Henry E Huntington Library and Art Gallery

“Prior to the filing, the entire draft 990 was sent to all trustees. Comments and corrections were strongly encouraged, and the form was reviewed and discussed in a meeting of the audit committee. In addition, an outside cpa firm, singerlewak, reviewed the form and went over the form in detail with the assistant vice president for financial affairs/controller.”

“Conflicts of interest statements are requested annually from all trustees, overseers and non-board members' chairs of active committees as well as employees. Any conflicts or potential conflicts are reported to the audit committee. The audit committee makes a decision on how each conflict should be handled, including abstaining from voting on certain matters.”

“In reviewing and approving the compensation for the president and cfo, the huntington's board of trustees (referred to as the "approval body" below), uses the following process: 1. Impartial decision makers: the compensation arrangement must be approved in advance (before any payment is made) by the approval body of the huntington composed entirely of individuals who do not have a conflict of interest with respect to the compensation arrangement (example: neither the executive whose compensation is being determined nor any of his/her family members may be present during the discussion/debate or participate in the vote). 2. Comparability data: when the approval body is considering compensation to covered individuals, it must rely on comparability data that demonstrates the fair market value of the compensation in question. For example, when crafting compensation packages, the approval body must secure data that documents compensation levels for similarly qualified individuals in like positions at like organizations. This data may include the following: a) expert compensation studies by independent firms; b) information obtained from the irs form 990 filings of similar organizations; and c) use of an independent compensation consultant. 3. Concurrent documentation: the approval body must document how it reached its decisions, including the data on which it relied. To qualify as concurrent documentation, written or electronic records of the approval body (such as meeting minutes) must note: a) the terms of the compensation and the date it was approved; b) the members of the approval body who were present during the debate on the compensation that was approved and those who voted on it; c) the comparability data obtained and relied upon and how the data was obtained; and d) any actions taken with respect to consideration of the compensation by anyone who is otherwise a member of the approval body but who had a conflict of interest with respect to the decision on the compensation. All other officers and key employees have their compensation reviewed annually by the approval body, which may or may not include comparability data.”

“The organization's form 990 can also be viewed by the public on www.guidestar.org.”

“Governing documents, conflict of interest policy, financial statements, and form 990 are available to the public upon request.”

“Building on henry e. Huntington's legacy of renowned collections and botanical gardens that enrich the visitor, the huntington today encourages research and promotes education in the arts, humanities, and botanical sciences through the growth and preservation of its collections, through the development and support of a community of scholars, and through the display and interpretation of its extraordinary resources to the public. The collections: the huntington has assembled primary materials, art objects, and living collections which reflect the development of western culture, from the ninth century to the present. These collections embody the diverse and interwoven contributions of many cultures, peoples, and nations. The huntington's holdings of rare books, manuscripts, art objects, and botanical specimens speak to our contemporary audiences because they reveal the complexity of the human experience. Stewardship: with its outstanding collections in the arts, humanities, and botanical sciences, the huntington has the responsibility to preserve and protect for posterity mr. Huntington's legacy and to insure its growth and financial health. Stewardship extends as well to the buildings, grounds, and infrastructure of the institution, not only because they protect the collections and facilitate their use, but because mr. Huntington's estate is an important historical document of great significance to the public and to the understanding of the history of southern california. The huntington's communities: the huntington is a hub for communities whose boundaries extend from local to the international. As a local institution, it serves schoolchildren, families, and scholars with a broad array of programs centered in the collections. To the national and international communities, the huntington serves as a haven for independent scholarship and as a repository for a broad fund of knowledge represented in the collections. One of the huntington's great strengths, however, is the reciprocal nature of its relationship with its communities. Volunteers provide leadership, stewardship, and resources. Scholars bring their own intellectual depth and diverse interpretations to the collections. Staff supply expertise and energy. And visitors bring curiosity, expectations, and experiences which challenge the huntington to the greater fulfillment of its mission.”

