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A Secaucus case study plus MOUs, funding, staffing, and metrics for librarians
A district library can circulate books and teach research skills, but it rarely has the author access, discretionary funding, or evening and weekend hours that a public library and city partners can add. The tension is real: school staff are stretched, and public librarians often lack a direct line into classrooms.
Secaucus, New Jersey shows how the gap closes. After a 2023 library event, a mayor's office, a PTA, and community partners funded 1,000 copies of one book for a district read.
The tools that follow, a roles table, an MOU checklist, and a metrics table, are built to be reused. Most of these partnerships begin with one outreach email, not a budget line.
How do school and public libraries actually work together in practice? In most communities, the answer is not a single formal merger. It is a set of practical arrangements that fall into three overlapping models: shared resources, shared spaces, and shared programming.
Shared resources include the materials and credentials students need to keep learning outside school hours. A public library may automatically issue student library cards and other library card benefits, deliver classroom book bundles by request, or let school assignments pull from the public catalog. For example, a third-grade teacher can request 25 copies of a read-aloud title and receive them at the school library counter.
Shared spaces put the two institutions in the same room or corridor. A public library may open a small satellite branch inside a school media center, host regular class visits, or set up a joint homework space at the public branch. For example, a middle school class walks to the public library every other Friday for research help and library makerspace programs.
Shared programming is the most visible model: co-planned events that combine school reach with library programming capacity. Common examples include author visits, family literacy nights, summer reading kickoffs, and after-school tutoring. A school and public library may jointly invite an author, with the district providing the audience and the library handling event logistics and publisher contacts.
Most partnerships do not begin with all three models at once. They start with one program, one contact, or one event that works well, then expand as trust and logistics improve. A single outreach email in Secaucus became an author visit, then a book giveaway, and eventually an all-district family literacy event.
School Library Journal reported that Felicia Lott Chetrit became supervisor of elementary education for Secaucus Public Schools in March 2023. Soon after, Lee Penna, special events and community outreach coordinator at Secaucus Public Library, reached out by email and phone. That direct contact set the stage for a library-led event that would connect the district, a publisher, and the mayor's office.
In June 2023, Secaucus Public Library hosted a World Environment Day event featuring author Tracey Hecht. Hecht talked about the real animals behind her The Nocturnals series, published by Fabled Films Press1, and read "The Nocturnals: The Chestnut Challenge." The publisher supplied crafts and bookmarks. At that same event, a Fabled Films representative met Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli.
The relationship quickly scaled. Hecht later read "The Nocturnals: The Slithery Shakedown" to first and second graders at the district's two elementary schools2. Mayor Gonnelli worked with the town to purchase 300 copies so every student received one. That success led to an all-district read and Family Literacy Night, with the mayor, PTA, and community partners funding 1,000 copies. Penna coordinated Hecht's visit, and Fabled Films supplied activities, stickers, and bookmarks.
The Secaucus example shows what public library community roles make possible. Penna's outreach email and phone call were the relational infrastructure that let the district access an author, books, and funding it could not secure alone. A single connection with one author and publisher turned into several programs: a library event, classroom visits, individual book distribution, and a community literacy night. The initial work did not require a formal written agreement; the partnership depended on ongoing coordination between Penna and Chetrit.
School Library Journal notes that in the years since, Penna and Chetrit have worked together on many programs, though the article does not detail each one. The available reporting does not confirm whether the formal book distributions continued after the initial year. For graduates of a Masters in Library Science program, that is the practical lesson: a small, well-timed contact can grow into a partnership if one person keeps coordinating across organizations.
The Secaucus partnership unfolded in a clear sequence, and each step created the opening for the next. A phone call led to an event, the event put the publisher in front of the mayor, and that meeting turned into school visits and book funding. Watch how the library's role as connector shows up at every stage.
