New Jersey Grant Program to Create Job
Opportunities for AIIM Members
The State of New Jersey
has launched its new Public Archives and Records Infrastructure
Support (PARIS) grant program to meet the strategic and emergency
records management, preservation, and storage needs of county and
municipal governments. The initial grants were made during May 2005 and
the grant projects will be conducted during the State’s coming fiscal
year, July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006.
The new grant programs
are an important event for AIIM members. The PARIS grants will fund many
new positions for records managers and consultants for counties and
municipalities in New Jersey. A central registry of local AIIM members
available for these positions is being created. The grant program will
also pay for memberships, chapter meetings and conferences for AIIM
International and other archives and records management professional
organizations for county and municipal employees.
PARIS grants will fund
strategic advancements in county and municipal government archives and
records programs statewide. The state’s FY 2005 budget provided over
$25 million in grants to build and improve the infrastructure of public
records administration, making PARIS one of the top competitive grant
programs of its kind in the nation.
Funded by document filing
and recording fees collected by county clerks, PARIS grants are key
components of the New Jersey Public Records Preservation Program
established by the state legislature in July 2003 under P.L. 2003, c.
117, sections 38 and 39. Grants will be awarded by the State Records
Committee established under N.J.S.A. 47:3-20, which comprises the State
Treasurer, Attorney General, State Auditor, Director of Local Government
Services (DCA), and the Director of the Division of Archives and Records
Management (DARM). Both programs will be administered by DARM, a
division of the Department of State.
The initial year of PARIS
grants have an intentionally tight focus to ensure that a sound
foundation is laid for strategic broadening of the grant program in
future years. First-year funding for the 21 counties in New Jersey
support: (1) state-coordinated county needs assessment and strategic
planning services; (2) grants-in-aid for imaging systems and services,
electronic records management systems, and electronic filing portals
development and expansion; and (3) grants-in-aid for archival records
preservation services. Grants-in-aid for municipalities this first year
are limited to municipal needs assessment and strategic planning for
municipalities having populations of 75,000 or more. In subsequent
years, a wider variety of projects will be eligible for funding.
In order to assist the
county and municipal officials of New Jersey in hiring potential
part-time or full-time records managers or consultants, a central
registry of local AIIM members available for these positions is being
compiled. If you are interested, send a copy of your resume, along with
a cover letter stating your areas of interest and your availability to:
Albin Wagner, Chief, New Jersey Bureau of Records
Management
2300 Stuyvesant Ave.,Trenton, NJ 08618
phone: 609-530-3204, fax: 609-530-6121
e-mail: albin.wagner@sos.state.nj.us |