Major Gift for School and Gennadius Library Archives Received
August 11, 2008
Irene B. Romano
The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is very pleased to announce a recent Capital Campaign gift of $1.2 million that has been pledged for the archives of the School and of the Gennadius Library. This extremely generous anonymous gift from a close friend of the School has been given “in recognition of the extraordinary contributions that the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the Gennadius Library have made to preserve the record of Greece’s cultural heritage, to advance the scholarly study of Greece’s history, literature, art and archaeology, and to spread knowledge about Greek culture to students and the general public.” This challenge grant has been pledged in support of the renovation and creation of a new consolidated archives repository in the Gennadius Library and for endowment for the operation of the archives.
With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, assessments were conducted last year by outside consultants of the operation and collections of the Blegen and Gennadius Libraries and the Archives. A major recommendation of these consultants was to consolidate the two archives repositories—of the School, currently in the basement of the Blegen Library, and of the Gennadius Library—for enhancing the care and use of the collections. This idea has been embraced by the leadership of the School and the Gennadius Library, and plans are being developed to implement this recommendation and incorporate the joint archives facility within the Gennadius Library complex. The Master Planning Committee has been working with architects on some possible solutions that involve reorganization of space in the Gennadeion, as well as some renovation and new construction.
This major gift is the lead contribution to support this effort. The donor challenges friends of the School and the Gennadius Library to contribute a matching amount for this renovation project, with a portion of each gift designated for endowment for on-going operating support for the archives. The School and the Gennadius Library are happy to hear from any of you interested in learning more about this project and supporting it!