The Place for Jersey City News
Log In / Register
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Jersey City Times
  • News
  • Diversions
    • Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    • Other Fun Stuff
  • In Our Midst
  • Food And Drink
  • Education
  • Neighborhoods
    • Downtown
      • News
      • Guide
    • Heights
      • News
      • Guide
    • Journal Square
      • News
      • Guide
    • Bergen Lafayette
      • News
      • Guide
    • Greenville
      • News
      • Guide
    • Westside
      • News
      • Guide
  • Opinion
  • Columns
    • Eye Level
    • Mamarama
  • Event Calendar
  • Support our Mission
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Alison Mirenda

Jeffrey Trzeciak Appointed as Jersey City Library Director

November 27, 2019/in header, In Our Midst, Latest News, News /by Alison Mirenda

After many months of interviewing and meeting highly qualified applicants, the Jersey City Free Public Library has selected Jeffrey Trzeciak as its new director.

Trzeciak will be replacing the library’s previous director, Priscilla Gardner, who held the position since 2002 before retiring in September 2019. Mayor Steven M. Fulop decided to honor Gardner by rededicating the downtown main library building as the Priscilla Gardner Main Library.

“I am extremely excited to join the Jersey City Free Public Library at this point in its history,” said Trzeciak.

As director, Trzeciak will be responsible for six regional branches of the library system located all around Jersey City: Five Corners (678 Newark Ave.), Glenn D. Cunningham (275 Martin Luther King Dr.), Miller (489 Bergen Ave.), Earl Morgan (1841 JFK Blvd.), Heights(14 Zabriskie St.), and the Pavonia (326 Eighth St.). He will also oversee neighborhood branches in Lafayette (307 Pacific Ave.), West Bergen (546 West Side Ave.), and Marion (1017 West Side Ave.), a bookmobile, and a large digital collection.

Library suggestion board at the Community Open House. Photo by Jersey City Times.

Trzceiak hopes to develop a strategic plan with the assistance of a consultant and input from staff and community leaders. He would like for all interested residents to feel part of the process as well and will be establishing methods in which their feedback can be taken into account.

“A critical piece of any strategic planning process is listening to all stakeholders,” Trzceiak said. “I am excited to get started in Jersey City by engaging residents, community leaders, and especially library patrons and staff.”

Trzceiak’s goal is to have this new strategic plan in motion by fall 2020.

Trzeciak brings with him 30 years of experience in library administration and a track record of successful fundraising. From 2017 until his appointment in Jersey City, he served as director of the Newark Public Library, establishing and overseeing a strong, multi-racial senior leadership team. Grants Trzeciak wrote increased that Newark Public Library’s revenue by almost $2.5 million in 2018. In honor of these accomplishments, Trzeciak received the Director Recognition Award from the New Jersey Association of Library Assistants in 2018.

Trzeciak also left his mark in academia. From 2012 to 2016 he served as University Librarian at Washington University in St. Louis.  While there in 2014 he founded “Documenting Ferguson,” a digital repository chronicling protests and other events that cropped up throughout the country in response to the shooting of Michael Brown. So groundbreaking was the collection, Trzeciak received the Innovation Award from the National Digital Stewardship Alliance in 2015.

Trzeciak raised significant sums for Washington University’s library as well. The capital campaign he ran there raised $30 million for critical renovations. This was $10 million more than his goal.

“This marks an exciting new chapter for the Jersey City Free Public Library,” said Curt Harris, the library’s board president. “The case for Jeffrey’s candidacy [is] quite compelling because he is truly invested in social equity and diversity and inclusion issues in all areas rather than paying mere lip service.”

New Jersey State Librarian Mary Chute has also expressed her support for Trzeciak. “This is an excellent selection, and we congratulate both Mr. Trzeciak and the Jersey City Free Public Library Board of Trustees,” she said. “We look forward to witnessing what they will accomplish together on behalf of the city.”

Following is a Q&A with our new director:

Jersey City Times: What are you most looking forward to as Jersey City’s new library director?

Jeffrey Trzeciak: My husband (Michael Sieveking) and I are looking forward to becoming part of the Jersey City community. We look forward to moving there soon and learning more about Jersey City, its residents, their needs, and how the library might help to address those needs.

JCT: Do you plan on extending hours or services?

JT: My first task will be to work with the community in a strategic planning process. I want to learn more about the expectations of the community. Residents will be seeing a lot of me in the coming months!

