NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 21 number 1 - Fall 2000

By Tony Reevy, Library Development

Karl F. Bowman has served on NC State's University Library Committee (ULC) since 1997 and was named its chair in 1999-2000. Bowman, an associate professor of equine surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Clinical Sciences, concentrates his work on orthopedic surgery and lameness in horses.

The ULC advises the provost and the director of Libraries on a number of issues, including policies on resource development and the allocation of book funds, library space issues, and development of library services for the entire university. It has univer-sitywide representation from faculty, staff, undergraduate students, and graduate students. During 1999-2000, the ULC formed two ad hoc committees under Bowman’s leadership, the Nexus Committee on Library Space Planning and the Committee on Library Fundraising. The fundraising committee developed the Faculty and Staff Campaign for the NCSU Libraries and took it to the NC State community with a September 10, 2000, kick-off mailing. The campaign has a goal of 100 new library donors by December 31, 2001. Bowman, in an interview conducted in July 2000, discussed the campaign.

What led the ULC to form committees dealing with library space and library fundraising?

Once I began serving on the ULC, I noticed that a number of issues came up again and again in committee meetings. They included issues related to finding funds to maintain and enhance the collections and to space and the need for new library facilities. These are not new issues, and they were important concerns of my colleagues and predecessors on the ULC. The ULC's members decided that they could provide some recommendations leading to solutions. We decided to seek funding for the collections and to galvanize support for library renovations and capital improvements. These issues were transformed into the basic charges of the Committee on Library Fundraising and the Nexus Committee on Library Space Planning. I think we have made great progress on these charges and would like to thank my fellow committee members, members of the subcommittees, the library staff, and the Friends of the Library and its members for their support.

The ULC's Committee on Library Fundraising made a final report to Provost Kermit L. Hall in May 2000 recommending a funding campaign for the Libraries. What led the ULC to call for this campaign now?

The campaign grew out of the need to support the library's collections. Collection endowment gifts, which are the focus of the campaign, will help the library plan its future by providing additional funding to support its collections. We are encouraging potential donors to consider establishing funds that support library collections, known as Incubator Endowment accounts. We suggest contributions to these accounts because the minimum library endowment level required by the university is $15,000. This size of contribution is prohibitive for many who would otherwise like to make an endowment gift.

How can NC State faculty and staff establish an Incubator Endowment account?

We are encouraging them to use payroll deductions totaling $1,000 or more to establish Incubator Endowment accounts. Giving $1,000 in a year to establish an account, for example, requires a monthly payroll deduction of $83.34.

You and your wife Gale were among the first individuals in this campaign to establish an Incubator Endowment account by payroll deduction. What would you say to your colleagues to encourage them to take this generous step?

I would ask, "as you read our library campaign mailing, think about three things. First, I encourage you to consider how important the library is to what we are trying to do on campus. The support provided by library resources is crucial to teaching, research, and extension efforts. Second, remember that creating an endowed fund--an Incubator Endowment account--gives you a choice in exactly what your gift does for NC State. It allows you to receive recognition for your donations, as well. Finally, adding to an endowed fund by payroll deduction over multiple years allows you to give more to NC State than you might have thought possible."

To make a gift to the Faculty and Staff Campaign for the NCSU Libraries, simply respond to the letter you received this fall. For more information, for a copy of the mailing, or to make a pledge, call the Friends of the Library between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays at (919) 515-2841.