Garfield Library
Public Library · Bergen County
Garfield Library, a public library in Bergen County, operates under New Jersey's Title 11A civil service system rather than setting its own hiring rules independently.
Within Bergen County, 50 local government entities in total carry this same confirmed status.
About public libraries in New Jersey
Many New Jersey public libraries are set up as legally separate entities from the municipality that funds them, with their own board and their own personnel decisions. That separation is why a town and its library can end up with different civil service status even though most residents think of them as the same organization.
See all 50 civil service jurisdictions in Bergen County, or browse the full employer directory.
Pension and salary data for Garfield Library
Garfield Library's staff appear on Garfield's pension rolls: 136 enrolled members, a median pensionable salary of $73,917 and a median 10.7 years of credited service. Only 15 of New Jersey's library systems report as their own pension employer, so a library's payroll is usually inside its municipality's.
See every civil service jurisdiction in Bergen County for the ones that do report, or how we compile this.
Other public employers in Garfield
The pension system reports these separate public employers in Garfield. Each is its own employer for pension purposes, and only some are civil service jurisdictions — school boards, charter schools and parking authorities are ordinary public employers that were never part of Title 11A. Names link only where the body appears in this directory.
| Employer | Enrolled members |
|---|---|
| GARFIELD CITY BD OF ED | 685 |
| GARFIELD CITY | 136 |
| GARFIELD HOUSING AUTHORITY | 16 |
What civil service status means for jobs at Garfield Library
A New Jersey public library is usually a legally separate employer from the town that funds it, run by its own board of trustees, with its own director and its own hiring. That separation is why a library and its municipality can end up on opposite sides of the civil service line even though residents think of them as one government.
The library ladder is defined statewide. Librarian 1 through Librarian 4 are the professional titles, and they carry a real credential floor: a master's degree from an ALA-accredited library school plus a New Jersey Professional Librarian Certificate. Below that line sit the library assistant, library associate and library page titles, where education and experience take the place of the MLS.
Promotional examinations are closed. They are open to employees already serving in the unit, scored on a combination of the examination and seniority, and they are how most supervisory positions in local government get filled. It is the main reason entry-level appointments matter so much: they are the door to the ladder above them.
Not every position at a civil service employer is competitive. The classified service is divided into competitive, noncompetitive and labor titles, and above that sits the unclassified service, which covers department heads, confidential aides and similar positions filled without an examination. Which division a title sits in decides how you get it, so read the specification before assuming there is an exam.
Civil service employers in Garfield
Garfield Library serves Garfield City, a city in Bergen County, but it is in the listing as a public library on its own account rather than as part of the city government.
The Garfield government is listed too: Garfield. Both run under Title 11A, and both certify their own appointments, so applying to one tells you nothing about openings at the other.
Civil service titles used by New Jersey public libraries
Real classifications that New Jersey public libraries draw on, each linked to its official specification: the definition of the work, the requirements, and any licence the title depends on. A sample of the system rather than a roster or a list of openings.
Civil service coverage across Bergen County
Bergen County holds 50 confirmed jurisdictions in the Commission's listing: 21 municipalities, 20 public libraries, 4 boards of health, 1 board of social services, 1 county government, 1 housing authority, 1 school district, and 1 municipal utilities authority.
21 of the county's 70 municipalities are among them.
Bergen County is a jurisdiction too, though a county's decision does not bind the towns, authorities, libraries or districts inside it.
Also in the directory: Lodi Housing Authority, Lodi Library, Lodi School District, Moonachie Borough, North Arlington Board of Health, North Arlington Borough, North Arlington Library, Oakland Borough. See all 50 in Bergen County.
Common questions about Garfield Library
Is Garfield Library a civil service employer?
Yes. Garfield Library appears in the New Jersey Civil Service Commission's listing of local civil service system jurisdictions as of July 2024, which makes it an appointing authority under Title 11A. Permanent appointments to competitive titles there come from eligible lists the Commission certifies, rather than from purely local hiring.
Does civil service status at Garfield Library cover the rest of Garfield?
No. Garfield has more than one employer in the listing, and each holds its own status, runs its own examinations and keeps its own eligible lists. Seniority and permanent status earned at one do not transfer automatically to another, even inside the same town.
Is there always a written test?
No. New Jersey runs both assembled examinations, where candidates are scheduled to sit a test, and unassembled ones, where a reviewer scores your education and experience against the requirements in the specification and there is no test day at all. The announcement says which kind it is. For an unassembled examination the application itself is the examination, so how fully you describe your experience is the score.
Can you challenge an examination result?
Yes. Eligibility determinations, examination scoring and list placement can be appealed to the Civil Service Commission, and there are filing deadlines measured from the date of the notice rather than from when you happen to see it. The appeal route is the reason the notices matter: missing the window generally forecloses the argument.