Chicago Botanic Garden

for immediate release

Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lenhardt Library Awarded
LSTA Grant

Grant of $25,000 to go toward cataloging historic journals

 

Media Only:
Julie McCaffrey
(847) 835-8213
jmccaffrey@chicagobotanic.org

GLENCOE, Ill. (October 14, 2008) — The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lenhardt Library was recently awarded a $25,000 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White for its Serial Cataloging Project, which will catalog historic journals acquired from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 2002. LSTA grants are designed to assist librarians in identifying and funding specific local needs. They also provide funds to libraries that support cataloging services.

“With this grant we will be able to catalog approximately 700 historic journals, making them available for Illinois residents,” said Leora Siegel, director of the Lenhardt Library. “Cataloging is the first step toward future conservation and digitizing projects, which will further public access to these journals.”

The historic journal collection is comprised primarily of horticultural literature from the United States and Western Europe. The objectives of this project are to catalog the journals to the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), add Local Holding Data, export records to the Garden’s online catalog that is web accessible, and continue an interlibrary loan program in both lending and borrowing to prove access to the items. Through this project, Illinois residents can find previously unavailable materials from a special library with a unique collection of horticulture resources.

The Woman's Board of the Chicago Horticultural Society established the Lenhardt Library in 1951. In 1959 it contained 584 volumes. With the opening of the Chicago Botanic Garden and its Education Center in 1976, the Library's growing collection of 6,000 books moved to a new facility to better meet the needs of its users.

Today the collections of the Library hold approximately 28,000 titles including 22,000 books, more than 300 currently received periodical titles, 670 non-current and out-of-print periodical titles, 600 videos and DVDs, 10,000 slides, 1,000 nursery catalogs, 3,000 rare books and periodicals, and the archives of the Chicago Horticultural Society.

The Lenhardt Library is located in the Regenstein Center. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday and Wednesday through Saturday. Tuesday hours are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday hours are from noon to 4 p.m. Closed holidays. Members have borrowing privileges.

Admission to the Chicago Botanic Garden is free. Select event fees apply. Parking is $15 per car; free for Garden members. For more information and to search the library collections, visit www.chicagobotanic.org/library.

 

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Editors, please note: The Chicago Botanic Garden's newsroom is online at www.chicagobotanic.org/pr. For digital images, contact Julie McCaffrey at (847) 835-8213 or at jmccaffrey@chicagobotanic.org.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, one of the green treasures of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, is a 385-acre living plant museum featuring 23 distinct display gardens surrounded by lakes, as well as a prairie and woodlands. With events, programs and activities for all ages, the Garden is open every day of the year. Admission is free; select event fees apply. Parking is $15; free for members. On Tuesdays, senior citizens age 62 and older pay just $7 for parking. The Garden is located at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Ill. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org, or call (847) 835-5440 for seasonal hours, images of the Garden and commuter transportation information.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society. It opened to the public in 1972 and is home to the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, offering a broad array of adult classes in plant science, landscape design and gardening arts. Through the Division of Plant Science and Conservation, Garden scientists work on plant conservation, research and environmental initiatives that have global impact. The Center for Teaching and Learning brings the wonder of nature and plants to children, teens and teachers. The Garden's Horticultural Therapy and Community Gardening programs provide nationally recognized community outreach and service programs. The Garden is also breaking new ground in urban horticulture and jobs training through a 15-acre project in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago called Windy City Harvest. The Chicago Botanic Garden is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a member of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). In 2006, the Chicago Botanic Garden received the Award for Garden Excellence, given yearly by the APGA and Horticulture magazine to a public garden that exemplifies the highest standards of horticultural practices and has shown a commitment to supporting and demonstrating best gardening practices.