This year BCCLS libraries are celebrating two big birthdays! BCCLS is celebrating 35 years of connecting libraries, communities, and so much more. But did you know that the State of New Jersey is also celebrating a milestone? New Jersey is 350 years old. That is a lot of candles!
Members of the BCCLS Public Relations Committee have compiled a list of favorite books to celebrate our great state – everything from Jersey’s iconic diners to our history starting with our early beginning as a colony. While reading about New Jersey, don’t forget to peruse your library’s local history collection and learn about the history of your town.
What is a birthday celebration without cake? Check out all of the great birthday books, too.
350 Years of New Jersey History by 
The Architecture of Bergen County, New Jersey by 
Atlas of Bergen County, N.J. by 
Encyclopedia of New Jersey by Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey by 
The History of Diners in New Jersey by 
A History of Inventing in New Jersey by 
Hudson River Lighthouses and History by 
Jersey Diners by 
The Jersey Sting by 
New Jersey Then and Now by 
New Jersey - Off the Beaten Path by 
The Revolutionary War in Bergen County by Even if you’ve lived in New Jersey your whole life, this set of travel guides will help you find something new and different to do or see around the state. From ghost stories to odd places, Weird N.J. will provide tons of ideas for day or weekend trips to visit old favorites or find new secrets.
Weird N. J. by
Oh sure, Texas is bigger and California is cooler, but for sheer, out-and-out weirdness, no state even comes close to New Jersey. You probably know of the infamous Jersey Devil, but have you heard of the Matawan Man Eater or the Hoboken Monkey-Man? Maybe you'd like to cruise down haunted Annie's Road in Totowa, or take a stroll through Vineland's bizarre Palace of Depression? These are just some of the offbeat and odd, the mysterious and unexplainable, the spooky sights and local legends that don't appear on any tourist map. You'll only find them here, along with an amazing assortment of roadside oddities, abandoned asylums, natural phenomena and unforgettable people along the highways and byways of the Garden State. From Caldwell's Mystery Thread and the Dancing Jesus of Whippoorwill Road to the campaign to save Middletown's Evil Clown, you'll laugh, gasp and marvel at the everyday weirdness that is New Jersey.
Weird N. J., Vol. 2 by
New Jersey is even WEIRDER than we thought! From the authors of Weird N.J.—with more than 125,000 copies sold—comes a second amazing collection of the wonderful weirdness that fills every inch of the Garden State. One of the bestselling books ever to hit New Jersey was Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran’s Weird N.J. The book was such a phenomenon that it began a whole series of Weird state books, each one a bestseller. But the Marks, as they are called, always knew that there were more, bizarre stories lurking in their own home state. So back they went, camera and notebook in hand, to travel the highways and byways of New Jersey to chronicle more weirdly bizarre stories. And what did they find? How about the pathway of a doctor’s office paved with tombstones? Or a pumpkin-shaped house? Then there’s the Hub Cap Tree, the Birdsville Church (yes, a church for birds), and the bowling ball pyramid that graces one proud resident’s front lawn. Fun too are the haunted houses to visit, the ghosts to chat with, and the cursed roads to travel down. It’s all part of the long, strange trip known as Weird N.J.
Everyone loves birthday parties and the star of the birthday party is the cake! Check out these books for tips and tricks on making cakes which will bring your parties to the next level.
The Best Birthday Party Ever by 
The Birthday Cake Book by 
Cake Couture by 
Chocolate Cakes by 
The Complete Photo Guide to Cake Decorating by 
FamilyFun Birthday Cakes by 
Finally by 
Switched at Birthday by 2014 BCCLS Public Relations Committee