1985
ANNUAL REPORT
CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY
Cleveland, Ohio
1111\1
Comments From
The President
Of The Board
Of Library Trustees
Judge George W. Trumbo
The grand sweep of a corporate history rarely
acknowledges individual accomplishments,
but this report would be remiss if it failed to
recognize the distinguished contribution of
Ervin J. Gaines, Director of the Cleveland
Public Library from 1974 to 1985. Dr. Gaines
dedicated his outstanding talents to the task
of restoring the Cleveland Public Library to a
position in the upper echelon of major
American libraries. His vision inspired and
motivated staff; his integrity encouraged public
confidence. Dr. Gaines' colleagues appreciate
his steadfast and loyal attention to duty
through recent weeks, made difficult by illness.
We salute his leadership, and we wish
him well in retirement.
As the Library Board initiates a search for Dr.
Gaines' successor, Clevelanders should be
reassured to know that the complex operations
of their Library are being managed most
competently by Interim Director Marian A.
Huttner. Under Miss Huttner's skillful handling
and calm direction, the Library's vigor
and momentum continue, undiminished.
During this period of transition, I and my
fellow Board members will continue to work
closely with Miss Huttner, supporting her fine
efforts on behalf of the Cleveland Public
Library and the citizens of Cleveland.
Judge George W. Trumbo
President, Board of Library Trustees
David M. Novak
Vice President
Ardelia B. Dixon
Secretary
Paul J. DeGrandis, Jr.
Michael V. Kelley
Marcia L. Fudge
Thomas D. Corrigan
1111\1
1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBUC UBRARY
·1·
Report FrODl The Director
Marian A. Huttner
Interim Director
If the events of 1985 could be encompassed
by the volumes on a shelf of books, the book
ends would be gloomy guardians indeed. The
year opened in the Ohio Board of Tax
Appeals in Columbus and closed in December
with a decision by that Board which cost the
Cleveland Public Library more than
$2,737,QOO.
The events of the past year were set in motion
in December of 1983 when three libraries,
Cuyahoga County, Porter-Westlake, and
Cleveland Public, appealed the 1984 distribution
of the intangibles tax made by the
Cuyahoga County Budget Commission. The
Ohio Board of Tax Appeals delayed hearings
until December 26, 1984. Those hearings
lasted for three weeks and set the stage for a
tense year of waiting until a decision was
handed down on December 11, 1985. Since
1979, the Cleveland Public Library had
experienced an annual reduction in the percentage
of the intangibles tax allocated to it.
Annual losses had been offset in part by the
increasing number of dollars produced by the
intangibles tax, but the decline was threatening
to erode the maintenance of the Main Library
as a major research facility founded on a
significant collection.
The County Library wanted a larger share of
the monies, based on the claim that it served a
larger population and circulated more books.
By awarding a larger share of the funds to the
Cuyahoga County Library the Board of Tax
Appeals effectively dismissed the premise
that significant funding for the reference and
research services of the Cleveland Public
Library for the entire county and indeed for
the State of Ohio were important. The loss,
which was 18.8% of Cleveland's 1984 budget,
1111\1
1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBUC UBRARY
·2.
has made necessary severe retrenchments in
numbers of staff, in acquisitions of important
research materials, and in every facet of the
operation. Cleveland has appealed the decision
to the Ohio Supreme Court. Suits by
various libraries have been filed to appeal the
1985 and 1986 distributions.
Another tax issue had a happy outcome. The
five-year, 1 mill levy on real property expired
at the end of 1985, and the Board authorized a
replacement levy proposal on an up-to-date
property evaluation for the November 5 ballot.
A Citizens Committee chaired by Lee C.
Howley spearheaded the campaign for the
continuing property tax proposal. The levy
campaign generated widespread community
interest with children in every neighborhood
creating designs for new Library tote bags to
illustrate an "I love my library" theme. A 60%
affirmative vote for the levy reflected the
enthusiasm of the neighborhoods for the
achievements of the Library during the past
ten years.
Over the years, a large part of the money
generated by the real property levy had been
used to renovate or replace branch libraries.
Three renovations were finished in 1985, and
colorful neighborhood celebrations were held
in the Sterling, Brooklyn, and Lorain Branch
Libraries as the buildings were rededicated to
public service during July, August, and
September. The family nature of the open
house celebrations and the warmth of the
community response was gratifying.
1111\1
1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY
·3·
Automation played an increasingly significant
role in 1985. The number of libraries seeking
to join the Cleveland Integrated Automated
System continued to grow. Contracts were
signed with the Orrville Public Library, Medina
County District Library, Ella M. Everhard
Public Library (Wadsworth), Wayne County
Public Library, Hudson Library and Historical
Society, Board of Education of the Cleveland
Heights City Schools, Twinsburg Public
Library, East Cleveland Public Library, and
the Cleveland Law Library Association. By
year end, most were adding their holdings to
the collective inventory of titles. The Shaker
Heights, Willoughby-Eastlake, and Elyria
Public Libraries finished that task and began
online circulation in 1985. With Cleveland
Public Library's collections as the core, sixteen
libraries have added their collections to produce
a regional data base stretching from
Sandusky to Eastlake, from Cleveland to
Wooster.
