Description
of Services:
The
Environmental Research Library
(ERL) is the environmental
library and information
center for NJDEP. It is
a full-service library designed
to help you get what you
need when you need it. If
the ERL does not have a
document in its collection
that you have requested,
ERL staff will identify
an available source.
All services provided by
the ERL are available to
all NJDEP personnel. Members
of the general public are
welcome 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.
Two professional librarians
staff the ERL and are available
to provide the following
services:
Circulating
Books, Government Documents
and Regulatory Materials:
NJDEP staff members have
borrowing privileges for
the ERL's circulating collection
of approximately 4,000 books,
government documents and
regulatory materials related
to environmental science
and technology. Books that
have been cataloged to date
can be found in the State Library's Public Access Online Catalog.*
If
you are looking for a book,
report, regulation, etc.
that the ERL does not have
in its collection, the ERL
can obtain it for you via
our interlibrary loan service.
This service connects the
ERL to a vast system of
libraries that share resources.
For example, although the
ERL has numerous EPA reports
in its collection, we do
not have every published
EPA report. Frequently,
we borrow these reports
from other libraries.
*Pick-up
and Return of State Library
Books – Since the
ERL is a branch library,
NJ State Library books can
be reserved for you and
sent to the ERL for pickup.
When requesting a book,
specify the DEP Library
as the location to pick
up. State Library books
can also be dropped off
here, and we will check
them in before returning
them to the State Library.
Journal
Collection:
The ERL's
journal collection is
the ERL's primary source
for current information
in environmental science.
Because of their importance
to current information,
the journals do not circulate.
DEP personnel can request
articles to be scanned and
sent via e-mail or interoffice
mail. Literature alerts
can also be set up for a
specific topic or area of
interest (see Literature
Alerts below.)
If
you need an article from
a journal to which the ERL
does not subscribe, the
ERL can obtain the article
for you via our interlibrary
loan service.
Information
Research and Reference services:
Two professional librarians
assist DEP staff with projects
in all subject areas, from
basic requests for background
information to very technical
information. No request
is too small or too large
for the ERL.
For
example, ERL staff frequently
find information on clean
air and water treatment
technology, environmental
economics, environmental
justice, ecology, geology,
land use planning, regulations,
sustainability, technical
standards (ASTM, ISO, ASME,
etc.), toxicology, wildlife
biology, financial profiles
of corporations and many
other topics.
To
provide these types of reference
services, ERL staff calls
upon its own reference materials,
its interlibrary loan service,
its relationships with other
libraries, the Internet
and Dialog, a powerful online
information service. Dialog
makes millions of references
accessible in approximately
650 discrete databases covering
topics such as business
and industry, biology, chemistry,
economics, environmental
science, engineering, intellectual
property, medicine, and
technology.
Literature
and News Alerts:
ERL staff can "watch"
for literature in any topic
that you are tracking. For
example, the ERL currently
supports the work of the
State's Mercury Task Force
by reviewing the tables
of contents of journals
for any literature published
on mercury regarding its
effects on human health
and its fate in the environment.
We can also collect and
generate alerts for news
articles on a specified
topic or area of interest.
Climate change and white-nose
syndrome are just two of
the topics we are currently
watching for various DEP
personnel. If you are interested
in this type of service
or wish to be added to an
existing alert, please contact
the ERL.
Interlibrary
Loan Service:
The ERL subscribes to the
OCLC Interlibrary Loan service
(ILL). This service allows
the ERL to borrow and/or
obtain photocopies of resources
from other libraries. Through
this service, the ERL has
access to a vast collection
of information resources
held by other libraries
in the U.S. Numerous academic,
corporate, government, and
public libraries participate
in this service and are
willing to lend their materials
to the ERL.
If
you wish to make an interlibrary
loan request for something
that is not held in our
collection, simply call
or email us with information
about the item, and we will
do our best to obtain it
for you.
For
non-work items, or materials
not related to your research/professional
development, please use
the State Library’s
interlibrary loan system.
Instructions on using the
State Library’s ILL
system can be found here:
- State Library's Public Access Online Catalog.*
-
Library
Cards:
The ERL issues NJ State
Library cards to NJDEP staff,
which can be used to check
out circulating materials
in our collection, as well
as the State Library’s.
The library card’s
barcode can also be used
to access databases available
at the State Library.
If
you wish to obtain or renew
your library card, please
contact the ERL. NJ state
employees and Thomas Edison
State College staff, students
and mentors may also register
online at the State Library’s
website:
State Library's Public Access Online Catalog.*
For
Students and Scholars:
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.
If you are a student or
a scholar and wish to view
items in the library for
research purposes, please
contact the ERL to make
arrangements to visit the
library. If you have questions
about our collection, feel
free to email or give us
a call.
Maintenance
of ERL Web Site:
The ERL maintains links
to "virtual" sources
of technical information
available for free on the
web. For more information,
click on "Environmental
Information Resources."