President’s Message: Opening Our Doors More Widely
July 2023 - Opening Our Doors More Widely
One Sunday in June, while reading the LA Times, I came across an op-ed titled “How Los Angeles Was Sold to the World as a Paradise,” by Larry Gordon, a former staff writer for the paper. In it, Gordon thanked the Huntington Library for providing him with “access to its formidable rare book collection.” Armed with this access, he was able to research the origins of the California dream in 19th-century guidebooks to LA.
My chance discovery of Gordon’s acknowledgment to The Huntington is relevant to recent developments in our Library’s access policy, which allows those with a bona fide research purpose to reference our collections even if their work lies outside academia. As Sandra Brooke Gordon (no relation), our Avery Director of the Library, recently wrote in an open letter to our more than 2,100 current “Readers,” as we refer to them, research has always been at the heart of The Huntington’s mission. And when the Library reopened to researchers post-pandemic, we broadened our Reader access policy so that a greater range of individuals could study our materials.
Rather than emphasize Readers’ educational credentials and letters of reference, we shifted our focus to the collections themselves and whether they would be suitable for the project proposed by a prospective Reader. We strive to provide researchers with access to the materials they require whenever we can, balancing that goal with a duty of care for the materials’ long-term preservation, donor restrictions, and concerns regarding privacy and intellectual property. Those like Larry Gordon who are over 18 and have a justified need to use our collections can now gain access for their research without unnecessary hurdles. And although we charge admission to visit The Huntington’s expansive gardens and galleries, the rare materials in our research library continue to be provided to Readers for free. As Sandy noted, these changes, along with our increased virtual services, have greatly expanded our readership. Library staff members report that they are now responding to 40% more reference queries than in the recent past, as well as providing substantially more virtual document consultations. We offer virtual access to library materials for those unable to travel to The Huntington and when the materials are so fragile that they are restricted to being handled only by special collections librarians.
As a former president of a liberal arts college and now someone with the honor of serving as president of one of the premier cultural institutions in the world, I understand the wisdom of demonstrating that a change reinforces, rather than subverts, past institutional principles. So, I was particularly intrigued when the chair of our Board of Trustees, Greg Pieschala, pointed out to me that our revised, less stringent academic requirements for Readers are actually more, rather than less, consistent with the research goals expressed in our historical documents. The 1926 “supplemental trust indenture” to Henry E. Huntington’s original 1919 trust document both reinforces the original indenture’s goal—“the Advancement of learning, the arts and sciences,” and the promotion of “the public welfare”—but also includes the following purpose: “to render the books, manuscripts, and other contents available, under suitable regulations and restrictions … to scholars and other persons engaged in research or creative work in history, literature, art, science, and kindred subjects, and to all persons whose qualifications meet the requirements of such rules and regulations.” It is this same document that specifically provides for “Research Associates and Fellows, consisting of scholars of exceptional ability engaged in special study and research in such subjects.”
Funding research for “scholars of exceptional ability” is clearly regarded as consistent with the broader access to our rare materials accorded to those “engaged in research or creative work.” These goals are not antithetical; on the contrary, they mutually reinforce the crucial research and educational mission of The Huntington. In further support of this central mission, I am delighted to share that we have recently secured funding to build housing for researchers awarded residential fellowships to work on our collections. Pending a successful project review from local agencies, this incredibly generous gift will fulfill a previously elusive goal for The Huntington. As we further hone our housing plans, I look forward to providing more details on this exciting development.
At a time when book banning has become common in states across the country, The Huntington and other research libraries continue to play a crucial role in providing greater access to those with a research purpose and in demonstrating the relevance of that research to wider educational and public benefit. At The Huntington, we balance access and stewardship of the materials under our care every day. Following the protracted global health crisis that precipitated widespread social isolation, we are especially dedicated to opening our real and virtual doors more widely.
Karen R. Lawrence, President