Gifts totaling $30,000 to the University from the Friends of the University of Rochester Libraries were announced at the group's 27th annual meeting and dinner June 3 at the Chatterbox Club in Rochester.
Harold Stanley, Friends' vice president and professor of political science, detailed the 1999 funding decisions by the Friends' Executive Committee to 90 members present. Library projects receiving funding for this year are:
$15,000 to the River Campus Libraries to develop a core collection of music resources such as scores, recordings, and books for the new Art and Music Library in Rush Rhees Library. This new combined library, formerly known as the Art Library, will provide much-needed resources for the bachelor of arts in music program offered by the College on the University's River Campus;
$6,500 to the Edward G. Miner Library at the University Medical Center to purchase an important new electronic resource, The Interactive Atlas of Human Anatomy, which will support students entering the medical school's new "double helix curriculum" beginning this fall;
$6,000 to establish a Friends of the Libraries' Graduate Dissertation Fund to support the purchase of library materials for University doctoral students;
$2,500 to the Sibley Library at the University's Eastman School of Music to initiate the development of a digital video disc collection.
H. Allen Spencer, president of the Friends Executive Committee, noted that the 1998-1999 academic year witnessed the acquisition of the 3 millionth volume at the University libraries. "In symbolic recognition of the 3 millionth milestone, we decided to allocate $30,000 for these projects," he said. "Although this a bit more than we generally give, the Friends are delighted to be able to help the libraries further their mission of supporting teaching, research, and learning at the University of Rochester."
Other business at the meeting included the election of Robert Hursh of Brighton as a member of the executive committee. The Friends also awarded the Robert F. Metzdorf Prize for "meritorious service and contributions to the libraries" to Howard S. Merritt. Merritt, a professor emeritus of art history at the University, has been a longtime volunteer for the Friends' annual book fair.