NJ Libraries Get Rules For $125M In Funding, County Lining Up Projects

Among the Burlington County library projects that are expected to apply for state funding is in Medford, where local officials have been planning to construct a new library and municipal complex on land purchased by the township on Union Street. The new library would replace the over 40-year-old Pinelands branch on Allen Street.

TRENTON — After nearly two years of waiting, librarians across New Jersey have finally gotten a look at the rules spelling out how $125 million in library construction funds will be distributed.

Regulations to implement a grant program for the New Jersey Library Construction Bond Act funds were published in the New Jersey Register on July 1 and the New Jersey State Library is accepting comments until the end of the month.

“A number of comments are coming in and we’re assessing them as they do. We want as quick a turnaround as possible,” New Jersey State Librarian Mary Chute said Thursday.

The state library will have 30 days to respond to all comments following the Aug. 30 deadline before the rules are finalized. Afterward, the library plans to issue a call for proposals and begin accepting grant applications. Libraries will have 90 days to apply before the application period closes, Chute said.

Libraries have been waiting to access the money since voters first approved the state borrowing the $125 million in November 2017, and the publication of the long-awaited rules represents a significant step toward distributing the monies, although it will likely not be until well into 2020 that the first grants are awarded.

Among the Burlington County library projects that are expected to apply for state funding is in Medford, where local officials have been planning to construct a new library and municipal complex on land purchased by the township on Union Street. The new library would replace the over 40-year-old Pinelands branch on Allen Street.

Burlington County officials have also indicated an interest in renovating the county system’s main branch library in Westampton so that it has more public meeting spaces and rooms for meetings, presentations and library programs. The county spent more than $7 million on a major expansion of the main branch, which included the addition of a 250-seat auditorium, cafe, larger information desk, offices, new book checkout area, children’s story room and community meeting space. It opened in 2011.

Officials at the county’s Cinnaminson branch library are also in the early stages of researching potential renovations and building improvements.

Officials have not yet specified other potential projects, although the Burlington County Library Commission’s chairman Jonathan Chebra has said all the county’s branch locations were being evaluated for potential improvements in anticipation that the bond money would become available.

“We were very pleased to see the proposed regulations released, and that they prioritize improving access, technology and public services. We’re are parsing the details of the regulations and may submit comments on some of the finer points to the state librarian before the deadline, but overall we are comfortable with the direction they’ve taken,” Chebra said Thursday.

He expects Burlington County libraries will be able to present strong cases for some of the funding.

“We are eager to take advantage of this matching funding to improve Burlington County’s libraries. There will be a lot of statewide competition, but I think we have a very good case to make for Burlington County,” he said. “So far it’s been a great team effort between county and local stakeholders in the library community to work toward maximizing this funding opportunity on behalf of county residents.”

The rules say state funding will be capped at no more than $350 per square foot of new construction and $200 per square foot of renovations and repairs, but it also specifies that the New Jersey State Librarian, who will administer the program, will have the authority to designate maximum awards in order to make the best available use of the $125 million pool.

Both the proposed rules and the bond act voters approved specified that the state would fund up to 50% of a project’s cost and that the remainder must be funded through a local match or through private fundraising.

New construction and renovations are eligible for state funding and the rules specify that projects should be connected in some way to either improving access to a library for people with disabilities or special needs, improving safety, optimizing technology and access to the internet and providing public meeting spaces and providing services, including education, job training, career assistance, college preparation and civic services.

Other factors, such as a community’s socioeconomic profile, current and future needs, building needs and functionality, community support and cost-effectiveness will also be considered, according to the rules.

“The goal of the whole project is to equip New Jersey’s libraries to meet 21st century needs,” Chute said.

Applications for funding will be evaluated by a review committee formed by the state librarian, who will then forward a list of potential approvals to the president of Thomas Edison State University, which oversees State Library, to consider and approve.

The New Jersey Legislature will also have final say on the projects since legislation appropriating the money will need to be approved by both chambers and signed by the governor.

Chute said there’s no way of knowing how long until the first dollars are awarded, but she said she was pleased the process has finally started after libraries endured a long wait for the regulations.

“We’re glad for that and in seeing the interest and comments coming in,” she said, adding that the State Library has asked libraries to respond to an informal survey the State Library created to solicit information about potential projects and costs.

The library is still collecting the surveys and compiling the results, but Chute said the response so far has shown there is a tremendous need across the state.

“Even in a short window of time we saw enough interest to know interest use up all the money in the pot,” she said.

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