The Secaucus partnership works as a reusable template because each partner played a distinct role and got something back, which is what keeps people at the table. In other settings the cast can change: a state or foundation grant can stand in for the mayor's office, a Friends of the Library group can replace the PTA, and a local bookstore or author network can take the publisher's place. The one role that rarely flexes is the broker, because without someone like the library's outreach coordinator making first contact and introducing partners to each other, the funders and content suppliers never meet the students.
| Partner | Role in the Partnership | What They Contribute | What They Get Out of It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public library (outreach coordinator) | Convener and broker | Initiates contact with district leaders by email and phone; hosts public events such as the June 2023 World Environment Day program; puts the author, publisher, and mayor in the same room | Stronger ties to the school district, a direct channel to students and families, and visibility as a community literacy hub |
| School district (elementary education supervisor) | Program host and access point to students | Opens classrooms for author readings to first and second graders at two elementary schools; organizes the all-district read and Family Literacy Night | Author visits, free books, and literacy programming the district could not secure on its own |
| Mayor's office and town | Primary funder and public champion | Works with the town to purchase 300 copies so every participating student receives a book; co-funds the larger all-district purchase | A visible, student-wide literacy investment that reaches families across the community |
| PTA and community partners | Co-funders and family engagement support | Join the mayor in funding 1,000 copies for the all-district read and Family Literacy Night | A district-wide family event and shared reading experience for students and parents |
| Publisher (Fabled Films Press) and author | Content and materials supplier | Provides author Tracey Hecht's readings from The Nocturnals series, plus crafts, activities, stickers, and bookmarks | Engaged young readers, repeat author appearances, and exposure for the series across a whole district |
Districts and public libraries can get cards into students' hands in several ways, and the right choice depends on how much setup effort and data sharing each side can manage. In plain terms, FERPA generally bars a district from releasing student records without written consent, so partnerships typically share only the minimum needed to create accounts and rely on signed agreements, consent, or clear opt-out notices; state library confidentiality laws, such as Pennsylvania's statute and Oregon's shared-system guidance, then protect what students borrow, and libraries generally will not release those records to schools without a court order, subpoena, or other legal basis. As a rule of thumb, small districts can start with card drives, mid-sized districts served by one county system fit a school ID-linked account, and large districts spanning several library jurisdictions benefit most from automatic or multi-system enrollment.
| Model | Example program | How students get access | Setup effort | Who holds the data | Privacy considerations | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard public library card | Henderson County Public Library (North Carolina) card | Students who live, work, own property, or attend school in the county apply in person with ID; a parent or guardian must be present for children 16 and under | Low for the district, higher for families, who must visit in person | Public library only; no student records leave the district | Lowest risk, because the school shares nothing and the library's confidentiality protections apply as for any patron | Small districts or a first step: promote card sign-up drives, back-to-school events, and field trips to the library |
| School ID number as library account | Henderson County StudentAccess | Student ID number serves as the library barcode and its last four digits as the PIN; covers print and digital items, databases, computers, and online account management, with no overdue fines | Moderate: the district and library must agree on how student IDs are loaded and maintained | District supplies identifiers; library holds circulation records. StudentAccess accounts are kept separate from any existing library card | PIN derived from the student ID is easy to guess; requests are limited to items within the Henderson County system | Mid-sized districts served by a single county library system |
| Automatic enrollment with opt-out | Los Gatos Union School District with Los Gatos Library and Santa Clara County Library District | Unless a family opts out, every student's school ID card works as a library card at Los Gatos Library and across the county library district | High up front: roster sharing, family notification, and an opt-out process | District shares enrollment data under a partnership agreement; library holds borrowing records | Families need clear notice and an easy opt-out; borrowing records remain confidential under state library law | Districts aiming for near-universal access without asking families to apply |
| Multi-system partnership | Campbell Union High School District with Santa Clara County Library District and San José Public Library | Students receive digital and physical access to content from two library systems | Highest: agreements must be coordinated with more than one library system | Each participating library system holds its own records | More agreements mean more data handoffs to document, secure, and audit | Large districts whose students live across several library service areas |
In Secaucus, New Jersey, a single June 2023 library event eventually put 1,000 copies of one book into a school district's hands. That outcome came from routine coordination, not a special grant, and the same mechanics work in most communities.
