Charleston Library Society
The South's Oldest Cultural Institution
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Charleston Library Society has a multi-faceted mission that addresses multiple segments in our community. First and foremost, we are the oldest cultural institution in the South. With that designation, we have been providing service to citizens of the Lowcountry since 1748. We are an educational institution, providing story-time readings for young children to presenting public programs by compelling writers, poets and musicians. We are conservators, acquiring rare books, manuscripts and folios with an aim to prevent, and, in some cases, reverse damage caused by handling or environmental deterioration. We are librarians, working with rare volumes that help to illustrate the area's long and storied history. We are a working lending library, providing refuge and original source material for scholars and lifelong learners, while also offering modern offerings such as books, movies, magazines, daily and weekly newspapers and online research and materials for pleasure reading.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Programs and Events
Each year, the Charleston Library Society hosts over 200 events ranging from author lectures and concerts to book clubs, children’s programs, and galas. The founding members were an intellectually curious and culturally productive group and their desire to be at the heart of discussions about important issues is a trait that not only continues to resonate with our members today, but also provides the foundation for program development and enrichment.
The Charleston Library Society provides a circulating collection; maintains a research collection including rare books and periodicals on Southeastern history and culture; preserves Colonial newspapers and other early materials; offers adult lectures and children's programs.
Where we work
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Charleston Library Society's goals include: providing educational opportunities for all ages children through adults; conserving, preserving, exhibiting and expanding its collections; using technology to improve access to and understanding of the Library’s collections; offering lectures and programs on common literary and historical interests; collaborating with other cultural institutions on subjects of common interest; providing a literary and historical archival center for scholars, researchers and students; providing programs that offer life-long learning opportunities to the community; and maintaining our strength as a hub of cultural activity in the Lowcountry and throughout the South and United States.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We utilize multiple strategies to achieve our goals. We work with local booksellers and other cultural institutions to ensure that the programs we bring to the community are relevant, compelling, educational and add to the rich cultural fabric of Charleston. We are actively working to improve childhood literacy through our afternoon and weekend story time programs and our summer camps focused on literacy. We are digitizing many of our assets, thus making them available to scholars and hobbyists for research and lifelong learning and extending the reach of our collections beyond Charleston. We also partner with other community cultural institutions, with a goal of increasing the reach of our collections and enhancing exhibits with materials that would otherwise not be available. We engage the world's leading thinkers, writers and performers, providing programming to the community at a reasonable price, thereby reducing barriers to literacy and learning. We continue to build our collections, which enables the Society to provide more context to the rich cultural heritage of the Lowcountry.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Charleston Library Society
Board of directorsas of 03/01/2023
Jack McSpadden
Diana Hambleton
Michael D. Reynolds
Gina Stouffer
Ann M. Auburn
Stevenson B. Bennett
James W. Bradshaw
Susan W. DiCamillo
Samuel L. Easley
Deborah C. Fisher
Chevron C. Herbert
John A. Hill
Anne P. Keigher
Lewis S. Kunkel
III
Emily-Elise Martin
Jerrold Mitchell
Lee Pringle
M. Edward Sellers
Andrew R. Tew
James O. Treyz
Eliza B. von Marschall
Wendy C.H. Wellin
Carl A. Wise
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/01/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.