Dear Board:
Many of you had the priviledge of meeting Deanna Marcum, Associate
Librarian for Library Services, at our last Board meeting and you know
what a wonderful advocate and asset she is for us all, as she spoke of
her vision for the Library of the 21st century. Deanna has met with all
of the LS Directors and Chiefs to present a realignment of our
operations that will facilitate our transition into the 21st century.
Taking into account the need for Library Services to accomplish digital
preservation; to capture and care for born-digital collections; to look
to our users to improve our processes and activities; to ensure that our
collections are central to all of our work; and to develop new
partnerships both inside and outside the LC, Deanna has presented us
with a plan and vision that will help accomplish these important goals.
In the realignment, the American Folklife Center and it's Veterans
History Project are placed in a new Directorate, "Partnerships and
Outreach Programs" with many of the other highly visible divisions in
the LC. This new directorate offers major opportunities for AFC to
expand our outreach and education initiatives and to continue to grow
and prosper as a major asset to the Library. Deanna Marcum has assured
me that this organizational realignment will not compromise our status
as a collections-based division, with curatorial control over the
largest ethnographic archive in the country.
The AFC staff developed a memo that outlined all of their concerns
about the possible effects of the realignment, and I passed that memo on
to Deanna on Wednesday. Deanna has been steadfast in her support of the
AFC/VHP, and has assured me that our archival support will continue as
before, when we were part of Public Service Collections Directorate and
Diane Kresh's leadership. Deanna has also said that she wants to meet
with our staff to personally answer questions and concerns. I have the
greatest confidence in her vision and her interest in seeing the AFC
fulfill it's mission. The AFC/VHP will be a key component to the new
Partnerships and Outreach Programs Directorate, and we intend to work as
a team to continue the important work of the Archive of Folk Culture as
our base and touchstone.
In our Governance Policies, the Board-Director Linkage Policy states
"The board's official connection to the operating organization, its
achievement, and conduct will be through its Director." I have asked
the staff to abide by our Board Governance Policies -- to bring any
concerns to me directly and I will convey these to you all. I know that
you will help me to enforce this policy as we move forward. I am here
if you have any questions or concerns, just give me a call.
Also, in our Governance Policies under "Financial Planning and
Budgeting" it is stated: "The Director shall not fail to inform the
Board in a timely fashion of any deviation in the expenditure of the AFC
Congressional appropriation." For the first time since I have been at
the Library, Library Services is experiencing a major deficit for this
fiscal year, for many reasons. Deanna Marcum and all of the staff are
working extremely hard to minimize the effects of this deficit and to
balance the budget. All this to say that we are all in a holding
pattern for hiring our open positions, as we get a handle on expenses.
Many of you have inquired about Jim Hardin's replacement and our two
other open positions. I am working with Diane Kresh and Deanna Marcum
to fill those as soon as humanly possible. I will let you know updates
on this, and I am hopeful that next fiscal year will be brighter. On
the up-side, we have been able to fill several VHP positions that are
critical to our operations.
In the meantime, we are preparing for four days of activity on the
National Mall for the National World War II Reunion. The Reunion is
produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in
partnership with the American Battle Monuments Commission. The Veterans
History Project of the American Folklife Center will be programming a
pavilion for the entire weekend, and Diane Kresh has been extremely busy
organizing a major "army" of volunteers to collect "Man on the Mall"
interviews for our VHP collection. If any of you are in town, please
stop by the VHP pavilion. Also, please tune in to your local NPR
station on Memorial Day . . . we have over 85 outlets signed up to
broadcast our second VHP radio show, "Lest We Forget".
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Best,
Peggy
Peggy A. Bulger, Director
American Folklife Center
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20450
(202) 707-1745
(202) 707-2076 FAX
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http://www.loc.gov/folklife
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