[NJARC] FW: budget cuts and RCA's legacy

Tue, 5 Feb 2002 17:20:44 -0500

Actually, it is a very good idea.  The people who use these facilities
should support them and not ask others to do so on their behalf.

Perhaps the "tourism industry" should pick this cost up instead of Joe and
Jane Taxpayer.

Rick Shaftan, Sparta

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On
> Behalf Of Vourtsis, Philip (Phil), ALINF
> Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 5:01 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [NJARC] FW: budget cuts and RCA's legacy
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alex Magoun [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 4:15 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: budget cuts and RCA's legacy
>
>
> Dear friend of the David Sarnoff Library,
>
>     At this moment, Governor McGreevey is on the verge of eliminating
> New Jersey's operating support program for history organizations.  These
> grants make possible the operations of the David Sarnoff Library and
> many other organizations from Cape May to Morristown.
>     Even if you are not a resident of the state, your expression of
> concern for the continued support of an internationally important
> archive and museum can help.  If you agree with the value of this
> program and in particular the effort to preserve and use RCA's history
> for the benefit of the current and future citizenry of New Jersey and
> the nation, please contact the governor's office and your local
> legislators immediately.
>     You can call Governor McGreevey at 609-292-6000 or fax him at
> 609-943-9944;
>     Call Secretary of State Regena Thomas at 609-984-1900, ext. 3, or
> fax her at 609-777-1764.
>     if you are a resident of the state, you can locate your
> representatives' phone numbers, emails, or faxes at
> http://12.107.80.70/members/legsearch.asp.
>     You are welcome to draw on the letter below or add your own reasons
> for retaining funding to maintain RCA's history in this state.  I would
> be happy to add more details of the Library's activities using last
> year's grant on request.
>     Thank you for your support,
>     Sincerely,
> Alex Magoun
>
> To: Governor James E. McGreevey
> Fax #: 943-9944
>
> Dear Governor McGreevey:
>
>         I urge you to reconsider the elimination of the state's grants
> program to New Jersey's historical organizations.  At this very moment,
> the State is threatening to seize the $4 million pool of FY02 operating
> support funds administered by the New Jersey Historical Commission in
> the Department of State, for which history organizations are now writing
> grant applications. We understand your need to make cuts in these
> difficult times, but a 100% zeroing out of this state-wide grant program
>
> is a cruel and counter-productive punishment for New Jersey's past, and
> therefore its future. Please halt the efforts to seize this funding.
>        Tourism is the state's second largest industry at $30 billion, of
> which the state's cultural heritage tourism is a neglected lever to use
> in building revenues.  Nonetheless, the latest data indicate that
> overnight visitors to New Jersey spent $24 million during trips to
> museums and historic sites, suggesting that the state is gaining a 600%
> return on its grants program.  Another 12 million tourists made day
> trips, further boosting local economies.   Cutting the investment in
> operating support
> serves only to rob New Jersey of an effective means of combating the
> recession.
>         For the David Sarnoff Library in West Windsor township, the
> operating support grants have enabled the rescue, preservation, and
> promotion of the state's largest collection of papers, photos, and
> artifacts related to RCA.  "The most trusted name in electronics" was
> one of the state's largest employers in the 1970s, with over 30,000 men
> and women working at labs, factories, and other facilities from Deptford
> to Somerville, Princeton to Harrison.  RCA's accomplishments here
> include the invention or development of monochrome and color television,
> electron microscopy, radar, the transistors used universally in
> electronic devices, Apollo moon cameras, weather satellites, and
> liquid-crystal displays.
>         Thanks to this program's grants, the Library's staff has been
> able to respond to 180 inquiries in the past six months (a 50% increase
> in one year) and give tours, presentations, and interviews to over 800
> people, including students, scouts, high-tech investors, and
> international media representatives.  As a result, New Jersey has
> received its just publicity as the birthplace of modern communications
> and electronics, as the "Innovation Garden State" before marketers made
> up the name.  In addition, the Library offers a unique opportunity to
> increase technological and historical literacy among the state's
> citizens and tourists through its museum and on-line exhibits about the
> process and accomplishments of technological innovation.
>         Without this funding the Library loses the hard-won development
> of relationships between the Sarnoff family, the state, Sarnoff
> Corporation, private grantmaking institutions, and former RCA employees,
> all of who are interested in seeing a historic legacy put to productive
> use for future generations.
>         Governor McGreevey, you have repeatedly stated that you are a
> friend and advocate of New Jersey History. Now, I  ask you to come to
> back those statements where it counts: in the budget.
>
>        Sincerely yours,
> --
> Alexander B. Magoun, Ph.D.
> Director
> David Sarnoff Library
> 201 Washington Road CN5300
> Princeton, NJ 08543-5300
>
> [email protected]
> 609-734-2636
> fax: 609-734-2339
> www.sarnoff.com
>
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