As we examine the Society membership we find an exceptional record of yearly contributions of Caroliniana to the library. In the past we have developed a membership that emphasized the contribution of material (Caroliniana) more than money to the endowment. We certainly do not need to lessen our efforts to acquire Caroliniana, but due to three factors we need to contribute more money to our endowment: we have developed a Caroliniana collection that has grown in geometric proportions over the years; our collections are getting older and require more conservation; and some conservation practices of the past, quite appropriate at the time, have been superseded by much more archivally sound ones.

Today, we have an exhibit case in the reading room of the Book Division containing a scrapbook of William Gilmore Simms in the The Charlest Carroll Simms Collection and J. Rion McKissick's copy of Frederick Dalcho's Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina both of which have been conserved at a cost of approximately $5,000. If you were not at the annual reception and dinner and have not seen this exhibit, we invite you to visit the library to do so. Actually, to conserve an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of manuscript paper costs on the average a minimum of $1.00. When you consider the volume of our collection, our conservation needs come into sharper focus. The Society has supported the efforts of the library to secure grants to process, rehouse and conserve our collections. A recent grant offers a match of $10,000 in federal funds for an equal amount of private support for conservation expenditures. (See article on the recent grants awarded to the library.)