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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2006
Salem Athenaeum to continue due diligence on The Endecott Charter,
Bestows Edward Augustus Holyoke Award to honor Winifred Wilkens,
Conducts elections
Salem, Massachusetts – Francis Mayo, president of The Salem Athenaeum, said at the institution’s 196th annual meeting on Wednesday, May 3, “Before the Board of Trustees makes any decision [on a possible sale of The Endecott Charter], we will continue the path of exploring every avenue. We will do this carefully and slowly until we come to the point where we must look each other in the eye and say we must make a decision now.”
Mayo also said the board of trustees will meet later in May with TDC, a Boston-based group that consults the nonprofit sector. Mayo said The Athenaeum had been aware of TDC and that the Peabody Essex Museum had helped to arrange this meeting.
Mayo also emphasized that any consideration of the sale of the document is by no means driven by the need to meet day-to-day expenses, but rather to add to the Endowment to protect the historic building and its 55,000 volumes including the collection of significant rare books, which is The Athenaeum’s stated mission.
Winifred Wilkens honored with Edward Augustus Holyoke Award
In recognition of her six years of dedicated and tireless service as a member of the board of trustees, The Salem Athenaeum bestowed the Edward Augustus Holyoke Award upon Winifred Wilkens of Salem. The honor, created for Wilkens, is named for a founder of The Salem Athenaeum to recognize those who exemplify the founding spirit and purpose of The Athenaeum. Wilkens has given inspired leadership to the care, maintenance and preservation of the book collections since 2003 when she retired from Harvard University where she worked in the chemistry and botany departments’ libraries. Her library experiences also include work in New Jersey in a corporate library focused on computer sciences and at the Marine Sciences Consortium library in Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
Election of new trustees and officers
Three new trustees were elected to succeed Timothy Jenkins and Winifred Wilkins and to expand the board of trustees by one member.
The new trustees are Richard Jendrysik, Salem resident and a project manager on overseas petro-chemical projects, with experience in mechanical engineering and business administration; Francie King, Marblehead resident and a published author with years of writing and strategic planning experience in development and fundraising now working for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; and Frederick (Trip) D. Mason, III, of Salem, who set up a computer system for The Athenaeum and whose company provides computer support for small businesses throughout eastern Massachusetts.
Francis Mayo will serve another term as president and Richard Scott will continue as vice-president. Jean Dennis is the newly elected clerk and Blake Anderson is the newly elected treasurer. Julie Lutts, Patti Roka and Sue Schopf, all Salem residents, will continue their terms as trustees.
Preview of 2006-07 programs
Sue Schopf, trustee and chairman of The Athenaeum’s education committee, previewed many of the programs that will be offered in 2006 into 2007, including a six-week course beginning in September on India through history, literature and film; a 10-week course beginning in January 2007 on masterpieces of modern Irish literature and a first-time offering for June 2007 of a tour of Ireland’s literary landscapes featuring Dublin and Galway; a Chinese language course; the continuing annual Bentley, Adams and Shakespeare lectures, a celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth; a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Samuel Beckett, and the celebration of the 100th anniversary of The Salem Athenaeum’s own historic building as well as lectures featuring local Salem authors and experts.
Director’s Report
Jean Marie Procious, director of The Athenaeum, reported on the outstanding progress in creating and updating procedures for the care and preservation of the book collection and the building and grounds and in offering a calendar full of rich programs, and the welcoming of 46 new members in the less than 12 months she has been with The Athenaeum, activities Mayo said were “so important to keeping alive the vision of The Athenaeum.” Procious also announced that The Athenaeum will host the annual meeting of national private membership libraries in November. She noted that “books and ideas are the core of The Athenaeum’s vitality.”
About The Salem Athenaeum
In accordance with its articles of incorporation granted in 1810, The Salem Athenaeum was founded to promote literature, the arts and the sciences. As the successor to The Social Library founded in 1760 and The Philosophical Library founded in 1781, it is one of the oldest membership libraries in the United States. The Athenaeum has nurtured generations of readers including author Nathaniel Hawthorne and self-taught mathematician and astronomer Nathaniel Bowditch. Today, The Athenaeum serves as a lifelong learning resource and community for Salem and the North Shore. It is located at 337 Essex Street in Salem. For more information, log onto salemathenaeum.net or call 978-744-2540.
For more information, contact:
The Salem Athenaeum: 978-744-2540
info@salemathenaeum.net
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