If you want my 2¢ worth

Citation

(2003), "If you want my 2¢ worth", The Bottom Line, Vol. 16 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2003.17016caf.001

If you want my 2¢ worth

Edited by Kent C. Boese, Arts Cataloger, Cataloging Services Department, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Washington, DC, USA

Keywords: Librarians, Special libraries, Financial management, Funding, Sponsorship, Fund-raising

TBL interviews Nancy E. Gwinn, Director, Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Former Associate Director, Program Coordination, in the Research Libraries Group, Stanford, California, and Program Officer, Council on Library Resources, Washington, DC.

TBL: What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Gwinn: I hope my greatest achievements still lie in the future! One would be leaving the Smithsonian Institution Libraries with a firm financial base of private funding, so that we don't have to be completely dependent on the vagaries of the federal appropriations process. To that end, we've made a good start with over $5m raised towards a goal of $20m in our capital campaign, called Partners in Discovery. But if I look back instead of forwards, I would point to two. Professionally, it would be starting the first major cooperative nationwide preservation microfilming program when I worked at the Research Libraries Group in the early 1980s. It involved bringing together that early group of preservation administrators to establish standards and procedures that eventually became the national model and helped ensure that RLG's first grant proposal to NEH was a success. From that came the book Preservation Microfilming: A Guide for Archivists and Librarians, which many colleagues have told me became their "bible" for this kind of work. In personal terms, I'd have to say that managing to complete a PhD program in 1996 while working full-time was the hardest, but one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.

TBL: Who are your heroes in real life?

Gwinn: That's easy. My greatest hero (and best supporter) is my mother. I have seen her meet and overcome many of life's obstacles, still maintaining an enthusiasm for life and fun that I hope to copy. She won her flight in golf at the local country club at age 60. When my father died in 1981, she assumed the reins of both a small business and a working ranch. The business moved from the red to the black and reached its 100th anniversary before finally being sold. Mom's in her eighties now with a new knee and hip, and she's still going strong. Other than that, I'd point to a category, not a person. It's the nineteenth-century women pioneers who went west into a great unknown, endured unimaginable hardships, and became the bedrock of the many new communities that grew up. Their persistence, independence, and strength of mind are qualities I admire and try to emulate. Of course, I'm from Wyoming, so I suppose this is quite natural.

TBL: What writings on financial management best inform you to do your job?

Gwinn: I don't read about financial management per se. Working within the federal budget and contracting rules and regulations gives little latitude for creative financial management. I do, however, read the Wall Street Journal, as well as Forbes and Kiplinger's magazines, to get a sense of the current economic and business climate and to help me understand the factors affecting prospective donors from the business world.

TBL: What do you think of corporate sponsorships? While they bring significant funds to libraries, do they threaten the library's neutrality?

Gwinn: This is a hot topic right now, especially for someone on the staff of the Smithsonian Institution. However, the Libraries have had corporate sponsors of exhibitions, and there have been no problems. I would be happy to receive corporate funding, but I think each opportunity must be carefully reviewed and negotiated to make sure it doesn't give rise to negative perceptions of what the Libraries are doing. The Institution now has a policy on corporate donors that helps. I would turn down a corporate gift from a business I thought was doing harm or untrustworthy. But most problems rise from either side failing to do its homework about the relationship, not paying enough attention to the details, and miscommunicating objectives and requirements. Corporate sponsorships can be quite productive for both sides if handled well.

TBL: How do you see the funding mix for public libraries shifting over the next ten years? Will the local, state, and federal pieces of the pie grow or diminish?

Gwinn: The answer to this question depends in part on whether there is a change in the political party that holds power, as well as on the economy. A lot can happen in ten years. Certainly I see state and federal appropriated funds diminishing over the next five years. Libraries must begin to develop private means of support if they are going to grow and develop. At the same time, libraries must continue to convince their basic funders of the vital roles libraries play in the health of society, that this is a public good and as such requires subvention from the general public. Essentially, the mix of funding sources will continue to grow and librarians will have to be creative in finding those supplementary sources among individuals, foundations, government programs, corporations, bond issues, and anything else they can think of.

TBL: In 20 years, will libraries purchase (as opposed to license or lease) any information resources?

Gwinn: Of course they will. Twenty years isn't that far away. Many countries will continue to publish in traditional formats that will be purchased in traditional ways. But the mix will be different, unless there is a major change in the ways of publishers. Electronic or digital formats, which are most prone to license or lease, are taking, and will continue to take, their place among library offerings, alongside all the other information resources we already manage.

TBL: What do you perceive to be the most compelling financial concern facing libraries in the next five years? How would you address this issue?

Gwinn: The most compelling financial concern is how to support the core operations of the libraries, which includes keeping up with staff salaries, maintaining physical facilities, and building collections. Core support is eroding as local, state, and federal funds diminish. It is always easier to raise funds for specific projects, but financing continuing operations will be a challenge.

TBL: Given the opportunity, how would you resolve the copyright protection vs unfettered Internet access conundrum?

Gwinn: I would go back to the original purpose of copyright, reduce copyright protection to life of the author plus 20 years, redefine fair use specifically in the digital arena, provide an easy mechanism for online payment for uses outside that definition (perhaps with a nationwide fee structure for certain uses), then educate, educate, educate people in both the ethics of copyright and procedures. By and large, I think most people follow the rules, if they know what they are.

