Paterson Library
Public Library · Passaic County
Paterson Library is a confirmed New Jersey civil service jurisdiction — a public library in Passaic County that has adopted Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes to govern how it hires, classifies, and promotes employees.
Passaic County has 20 confirmed civil service jurisdictions in total, including this one.
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 20 civil service jurisdictions in Passaic County, or browse the full employer directory.
Pension and salary data for Paterson Library
Paterson Library's staff appear on Paterson's pension rolls: 1,315 enrolled members, a median pensionable salary of $74,681 and a median 10.2 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 Passaic County for the ones that do report, or how we compile this.
Other public employers in Paterson
The pension system reports these separate public employers in Paterson. 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 |
|---|---|
| PATERSON BD OF ED | 3,437 |
| PATERSON CITY | 1,315 |
| PATERSON HOUSING AUTHORITY | 40 |
| PATERSON PARKING AUTHORITY | 21 |
What civil service status means for jobs at Paterson 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.
Passing an examination puts you on an eligible list, not into a job. Lists are promulgated for a fixed life, commonly three years, and the Commission certifies names from the live list whenever an employer reports a vacancy. If no list exists for a title when a vacancy opens, the employer has to ask for an examination to be held.
A permanent appointment starts with a working test period. You hold the title, you draw the salary, and you can still be released for unsatisfactory performance without the full removal process. Permanent status, and the job protection that comes with it, begins only once that period is completed satisfactorily.
Civil service employers in Paterson
Paterson Library serves Paterson City, a city in Passaic County, but it is in the listing as a public library on its own account rather than as part of the city government.
The Paterson government is listed too: Paterson. 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 Passaic County
Passaic County holds 20 confirmed jurisdictions in the Commission's listing: 8 municipalities, 7 public libraries, 3 municipal utilities authorities, 1 board of social services, and 1 county government.
8 of the county's 16 municipalities are among them.
Passaic 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: Pompton Lakes Borough, Pompton Lakes Library, Pompton Lakes Municipal Utilities Authority, Ringwood Borough, Wanaque Borough, Wanaque Library, West Milford Library, West Milford Municipal Utilities Authority. See all 20 in Passaic County.
Common questions about Paterson Library
Is Paterson Library a civil service employer?
Yes. Paterson 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 Paterson Library cover the rest of Paterson?
No. Paterson 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.
Does permanent status transfer to another civil service employer?
Not automatically. Permanent status belongs to a title at a particular appointing authority, so moving to another jurisdiction usually means a new appointment and a new working test period. Intergovernmental transfers between civil service employers are possible in the same or a comparable title, but they need agreement on both sides rather than being a right you can exercise.