TRENTON, N.J. – With a large number of librarians nearing retirement age both in New Jersey and nationwide, members of the profession are hoping to recruit and train more people before their ranks start to dwindle.

There are about 3,300 librarians at New Jersey public libraries and kindergarten-through-12th grade schools now, and the numbers have been relatively stable in recent years. But that may soon change.

A recent American Library Association analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data shows 45% of librarians reaching the retirement age of 65 in the decade starting in 2010. Many in the profession agree that low pay and unattractive stereotypes impede efforts to ensure that a new group of trained librarians is ready to replace them.

State and federal aid may help. Librarians also have a powerful ally: first lady Laura Bush, who used to be a librarian herself.

The first lady in 2003 announced a federal initiative to “recruit and train a new generation of librarians.” In early December, President Bush approved a nearly 5% increase, to $240.6 million, for the annual budget of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, created in 1996 to bolster the profession.

Rutgers University is using a three-year, $969,773 grant from the institute to pay for an online version of its master’s in library sciences degree program, the only such accredited program in New Jersey. The online program is expected to increase enrollment by 50%.An additional three-year, $497,388 grant, administered by the New Jersey Library Network, is helping urban library workers study for degrees in the field.

The need for trained librarians for public libraries and schools is crucial in areas such as Paterson, New Jersey’s third-largest city. Cindy Czesak, director of the city’s public library system, says her staff is helping local residents with tasks as critical as renewing immigration visas and applying for federal earned income tax credits for low-income families.

The state library estimates that New Jersey’s libraries serve 42 million people, lend 51 million books and answer 7.5 million reference questions every year.

Despite the work, Ms. Czesak finds it hard to find librarians with the master’s degrees the state requires for the system’s top jobs, which carry the actual title of librarian. The roughly $36,000 per year starting salary for positions in Paterson doesn’t help, Ms. Czesak acknowledges.

“I fill them with people in library school who as soon as they get their degree, they get out because the pay scale isn’t competitive enough,” Ms. Czesak said.

Every year, Ms. Czesak faces a loss of state money because of a lack of librarians in the Paterson system. Ms. Czesak worries the situation will only get worse. Five of the six librarians in Paterson, including Ms. Czesak, are over 50.

“People are doing some amazing things, but we don’t have our replacements coming up,” Ms. Czesak said.

Norma Blake, the New Jersey state librarian, agrees that replacements are needed, and the roughly $35,000 to $50,000 annual salaries for such positions hinder recruitment.

“There is such a wide variety of librarians,” Ms. Blake said. “You have so many options of who you would like to work with and where you would want to work.”

The Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, one of four regional cooperatives in the New Jersey Library Network, has been receiving an annual $30,000 to $60,000 from the state to pay for recruitment.

The money has paid for brochures in libraries and open houses targeting young people as well as older people considering new careers, said Connie Paul, executive director of the Central Jersey cooperative.