TBL: If money were no object, what is the most significant change that you would institute in your library?

Gwinn: I would increase the staff by 50 per cent, double the effort we're putting into producing public programs and creating digital content for our Web site, and increase the acquisitions budget by 150 per cent. If bureaucracy were also no object, I would also build a state-of-the-art off-site storage and preservation facility.

TBL: What fund-raising activities have worked for your library?

Gwinn: The Smithsonian Libraries began fund-raising in earnest in the late 1990s, when the new Secretary of the Institution, Lawrence Small, required all directors to establish fund-raising goals and to spend a minimum of 20 per cent of their time in fund-raising activities. With the help of a full-time Development Officer, I created a national Board of supporters to help and launched the Spencer Baird Society as a way to attract and recognize donors by providing program benefits. Within a year the Society grew to 50 members, and the Libraries began offering special tours, lectures, and other events for them, as well as invitations to exhibition openings. The Society members are now the Libraries' greatest source of unrestricted income. A year ago, we began work on the silent phase of a $20m capital campaign and have reached 25 per cent of our goal. To do this, the Board and I have identified prospects, hosted cultivation events, developed proposals, and made solicitations – all the normal activities. The difference, perhaps, is that there is no centrally run campaign at the Smithsonian, and each unit is inventing its development program for itself. I had little prior experience in this work, and have learned it by "feel" and by doing.

TBL: How have you dealt with the rising cost of serials?

Gwinn: The SI Libraries have been forced to cancel, cancel, and cancel subscriptions to the point where in 1984 we were purchasing over 4,000 titles; today we are purchasing 2,635 for twice the money. Although our 20 libraries are spread from the Republic of Panama to New York City, many supporting similar Smithsonian programs, we've had to cancel most duplicates, even among core titles. At the same time, we've made budget case after budget case to the Smithsonian to request funds to cover inflationary increases. We've had limited success, although we have also received some funds from other Smithsonian units to tide us over from time to time. I would say that we aren't dealing with the rising costs, we're only coping with them, and not very well. It's a continuing crisis.

TBL: How important are digitization projects to your organization, and how did you allocate funds to undertake this initiative?

Gwinn: The SI Libraries' Web site, "Galaxy of Knowledge" (www.sil.si.edu/), is based on digitization projects and has played a crucial role in our public outreach efforts. The development of our projects and the results, as captured in our Web site, have established the SI Libraries as a leader within the Smithsonian in the digitization of text-based information and application of standards. It has enhanced our image drastically from being seen as information procurers and providers to one of being creators and leaders of multi-unit projects and partnerships. Through the mechanism of digitization, and the ease of ubiquity of the Internet, we can SHOW both the Institution's staff and administrators and the nation at large the quality and utility of our holdings. Further, these projects have attracted funding that can be leveraged to assist in many ways, such as in processing and preserving collections. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words.

Initially we raised funds to develop an Imaging Center and used a vacant position to hire a staff member knowledgeable in digitization to begin to educate us on equipment, processes, and workflows. We borrowed staff from the Preservation Services Department, who knew how to handle volumes for preservation microfilming, to learn how to scan and use the equipment. Eventually we reorganized and established a New Media Office, using a combination of existing staff and vacant positions. Except for staff salaries, all of the work has been accomplished from funds raised from external and internally competitive resources. We have made sure that grants included temporary staff or funding for contracting out some portion of the scanning. This has increased our productivity without draining funds from our operating budget.

TBL: What has been the hardest decision you have had to make in your career?

Gwinn: This is not an easy question. If I were honest, I'd say the hardest decisions were to leave one job to take another. I started my career at the Library of Congress and married another staff member there. In the early 1970s, the Library had a nepotism rule; it would not hire someone married to a staff member. So when I left, I thought I could never go back. Of course, I didn't figure on the fact that I might not want to go back! Then in the early 1980s, for personal reasons, I left a job I loved in California and moved back to Washington without first securing a position. I hadn't realized how much of my self-esteem was tied up in my position, so although the transition was difficult, I learned a valuable lesson about maintaining a balance in life. Of course, I finally did get a job.

TBL: If your budget were decreased by 10 per cent, what would your response be?

Gwinn: The Smithsonian is facing major funding shortfalls, in which the Libraries are sharing, and they will probably end up being at least 10 per cent if not more. So we are facing very difficult choices, as I write, between reducing staff positions and losing acquisitions funds, never mind lowering the budgets for travel, training, and equipment. We are freezing most hiring at the moment. In the end, it will be necessary to reduce everything – but retaining staff as much as possible will be our priority.

TBL: From your years of service in the profession, is there one piece of advice on fiscal responsibility that you would like to give today's library managers-to-be?

Gwinn: Yes. When a library decides to start a new program or project, think long-term about how it will be financially sustained in the future. This is not to say that sometimes it is good to take a risk. But be sure that the project or program is a real priority, not just a convenience, and that you have some notion of where the funds to sustain it can be found, especially if the start-up costs are from external fund-raising. And … always keep expenses within your budgeted funds.