Start with what teachers already teach. Public librarians can build curriculum-aligned collections by asking for unit lists at the start of the term, then pulling titles that match.
Build the event calendar around the school calendar: testing windows, breaks, and parent-teacher nights. Rotate sites so neither side always hosts. Then reuse one author or theme across several formats instead of inventing a new program each time.
Secaucus shows the pattern. The public library's outreach coordinator, Lee Penna, hosted a World Environment Day event where author Tracey Hecht read from her Nocturnals series. That led to Hecht reading a second title to first and second graders at two district elementary schools. The mayor then worked with the town to buy 300 copies so every student received one. Later, the mayor, PTA, and community partners funded 1,000 copies for an all-district read and Family Literacy Night, with the publisher supplying activities, stickers, and bookmarks.
The sequence is repeatable: library event, school visits, book distribution, family night. Each step gave the next partner a visible reason to join.
Maintain one shared calendar that both staffs can edit, and name a single point of contact on each side. When that person changes jobs, hand the calendar and contact notes to a successor in writing so the partnership does not depend on one inbox.
A single event becomes a recurring program when the library follows it with a school visit, a shared book, and a family night that gives partners a reason to return.
Most school and public library partnerships are not funded by a single check. They are stitched together from municipal dollars, parent group fundraising, state-administered federal grants, local foundations, and in-kind contributions from publishers or community partners, each covering a different slice of the budget.
The largest federal stream for libraries is the IMLS Grants to States program, which distributes more than $160 million a year by population formula to state library agencies and supports roughly 1,500 projects annually. States must spend at least 96% of those funds through direct services, subawards, or cooperative agreements,1 which is why a district or public library almost always applies through its state library rather than to IMLS directly.
What that looks like on the ground varies sharply by state, and the examples below are illustrations, not a national norm:
New York's federal ARPA library allocation offers another model: of $6,213,213 received, $5,514,315 went to nine regional councils, including about $964,315 earmarked for library and museum partnerships and $550,000 for student digital resources.4
Budget by category, not by program name: books and classroom sets, staff time for planning and school visits, programming supplies, transportation for class trips to the public library, and a small library technology budget tied to access models such as student card loads or e-card integrations. Staff time is usually the largest hidden cost and the one most often left out of a first proposal.
Secaucus illustrates the shift. The first district-wide distribution, 300 copies of a single title, was handled as a town purchase through the mayor's office. When the project grew into an all-district read and Family Literacy Night at 1,000 copies, it required the mayor, the PTA, and additional community partners together. The publisher's contribution stayed in-kind throughout: crafts, stickers, bookmarks, and author time.
Start there. A pilot built on donated materials, an existing author visit, and a few hours of coordinated staff time costs almost nothing and gives you the attendance numbers that make a grant application or a line in the municipal budget credible.
A pilot book buy of 300 copies led to a 1,000-copy all-district read, showing how a low-cost or in-kind start can open the door to larger funding from mayors, PTAs, and community partners.
Plan three checkpoints: a baseline before launch, a review at the end of the first semester, and an annual review tied to your memorandum of understanding so the numbers inform renewal. The published results below, from programs in Hartford, Baltimore County, Nashville, and Lincoln, show what each metric can capture. Each figure is that program's own reported result, not a benchmark you should expect to match.
