The library crisis in New Jersey: a statewide strategy for survival

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how statewide advocacy and advocacy planning can effectively ward off major threats to library funding.

The paper presents a case study of New Jersey advocacy efforts when faced with proposed legislation to halve the minimum mandated funding for public libraries in the state. The paper describes various advocacy strategies.

The advocacy process has had encouraging results, although the threat of funding cuts remains.

The case study demonstrates that creating a statewide task force to focus on advocacy and other advocacy strategies can be effective in thwarting legislative efforts to reduce library funding.