Joseph R. Klett, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Archives (NJSA) and GSNJ Vice President, showing some of the original West Jersey Proprietors loose surveys on deposit at the NJSA.

The New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance (NJSAA) awarded Joseph R. Klett, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Archives and GSNJ Vice President, with an 2016 NJSAA Author Award.

This is the second major award for Klett’s publication “Understanding New Jersey’s Geography in the Proprietary Period,” which was published by GSNJ in December 2014 as a special issue of the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey (GMNJ). The issue was edited by GMNJ Editor, Jane Fletcher Fiske, FASG, and contains original maps developed by NJSA Archivist, Veronica L. Calder, and the staff of the New Jersey State Archives especially for this publication.

In 2015, Klett received the prestigious American Society of Genealogists’ Donald Lines Jacobus Award for this publication. The award was established in 1972 and is “presented to a model genealogical work…,” voted on by members of the Society ( http://fasg.org/awards/jacobus-award/ ).

The NJSAA awardees will be honored at a panel discussion to be held on 7 December, 2016, at Rutgers University. See the following press release for information.

Congratulations to Mr. Klett and all the 2016 NJSAA honorees!

“Understanding New Jersey’s Geography in the Proprietary Period” Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, Volume 89, Number 4, December 2014.

64 Pages, with place-name index; 10 maps and illustrations; softcover; black and white; limited quantities available. ©2014 The NJ State Archives and Genealogical Society of New Jersey. Publication made possible, in part, by general operating support from the New Jersey Historical Commission.

A limited number of copies of this issue (first printing) are available from the GSNJ Bookstore for $15.00 (cost includes domestic US shipping). Copies may be ordered through the GSNJ’s Bookstore at www.njgenealogy.com or by downloading the attached PDF order form.

NJSAA Press Release

2016 NJSAA Author Awards

by Deborah Mercer

Annually, the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance ( www.njsaa.org ) accepts nominations for materials published in the field of New Jersey studies for its Author Awards. The awards are meant to recognize works that reflect a new understanding of New Jersey’s history and culture, demonstrate evidence of original research in the application of New Jersey resources and/or reveal new insights into a topic.

We are pleased to announce the winning authors and publications for 2016:

Non-fiction scholarly category:

Molly Makris. Public Housing and School Choice in a Gentrified City: Youth Experiences of Uneven Opportunity, New York (NY): Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

Non-fiction popular category:

Dale Russakoff. The Prize: Who’s In Charge of America’s Schools? Boston, MA: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt 2015.

Reference category:

Joseph R. Klett. Understanding New Jersey’s Geography in the Proprietary Period, Trenton (NJ): Genealogical Society of New Jersey, 2014.

Edited Works category:

James J. Gigantino II (ed). The American Revolution in New Jersey: Where the Battlefront Meets the Home Front, New Brunswick (NJ): Rutgers University Press, 2015

Some of the winners will be present at a panel discussion to be held in the Pane Room of Alexander Library at Rutgers University (169 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ) on Wednesday, December 7th at 4:15 p.m. (preceded at 3:00 p.m. by a business meeting of the NJSAA in the Hughes room). Please join us in hearing about their award-winning works and also to congratulate the authors.

Much appreciation goes to all of our nominees for their efforts in spreading the word about the unique and important history and culture within our state. Without their efforts, word about New Jersey’s importance in the American experience is not told.

Sincerely,

NJSAA Author Awards Committee
Ben Beede
Laura Poll
Harriet Sepinwall
Richard Veit
Deborah Mercer