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John Berry raised some useful questions about the value of the American Library Association (ALA) endowment ("The Endowment's Purpose," Blatant Berry, LJ 10/15/07, p. 10). As the association's treasurer and its senior endowment trustee, we appreciate the opportunity to respond....

Remember, a significant proportion of the endowment is made up of funds that were given to ALA by donors who stipulated that their gifts fund scholarships and awards or support important causes such as intellectual freedom or quality school libraries. ALA is only the steward of these funds and cannot legally spend these bequests on other purposes. These funds have been given or left to the association in trust.

As potential donors look at a possible bequest to ALA, we must be able to guarantee them that their gifts will create a permanent legacy.... It is extremely difficult to find donors who will make a gift to support operations. By definition, an endowment must guarantee the protection of principal while generating annual income that will support important ongoing work....

The remainder of the endowment has been built up carefully and slowly over time, as unique opportunities have arisen. The original headquarters building purchased in the 1940s has been torn down, and the site redeveloped twice. In the process, we have been able to create a Future Fund that generates approximately $250,000 each year for ALA programs or offices—that's about the budget of the Diversity Office or a third of the funding for the Office for Intellectual Freedom, or that amount that supports 2010 initiatives.... Had that money been spent decades ago, it would not be available now to support important work year after year. Without that endowment support, member dues would have to be even higher to support these critical activities.

The endowment, ultimately, represents ALA's insurance against catastrophic circumstances. We need to ensure that the association can weather a natural or human-made disaster (think of the 9/11 attacks, SARS in Toronto, or the New Orleans floods). An important part of our financial responsibility is to protect the long-term survival of the association.

The endowment we have today is small by the standards of many other educational institutions and nonprofit organizations, but it represents the tremendous efforts and trust of those who contributed to it over the better part of a century. Just as all of us as individuals save and plan for our futures and for unexpected circumstances, so must ALA....

—Rod Hersberger, Treasurer, & Robert Newlen, Sr. Endowment Trustee, American Library Assn., Chicago

Ron Shank is right on the money when he suggests that libraries make 2008 the Year of Election Education ("Libraries and the Elections," Publisher's Letter, LJ 9/15/07, p. 8). It is an area where libraries can really make a difference.

The library community already has a group of "experts" in the thousands of government information specialists employed in libraries around the country. They have already created numerous Internet sites that bring together election data and resources on a national and local level. Google "election resources library" to see what government information librarians offer on the subject.

Shank urges librarians to do more than point to the resources and play a leadership role to guarantee that all local voices are heard. Government information librarians have long known this and lead the way by organizing programs at their institutions and associations that focus on the issues Shank raises. For example, the American Library Association's Government Documents Round Table has planned a preconference on election resources for just before the 2008 annual conference, and the Law and Political Science Section of ACRL will offer a conference program on participatory democracy initiatives....

To add to Shank's call, I would urge librarians to become directly involved in the election process by serving as election judges or monitors.... The organizational skills and the commitment to public service of our profession are essential to running a good local election. As a volunteer chief election judge in Baltimore County, I have learned how valuable my skills as a librarian and my background in government information are to the process....

—Bill Sleeman, Asst. Dir. for Technical Svcs., Thurgood Marshall Law Lib., Univ. of Maryland Sch. of Law, Baltimore; Chair, Government Documents Round Table, ALA

In "Reference into the Future" (Reference 2008, p. 8–11, Supplement to LJ 11/15/07), the April 2008 launch of "Pop Culture Universe" was misattributed to Praeger, Greenwood's current events imprint, and the database was inaccurately entitled "Culture Universe." It will draw from all of Greenwood's imprints.

We misspelled the name of Richard J. Moniz Jr., director of library services at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC, on "Rechannel the Energy," his analysis of the "Killer Diller" case study in How Do You Manage? (LJ 11/1/07, p. 38–40).