Special Thanks to Donors to Our Annual Fund

A message from Duke’s University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs

Meeting the needs of nearly 15,000 students, some 1,800 faculty and more than 30,000 employees of a major research university is challenging work. Unlike many private research libraries, we pride ourselves on being open to the public. Gifts to the Duke University Libraries Annual Fund help us to provide the highest level of service to our students, faculty, and the many outside researchers who use our collections and help us advance Duke’s research and teaching missions.

Because of the generous support of alumni, friends, faculty, parents, grandparents, corporations and foundations, the Duke University Libraries Annual Fund set an all-time high total in fiscal year 2013 in donors (1,887) and cash ($744,890). Those are increases of more than 17% and 30%, respectively.

Even more important is what these contributions allowed us to do for our students and faculty. Here are just a few things we’ve been able to accomplish this year because of contributions to the Libraries Annual Fund:

• We increased dramatically our e-book offerings
• We organized  workshops throughout the year on digital scholarship and text mining
• We expanded Data and GIS workshops, consultations and data visualization services
• We digitized nearly 900 Duke Chronicle issues from the 1960s
• We launched a digitization on demand service called Digitize This Book

Annual Fund gifts help us to provide today’s Duke students and faculty with the very best collections and services and set a standard of excellence that improves the University’s national and international reputation. On behalf of the Libraries’ staff and Duke students, faculty, and researchers around the world, thank you for your continued support.

Deborah Jakubs, Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs