Changes in Store for Library Reader Services
Published: Wednesday, 8 December, 2010, 2:05 PM
Visitors to our reading room, and especially those who depend on our Library Reader Services (LRS) staff, will notice some significant changes at the beginning of 2011, when the department will be restructured in order to create better access to the collections, improve services for our researchers, and increase the visibility of our exhibitions and other public outreach efforts. The new LRS arrangement will allow MHS Curator of Art Anne E. Bentley and Stephen T. Riley Librarian Peter Drummey to shift their energies-and seasoned talents-from frontline reader services to exhibition and public outreach as part of the Society's strategic effort to attract a wider audience. One of our colleagues in LRS, Assistant Reference Librarian Jeremy Dibbell, has chosen the new year as his opportunity to further his career with a new position at LibraryThing, a cataloging and social networking site for book enthusiasts. As part of the new configuration, MHS Reference Librarian Elaine Grublin will become Head of Reader Services, a newly minted position. In this role, she will take over the day-to-day supervision of the department, and she will continue to be the first point of contact for researchers planning to visit the Society as well as for those who query the library by telephone and e-mail.
The MHS to Be Part of the National Archives’ Founders Online
Published: Friday, 12 November, 2010, 1:37 PM
The Adams Papers will be part of Founders Online, a web resource that will make the papers of key historical figures from the founding generation freely available. This project complements the Society's own digital projects as we continue to make accessible our extensive Adams Papers holdings through the Adams Papers Digital Edition, the Adams Electronic Archive, and the Diaries of John Quincy Adams.
Funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and developed by the University of Virginia Press, the creation of the website is praised by David S. Ferriero, archivist of the United States, as a "collection of the Founders' own words in the context of their time." A prototype of the website is planned for October 2011; the full, searchable public version will become available in June 2012.
The MHS @ ADE
Published: Friday, 12 November, 2010, 1:37 PM
The Society was well represented at the recent annual meeting of the Association for Documentary Editing (ADE), held in Philadelphia from 15 to 17 October. The conference was attended by several members of the Adams Papers staff and by Director of Publications Ondine Le Blanc. Beth Luey, assistant editor of the Louisa Catherine Adams Diary, was a conference participant, chairing a session on women's writings and also joining a roundtable discussion about educating future documentary editors.
Several staff members continue the Society's long tradition of involvement with ADE. Ondine Le Blanc joins the organization's leadership with her election to a three-year position of councilor-at-large. From the Adams Papers, NHPRC Fellow Neal Millikan and Beth Luey will continue their respective service on ADE's Membership and Publication Committees and will be joined in committee membership by three more volunteers from the project's staff.
In a final nod to the MHS, recipients of two major conference awards have ties to the Society. MHS Fellow John P. Kaminski was awarded the Julian P. Boyd Award, the ADE's highest honor, presented every three years in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished scholarship. Helen R. Deese, MHS Fellow and editor of the MHS publication the Journals of Caroline Healey Dall, received the Lyman H. Butterfield Award, an annual award given for contributions to the field of documentary editing.
Council of Overseers Welcomes New Members
Published: Wednesday, 10 November, 2010, 8:34 AM
On 28 October, the MHS Council of Overseers convened for its second meeting and welcomed its new class.
Second Class 2010
Daniel Coquillette
Henry Louis Gates
Elizabeth Johnson
Janina Longtine
Cokie Roberts
Paul Sandman
James Segel
Anne Sternlicht
Alexander Webb III
First Class 2010
Ben Adams
Frederick Ballou
Robert Baron
Anne Brooke
Levin Campbell, Jr.
William Clendaniel
Edward Cooke
Francis Coolidge
Deborah Gates
Peter Gomes
Bayard Henry
Amalie Kass
Kitty Lastavica
Emily Lewis
George Lewis
Nathaniel Philbrick
George Putnam
Byron Rushing
Polly Saltonstall
Stephen Swensrud
John Thorndike
W. Nicholas Thorndike
John Winthrop
From the President
Published: Wednesday, 8 September, 2010, 9:15 AM
Nonprofit institutions across the country have faced serious challenges over the past few years as a result of the ongoing economic downturn. Organizations have dealt with the consequences in a variety of ways, ranging from massive budget cuts to attempts to maintain business as usual for as long as possible.
Foreseeing the impact that the downturn would have on the Society's operating budget, in spring 2009 the MHS Board of Trustees and staff moved decisively to reduce expenses while maintaining the quality of core services. At the same time, they quietly leveled a fundraising effort among the Society's closest friends to create a stabilization fund. The resulting Strategic Initiative is a three-year effort to raise a minimum of $900,000 in unrestricted funds to fill the gap in the operating budget in the challenging years ahead and preserve the Society's programs and services.
We are gratified that, to date, we have successfully raised $1 million dollars for the Strategic Initiative from over two dozen Trustees, Overseers, Fellows, Members, and foundations. Fundraising for the Strategic Initiative will continue on a limited basis in order to maintain a consistent, conservative draw on the endowment while avoiding additional, damaging cuts.
The combination of judicious budget cutbacks and focused fundraising assures that the MHS is positioned not only to survive but to take advantage of the eventual economic up-turn. By calling on the Society's dedicated friends to sustain our mission as well as our finances, we expect to build a bright future for the MHS. For more information on how you can support the Strategic Initiative, please contact Director Development Nicole Leonard at nleonard@masshist.org.
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