Roger McDonough Librarianship Award

The award is named for Roger H. McDonough, New Jersey State Librarian from 1947 to 1975. Beginning in 2002 the NJSAA, along with the New Jersey Historical Commission, Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference New Jersey Caucus, and the New Jersey Library Association History and Preservation Section, has given an award to a librarian or archivist or manuscript curator for excellence in service to the New Jersey history research community and/or the general public.

Members of the Librarianship Award Committee are Elsalyn Palmisano, Diane Biunno, Maxine Lurie, and Gary Saretzky  (Chair).

Criteria and the nomination form for the Roger McDonough Librarianship Award may be found here. Nominations for the Roger McDonough Librarianship Award are due August 1.

Past recipients of the NJSAA McDonough Librarianship Award are:

2025 Veronica "Ronnie" Calder, New Jersey State Archives

Ronnie Calder began her career at the New Jersey State Archives (NJSA) in August 2000.  Throughout her tenure, she has played a vital role in ensuring the NJSA's participation in significant historical celebrations, including the NJ 350th anniversary, as well as the centennial celebrations of the 19th Amendment and World War I. She has also been a key contributor to New Jersey’s Rev250 initiative, serving as a co-curator for upcoming exhibits at the State Museum and 225 West State Street. In addition, she has collaborated with numerous partner institutions conducting research on New Jersey history. As supervisor of Reference Services and the Data and Outreach units at NJSA, Ronnie has guided major digitization projects and supported reference inquiries from all aspects of the history field.   

Ronnie goes above and beyond in her role as supervisor of the NJSA's day-to-day operations. Joseph Klett, the State Archivist, noted that “Ronnie has provided diligent, friendly, and professional assistance to State Archives users, as well as to New Jersey historians, genealogists, and archaeologists for 25 years. She consistently brings creativity and foresight to her work and volunteer activities, demonstrating both leadership and sensitivity within the State Archives staff and in the delivery of services to the public.” 

She has been involved as a judge for New Jersey History Day since 2013. For many years she regularly assists Department of State agencies with events, statewide conferences, and initiatives, from presenting, to participating in social media campaigns. Ronnie represents New Jersey on the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), where she participates in the monthly State Archivists and SERI (State Electronic Records Initiative) calls, and is currently on the planning committee for the upcoming annual conference. She brings her creativity to creating graphic arts for the State Archives and other agencies in the Department of State and the archival community, including creating this year’s logo for the CoSA annual conference.  

Her dedication to informing the public about the State Archives’ holdings and New Jersey history overall has been unwavering throughout her career.  

2024 Timothy S. Corlis, Retired from Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University

Tim Corlis worked in libraries in New Jersey for more than 40 years. Beginning in the early 2000s, he emerged as a leader in the preservation of library materials in the state. After obtaining his B.A. in 1981, he served in several staff positions at Alexander Library, Rutgers University, where he had worked as an undergraduate. In 1982, he was a processor for the papers of Senator Harrison Williams. From 1986 to 1990, Tim helped preserve the state’s newspapers for the New Jersey Newspaper Microfilming Project, first at Alexander Library and then at the Division of Archives and Records Management, State of New Jersey. During part of this time, he was chief newspaper cataloger. His report on the U.S. Newspaper Project, of which New Jersey’s was a part, was published in the NJLA Preservation Section Newsletter in Summer 1988 and Conservation Administration News in October 1988. During this time, Tim was also working on obtaining his M.L.S., which he was awarded in 1991.

Beginning in 1990, Tim spent about ten years at the ETS Archives at the Carl Campbell Brigham Library. Among his accomplishments there, he was co-author with ETS Archivist Gary Saretzky of the ETS Records Management Manual (1991, rev. 1993). After Saretzky’s departure, Tim had principal responsibility for the ETS Archives from 1993 to 2000. His wide ranging responsibilities included preservation and microfilming projects for the voluminous records of the nonprofit organization with more than 2,000 employees. He also conducted oral history interviews with key executives and wrote the entry on ETS for The Encyclopedia of New Jersey (2004).

