The New Jersey State Library currently holds contracts with the Newark Public Library and the Rutgers University Libraries to supplement the resources of New Jersey libraries in certain areas. The State Library funds usage of this additional service so that all libraries in the state and all their customers have access to the specialized materials and reference services available at these institutions.
Newark Public Library
Staff at all New Jersey libraries are invited to call or email The Newark Public Library for assistance in providing their customers with information and resources in the following subjects: Art, Business, Music, U.S. Patents and Trademarks, Government Documents, and New Jersey history.
- Do you have a patron who bought a piece of art at a flea market and needs help identifying the artist? Or one who has inherited a work of art and would like to know its approximate value?
- Is one of your patrons getting ready for a recital and in need of sheet music your library does not have?
- Is a business owner or consultant asking you for industry profiles you don’t have access to?
- Are you helping a researcher who might be in need an original photo of a notable or newsworthy New Jerseyan?
Turn to Newark Public Library staff for assistance! Click here to learn about each resource they offer in depth.
In addition, NJ librarians can turn to NPL for such information as:
- The history of names of a business
- The history, style and values of antiques
- How many patents have been issued to a company
- New Jersey historical statistics; and all manner of government documents and legislative publications.
For assistance with these topics and more, contact:
- The Newark Public Library Reference Desk at 973-733-7779 or email reference@npl.org.
- The New Jersey Information Center at 973-733-7775 or email njreference@npl.org.
Rutgers University Libraries
Comprised of over a dozen libraries across three campuses, as well as robust online resources, the Rutgers University Libraries provide Interlibrary loan services to the members of the New Jersey Library Network. Their collection is comprised of over 4 million print volumes and 1.5 million electronic volumes, approximately half of which are unique to Rutgers. Interlibrary requests are received via JerseyCat, OCLC, RapidILL, DocLine and EZBorrow. Additionally, member libraries can place requests directly via the ILLiad web platform.
All requests are mediated by the interlibrary loan department, a centralized team that works closely with libraries across all of Rutgers campuses. NJLN member libraries are entitled to borrow circulating items from the Rutgers University Libraries or request electronic delivery of an article or chapter via interlibrary loan. During the pandemic Rutgers continued to fill article and chapter requests, even during library closures. It is exciting to see a steadily increasing volume of requests and they welcome a return to pre-pandemic figures.
New Jersey State Library’s Law Library
The New Jersey State Library’s Law Library provides specialized supplemental reference assistance to New Jersey libraries with law-related questions. The law library’s collection of New Jersey-specific resources is particularly strong, including primary material such as cases and Session Laws that date back to the colonial era. The library also has historical volumes of the New Jersey statutes and superseded pages from the New Jersey Administrative Code which allows the law librarians to discover exactly how New Jersey law read in the past. The law library has also compiled an extensive collection of New Jersey legislative histories which often are the only resource that can help explain why a particular law was passed. The law library’s unique and extensive collection of legal material and databases, and our experienced staff of law librarians enable the State Library to answer questions from New Jersey libraries.
