MISSION
To enhance the value of every member library with high quality shared services and technology. Pillar member libraries, committees and staff collaborate to amplify their collective and individual resources. Their efforts form the basis for development opportunities and partnerships within the community.
VISION
Pillar aspires to encourage, lead and support member libraries and the communities they serve to readily access a diverse and innovative selection of enriching, entertaining and informative resources.
VALUES
Pillar’s libraries support lifelong learning, deliver literacy in its many forms, and strengthen communities. Pillar empowers member libraries by offering cost-effective, high-quality services.
Pillar libraries welcome everyone – all ages, genders, orientations, abilities and backgrounds – in spaces that are comfortable and safe. Member libraries represent the diverse communities they serve with materials, resources, and activities that actively encourage learning and understanding.
EMPOWERMENT
Pillar and its member libraries are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Together we empower communities with information they need to improve their lives. We promote libraries as places of discovery and individual transformation. Pillar’s commitment to DEI means our differences drive our need to be inclusive, respectful of each other, and recognize our professional and ethical responsibilities to honor every individual’s right to be different.
WHO WE SERVE
Pillar and its member libraries serve over 1 million patrons of every age and from every walk of life in Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties. We present hours of free classes and workshops each year that meet the ambitions of people of all ages, whether they want to attend preschool programs, learn English or another language, build their career, get homework help, or learn how to use technology.
HISTORY
Pillar Libraries was originally founded as the Morris Automated Information Network in early 1979 to facilitate the conversion of physical card catalog systems and maintain what would eventually become known as a digitized integrated library system (ILS) in the County of Morris.
The first member library located outside of Morris County joined in 1998. In the mid 2010’s member libraries voted to shift away from a mostly volunteer model of organizational administration and support in favor of a non profit institution, a model akin to what many automation consortia have done nationwide. In 2026, the organization adopted the name Pillar Libraries to reflect its wider geographical footprint and its role in supporting member libraries.