JCT: You were the library director in Newark, NJ, for two years. Why did you not serve longer?

JT: My husband works at the New York Philharmonic. He and I decided to move to the area to advance both of our careers. I am proud of the work that I did at Newark Public Library, particularly our programs aimed at reducing homelessness and joblessness, helping Newarkers [sic] to attain their educational goals, highlighting the contributions of Newark’s diverse communities, and elevating the profile of the library. But we are not moving far from Newark, and I will look for ways in which the JCFPL and NPL can collaborate.

JCT:  What instilled in you your appreciation for libraries?

JT: I come from working-class roots, and I was fortunate enough to find an evening job at the Dayton (Ohio) Metro Library that allowed me to work full time evenings while also going to school full time during the day. It was that experience of working in an urban public library that instilled in me the value that libraries bring to the communities we serve.

JCT:  What do you plan on doing differently than former Library Director Priscilla Gardner?

JT: Director Gardner leaves a great legacy behind, and I wish her well in her retirement. I look forward to building on her legacy by working with the staff, the board, and the community to enhance services, collections and facilities. My focus will be based on community need.

Restored historic Tiffany glass window at the Jersey City Free Public Library. Photo by Jersey City Times.

Header photo:  Angelo Estrada with Jeffrey Trzeciak (right) at the Community Open House.  Photo by Jersey City Times.

Tags: Jeffrey Trzeciak, Jersey City Free Public Library, Library
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn

News Briefs

Christian Parra, age 34, of Jersey City, was shot on Sunday night in BJ’s parking lot on Marin Boulevard and Second Street. He was taken to Jersey City Medical Center and pronounced dead at 9 pm. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip here. 

Jesus Gonzalez, 30, died in a car crash on Saturday night when the car in which he was a passenger hit the attenuator-protected guard rail on Christopher Columbus Drive near Merseles Street. The driver, also 30, was listed in critical condition at Jersey City Medical Center.

Assemblyman Nicholas A. Chiaravalloti (D-Hudson) is joining Governor Phil Murphy at Hudson County Community College in Jersey City for the signing of Bill A4410 / S2743, which will permanently codify the Community College Opportunity Grant Program into law. Students enrolled in any of the state’s 18 community colleges may be able to have their tuition waived. Students must be enrolled in at least six credits per semester and have an adjusted gross income of $0 -$65,000 in order to be considered. 

Jersey City Library Director Jeffrey Trzeciak is leaving to take a job in his hometown, Dayton, Ohio after serving for just 15 months.

The Jersey City Education Association has started a GoFundMe campaign to support the family of 11-year-old Desire Reid and eight-month old Kenyon Robinson who died in a house fire on Martin Luther King Drive on Wednesday night. Here is the link.

Vaccine-eligible individuals can make an appointment online by visiting hudsoncovidvax.org.

The 2021 tree planting applications are available. If you have an empty tree pit on your block or a street you can fill out the form and the city’s arborists will handle it.  bit.ly/adoptatreespri…

Keep abreast of Jersey City Covid-19 statistics here.

Governor Murphy has launched a “Covid Transparency Website” where New Jerseyans can track state expenditures related to Covid.  Go here.

For info on vaccinations, call Vaccination Call Center and our operators will assist you with scheduling one: 855-568-0545

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

Thu 04

Historic Downtown SID Winter’s Farm Market

March 4 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Jersey City NJ
United States
Sat 06

Communipaw Cleanup

March 6 @ 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Jersey City NJ
United States
Sat 06

Paulus Hook Farmer’s Market

March 6 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Jersey City NJ
United States
Sat 06

The Empowering: A Social Justice Exhibition Curated by Danielle Scott

March 6 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Jersey City NJ
United States
Sat 06

The Divine Energy (Vinyasa Yoga)

March 6 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Jersey City NJ
United States

View More…

CONTACT US

    ADS/INFO

    For information on advertising opportunities, please contact - ads@jcitytimes.com

    For information on writing opportunities, please contact - info@jcitytimes.com

    Download our media kit here

    ABOUT US

    About Jersey City Times

    Contact Jersey City Times

    Social

    Archive

    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    Copyright © 2020 JCityTimes.com. All Rights Reserved - powered by Enfold WordPress Theme
    8 Places to Volunteer Over the Holidays Understanding Your Property Taxes
    Scroll to top
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter

    Support Jersey City Times WITH A MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION

    for the price of a tall coffee at Starbucks!