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"The Cleveland Public Library assisted the Library of
Congress in establishing the date of one of aI-Ansari
Zakariya ibn Muhammad's works, a unique copy in
the USA. Readers and loealfirms requiring knowledge
of Japanese, Chinese, Hungarian and Latin regularly
asked Main Library for assistance. "
New programs were added by the software
vendor, Data Research Associates, during
the year: the film booking system, the reserve
system, and the acquisitions program. The
speed with which work can be done and
patrons served has astonished the staff and
pleased the users.
"All ages are accepting the new catalog in stride. They
welcome the accessibility of more than one million
titles on a system-wide data base. "
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1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY
·4.
This sophistication in the field of automation
was the principal attraction for the visit of the
members of the International Association of
Metropolitan City Libraries. During one week
in August, Directors of libraries from major
European and U.S. cities, and even from Abu
Dhabi, studied automation and observed the
efficiencies of organization and administration
which enable the Cleveland Public Library to
provide ever increasing services. Visitors
from Manakau, New Zealand; Beijing, China;
and Budapest, Hungary were further confirmations
of the world wide reputation and advanced
state of the Cleveland Integrated
Automated System.
The Library is indebted to the Friends of the
Cleveland Public Library for providing hospitality
and many special remembrances of
Cleveland to the international guests of
INTAMEL. The financial support provided by
the Friends during the tax levy campaign was
the most significant gift of the year.
Dr. Ervin J. Gaines retired on December 31,
1985, after eleven years as Director of the
Cleveland Public Library. Dr. Gaines set the
pace for an era of great achievement and
productive change and rescued a Library in
the doldrums. His vision and imagination
carried the Cleveland Public Library into the
future. Citizens and staff members who admire
Dr. Gaines will continue to promote the
upward progress of the Cleveland Public
Library, despite the present financial
catastrophe.
Marian A. Huttner
Interim Director
Visitors from Beijing, China at Main Library
In August, the Main Library welcomed directors of
metropolitan city libraries fram across the nation and
araund the world. Cleveland Public Library's online
system draws international attention in that it
integrates a substantial catalog of 2Y2 million volumes
with a circulation component now handling more than
6 million transactions annually.
Quotations are taken from annual reports written
by staff.
1111\1
1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY
·5·
Service Profile
In 1985, Cleveland Public Library
• answered 2Y4 million information questions.
• enriched collections by adding nearly
136,000 new volumes.
• subscribed to more than 5,000 journals,
most containing information important to
business, economics, labor, science and
technology.
• filled 23,278 requests for books from
other libraries, including 10,001 requests
from other libraries in Cuyahoga County and
12,227 requests from other libraries throughout
Ohio.
• served more than 75,000 people monthly
(nearly 60% of them suburbanites) from a
single location, the downtown Main Library.
"The Cleveland Public Library contains the most
complete collection of historical material available on
Cleveland's city government since its incorporation in
1836. The Library has received a grant from the Gund
Foundation to preserve these important historical
documents. "
"The Government Printing Office bookstore and
marketing program, government agencies and local
organizations refer the public to the Main Cleveland
Public Library. There is heavy demand for the
statistical, legislative, legal/regulatory, and patent
information housed in the Library's Documents
Collection. "
"The Local History Collection Evaluation Report
produced an impartial appraisal of the Library's
collections on Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and the
Western Reserve. The report found that 90% of the
published monographs on these subjects are owned
by the Cleveland Public Library. "
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1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBUC UBRARY
·6·
How Library Dollars
Were Spent In 1985
General Fund, Including Debt Service
Receipts $20,964,807 Expenditures $22,427,852
(Expenditures exceeded Receipts by $1,463,045 in 1985. Funds expended were drawn from
previous year's Receipts.)
*It was necessary for the Library to borrow money to sustain operations. Notes were repaid as
intangibles tax funds became available from the distributor, the Cuyahoga County Budget
Commission.
Endowments, Trusts, Grants
Receipts $335,694 Expenditures $263,834
The Cleveland Public Library is endowed in the amount of $1,454,189. Income from Endowments,
Trusts and Grants represented 1.3% of the Library's 1985 Receipts. The Library uses interest
generated by these funds to enhance basic services or to subsidize a trial period for new services.
Restrictive terms of many bequests and trusts specify that the principal may not be spent.
