YOUR ADVOCACY COUNTS!

The New Jersey Knowledge Initiative needs $1 million in additional funding for FY 2008 or it will not continue beyond Feb. 28, 2008. Your advocacy of the program has helped greatly to make the NJKI program a true success story for state government. The State Library and the NJKI Task Force will continue meetings with key legislators and state agency officials, many of whom report hearing good things about NJKI. If we are to succeed in securing continued funding for NJKI, YOU must continue to speak up.

Who benefits from NJKI?

Key Talking Points:

  • NJKI spurs economic growth and strengthens high-tech initiatives by providing free, unlimited and convenient access to high-end, proprietary resources in the fields of science, medicine, technology and business. This is information not available for free on the Internet or in bookstores.
  • The $6 million, state-funded program is the first its kind in the nation. The same resources would have cost $74.5 million if purchased individually. NJKI was funded for $2 million in FY2008.
  • More than 10 million articles/records have been used since the program began in 2005 by new Jersey’s small companies, researchers and entrepreneurs, colleges and universities statewide, legislative staff and state agencies served by the New Jersey State Library, and the more than 2,500 member libraries of the New Jersey Library Network and the people they serve.
  • Of the $6 million in NJKI funding, $2.25 million is used to license 4 major databases for JerseyClicks, delivering thousands of full-text titles in science and business, company data and residential data to everyone, everywhere using a NJ public library card.

What can I do to help?

My NJKI Advocacy Checklist

□Advocate NJKI to MY library directorand coworkers. Strategize ways to support NJKI.

□Gather testimonials from MY satisfied users, especially user’s company name and town, and forward to Paula Vitakisat the New Jersey State Library, email:

□Make sure that all NJKI resources are branded on MY library’s Web site giving proper attribution. Download the logo at:

□Contact local business, political, and academic leaders in MY community to let them know about the NJKI resources available to them. Call the Governor’s office (609-292-6000) or send email to using (topic: Commerce) to voice my support

□Promote NJKI resources in my community through programming and outreach to business groups. For more info, visit

□Promote NJKI to the max! Take advantage of opportunities to connect MY community with the NJKI resources and distribute NJKI promotional materials (Need more? Email

NJKI: Giving New Jersey’s Economy the Competitive Advantage

The New Jersey Knowledge Initiative (NJKI) developed by the State Library in collaboration with VALE, the state’s academic library consortia, the New Jersey Library Association, and the New Jersey Library Network connects entrepreneurs, small businesses, researchers and students to millions of top science and technology journal articles and key business information.

NJKI is a shared-services program originally funded by the state legislature in 2005 for $6 million over two years. The same resources would have cost $74.5 million if purchased individually. The program was budgeted $2 million for FY2008.

NJKI spurs economic growth and strengthens high-tech initiatives by providing free, unlimited and convenient access to 12 high-end, proprietary databases with time-embargoed materials in the fields of science, medicine, technology and business. This is information not available for free on the Internet or at bookstores.

  • First program of its kind in the nation –Recognized by the Council of State Governments in 2007 for innovation and best practice and by Government Technology magazine in 2006 for IT collaboration. Other states, including New York and Pennsylvania are working to adopt NJKI.

NJKI is available to 350 qualified New Jersey businesses via free, unlimited remote desktop access and at 50 colleges and universities convenient to every New Jersey county. Online at anyone can use the four business and general sources with their New Jersey public library card

  • More than 10 million articles/records have been used by hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans to date.

NJKI supports continuing professional education and career development statewide by providing all residents with access to full-text academic and business journals and key company data needed to update work skills and sustain a worker’s competitive advantage.

NJKI databases cover targeted areas of economic development in NJ, including biotechnology, medical research, pharmaceuticals and current clinical trials.

  • The program provides clear advantages to minority and women-owned small businesses, as well.

NJKI supports our state’s goal to maintain and expand its highly-skilled workforce by expanding science and business resources available to students, faculty and staff at 50 academic institutions statewide.

  • NJKI resources help keep New Jersey colleges and universities academically competitive with research institutions in other statesandenhance university research so that faculty can develop the breakthroughs that lead to new technologies and spur new business development.

NJKI enriches K-12 curriculum by making age-appropriate information available, so our students are better prepared to succeed in both the higher education environment and the global workforce.

NJKI has become an integral part of NJEDA’s Entrepreneurial Training Institute’s instruction to new business owners. Additionally, the NJ Small Business Development Centers and the NJ Incubator Network support NJKI and promote it to their small business clients.

  • Every major business organization in New Jersey supports the program.

NJKI provides access to business information resources that small businesses could not afford to purchase that allows them to build their company and remain competitive. A journal subscription costs anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands annually.