LibraryLinkNJ May 23, 2019 Town Hall Meeting

LibraryLinkNJ is holding this Town Hall meeting to discuss the Proposed FY20 Budget (July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020), approved by the LibraryLinkNJ Executive Board at their meeting on Wednesday, May 15, which will be presented for approval at the Membership Meeting on Wednesday, June 4, 2019.

This Town Hall meeting is open to all interested staff in LibraryLinkNJ member libraries, as well as the general public.

LibraryLinkNJ’s fiscal year began on July 1, 2018. We are operating under the parameters of an FY19 (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019) budget approved by the LibraryLinkNJ membership at our Spring Membership Meeting on June 13.

Update: Over the last few months, LibraryLinkNJ has undertaken a concerted effort to save the organization from possible closure by June 30. On Thursday, February 7, the LibraryLinkNJ Executive Board voted to keep LibraryLinkNJ open into FY2020 (July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020). We are appreciative of the board’s action and want to express our gratitude to you and the LibraryLinkNJ community for helping to make this happen.

In order to keep LibraryLinkNJ operating, the State Library has committed $1.84 million to fund LibraryLinkNJ services in FY2020, contingent on funding for their budget and the NJ Library Network budget line. This funding will allow LibraryLinkNJ to continue to serve communities statewide, through our member libraries. This development, however, was not without disheartening actions. 

To meet our current budget limitations, we reduced staff by 30% this spring. We terminated the full-time positions of our Program Coordinator and Social Media Manager, Sophie Brookover (effective April 30, 2019) and our Assistant Director, Joanne Roukens (effective June 30, 2019). We deeply regret the loss of these valuable staff members. The lack of adequate New Jersey Library Network funding has left us no choice but to reduce staff. Nonetheless, we are pressing forward with a continued commitment to serve our member libraries in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

For more detailed information, go to our support page.

Registration is required, as virtual seats are limited. A group of colleagues from one or more libraries can attend jointly using a single connection. We will send an access email to all registrants the day before the virtual meeting.

The Town Hall meeting will be recorded and the recording will be available on this page.

Registration will close when full or at 12 noon Wednesday , May 22, 2019, whichever occurs first.

Based on your questions during our previous Virtual Town Halls, we have prepared an FAQ for easy reference. The FAQ covers questions about Funding and Services, Advocacy, and Delivery. We will update it regularly as new questions arise, and as we have more information to share.