Linden Library
Public Library · Union County
16 people are enrolled in a State pension fund through Linden Library, reporting a median pensionable salary of $53,231.
Linden Library, a public library in Union County, operates under New Jersey's Title 11A civil service system rather than setting its own hiring rules independently.
Within Union County, 23 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 23 civil service jurisdictions in Union County, or browse the full employer directory.
Who is on the pension rolls at Linden Library
16 people are enrolled in a State-administered pension fund through Linden Library. That is a count of active memberships reported by the employer, not a payroll headcount: anyone not enrolled in one of these funds does not appear in this data at all, and no separate headcount for a New Jersey local employer is published anywhere we can check against.
| Fund | Name | Members | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| PERS | Public Employees' Retirement System | 16 | 100% |
Pensionable salary at Linden Library
Half of the pension-enrolled workforce at Linden Library reports a pensionable salary above $53,231 and half below, across 16 members with a reported figure.
| Point in the distribution | Pensionable salary |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $35,090 |
| 25th percentile | $48,156 |
| Median | $53,231 |
| 75th percentile | $70,127 |
| 90th percentile | $74,469 |
The range runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile because the extremes are not informative: the lowest reported figures belong to part-time and partial-year members, whose credited salary is a fraction of a full-time equivalent.
Among the 18 civil service jurisdictions in the same county with pension data, that median sits at the 22nd percentile, below the county's midpoint of $72,942. Against the 9 bodies of the same kind statewide, it sits at the 44th percentile.
These figures are pensionable salary reported to the NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits for the four most recent quarters, not total pay and not take-home pay. Snapshot of March 31, 2026. How we compile this.
How long people stay at Linden Library
The median enrolled member at Linden Library has 7.2 years of credited service, with the middle half falling between 2.6 and 21.9 years. 38% have passed twenty years, which matters locally because retirement eligibility and the pension formula both turn on service credit.
| Credited service | Members | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years | 8 | 50% |
| 5 to 10 years | 1 | 6% |
| 10 to 15 years | 1 | 6% |
| 20 to 25 years | 3 | 19% |
| 25 years or more | 3 | 19% |
Membership tier records which pension rules a member was hired under, so the mix is a rough picture of how recently a workforce turned over. At Linden Library, 63% sit in the most recently hired cohort.
| Membership tier | Members | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (longest-serving cohort) | 6 | 38% |
| Tier 5 (most recently hired cohort) | 10 | 63% |
Other public employers in Linden
The pension system reports these separate public employers in Linden. 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 |
|---|---|
| LINDEN CITY BD OF ED | 1,044 |
| LINDEN CITY | 493 |
| LINDEN CTY FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY (this page) | 16 |
| LINDEN CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY | 7 |
What civil service status means for jobs at Linden 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.
When there is no eligible list for a title, an employer can fill the job provisionally. Provisional service is real work at real pay, but it builds no permanent rights, and the employer is supposed to request an examination so the position can be filled permanently. Anyone appointed provisionally who wants to keep the job needs to take that examination when it comes.
Your title, not your assignment, defines what you are supposed to be doing. If the duties you actually perform drift outside the specification for the title you hold, that is a classification question rather than a management preference, and an employee can ask for the position to be reviewed and reclassified. It is one of the quieter protections in the system and one of the least used.
Civil service employers in Linden
Linden Library serves Linden City, a city in Union County, but it is in the listing as a public library on its own account rather than as part of the city government.
The Linden government is listed too: Linden. Both run under Title 11A, and both certify their own appointments, so applying to one tells you nothing about openings at the other.
One further Linden body is listed as well, which puts three separate civil service employers inside one town.
- Linden Board of Health, board of health
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 Union County
Union County holds 23 confirmed jurisdictions in the Commission's listing: 9 public libraries, 9 municipalities, 2 boards of health, 2 housing authorities, and 1 county government.
9 of the county's 21 municipalities are among them.
Union 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: Roselle Library, Scotch Plains, Scotch Plains Library, Union Township, Union Township Board of Health, Union Township Library, Clark Library, Clark Township. See all 23 in Union County.
Common questions about Linden Library
Is Linden Library a civil service employer?
Yes. Linden 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 Linden Library cover the rest of Linden?
No. Linden 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.
Are there jobs here that never go through an examination?
Yes. Unclassified positions, which typically include department heads and confidential staff, are filled at the discretion of the appointing authority. Noncompetitive and labor titles inside the classified service are also filled without a competitive examination, though they still sit under civil service rules for things like layoff rights.
Do veterans get a preference on these lists?
Yes, and in New Jersey it is unusually strong. On an open competitive list, disabled veterans who pass are ranked ahead of all other candidates, and other veterans who pass are ranked ahead of non-veterans, regardless of score. Preference has to be claimed and verified in advance, and it does not carry over to promotional examinations.
How many Linden Library employees are in a State pension system?
16 active memberships are reported through Linden Library, split across 16 in PERS. This counts pension enrolment rather than payroll, so employees who are not in one of these funds are not included.
What is the median pensionable salary at Linden Library?
$53,231, with the middle half of members between $48,156 and $70,127. These figures are pensionable salary reported to the NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits for the four most recent quarters, not total pay and not take-home pay. It excludes overtime and most supplemental pay, and it is before tax, before the member's own pension contribution and before health premiums.
How does pay at Linden Library compare with the rest of Union County?
Its median pensionable salary of $53,231 sits at the 22nd percentile among the 18 civil service jurisdictions in Union County with pension data, where the midpoint jurisdiction reports $72,942. Local pay is set by ordinance rather than a State schedule, so spreads inside one county are wide.
How long do people stay at Linden Library?
The median enrolled member has 7.2 years of credited service, and 38% have passed twenty years. Credited service drives both retirement eligibility and the pension formula, so a long-tenured workforce usually means fewer open competitive appointments in the near term.