“It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.” – Rachel Carson

Since 1984, the Environmental Research Library (ERL), formerly called the Information Resource Center, has been the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (NJDEP) library and information center for environmental science and technology. One professional librarian manages a collection of books, journals, government documents and regulatory information related to environmental health, site remediation, toxicology, water resources, waste management, and more. The Environmental Research Library (ERL) is a branch library of the New Jersey State Library and is supported by NJDEP's Division of Science and Research

It is the mission of the ERL to provide timely and high-quality environmental information research and services to NJDEP staff and to the general public. Our vision for the ERL is to be an environmental information center whose work and resources are aligned with and critical to the priorities of the Department.

All services provided by the ERL are available to all NJDEP personnel. Members of the general public are welcomed to use the library and its various collections, but are restricted from borrowing any ERL books, documents, etc. and from using services that incur fees, such as interlibrary loans or database searches.