| New York State Library | Division of Library Development |
I. DESCRIPTION OF INSTITUTION OR AGENCY
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CHECKLIST ….*…. Annual budget ….*…. FTE staff |
NOT-SO-GOOD EXAMPLE:
The County Clerk's Office utilizes the major part of the first two floors of the County Government Center. Our annual budget, excluding Motor Vehicles, is $1,274,733.00. Our staff is comprised of 36 full time employees. A major number of these are considered professional due to the scope of their experience, as well as their broad-based knowledge and capabilities.
COMMENTS:
While this answer mentions both budget and FTE staff, it is clear that the information pertains to a large County Clerk's Office. There is no further breakdown to indicate how much of the budget is used to support the office's collection of historical records (which are distinct from its vital records) or how many of the 36 staff service the collection.
The explanation of professional staff is not very clear. What is "a major number?" It would be better to simply specify the number. Also, if the agency defines "professional staff" in an unusual way this should be explained. To say that "a major number are considered professional" does not tell the reviewer much about the level of work performed--"professional" usually indicates the level of work performed, not how well it is performed as might be implied here.
NOT-SO-GOOD EXAMPLE:
The Center is the only such facility in this area of the State. While there are other parklands, ours is the only one where the public can come to view wildlife and then, using our library and references, do more extensive research. We also deal somewhat with the cultural history of the area. Our property consists of one 90-acre parcel plus a 30-acre pond/marsh. Local legend has it that the island was the site of the Iroquois confederation.
COMMENTS:
It seems that the author of this answer did not read the guidelines or the instructions. The response reads as if the author looked only at the application, saw the word "size" and went from there. There is no information on the budget or number of staff to provide service at the library. The scant amount of information that is provided is not relevant to this or any other section of the project description.
GOOD EXAMPLE:
I. DESCRIPTION OF INSTITUTION OR AGENCY
The library's operations budget in the 1988 fiscal year was $250,000. There are 7.5 FTE positions, consisting of 3.0 professionals and 4.5 nonprofessionals, In addition, the library has 6 regular volunteers who work a total of 23 hours per week. Additional volunteer help is used as it is available--all volunteers are closely supervised by regular library staff.
GOOD EXAMPLE:
The Historical Society has a current, annual operating budget of $277,000 with 7.0 FTE positions, consisting of 3.0 professionals and 4.0 nonprofessionals plus 25 volunteers. Among the volunteer corps, there are 7 regular volunteers who contribute a total of 35 hours per week of their time to help in the Society's library/archives and collection management areas.
GOOD EXAMPLE:
The Museum Library has a total staff of 25 FTE, including 10 professionals and 15 nonprofessionals. The annual budget for staff, materials and other expenses is $935,101. This does not include fringe benefits, overhead and plant maintenance, which are part of the overall Museum budget.
I. DESCRIPTION OF INSTITUTION OR AGENCY
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CHECKLIST ….*…. Quantity of materials ….*…. Types of materials ….*…. Collecting policy ….*…. Number of items acquired & amount expended in the last year ….*…. Other relevant background information |
NOT-SO-GOOD EXAMPLE:
I. DESCRIPTION OF INSTITUTION OR AGENCY
The first County Clerk was appointed by the King of England in 1702. An extremely valuable portion of our total collection was generated in the 18th and 19th centuries. As you are aware, the methodology of day to day preservation of these recordings were simply the handwriting of them in huge LIBERS.
As an example of our collection, and in particular those dealing with land records in the County, the following should be of interest to you…
Our collection grows on a DAILY basis from a variety of sources; general public, attorneys, title companies, developers, other governmental agencies, etc.
COMMENTS:
We are told when the collection began, but not how large (in this case the number of volumes and/or linear feet) it is, nor exactly what types of materials it includes other than "LIBERS." The collecting policy is implied but not explained. Vital records are certainly added daily to a county clerk's office, but historical records (which would constitute the agencies collection of library research materials as described by the Discretionary Grant Program) are not. A distinction should be made between vital records and historical documents not only in the grant proposal but in the Office's preservation planning.
Vital records are defined by the State Archives and Records Administration (SARA) as those records of a local government that are essential to its continuing operation. Retention, organization, and disposition of these records is regulated by SARA. Historical records, on the other hand, are those records worthy of permanent retention and special administration (as part of a records management program) because of their importance for historical research and other related purposes. Only historical records should be the focus of a grant proposal, and it is these that the applicant is instructed to describe here.
