“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.