While at ETS, Tim became an active member of the Princeton Preservation Group (PPG), founded by the inspirational Susan Swartzburg and which met regularly at ETS during this period. Susan and Tim worked together on PPG meeting arrangements until Susan’s untimely death in 1996. In 1998, Tim became Vice President of PPG and continues in that position today. In this role, he has organized numerous workshops and lectures on preservation topics for the organization, first at ETS and then at Rutgers after he rejoined the university in 2000 as Labor Archivist for the voluminous records of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers (IUE). His responsibilities for the IUE collection included preservation planning and treatments. In 2001, Tim received a Certificate for completing the rigorous Preservation Management Institute at Rutgers, which helped qualify him for his obtaining his next position of Head of Preservation, Special Collection and University Archives, in 2003, from which he retired a few years ago.

As Head of Preservation, Tim was responsible for preservation planning, treatments, preventive conservation, and support for the exhibition program for which he and his staff prepared mounts for books and other exhibit items. A meticulous craftsman, Tim became one of New Jersey’s foremost designers of custom-made book display mounts and shared his expertise with others around the state, including at presentations at meetings of the New Jersey Library Association/History and Preservation Section in June and December 2013. Most recently, he gave an excellent presentation on preservation of local history collections at the NJLA Annual Conference in May 2023. Tim is also an expert in disaster recovery at libraries and spearheaded the recovery efforts from two significant floods caused by sprinkler malfunctions at Special Collections and then designed the department’s new fire suppression system. Among other accomplishments, Tim became a specialist in map conservation, serving as project director for grant funded projects at Special Collections and University Archives, funded by IMLS and the New Jersey Historical Commission.

Tim became active as a preservation of library materials educator beginning in 2003, as a lecturer in the archives and preservation courses at the Rutgers graduate library school. He has also mentored numerous conservation technicians and interns in the Conservation Lab at Special Collections. His interns have included Rutgers Public History Interns who have gone on to careers in archives, conservation, and library work, including Erin Cral and Valerie Addonizio.

2023 Ingrid Betancourt, Newark Public Library and founder of the Hispanic Information Resource Center

Ingrid Betancourt has provided 40+ years of outstanding service to the library and community as a Librarian at the Newark Public Library, serving in numerous leadership positions, including Assistant Director of Special Collections, Interim Library Director, and currently, Director of Operations. She has served as President and Vice-President of REFORMA - the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking and is a co-founder of the REFORMA Northeast Chapter.

In 1989, Ingrid helped found the New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center which includes the Puerto Rican Community Archives, the Hispanic Reference Collection, and La Sala Hispanoamericana. La Sala, the main reference service point for the Newark Public Library’s Spanish-speaking patrons, houses one of the largest Spanish-language book collections in public libraries in the state of New Jersey with over 30,000 volumes. And for more than thirty years, Ingrid was instrumental in expanding the Library’s annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration, a comprehensive series of free public programming and exhibits focusing on New Jersey Latino community and topics that unite all Latinos.

From 1991 to 2005, Ingrid also served as Director of MultiMAC, the Multilingual Materials Acquisition Center, a New Jersey information clearinghouse and resource center on library services and materials in selected world languages. Ingrid Betancourt has consistently demonstrated a high level of public service by spearheading La Sala, and later, the NJHRIC. These library initiatives exponentially increased the free library resources available to the state’s Spanish-speaking community and historians.

2022 Laura Poll, Trentoniana Local History Department of the Trenton Free Public Library

With more than 20 years of relevant experience that has provided her with great respect and admiration from professional colleagues and the general public alike, this year’s recipient is Laura Poll of Freehold, Archivist with the Trentoniana Local History Department of the Trenton Free Public Library since 2015. At Trentoniana, she has grown the collection, curated numerous local history exhibits, and contributed to Trenton history exhibits at Ellarslie, The City Museum. Laura has helped innumerable historians and students with local history projects. Regarding her help to students from a class taught at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) for more than five years, Dr. Warren Buckleitner of TCNJ, who nominated Laura for this award, commented, “Laura has been like a second teacher for the class; helping our students find items of interest, and then digging deeper into the historical context of the items in order to give them a voice.”

Previously to Trentoniana, Laura held library and archives positions at the Monmouth County Historical Association from 2002 to 2015, as well as Senior Librarian, Reference Services, at the Monmouth County Library in Manalapan (2002–2005) and Registrar of Collections/Librarian at Historic Allaire Village (2002–2006). In her work for historians and others using these resources, Laura provided stellar reference services that has been a model for her professional colleagues to emulate.