| Metric | What It Tells You | How to Collect It | When to Review | What It Can't Prove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New student library card sign-ups | Whether students actually gain public library access. The Urban Libraries Council's Leaders Library Card Challenge reported more than 1 million new cards in its first year. | Count new student cards issued through school sign-up drives or partner communities. | Baseline before launch, end of first semester, then annually | A card in hand does not mean the student uses it. |
| Cards obtained and actively used | Whether sign-ups turn into real use. Hartford Public Library's Boundless evaluation counted 327 students who obtained and used a card. | Track which students get cards, then record later checkouts or logins on those accounts. | By the next school year | Use shows engagement, not learning gains. |
| Circulation on student accounts | Whether school-linked accounts lead to more borrowing. Baltimore County Public Library has reported increases of 500 percent or more after a school launches. | Compare student account circulation before and after launch at each school. | End of first semester, then annually | Rising checkouts can reflect new delivery routes or promotions, not the partnership alone. |
| Overall circulation of shared collections | The partnership's effect on borrowing across the system. Nashville's Limitless Libraries reported a 60 percent jump in circulation. | Compare circulation statistics before and after implementation, including titles delivered to schools. | Early check-ins, but Nashville expected at least three years of data before judging its pilot | Short-term spikes may fade, so avoid early conclusions. |
| Account reach across enrollment | Whether every enrolled student has access. Lincoln's OneCard opts in all Lincoln Public Schools students automatically. | Verify account creation against the district student roster. | Each enrollment cycle and at the annual MOU review | An account existing does not show it is being used. |
| Student participation in reading programs | The scale of student involvement. New York's statewide plan targets 2.5 million children and teens in summer reading each year by 2026. | Use an online registration tool to register students, log reading progress, and generate reports. | Annually, after the program ends | Participation counts do not measure reading growth. |
| Family event attendance and books distributed | Community reach of co-programmed events, such as Secaucus moving from 300 donated books to 1,000 for an all-district read and Family Literacy Night. | Sign-in sheets at events plus counts of books, cards, or materials handed out. | After each event, summarized each semester | Attendance does not show whether families keep reading at home. |
| Teacher feedback | Whether visits, author events, and collection loans fit classroom needs. | Short surveys or debriefs after school visits and loans. | End of first semester and annually | Responses are self-reported and reflect opinions, not student outcomes. |
| Reading outcomes, where available | Possible links between partnership activity and student achievement. | District assessment data, shared only under a data privacy agreement in the MOU. | Annual review | Hard to attribute to the partnership, and published outcome figures were not available for the programs above. |
The real risk is not the first meeting. It is the quiet drift that follows when no one person owns the follow-through and the relationship depends on a single enthusiastic champion.
A rural Midwest phenomenology study based on 20 interviews found that school and public librarians in rural librarianship wanted more collaboration, but time, scheduling, competing priorities, and staff turnover kept interactions shallow and infrequent. Australian survey work with 119 public library and 120 school library participants, published as Factors Impacting Collaboration Between School and Public Libraries, reports the same pressure points: staffing, time, and budget.
Successful collaborations tend to build in a few safeguards:
Secaucus points to that sustaining pattern. An outreach email became a library author event, then school readings, then an all-district read and Family Literacy Night supported by the mayor, PTA, and Fabled Films Press. Those recurring visits and co-programmed literacy events embed the partnership in the calendar rather than in one person's inbox, which is the kind of structure that can outlast a staff change.
How do you actually start a school and public library partnership when you have no existing contacts at the district? Secaucus, New Jersey offers a workable pattern: a public library outreach coordinator contacted a newly hired elementary supervisor by email and phone, and that single point of contact eventually grew into an all-district read. You can follow the same sequence in five steps.
Adapt the bracketed parts:
"Hello [Name], I'm [Your Name], [Title] at [Library]. I saw that [District] is focusing on [specific priority from the district plan], and I'd like to help. We could host [one small event] for [grade level] students on [possible date], with [material or speaker] provided at no cost to the district. May I call you on [day] to share details and hear what would work for your schools?"
Hiring managers rarely search for "partnership pitching," so translate the work into their vocabulary. Useful phrases include community engagement, stakeholder relations, program development, and cross-sector partnership management. In an interview, tell the story in order: the need you identified, the contact you initiated, the pilot you ran, the funding you secured, and the result. Include numbers where you have them, such as students reached, books distributed, or events held.
If you are still choosing a degree, explore the MLIS career guides and program comparisons on mastersinlibraryscience.org to see which specializations in youth services, school librarian certification, and community outreach fit this kind of work.
