Executive Director's Annual Meeting Report

January 25, 2011

I taught literature and history for many years, and one of the books I most enjoyed teaching was To Kill a Mockingbird. There is so much to admire about Harper Lee's magical prose and her profound story, so there were many lines that I loved to address. However, one of the most memorable came from Scout when she observed, "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." How true it is that until we are confronted by potential loss, we take so many things for granted. For the next few minutes, I'd like you to think about whether your appreciation of the Library Society would change if you were confronted by the possibility of losing it.

As we sit in this beautiful room, I hope most of you are reminded of some experience you had here in the last twelve months. If you close your eyes, you might hear a bar of music from Laura Ball's Beatles, Bach and Beer concert, a witty line from Bernard Cornwell's talk, or Caroline von Nathusius's lilting British accent introducing a speaker for the Wide Angle Lunches. There has been tremendous expansion of programming - in fact, over 600% growth. Just ask Janice, Carol, Debbie, Trish, or Rob about that figure! It is important to note - and impossible to stress enough - that none of the vibrancy here could have happened without this staff. Every day I am indebted to each of them. I am positive that none of you fully appreciates the hundreds of after work hours these colleagues devote to making sure our members are happy. How many places can you enter, be recognized and greeted with a smile? None of us should take that personal experience for granted.

Tonight (on the same night that President Obama and Mayor Riley are giving their state of the union and state of the city speeches) I am tasked with giving an account of the "state of the library" for 2010. Before I even begin to address that assignment, I must tell all of you how blessed I feel to be in this position. I am as elated each day to enter this building as I was 18 months ago, and I still marvel at my good fortune. While I love the challenges and the creativity I encounter, it is the relationships that are the most rewarding aspect of the job. In fact, my children tease me about all my "new friends." And that is true. I have made some extraordinary new friends. To have a work environment where the relationships are the primary "positive" is an amazing opportunity. Once again, I thank Carol, Janice, Trisha, Debbie, and Rob.

And it is difficult to put into words how much I have learned from your board of trustees. They are a universally supportive, talented, thoughtful group. Ben Moore's tenure as president has been remarkable; he is a generous, patient, wonderful mentor and friend, and I will miss his humor and guidance as president. As a token of our profound gratitude, I would like to present him with a print of the Library as a reminder of where he has spent so much time!

- As I said, the Library is a busy place. We had almost 7,200 visitors during regular hours, and with our concerts and lectures after hours, the number rises to over 9,000.

- The Wide Angle Lunch Series and the Unedited Concert Series broadened our offerings and exposed far more people to the charm of the Library Society.

- What is far more important is the growth of our active membership, especially within the demographic under the age of 60.

- Active membership stands at about 800, of which about 289 are new members.

- Establishing the Association of Fellows has had a dramatically positive effect. There are now over 112 members who support the organization at the $500 or above level. In their honor, we have transformed the Ross Room to the Ross Fellows Room, and we will host a number of exclusive events to express our gratitude for their help.

- Finally, we have a Young Professionals Advisory Board, and its new president, Emilie Dulles, will begin to attend meetings of the Board of Trustees as an ex officio member.

The announcement of a Conservation Program has elicited some amazing generosity. Marge Palmer is currently working on restoring the Michaux volumes, an anonymous member funded the complete repair of Charles Darwin's HMS Beagle journal and gave us a gift toward restoring Redoute's Roses. We have been approached about restoring Nicholas Trott's documents, and through the work of Catherine Templeton, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has agreed to write a forward for the limited edition production of our John Locke volume.

In terms of structural and interior space changes, this room has been opened to accommodate programs such as this evening. (On Friday evening, thanks to the efforts of Jim Lundy and his board, we had 180 people attend the Poetry Society's 90th anniversary, having the incredibly rewarding experience to hear US Poet Laureate, Billy Collins.)

- Last summer, we renovated the Research and Writing Center, creating a much more productive space for the microfilm and the readers. The new area has been used for our Life Long Learning Series on Tuesday evenings - offerings such as Nan Morrison's Shakespeare courses, the PBS Independent Lens film series, and occasional conferences.

- Finally, under the guidance of Dr. Gene Johnson, most of the landscaping has been completed in the parking area and driveway, which has created a far more appealing exterior.

As rosy a picture as many of these statistics paint, there are some sobering facts that are vital to acknowledge. Last year I had to inform you that we needed to replace the entire HVAC system in the Ripley Ravenel Building, which was accomplished by summer. There is ALWAYS something; old buildings require constant care. We are fortunate to have Glenn Keyes as a brilliant and talented advisor, and Palmetto Craftsmen I am happy to report, can be here within 15 minutes to help us with almost any disaster. I know, because we've put them to the test several times. In the next few months, we will face more infrastructure issues. The ground floor bathrooms have been plagued by leakage problems, and we are in the process of extensive renovations to repair the walls and update the facilities - none of which will be cheap.

Our full-time staff has grown marginally thanks to an extraordinary gift from an anonymous friend last May, allowing Trisha Kometer to transition from her role as part of a SHRAB grant to a full-time archivist and librarian. We have also received a grant from the Post and Courier Foundation to expand our cataloging process. The project will get a tremendous bump, thanks to a wonderful announcement last Friday by Mead Westvaco Foundation. They will contribute $15,000 as a matching challenge grant for our cataloging project. Anyone who wants to donate to the fund, please see me!

As Mac Harley will report, we ended 2010 with a financial surplus, primarily because of the extraordinary matching challenge gift of $25,000 that all of you helped bring to a successful conclusion. I can hope that we are as fortunate in 2011, but we can't count on amazing one-time gifts to augment the draw on the endowment. So, returning to the request I made at the beginning of this presentation, I ask all of you to imagine your lives without the Library Society. In a world of changing technology and a potential threat to books as we know them, I am far more appreciative of Harper Lee's perspective. Until we fear losing them, we don't always love some of the special things in our lives. Let us not wait until the Library Society is threatened to realize how much we love it.

Anne Cleveland
January 25, 2011

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