Laura Poll has made notable contributions to the sponsoring organizations for this award. For MARAC, she served two terms as New Jersey Caucus Chair (2014–2018) and has been a CAPES Consultant since 2008. As Program Coordinator for NJSAA (2013–2021), she recruited and scheduled speakers on New Jersey history-related topics for more than 30 public programs. Also for NJSAA, she served on the Development Committee (2015–2018) and, since 2012, continues to be a member of its annual Author Award Committee. Laura was a Member-at-Large for NJLA H&P and was an ex-officio member of its Executive Board (2016–2018). Currently, she is a member of the NJLA Archives & History Committee. For NJHC’s grant and regrant programs, she has served as a grant reviewer on both the state and county level. Laura has also been a Trustee-at-Large of the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey (2014–2018) and Webmaster (2015–2018). In addition to these professional activities, she has been a speaker at more than twenty conferences sponsored by these and other organizations, giving presentations on both New Jersey studies topics and archival methodology, and has contributed book reviews to New Jersey Studies, the online journal sponsored by NJHC and Rutgers. All of these activities have served to enhance significantly the viability and effectiveness of these professional organizations and agencies in providing services to its constituents.

2021 Dr. Fernanda Perrone, Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University

Dr. Fernanda Perrone serves as Archivist and Head of the Exhibitions Program as well as Curator of the William Elliot Griffis Collection at Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. She has been Archivist of Rutgers University Special Collections for more than 25 years and Head of exhibitions since 2003. She came to Rutgers in 1992 to work in manuscript collections at Rutgers after receiving her Ph.D. from Oxford. Dr. Perrone attended the Rutgers School of Library Science (MLS 1995) when she decided to pursue archives as her profession. 

Dr. Perrone has had a significant impact on New Jersey studies with her publications, lectures, workshops, teaching, and work on New Jersey History Day. In addition, she speaks to community organizations, schools, and religious groups throughout the state to discuss her historical research and Rutgers’ collections on topics such as education, women, religion, and slavery in New Jersey. She has had a major impact on the archives and library professions and an even greater impact on education. Her many contributions throughout her career encompass each category of the profession as a librarian, archivist, and curator.  Dr. Perrone has been active in many professional organizations, including MARAC, NJLA, SAA, and NJSAA. She has won numerous awards, including the MARAC Service Award, the New Jersey History Day Educator of the Year, and the Catholic Library Association Brubaker Memorial Award, and is a perennial speaker at professional conferences. In addition, she has successfully provided leadership and vision by winning support for archival exhibitions and collaborative research projects in New Jersey Studies.  She genuinely believes in education, the importance of scholarship and values the people around her.

2020     Deborah Mercer, New Jersey State Library

On behalf of the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance, the New Jersey Historical Commission, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference-New Jersey Caucus, and the New Jersey Library Association History & Preservation Section, we are pleased to announce Deborah Mercer as the winner of the 2020 Roger H. McDonough Award.  This award is presented to a librarian, archivist, or manuscript curator for 10 or more years of excellence in service to the New Jersey history research community and/or the general public.  As the New Jersey Collections librarian at the New Jersey State Library since 2002, Ms. Mercer has played a pivotal role in expanding access to historic New Jersey documents, rare books, maps and Jerseyana resources for all types of public and private researchers, and state government officials.  The nomination for Ms. Mercer noted, “Deborah creates opportunities to make history more accessible to others, not just through the collection management and digitization work she does, but through programs, displays and participation in statewide organizations. She seeks ways to broaden appreciation for the rich history New Jersey offers its citizens.”  Her dedication to the field does not end with her duties at the State Library.  Ms. Mercer provides her expertise and dedication to her additional work with the New Jersey Historical Commission, New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance, New Jersey Library Association, and Documents Association of New Jersey.  

2019      Ellen Callahan,  New Jersey State Archives Collection Manager 

Ellen recently retired as New Jersey State Archives Collection Manager after 28 years of service. At the State Archives, she processed numerous record series and produced outstanding finding aids. Her detailed guides to Revolutionary War records, in particular, are highly valued for their scholarship. Ellen played a critical role in assisting the State Archivist Joseph Klett in planning and executing the move of the State Archives to its present location in 2000, involving more than 30,000 cubic feet of records. Among numerous subsequent activities, she supervised a $700,000 Save America Treasures project to stabilize and repair more than 5,000 leaves of Revolutionary War documents. Ellen’s outstanding professional accomplishments merit her selection as this year’s McDonough Award recipient.

