Proprietors of the Boston Athenaeum

What it reported doing in 2024

Library services - see schedule o.library services - the library is the largest programmatic activity of the boston athenaeum, serving approximately 5,000 members, their families, the scholarly community, students, and other members of the public. It is composed of two principal departments: reader services and technical services. Reader services at the boston athenaeum comprises the public departments that offer library services. The head of reader services and the archivist/reference librarian work at the reference desk; they answer hundreds of members and researchers' questions and assist in the use of circulating materials, special collections, electronic resources, and online research. Thousands of rare materials are provided for the 200-300 researchers who use the special collections reading room every year. The head of circulation and the reader services assistant manage activity at the circulation desk, where roughly 18,000 items circulate each year. Five interns assist at circulation and reference. The children's librarian helps younger members use the children's library, and offers programs including story hours and reading groups, designed specifically for children. Nineteen discussion groups and over 150 tours of the building are arranged by reader services every year. The technical services department, managed by the chief technical services librarian, encompasses the functions of acquisitions, cataloging, serials, conservation, and digitization. The units of acquisitions, cataloging, and serials include, an acquisitions librarian, a serials librarian, three rare materials catalog librarians, two cataloging assistants, and three interns. They are responsible for selecting, acquiring, accessioning, invoicing, cataloging, and processing approximately 2,700 additions to the library per year, including both new imprints and rare historical volumes. The department also augments approximately 3,000 legacy cataloging records per year.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 80.8%; rating input score 81
• Fundraising efficiency: $3.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 58.3%; rating input score 58; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -35%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.52; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 11.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings