ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM July 2014-June 2015 FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT This past year was one of transition and investment for the Athenaeum as we sought to revitalize this great institution and secure its future. In December 2014 we bid farewell to Executive Di- rector Alison Maxell who led the organization through a truly challenging decade. She left a lasting mark at the Athenaeum, and we are so grateful for her years of service. Alison was instrumental in the development and fulfillment of Vision 2015, the organization’s strategic plan that led us through the last five years. Since 2010, when that plan was inaugu- rated, the Athenaeum has opened its extensive public programming to the public, partnered with dozens of cultural organizations, and served lovers of literature, history, and culture throughout New England. In the fall of 2014, the board and staff began to develop a new strategic plan for the Athenaeum. We thank the many members, partners, donors, and stakeholders for their valuable input into Vision 2020. We are especially appreciative for the efforts of Stephen Coon, who led the steering committee. Board members R. Tripp Evans and Cathy Lund led a national search for a new Executive Director. Together with the board, staff, and key stakeholders, the search committee vetted dozens of qualified applicants from around the country. The level of competition for the position speaks highly of the Athenaeum’s unique place in the country’s cultural landscape, and we are thrilled that in July of 2015, Matt Burriesci agreed to become the 17th Executive Director of the Providence Athenaeum. Like any nonprofit institution with a public mission, the Athenaeum faces chal- lenges. This year the staff rose to the occasion, operating at the high level we’ve come to expect from them. Thanks to the generous support of the Champlin Foundations and others, the Athenaeum completed Phase I of an ambitious upgrade of the physical space, and many improvements were made to enhance visitor experience, increase the effectiveness of the staff, and expand access to our historic and beautiful collections. We also have to thank you, our members and donors, for the tremendous support you have shown to the Athenaeum. Together with you, we look forward to this exciting new phase in this institution’s storied history. This report highlights the operational and financial activities of the Providence Athenaeum and reflects gifts made to the Athenaeum over the 12-month period Candy Adriance July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. Board President STAFF, BOARD, & CONTRACTED SERVICES LIBRARY COMMITTEES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Part-time Staff BUILDING AND GROUNDS PROGRAM SUPPORT Alison Maxell* Allen Bestwick, Technical Services Richard Congdon, chair Grace Farmer, chair Michael C. Gerhardt, interim Assistant Kristi Agniel David Berman Alayne Barnicoat, interim Kathleen Bower, Circulation Assistant Jonathan Bell Adele Bourne Kirsty Dain, Assistant Circulation R. Tripp Evans Dolores Connelly BOARD OF DIRECTORS Supervisor/Membership & Development Wendy Ingram Barbara Dunney Candy Adriance, President Associate Roger Seitz Peggy Edwards Richard Congdon, Vice President Tina Egnoski*, Weekend Circulation Leslie Myers, staff Melissa Eliot Regina White, Secretary Supervisor/Publications Coordinator Carl Farmer Grace Farmer, Treasurer Holly Gaboriault, Membership & EXECUTIVE SEARCH Elizabeth Farjanrdo Kristi Agniel Development Associate R. Tripp Evans, chair Faith Fogle Julie Andrews Christopher Garrepy, Temporary Cathy Lund, chair Ellen Goodlin Jonathan F. Bell Bookkeeper Richard Congdon Don Harper Kqantu Pareja Bent Stephen Garrepy, Custodian Mark Gim Lucia Huntley Kipp Bradford Crystal Johnson, Circulation Assistant Christina Bevilacqua, staff Emily Kugler Stephen Coon Stephanie Knott, Assistant Circulation Ken Garrepy, staff Jane Lancaster Kas R. DeCarvalho, Esq. Supervisor Kate Wodehouse, staff Lucy Ann Lepreau R. Tripp Evans Amanda Knox, Circulation Assistant Elsie Morse Holly Gaboriault Amy Eller Lewis, Circulation Assistant FINANCE Jack Nolan Mark Gim Sandy Markley, Membership & Grace Farmer, chair Ray Olson Ethan H. Kisch, MD Development Assistant Candy Adriance Lisa Popitz Allen Kurzweil Kelsey Nagel*, Membership & Stephen Coon Lynn Sanchez Cathy Lund, DVM Development Officer Mark Gim Roger Seitz Timothy Philbrick Morgan Ross, Circulation Assistant Deming Sherman Cynthia Shattuck Deming Sherman, ex officio Carol Tatian, Reference Librarian Regina White Ralph Turnbull, Custodian Ken Garrepy, staff STRATEGIC PLAN STEERING PERSONNEL LIST Nancy Whitcomb, Children’s Librarian Stephen Coon, chair Full-time Staff Assistant INVESTMENT OVERSIGHT Candy Adriance Christina Bevilacqua, Director