2017        Thomas J. Frusciano, University Archivist of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Thomas J. Frusciano, the University Archivist of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. A New Jersey native, Tom is a tenured member of the library staff at Rutgers University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives. He began his professional career as an archivist at Educational Testing Services in Princeton.  Tom then became the first professionally trained university archivist at New York University, and later co-authored New York University and the City: An Illustrated History. At Rutgers since 1989, Frusciano has written or edited histories of the Presidents of Rutgers, Douglass College, and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team, among many other subjects. In recent years, he played an integral role in the 2016 Rutgers 250th celebration, library exhibit, and commemorative historical volume entitled Rutgers: A 250th Anniversary Portrait. Starting in 2015, he also served on the Rutgers Committee on Enslaved and Disenfranchised Populations, which produced the report Scarlet and Black.  Beyond Rutgers, Frusciano has long been professionally active, particularly in the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC). He was elected to the SAA Council from 2009 to 2012, co-edited the SAA manual Archival Arrangement and Description (2013), and was named an SAA Fellow in 2002. He has taught archival courses at both New York University’s Archival Management and Public History program, and the Rutgers School of Communication and Information. Some of his former students are now archivists and librarians at archives, libraries, and historical societies throughout New Jersey. He has also served on several editorial boards and co-edited the Journal of Archival Organization.

2016        Gary D. Saretzky, Monmouth County Archives

Gary D. Saretzky has worked as an archivist for more than 45 years at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the ETS Archives, and the Monmouth County Archives. He has been County Archivist since 1994, when the Archives opened to the public. The Archives now has more than one thousand users annually and 280 web pages, plus online databases and digitized records. Gary has organized all twenty-one Archives and History Day events since 1996 and curated or co-curated the annual New Jersey history exhibits here that coincide with Archives Week. As the second Coordinator for the Rutgers Public History Internships from 1994 to 2016, he greatly expanded the program and placed more than 800 history majors at 149 archives, libraries, museums, and other sites. Gary is a former Chair of the New Jersey Caucus of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) and past president of the Preservation Section of the New Jersey Library Association. He served for 15 years on the New Jersey State Historical Records Advisory Board and, for the New Jersey State Librarian, 14 years on the State Library’s Committee on Preservation and Access. Since 1975, Gary has written more than 60 consultant reports for archives in New Jersey, including for MARAC’s CAPES program which began in 1989. He has taught numerous seminars and workshops on archival topics, including photographic conservation, for Monmouth County, the Society of American Archivists, MARAC, the New Jersey Library Association, and other organizations. As an adjunct professor, he taught the history of photography at Mercer County Community College from 1977 to 2012 and lectures regularly on New Jersey’s pioneer photographers under the auspices of the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. He has published more than 100 articles and reviews, including “Nineteenth-Century New Jersey Photographers” in New Jersey History in 2004 and his most recent on Charlotte Prosch, New Jersey’s first woman photographer, in Garden State Legacy.

2015        Ronald L. Becker, Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University

 A career archivist, he joined Special Collections in 1974 after serving as cataloger and bibliographer for the New Jersey Historical Society.  During the past four decades, Becker has had an incredibly productive career and is widely respected and admired in the archives and library communities.  To organize and preserve Rutgers’ outstanding manuscript collections, he has obtained more than $4 million in awards from foundations as well as federal and state agencies.  He has served on more than a dozen editorial and advisory boards and commissions including the New Jersey State Historical Records Advisory Board and the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, which he currently chairs.  Becker has played a leadership role in many professional associations, including a term as President of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference and as a founding member of the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance.  A past editor of the Mid-Atlantic Archivist from 1983 to 1992, he has published numerous scholarly papers, including his award-winning article, “Ethics in Providing Access,” in the journal Provenance.  As a model archivist, dedicated to public service, Ronald L. Becker is entirely deserving of the Roger McDonough Librarianship Award. 

2014        Janet T. Riemer, Head of Preservation Emerita, Rutgers University; and Corresponding Secretary, Genealogical Society of New Jersey

In the later capacity, Janet has answered hundreds of New Jersey history and genealogy inquiries and compiled a guide to New Jersey tombstone inscriptions.  She is an original CAPES consultant and as such has visited numerous repositories throughout the State and provided critical advice on preservation, collection description, and public service needs.  At Rutgers, she served as Professor of Textiles at Douglass for fourteen years before joining Special Collections and University Archives as head of preservation.  She set up the preservation laboratory in 1984 and oversaw its growth over fifteen additional years before retiring from full-time employment in 1999.  At Rutgers, Janet also provided (and continues to provide on a part-time basis) valuable reference service, support for exhibitions and public programs, and numerous other services in addition to to her preservation activities.  Her service to the New Jersey history and genealogy communities is legendary and much appreciated with the awarding of this honor.

