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Instruction librarian award in the USA
Talking to UCSD librarians about academic library development and the value of community
The value of the academic library is articulated in different terms to different constituencies: the users, the administration and, of continued and increasing importance, the community and contributors. The University of California San Diego’s 10-library system ranks among the top 25 public research libraries in North America. For its distinctive architecture and distinguished collections, the university’s Geisel Library is recognized as an icon of the campus. The library’s Director of Development Barbara Brink and Associate University Librarian for Collection Services Martha Hruska, along with John Patrick Ford, a long-time volunteer and contributor to the Friends of the UCSD Libraries, recently shared with Elsevier's Vice President of Global Customer Marketing Chrysanne Lowe their thoughts on the value of community in academic library development.
(Left to right) Martha Hruska, Barbara Brink and John
Patrick Ford
Fundraising for academic libraries is a relatively young area. Please, can you tell me about UCSD's development efforts?
Martha Hruska: Universities have, of course, been committed to development for many, many years, but the assignment of a library development professional within a research university’s development program is probably about 10-15 years old.
Barbara Brink: The full-time position of development director for the UCSD Libraries has existed for 6 years. The Friends of the UCSD Libraries, however, was the first library support group organized on this campus.
John Patrick Ford: The Friends of the UCSD Libraries was established in 1961, and it was a unique organization in that it reached out to the community.
How did you personally get involved, John?
John: I became involved in 1981 or 1982. My neighbor was president of the Friends. We shared a personal interest in book collecting and California history, and he got me into volunteering.
How many members are in the Friends organization?
Barbara: About 600. The Friends have raised over 2 million dollars for the library, and their collections endowment broke 1 million dollars this past year.
John: And then, of course, Barbara does a great job raising other endowments.
In 1995, the library was renamed Geisel Library in honor of Audrey and Theodore Seuss Geisel. That seems a pinnacle moment in the history of the library’s development efforts.
Barbara: Yes. And when the library was renamed, Audrey contributed 20 million dollars to establish an endowment fund that provides unrestricted support for the UCSD Libraries. Audrey tells a story that she and Ted were walking on campus one day and Ted said something to the effect that “If I were going to build a library it would look just like this.” Audrey’s gift was a wonderful way to honor her husband.
Martha: And you can look at the building and see how Dr. Seuss would like this library.
Make sure you can articulate the needs of your organization to potential contributors.
Oh, yes, it’s very Seussical! Tell me, how important is the development effort to the budgeting of the library?
Martha: It is extremely important because it augments the money we get from the State of California. When UCSD eventually caps enrollments, it will be increasingly important to grow the endowments to have additional moneys to supplement our budget.
John: A lot of private support goes to purchase not only books, but subscriptions, films, art books. We just acquired a collection of Chinese films.
Barbara: Private support enables us to make “purchases of opportunity” that the State budget just wouldn’t cover. It enables us to have the flexibility to buy something immediately that will fill in a gap or enhance a collection of distinction we’ve already built.
Martha: And those collections of distinction are so important in distinguishing our library collections. The Friends and endowments are essential to supporting these wonderful collections. Otherwise, our budget gets consumed by what is expected of a library for research and supporting instruction. But the Chinese videos, for example, are the types of unique things that we can acquire thanks to private support and that make this a place that people want to be part of and that enhance the reputation of UCSD and its libraries.
Barbara: These special collections are what make each campus library unique.
What contributes to the longevity of the Friends program?
John: The key thing is to get the word out that these libraries are accessible to the public. Some of the people I’ve met, they knew about the UCSD Libraries but they thought you had to be a student to use them! I say, “Walk in the door, take the books off the shelf, you can browse.” People need to know that State libraries are open.
What advice would you give academic librarians who are building their library development programs?
Barbara: Make sure you can articulate the needs of your organization to potential contributors. Hopefully, you’ll know your community well enough that you’ll be able to identify individuals and companies that truly have a passion for the mission and vision of libraries.
And, John, what advice would you give from the perspective of a volunteer?
John: Community outreach. We’re still a relatively young university so we can’t just rely on alumni. Make everyone aware of what’s happening here.
Martha: That’s an important part of a university library’s role: outreach to students and faculty and being integrated with your communities. We serve a number of communities. And the outreach works both ways. Hopefully, our communities learn from us and we learn from them. This helps us become a better library. 
Interview by Chrysanne Lowe, Vice President, Global Customer Marketing, Elsevier, San Diego, CA, USA
