 |
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
On February 28, 2008, state funding for the New Jersey Knowledge Initiative (NJKI) - an innovative program that has provided all of the state's academic institutions with access to 12 important databases in science, health and business since 2005 - ceased. As a result, NJKI database vendors began a rolling shutdown of access to all databases for which alternative funding has not been secured.
Although sufficient funding for the NJKI was included in the FY08 budget presented by Governor Corzine last year, the state's final budget reduced the program's allocation by $1 million. Since the summer of 2007, advocates for all communities served by the NJKI - including higher education, small businesses, and public libraries - have campaigned vigorously for a restoration of the funding, and The Cheng Library staff would like to thank the many people at William Paterson University who participated in this effort with letters, email messages, and telephone calls to the Governor and area legislators. Your efforts are deeply appreciated.
Nevertheless, no bridge funding has been forthcoming to support the database costs through the remainder of this fiscal year. However, the Governor's budget for FY09 does currently call for a $2 million allotment for the NJKI to start July 1, 2008, and we are hopeful that a new version of the NJKI will be available in the fall.
In the meantime, there is some good news. The University Administration has provided shortfall funding so that uninterrupted access to some of the most important databases can be preserved through the end of the academic year. We are pleased to inform you that we will continue our current subscriptions to the following NJKI resources:
If you have any questions about the NJKI program, please contact us. Thank you.