2013      Bette Epstein, New Jersey State Archives

For nearly four decades, Ms. Epstein has served New Jersey’s history and genealogy communities with distinction, becoming something of a legend in her own career. After receiving her M.L.S. from Western Michigan University, Bette joined the staff of the former Bureau of Archives and History, then part of the State Library, in 1974. She worked as a librarian and then archivist in reference services until the Bureau was split off from the State Library as the Division of Archives and Records Management (DARM) in 1983. During her time in the State Library, she worked with and trained under several well-known reference librarians including Robert Lupp (the first recipient of the Roger McDonough Librarianship Award) who, with Bette, worked for Roger McDonough, namesake of this award. She acquired extensive knowledge of the State Library’s and Bureau of Archives and History’s holdings, including manuscript, microfilm, map and reference book collections. This knowledge has aided generations of researchers over the years, and is still an important aspect of the State Archives’ institutional memory.

In 1983, Bette assumed oversight of the Reference Unit of the State Archives Bureau, within DARM. In this capacity, she has trained dozens of young librarians, interns and volunteers, inspiring them to pursue careers in New Jersey libraries and archives. In 1986, she earned an Advanced Certificate in Librarianship from Columbia University. In the late 1990s, Following the relocation of the Archives to 225 West State Street in 2000, Bette was promoted to the Supervising Archivist title. She is personally responsible, in good part, for the excellent reputation New Jersey State

Archives has nationally as a service-oriented institution. She has aided thousands of historians and genealogists, always going the extra mile to help researchers find elusive information and/or plan their research strategy. Bette has also volunteered her librarian skills over the years to various organizations, including the Congregation Brothers of Israel and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference.

2012    Joseph DaRold, Plainfield Public Library

Born in the Bronx in 1942, DaRold grew up in North Plainfield. While attending Rutgers Men’s College, he worked in the university library and drove the bookmobile for the Somerset County Library.  After receiving his M.L.S. degree from Rutgers Graduate School of Library Science in 1965, he moved to California where he worked for 20 years in public libraries, then for 10 years served as director of two historical museums. DaRold returned to New Jersey to serve as Director of the Plainfield Public Library from 1994 to 2015. Under his leadership, and with his exceptional grant writing expertise, the library underwent dramatic upgrades and won numerous local, county, and statewide awards.  Among the Library’s many accomplishments during his tenure was acquiring the Courier News archives with 25,000 photographs and 50,000 negatives and its digitization of local newspaper microfilm before most other libraries. Prior to the McDonough Award, DaRold received six others, including the Susan G. Swartzburg Award (2007) and the Librarian of the Year Award (2010) from NJLA, for which he served as President of the History & Preservation Section (2002–2004, 2007–2008). DaRold also served for many years as Chairman of the Plainfield Cultural & Heritage Commission and in other leadership roles in community and professional organizations.

2011    Bonita Craft Grant, Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries

Bonita Craft Grant received her undergraduate degree in American History from St. Bonaventure University and her Masters degree in library science from Drexel Institute of Technology.  At Rutgers University-Camden Law Library from 1969 to 1979, she served successively as Documents Librarian, Acquisitions and Serials Librarian, and Assistant Librarian for Technical Services. Relocating to Rutgers’ Alexander Library in New Brunswick, she worked as Associate University Librarian for Personnel (1979–1982), Associate University Librarian for Technical Services (1982–1984), and from 1984 until her retirement in 2013, New Jersey Bibliographer & Reference Coordinator for Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives. In this last position, Grant acquired thousands of printed materials about New Jersey, creating an unparalleled resource for historians. During and after her Rutgers career, Grant has been very active in a myriad of history-related activities, among them as member of the Encyclopedia of New Jersey Editorial Board, curator for the Hopewell Museum, and archivist, board of trustees member, and program chair for the Hopewell Valley Historical Society. For the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance, which she joined in 1994, Grant chaired the Author’s Award committee (1998–2008), and served as Program Chair (2008–2011) and Treasurer (1999-2012). Her other honors include an award (2005) from the New Jersey Historical Commission for public knowledge and preservation of New Jersey history and the Maureen Ogden Lifetime Achievement Award (2011) from the Advocates for New Jersey History.