Building and Repair Fund
In 1985, the Cleveland Public Library spent $1,000,200 to complete one construction project and
three remodeling projects in progress. The Library continued necessary maintenance and
modifications to the Main Library and branches. No additional funds were added to the Building and
Repair Fund because of the current cash shortage.
1111\1
1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBUC LIBRARY
·7·
Cleveland Public Library
"Northern Ohio educators, preservationists and
library professionals turn increasingly to the Main
Library Map Collection for information andguidance.
Main Library's dual aims are preserving fragile
cartographic materials while making them useful and
accessible. "
"A recently acquired manuscript, Francis Hall's
Journal 1859-1865, has aroused considerable interest
on the part of university presses and American and
Japanese scholars. Adistinguished scholar in the field
of 19th century Japanese history has been selected by
the Library to edit this manuscript, which is perhaps
one of the most noteworthy accounts of early
American-Japanese relations."
/
!L
"Patrons are often amazed at how quickly staff can
find articles of local interest through online use of the
Cleveland News Index, which is produced by Main
Library staff and kept current, to-date."
623-2911
623-2881
623-2880
623-2904
623-2870
623-2871
623-2842
623-2919
623-2932
623-2860
623-2818
623-2927
623-2834
623-2870
623-2942
623-2848
623-2895
623-2856
623-2864
623·2800
I, ~ : I ,LLh
I ; I
Business, Economics & Labor
Department
Children's Literature Department
Documents Collection
Films Department
Fine Arts & Special Collections
Foreign Literature Department
General Reference Department
History & Geography Department
Library for the Blind & Physically
Handicapped
Literature Department
Map Collection
Newspaper Collection
Patents
Photograph Collection
Popular Library
Public Administration Library
Science & Technology Department
Social Sciences Department
John G. White Department
Main Library
325 Superior Avenue
IIn\1
1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBUC UBRARY
.8.
Branch Libraries Lorain 631-4962
8216 Lorain Ave.
Broadway 883-8692 Martin Luther King, Jr. 795-4117
3328 East 55th St. 1962 East 107th St.
Brooklyn 661-6178 Memorial 531-5860
3706 Pearl Road 15212 Lake Shore Blvd.
Carnegie West 961-0998 Miles Park 641-4990
1900 Fulton Rd. 9520 Miles Park
Collinwood 541-4220 Mt. Pleasant 561-4790
856 East 152nd St. 14000 Kinsman Rd.
East 55th Street 361-6232 Nottingham 481-5588
5510 Superior Ave. 760 East 185th St.
East 131st Street 561-6133 Rice 231-5062
3830 East 131st St. 2820 East 116th St.
East 79th Street 881-7266 Rockport 251-4466
1215 East 79th St. 4421 West 140th St.
Eastman 251-9433 South 781-1690
11602 Lorain Ave. 3096 Scranton Rd.
Fleet 641-5666 South Brooklyn 661-5700
7224 Broadway Ave. 4303 Pearl Rd.
Fulton 741-0724 Sterling 621-5766
3545 Fulton Rd. 2200 East 30th St.
Garden Valley 883-9096 Superior 795-4249
7100 Kinsman Rd. 1347 East 105th St.
Glenville 681-2040 Union 641-4961
11900 St. Clair Ave. 3463 East 93rd St.
Harvard-Lee 751-9955 Walz 651-0051
16918 Harvard Ave. 7910 Detroit Ave.
Hough 795-4383 West Park 941-3730
1566 Crawford Rd. 3805 West 157th St.
Jefferson 241-7527 Woodland 361-7255
850 Jefferson Ave. 5806 Woodland Ave.
"Many of our patrons worked to support the levy,
calling friends and handing out flyers with their
Halloween candy! After the election, many called the
Library to express their happiness that 'we' won. "
1111\1
Lorain Branch, renovated in 1985.
1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY
·9·
Cleveland Public Library
325 Superior Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114-1271
(216) 623-2800
Main Library Hours
Monday - Saturday
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Board of Library Trustees
Judge George W. Trumbo, President
David M. Novak, Vice President
Ardelia B. Dixon, Secretary
Paul J. DeGrandis, Jr.
Michael V. Kelley
Marcia L. Fudge
Thomas D. Corrigan, Appointed July, 1985
Administration
Dr. Ervin J. Gaines, Director
through December, 1985
Marian A. Huttner, Interim Director,
January, 1986
Joan L. $orger, Head of Main Library
Norman Holman, Head of Community Services
Edward Seely, Head of Technical Services
Joan F. Brown, Personnel Officer
Joan L. Tomkins, Business Manager
Friends of the Cleveland Public Library, Inc.
Richard L. Fetzer, President
Edgar H. Maugans, Vice-President
Dennis P. Anderson, Treasurer
Estelle Shorter Holmes, Secretary
Ella Mae Howey-Haverfield, Executive Director
1111\1
1985 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CLEVELAND PUBUC UBRARY
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