iluPontrRall Lib
STETSON
tlJN IVERSITY
NEWSLETTER Spring 2009
Message from the Library Director
In February we hosted a program which brought
back some speakers who have participated in
library-sponsored programs in the past: General
Harold Moore; war correspondent, journalist,
and author Joe Galloway; and former Senator
Max Cleland. We had an audience of more than
300 for their informal but very informed remarks
and even had a Vietnam-era scout helicopter on
display.
Stetson continues to cope with the decline in the
endowment and the resulting budget cuts, but
our trustees and administration were prescient
and very cautious in planning, so we were better
prepared
than some
others. Our
major
concern is
for our
students,
many of
whose
families are
affected by the recession. The library continues
to provide a quiet place for them to gather and
study, away from the stresses in their dorms or
apartments.
How does the library fare in these times? We
made some personnel changes last year which,
while difficult, allowed us to continue to provide
necessary materials. The major effect was
cutting night and weekend hours in the Jenkins
Music Library. We now permit all recordings to
be checked out, so students have adapted well.
Endowments for the Future
Although hard economic times may make us
concentrate on current needs, it is also our duty
to plan for the future, as we are responsible for
sustaining and improving a library with a 125
year history of excellent service and collections.
This is why we started the Library General
Endowment in December 2004, with seed
money from a Library Associate. It has now
grown to $69,000, providing an income of almost
$3,000 for this fiscal year. This endowment can
accept donations of any amount, so those of you
who can't afford much now can still give small
amounts and help us build for the future. Using
this income, we just started a subscription to
ebrary, a collection of more than 40,000 e-
books.
I reported to you in last spring's newsletter that
Sandra Stetson Martinuzzi, great granddaughter
of John B. Stetson, had established a $50,000
endowment for the library. In December she
doubled that, with an additional gift of $50,750.
It is clear that John B. Stetson's dedication to
higher education and Stetson University remains
strong in this generation of his family.
We recently received a settlement from the
estate of Mary C. Porter totaling $879,662 to
establish the Mary C. and Arvis L. Porter
Memorial Endowment Fund for the library. Half
of each year's income will be used for books and
periodicals, with the rest for other library
enhancements. Mrs. Porter, a widow, first
contacted me in 1999. She had worked in a
library at one time, and she thought of the
Stetson Library as a possible beneficiary for her
estate. We had an excellent meeting,
discussing the current and future needs of the
library, and she added the library to her will.
Mrs. Porter did not come to campus frequently,
but we kept in touch, and she knew what we
were accomplishing here for our students. This
generosity from a quiet, kind, and intelligent
woman concerned for the future of education,
will affect our students for many generations.
Betty Drees Johnson, Library Director