2010    Susan Gulick, former Executive Director of the Morristown and Morris Township Library

Born in Newark, Susan Gulick grew up in West Orange and lived in Morris County for more than forty years. She graduated from Caldwell University with a B.A. degree in History, and later earned a Masters in Library Science from Rutgers University. In 1985, Gulick joined The Morristown & Morris Township Library where she worked as the Archivist in the highly respected Local History & Genealogy Center. She later headed the Circulation Department, was promoted to Assistant Director, and then was named Director of the Library in 1994, a position from which she retired in 2010. During her tenure, Susan spearheaded a significant building expansion that provided new facilities for the North Jersey History Center, the Children’s Center, Media Center, and other departments. In 1993–1994, Gulick served as President of the NJLA History & Bibliography Section and volunteered for many local organizations, including Washington’s Headquarters in Morristown. Susan Gulick died in 2016 at age 72.

2009    David Mitros

David Mitros was born on September 22, 1953, in Nanticoke, PA. He was a graduate of Montclair State University and received his masters from California State University. Mitros worked for decades as Archivist for the Morris County (NJ) Heritage Commission and served informally as county historian. He also volunteered at many local historical societies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including the Steelworker Archives (where he served as Archivist) and the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society. Additionally, he was a board member of the South Bethlehem Historical Society. Mitros authored several books and articles on the Civil War and slavery in New Jersey, among them, Gone to Wear the Victor's Crown: Morris County, New Jersey and the Civil War : A Documentary Account (1998) and Slave Records of Morris County, New Jersey: 1756-1841 (2002). He also was a musician and avid photographer. Mitros passed away at age 63 on February 2, 2017.

2008    Joe Klett

2007    Lois Densky Wolff

New Jersey native Lois Densky-Wolff began her library career at the library of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (1975–1978) after earning her bachelors degree in 1974. Following her MLS from the University of Delaware (1978) and a stint as librarian for the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory in Point Barrow (1979), she embarked on a stellar archival career in New Jersey at the Monmouth County Historical Association (MCHA, 1980–1982), North Jersey History & Genealogy Center at the Morristown and Morris Township Library (1982–1991), and the UMDNJ Archives (1991–2006), retiring after nine years as department head. While at MCHA, she was one of a team that rescued a large quantity of 18th and 19th century documents that formed the core collection of what is now the Monmouth County Archives. At Morristown, she processed more than twenty collections and prepared the library’s disaster plan in 1989, before the library was damaged by underground explosions in 2010. During her time in Morristown, she became a Founder, Trustee, and Secretary of the Thomas Nast Society.

As the UMDNJ Special Collections Archivist, among other responsibilities, Lois acquired and processed many collections, and conducted oral history interviews. She developed the UMDNJ Archives web pages with dozens of online finding aids and a comprehensive guide to the Special Collections. Among numerous annual exhibits that she helped prepare was “A State of Health: New Jersey’s Medical Heritage,” which traveled for years after opening in New Brunswick in 1999. Lois was instrumental in contracting for and supervising annual rare book conservation projects and, in 2006, prepared a detailed Policy and Procedures Manual for UMDNJ Special Collections.

Lois served as the MARAC/NJ Caucus chair and member or chair of several MARAC committees. She was the first Coordinator of the CAPES consulting program of the MARAC/NJ Caucus (1989–1994) and was instrumental in founding and making CAPES operational. She was a regular speaker at meetings of MARAC, NJLA, the Medical History Society of New Jersey, the Ephemera Society of America, Health Science Library Association, local historians conferences, and other groups. A past president of the NJLA History and Bibliography Section (1986–1987) and the Preservation Section (1992–1993), she was a member of the State Librarian’s Preservation and Access Committee (1992–1995, 1999–2001) and appointed in 2004 by NJ Governor McGreevey to the State Historical Records Advisory Board. Among her numerous published writings, she contributed six entries on the history of the health sciences to the Encyclopedia of New Jersey (2004) and wrote journal articles about CAPES, Thomas Nast, and special collections. In addition to the McDonough Award, Lois was honored with two MARAC Service Awards (1995 and 1998) and NJLA’s Susan Swartzburg Award (2023).