of Jerry Dorfman, chair Kqantu Bent Programs & Public Engagement CONTRACTED SERVICES James Scanlan, chair Richard Congdon Mary Brower, Circulation Supervisor Emily Atkinson, Grantwriter Candy Adriance Grace Farmer Ken Garrepy, Business Manager Design Agency, Graphic Design/ Stephen Coon Christina Bevilacqua, staff Mary Anne Golda*, Head of Technical Website Development Grace Farmer Danielle Kemsley, staff Services Holly Gaboriault, Graphic Design Mark Gim Kate Wodehouse, staff Danielle Kemsley, Director of David Karoff, Internal Assessment Lyn Johnson Membership & Development Consultant Mary Lou Kennedy Leslie Myers, Facilities Coordinator Ellen Lynch Kinane, Internal Assessment Deming Sherman Lindsay Shaw, Children’s Librarian Consultant Paul Silver Robin Wetherill, Communications Nicky Nichtern, Graphic Design Ken Garrepy, staff Manager Pam Steager, Grantwriter Kate Wodehouse, Collections Librarian *Resigned in 2014-2015 STATISTICS ADULT PROGRAMS GENERAL Hours open (weekly): 60 Acquisitions: 2,391 Collection Size: 183,904 Total members (as of 6/30/15): 994 Items borrowed by members: 32,477 Reference questions: 134 Research appointments: 94 Children’s events: 122 Children’s event attendees: 1,267 Adult programs: 35* Adult program attendees: 2,628 Patrons and visitors served by the library: 39,501 *Note: The Athenaeum Salon was on hiatus Fall 2014. BOOK LOANS Note: The Athenaeum Salon was on hiatus Fall 2014. Exhibit Loans, Loaned Chapter & Verse. Books by and about Rhode Island African Americans. SEPTEMBER 2014 Rhode Island Black Heritage Society (10/17-1/31) Other Programs & Events The Unicorn Found: Science, Literature and the Arts. 9/20, Major Donors Luncheon John Hay Library, Brown University (3/11-7/31) Women Artists: An Untold Story, 1890-1940. OCTOBER 2014 UMass Dartmouth (4/15-5/2) Other Programs & Events Exhibit Loans, Borrowed 10/16, Contemporaries: Kick-Off Soirée at the Dean Hotel Private collector, John Chiafalo 10/22, Library Orientation, Tour, and Reception Private collector, Russell A. Potter NOVEMBER 2014 Other Programs & Events READING GROUPS 11/18, Library Orientation, Tour, and Reception Groups: 6 11/20, Contemporaries: Ath-After-Dark scavenger hunt and Paper Dolls Proj- Athenaeum Book Discussion Group (Susan Cohen, leader); Balzac & Baude- ect exhibit and conversation laire (Stephen Coon, leader); Contemporaries (Holly Gaboriault, leader); The Examined Life (Robert Allio, leader); Tolstoy, Etc. (Rhoda Flaxman, leader); DECEMBER 2014 Proust (Christina Bevilacqua, leader) Other Programs & Events Meetings: 60 12/18, Contemporaries: Behind-the-Nazo tour of the Big Nazo Lab Total participants: 210 JANUARY 2015 Other Programs & Events 1/22, Contemporaries: Jackets Required: 40 Years of Album Cover Design at RISD’s Fleet Library with curator Robert Garzillo FEBRUARY 2015 Other Programs & Events Salon 3/10, co-presented with RI Public Radio: Policy & Pinot, RIPR Political 2/6, Director of Programs & Public Engagement Christina Bevilacqua and Roundtable members political reporter Ian Donnis, political analyst Scott research assistant Jane’a Johnson on “The Athenaeum Salon: Past, Present, MacKay, and URI Professor of Political Science Maureen Moakley on and Future,” part 6 of “The Cosmology of Conversation” “Revenue and Renewal: Raimondo’s first two months in office and the 2/13, co-presented with FirstWorks: Community MusicWorks violinist challenge of balancing the state budget” Chase Spruill on the FirstWorks upcoming presentation of “Philip Glass: 3/18, Annual Meeting An Evening of Chamber Music, Featuring Composer and Pianist Philip 3/19, Contemporaries: Tour of Providence Public Library’s Inhabited Alphabet Glass and Violinist Tim Fain” exhibition with Special Collections Librarian Jordan Goffin 2/20, Bard Graduate Center Assistant Professor of European and American 3/28, Aficionado Event Textiles Michele Majer on “La Mode à la girafe: Fashion, Culture, and Pol- itics in Bourbon Restoration France,” part 3 of ‘What use is the giraffe?’ APRIL 2015 (Note: this Salon was rescheduled from April 2014.) Salon 2/27, Brown University Taubman Center for Public Policy and American 4/3, Adam Begley on his heralded 2014 biography Updike Institutions research fellow Marc J. Dunkelman on The Vanishing Neighbor: 4/10, Cultivating Collaboration: Live from the Archive, part 5 – Gamm The Transformation of American Community, part 7 of “The Cosmology of Theatre Artistic Director Tony Estrella on his research-in-progress into Conversation” radical 18th century secular humanism, Enlightenment era salons, atheism, agnosticism, and the revolutionary publication of Diderot’s Encyclopedie Other Programs & Events 4/17, Cultivating Collaboration: Live from the Archive, part 6 – RI Council 2/5, Book Launch: Allen Kurzweil on Whipping Boy: the Forty-Year Search for for the