of those who have directly used this program. Jessica Langer, a scientist working at the Technology Centre of New Jersey says
” Access to full-text, high-quality articles furthers our research and is highly beneficial, especially for small companies. Please continue and expand NJKI.”

“NJKI’s ability to provide us with full-text journal articles of relevant references is an invaluable service for a small company with limited resources,” said Dr. Alan Stein of PortaScience in Moorestown.

The NJ Knowledge Initiative was the first such program in the country. It is serving as the model for similar proposed programs in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Michigan. These states have begun to realize that NJ is providing a competitive advantage to its business and academic communities through NJKI. In addition, last October it was recognized as the Best IT Collaboration Among Organizations at the 2006 NJ Digital Summit. The program has received endorsements from numerous business and scientific organizations including the NJ Business and Industry Association, Southern NJ Development Council, the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey and the NJ Business Incubator Network.

The $ 3 million of funding in the proposed budget is essential for keeping the program at its current operational level. As this program has grown and developed, other critical resources have been identified which would also be extremely valuable to the scientific and business community. Additional funding could expand this program into other needed areas for economic growth.

CONSTRUCTION BOND ACT

This budget again provides funding to support the debt service on the first round of the Public Library Construction Bond Act which was passed in 1999. This legislation had tremendous bi-partisan support. Sixty-eight projects were funded under the first grant program. This program also spurred economic development throughout the State because the $45 million bond program was the catalyst for over $270 million in construction funding. Each of these projects has created libraries which are serving as vibrant community centers offering a wide-range of services to all residents of the community. It has been an unqualified success. Those of you who have already experienced the magic of these new or renovated facilities in your communities know what I am talking about.

This is one critical area where there is still much more to be done. The New Jersey State Library has a list of over 100 communities who are interested in applying for a second round of construction funding if it were to become available. That list includes many of our urban libraries such as Paterson, Passaic, Trenton, Camden or Jersey City who did not apply for funding under the first round because the 3-1 local match was cost prohibitive. The library community supports providing a separate urban libraries program with a 1-1 match. We believe that another library construction grant program could be used as a catalyst for urban development in these cities. Funding a second round of library construction bond act could also provide needed construction jobs in New Jersey essential for economic growth. Currently, A284 has been introduced in the Assembly. It is sponsored by Assembly Speaker Roberts and Assemblymen Cohen, Stanley and Van Drew and co-sponsored by an additional 16 members of the Assembly. This bill would provide funding for this critically needed new round of public library construction.

NEW JERSEY STATE LIBRARY

The FY 08 budget also provides essential ongoing support for the New Jersey State Library. For over 200 years, the New Jersey State Library has provided leadership to the library community with services directly to the Executive Branch of Government, the Legislature, the Judiciary and the residents of our state. The State Library’s resources are available on the official state website providing access to all residents of our state. The State Library has been a leader in the utilization of technology to provide library resources statewide through a variety of programs which are offered to all libraries and, in many cases, directly to any resident of New Jersey with a public library card through the Internet. No longer do people have to drive long distances to use a research library, their local library can often provide the resources for them electronically.

One of the State Library’s Divisions is the Library for the Blind and Handicapped, offers a radio reading service for blind NJ residents called Audiovision. 2,000 visually impaired residents have individual receivers at home that they tune in to hear volunteers at LBH read local newspapers and other printed material. Audiovision is broadcast over NJN’s TV SAP connection. When NJN goes completely digital in February, 2009, Audiovision must be digitized as well or the service will cease. Although the State Capital Budget Planning Committee recommended that $360,000 be included in the FY08 budget to digitize the recording equipment and receivers, the money was, unfortunately, not included in their year’s budget. Without the funding, many of our most vulnerable citizens will lose this essential service that connects them to the world. Because of the lead time needed for product development, the State Library needs the funding for this critical upgrade now.

OTHER STATE AID PROGRAMS FOR LIBRARIES

The Governor also recommended continued level funding for the other two major state programs for libraries- State Per Capita Library Aid Program and the New Jersey Library Network. Neither of these programs has received any increases in funding in many years and
further reductions in these programs would be very difficult to absorb. The State Per Capita Aid program is a partnership between local public libraries and the State of New Jersey to ensure all residents have access to quality library services. Local public libraries receive this aid if they provide certain standards of library services to their communities. The current budget allocation of approximately $8.66 million has remained stagnant since FY99 and is lower than funding was for this program in FY90. This is a per capita program, however, its funding level has never been adjusted to reflect the state’s population increases in the 2000 census. It is our hope that one day this program can again be fully funded at its authorized level. Further erosion in the state per capita aid program would be extremely difficult to replace.

The New Jersey Library Network has been an essential state funded library program for over twenty years. The Network provides a structure which shares the resources and materials of over 4,000 libraries of all kinds- public, academic, school and special. Services of the Network include statewide interlibrary loan services and a statewide delivery system that ensures library resources can reach people quickly. This system has transferred millions of library materials throughout the state each year. The provision of information resources on a statewide basis provides an equalized playing field to ensure that all residents have access to information they need when they need it. This program, unfortunately, has remained at level state funding for over 15 years. This level funding has caused an erosion in services. Programs which had been funded in the past such as Tutor.com a very popular program which provided students in grades 4-12 with assistant in many subjects such as math, science, social science and English through libraries homepages was eliminated because cost increases in the program could not be absorbed with stagnant state funding.

CONTINUING TO GROW

Thank you for your continued support of library initiatives. The library community was extremely grateful to see the Governor’s support for the Knowledge Initiative and urge you to continue your strong support for this program. The Governor’s budget strongly indicates that he views libraries as essential services for economic and community development for all residents of our state.

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