2006    Karl Niederer

New Jersey native Karl Niederer began his archives and library career at the Hagley Museum and Library (1975–1976) before earning his M.A. in History with an archives and museum specialization from the University of Delaware in 1979. He joined the New Jersey State Archives in 1978 as a County Historical Records Surveyer and rose through the ranks to Bureau Chief by 2013, when he transferred to the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, where he became the part-time administrator for the New Jersey Cultural Alliance for Response (NJCAR) until his retirement in 2018. Over his many years in the Division of Archives & Records Management (DARM), Niederer worked tirelessly to promote the preservation of New Jersey’s State and Colonial Era archival records. In addition to his archival work, he conceived and implemented DARM’s P.A.R.I.S. grants program (2005-2010) that provided millions of dollars in grants to county and municipal governments to enhance the preservation of and access to their records.

Active in professional organizations, Niederer served on the Executive Committee of the NJLA Preservation Section (a precursor to the History & Preservation Section) from 1987 to 2000. He has also been President and Vice President of the Council of State Archivists (2003-2008); Coordinator of the New Jersey State Historical Records Advisory Board (1994-2012); and for MARAC, Member-at-Large on Steering Committee (1987-1989) Chair, MARAC Steering Committee (1991-1993); and Membership Chair, New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance. In 1988, Niederer helped conceive and develop the CAPES consulting program for the MARAC/NJ Caucus. In addition to the McDonough Award, his other honors include the Susan G. Swartzburg Preservation Award from NJLA (2019).

A former resident of Hopewell, New Jersey, Niederer was Supervising Editor for Hopewell: A Historical Geography (1991) and has been active in the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, currently serving as a trustee. Among other publications, he was a co-compiler of A Guide to Family History Resources in the New Jersey State Archives (1987, rev. 1994) and an editorial assistant for volumes 4 and 5 of Laws of the Royal Colony of New Jersey (1982, 1986).

2005    Joseph Felcone

Joseph J. Felcone is a collector and bibliographer of early printed New Jerseyana. A resident of Princeton, he was educated at the Lawrenceville School, Bucknell University, and the University  of Miami School of Law, after which he practiced law briefly with the Trenton firm of Felcone & Felcone. For many years he operated a rare book dealership, Joseph J. Felcone Inc., with private and institutional clients throughout the world. At the same time he maintained a regional dealership in out-of-print and rare New Jerseyana.

Felcone’s personal collection of early New Jerseyana, built over a period of more than fifty years, is the most comprehensive collection of rare New Jerseyana ever formed by an individual. He has written more than twenty books and scholarly monographs on New Jersey, many of them dealing with some aspect of printing, publishing, and the book trade in early New Jersey. He is the author of most of the standard bibliographical reference works on New Jersey, including Printing in New Jersey, 1754–1800. A Descriptive Bibliography (Worcester: American Antiquarian Society, 2012) [winner of the 2013 Bibliographical Society of America prize for American bibliography]; New Jersey Copyright Registrations, 1791–1870 (Princeton: Joseph J. Felcone Inc., 2017); Printed New Jerseyana, 1683–1783, in the Colonial Office Records (CO 5) of the National Archives of the United Kingdom (Princeton: Joseph J. Felcone Inc., 2020); and The New Jersey Book Trade, 1696–1830 (Princeton: Joseph J. Felcone Inc., 2025). His personal collection is described in detail in New Jersey Books, 1694–1900: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Joseph J. Felcone Collection. 2d. ed., rev. and enl. (Princeton: Joseph J. Felcone Inc., 2023) and New Jersey Broadsides Before 1900: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Joseph J. Felcone Collection (Princeton: Joseph J. Felcone Inc., 2023).

2004    Charles Cummings

Charles Cummings, Assistant Director of Special Collections and Statewide Outreach, Newark Public Library, passed away on December 21, 2005, after a brief illness. He joined The Newark Public Library on July 15, 1963, and acted as the Newark City Historian. In addition to being the expert source for “everything Newark” as head of the Library’s New Jersey Information Center, Cummings assisted numerous researchers, indexed the Newark Star Ledger from 1972 to 1998, and curated many exhibitions, including “Photo by Dorer: American Photographer.”