Phrases like "as you are aware," and "the following should be of interest to you," are unnecessary--reviewers are interested in what you know, not what you think they know.
NOT-SO-GOOD EXAMPLE:
B. The agency's total collection of library research materials
The collection at the Library is the repository of a large collection of historical material, personal letters, photography, maps, journals, diaries, autographed books as well as Village and Township memorabilia which have never been uniformly catalogued. To the extent to which the holdings have been utilized by patrons, scholars and the generally curious, we know that we have an invaluable resource pertinent to the history of this area. Materials are usually donated and that is our collection policy. We add newsworthy material every year that might be of interest to future generations. There is at present no record kept of items added each year nor expenditures.
COMMENTS:
"A large collection" is not an adequate description of the quantity of materials held in the Library. We are told that the historic materials have never been uniformly cataloged, which may mean that they do not really know what is in the collection. If this is the case, then it is too early to begin looking for a grant to preserve the materials. A collection assessment would be a good place to begin (although this is not fundable through the Discretionary Grant Program). Once they know what is in the collection, and once they have determined that it is important for research, then they could begin preservation activities with a general preservation survey.
Although various types of materials are mentioned, the list is confined to the so-called historical materials. What about the rest of the collection? Although there is a separate place to describe in detail the materials to be preserved with grant funds (IV.A), some more specific information on the historical materials would be helpful. (No further description is given in IV.A--a major flaw in the application.) Accepting anything that is donated is not really what could be called a collecting policy. What if the material is out of scope--is it still accepted? Is the scope of the collection defined, or is it simply "newsworthy materials?" Keeping a record of new acquisitions, whether purchased or donated is not a difficult thing to do, especially in a small library, and it would help in knowing just how much is contained in the whole collection.
GOOD EXAMPLE:
I. DESCRIPTION OF INSTITUTION OR AGENCY
B. The agency's total collection of library research materials
The Library holds approximately 30,000 titles including monographs, trade catalogs, serials, microforms, and archives, and approximately 8000 slides. About 60 percent of the library collection was established by it's founder, whose estate provided for the creation of this institution. Materials are added according to criteria outlined in the Museum's collection policy adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1984 and according to the library's own collection policy, currently under revision. The policies provide guidelines for the acquisition, care, and management of the collections. The acquisition policy (based on the New York State Association of Museum Guidelines) requires that the Museum not accept into its collections any material that does not fit its statement of purpose or that cannot be cared for adequately. Therefore, the librarian selects acquisitions in consultation with the curators, historians, and other staff from the current publishing market and out-of-print dealers specializing in historical materials of the Northeast.
Subject strengths include social and cultural history of the United States, decorative arts, dolls and toys, trade catalogs of goods produced and marketed with the Northeast United States, household manuals, and professional publications of the museum and library professions. The librarian is endeavoring to build the small collection of letters, diaries, and ledgers to support research on related parts of the Museum's collections. Purchasing in this area has been limited until the newly hired archivist is able to determine what is in the collection from the original estate. In 1986, the Library acquired 1138 monographs, 204 serial subscriptions, the Davenport Furniture Company archives, and fiche publication of Winterthur trade catalogs. Of this total, 295 titles were donations. Expenditures for Library acquisitions in 1986 were $43,470.
GOOD EXAMPLE:
B. The agency's total collection of library research materials
The Curator of Collection handles library and archival materials totaling about 1,800 book volumes and some 30,000 photographs, documents and manuscripts mainly relating to the history of Elmira and to Chemung County.
The collecting policy of the Historical Society is dictated by the Collections Management Policy (see Appendix Item #1) which was revised and approved by the Board of Trustees in 1984. The policy includes a statement of purpose, and accession policy, and deaccession and disposition of objects policy. Most of the Society's accessions are by donation. Approximately 1-5 percent of our accessions per year are purchased primarily through the Society's Memorial Acquisition Fund. The fund was established in 1984 to purchase material for both the museum and library/archives and to help fund conservation treatment of existing items in our collections.
In 1987, 753 archival items and 12 manuscript collections were accessioned into the Society's archives; and 38 publications, into our library. Of the total accessions for the library/archives, 4 archival items were purchased from dealers for a total of $104 through the Memorial Acquisition Fund. About $100 was spent from the curatorial section of the general operating budget for new library publications and for development of user photograph copies for our photograph collection.
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Last modified on January 19, 2000/djr
For questions or comments contact Barbara Lilley
URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/cp/iadesc.htm