Cummings’ “Knowing Newark” feature articles appeared regularly in the Star-Ledger’s “Newark This Week” section. He authored/coauthored several books, including History of Newark, New Jersey, 1666-2002. Cummings gave many tours of Newark and was a charter member of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee. In addition to the Roger McDonough Award, Cummings was given the key to the city by Mayor Sharpe James and was the co-recipient with historian John Cunningham of the 2005 Public Humanities Award from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. The American Library Association presented him with the Genealogical Publishing Company/History Section Award, recognizing him for his forty years at the Library and twenty years as Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University. On January 18, 2006, The Newark Public Library’s New Jersey Information Center was renamed the Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center.

2003    Elsalyn Palmisano

Elsalyn Palmisano was a statewide leader in archives and library preservation initiatives for more than fifty years. After obtaining a B.A. in American Studies from the University of Delaware (1965) and an M.S. in Library Science from Drexel University (1968), Palmisano worked in a number of library positions, including Librarian/Archivist of the Monmouth County Historical Association (1974–1978), Director of the Ann May School of Nursing Library at the Jersey Shore Medical Center (1980–1988), archivist of the Region V Library Cooperative, 1985-1987, and archivist of the Historical Society of Ocean Grove (1987–2000). She also held positions at the Guggenheim Library at Monmouth University and at Brookdale Community College. Before her retirement in 2002, Palmisano was the Director of the West Long Branch Public Library for twelve years.

Subsequently, Palmisano became the Coordinator (2004–2006) of the MARAC/NJ Caucus CAPES consulting program, for which she completed nearly 40 consultant reports over 30+ years, and records management consultant for the boroughs of Rumson, where she was instrumental in opening the George H. Moss History Room, and Sea Bright. As librarian/archivist for the Long Branch Public Library, she created and managed the New Jersey History Room, to which she donated her extensive collection of local imprints. Palmisano also helped create the Local History Room at the Red Bank Public Library. For decades, Palmisano also acted as consulting archivist for the Atschul Medical Library of Monmouth Medical Center.

In 2003, Palmisano was the first recipient of the Susan G. Swartzburg Preservation Award from NJLA. Swartzburg had organized the Preservation Development Certificate program at the Rutgers Library School, from which Palmisano received her certificate in 1996. Palmisano had met Swartzburg through the History and Bibliography Section of the New Jersey Library Association. Palmisano served as editor (1977–1981) of its newsletter, The Chronicle, and as President (1981). In 1987, Palmisano organized the Preservation Committee of the Region V Library Cooperative, which presented a series of workshops and preservation film festivals for librarians in Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties. She also served on the Preservation and Conservation Advisory Committee to the New Jersey State Library, which led to the establishment of the State Library’s preservation grants program in 1988. For MARAC, in addition to her CAPES work, Palmisano chaired the New Jersey Caucus (1986–1988) and the Local Arrangements Committee for the Spring 1993 Conference in Long Branch. She served as Vice-President, President, and board member of the NJLA Preservation Section, 1986-1990, President of the Monmouth Librarians Association (1983–1984, 1997–1999), and Vice-President and President of the Interagency Council on Library Resources for Nursing (1986-1990). Among honors for her work in history, Palmisano, who chaired the Monmouth County General Heritage Committee (1977-1979), received awards from the New Jersey Historical Commission (1990), the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders (1993), and the Monmouth County Historical Commission (1996).

2002    Robert Lupp

The first recipient of the McDonough Award, Bob Lupp worked for more than 30 years for the New Jersey State Library, beginning his career when Roger McDonough was the Director. Lupp joined the Reference Referral staff in 1972 and by 1988 was Supervising Librarian, Reference Services. Among other responsibilities, Lupp prepared many useful bibliographies and guides on a variety of topics, including the New Jersey Obituaries Index, 1974–1983; New Jersey for New Jerseyans: A Bibliographic Miscellany; and a timeline of the Lindbergh kidnapping case. His many responsibilities included using the 950 three-foot shelves of government documents in the New Jersey State Archives, located on the lower level, to respond to inquiries. In April 2000, the State Archives moved from the library to the Department of State, leaving behind the New Jersey reference books. Lupp and colleague Cordy Colesar then created the Local History Library within the State Library and Lupp became one of the original staff of New Jersey Reference Services, where he helped develop its comprehensive resources. At the time of the award, Lupp was Supervising Librarian, New Jersey State Government Publications and Jerseyana. Remembered by colleagues for his sense of humor, Lupp had a sign in his office reading, “To err is human. To forgive is not library policy.”