“Building on henry e. Huntington's legacy of renowned collections and botanical gardens that enrich the visitor, the huntington today encourages research and promotes education in the arts, humanities, and botanical sciences through the growth and preservation of its collections, through the development and support of a community of scholars, and through the display and interpretation of its extraordinary resources to the public. The collections: the huntington has assembled primary materials, art objects, and living collections which reflect the development of western culture, from the ninth century to the present. These collections embody the diverse and interwoven contributions of many cultures, peoples, and nations. The huntington's holdings of rare books, manuscripts, art objects, and botanical specimens speak to our contemporary audiences because they reveal the complexity of the human experience. Stewardship: with its outstanding collections in the arts, humanities, and botanical sciences, the huntington has the responsibility to preserve and protect for posterity mr. Huntington's legacy and to insure its growth and financial health. Stewardship extends as well to the buildings, grounds, and infrastructure of the institution, not only because they protect the collections and facilitate their use, but because mr. Huntington's estate is an important historical document of great significance to the public and to the understanding of the history of southern california. The huntington's communities: the huntington is a hub for communities whose boundaries extend from local to the international. As a local institution, it serves schoolchildren, families, and scholars with a broad array of programs centered in the collections. To the national and international communities, the huntington serves as a haven for independent scholarship and as a repository for a broad fund of knowledge represented in the collections. One of the huntington's great strengths, however, is the reciprocal nature of its relationship with its communities. Volunteers provide leadership, stewardship, and resources. Scholars bring their own intellectual depth and diverse interpretations to the collections. Staff supply expertise and energy. And visitors bring curiosity, expectations, and experiences which challenge the huntington to the greater fulfillment of its mission.”

“The huntington library is one of the world's great independent research libraries concentrated in the fields of british and american history, literature, and art and in the history of science, with some 11 million items spanning the 11th century to the present. Its collections encompass: 8 million manuscripts; 440,000 rare books; 454,000 reference books; 900,000 prints and ephemera, 777,000 photographs, and 300,000 digital files. The library main exhibition hall showcases some of the most outstanding rare books and manuscripts in the collection. About 150 rare objects are grouped thematically around 12 key works, prompting visitors to consider each item in a wider context. The dibner hall of the history of science is a permanent exhibition on the history of science, focusing on astronomy, natural history, medicine, and light. The library west hall presents temporary themed exhibitions. The 90,000-square-foot munger research center provides storage capacity for further collections development, work space for scholars and staff, and facilities for conservation, preservation, exhibition preparation, digital imaging, and photography. The library is open to scholars, known as readers, 294 days of the year, with an average of 78 scholars visits daily. Exhibits during the year included: * architects of a golden age: hightlights from the huntington's southern california architecture collection. * carolina caycedo + mario ybarra jr. Rituals of labor and encouragement vpam/five 2018 exhibition (year 3).”

“Encompassing approximately 120 acres of the 207-acre grounds, the botanical gardens contain more than a dozen principal garden areas. Highlights * liu fang yuan, the garden of flowing fragrance, reflects the traditional style of scholar gardens in suzhou, china, and featuring a 1.5-acre lake, a complex of pavilions, a teahouse and tea shop, stone bridges and waterfalls set against a wooded backdrop of mature oaks and pines. Construction has begun on the garden's final phase, comprising pavillions, a restaurant, and an exhibition complex. When completed in 2020, at more than 12 acres in size, the garden will become one of the largest classical-style chinese gardens in the world. * the japanese garden, with traditional japanese house, a moon bridge, a walled zen garden, and bonsai court, and seifu-an, a ceremonial teahouse and garden. * the desert garden, one of the largest outdoor collections of mature cacti and succulents in the world. * the frances and sidney brody california garden in the steven s. Koblik education and visitor center is arranged along a central allee of olive trees; the garden includes native and adaptive plantings set among hedge rooms in a nod toward more formal landscape design. * the frances lasker brody botanical center features: * the helen and peter bing children's garden, introducing youngsters to the wonders of the natural world through interactive sculptural elements. * the rose hills foundation conservatory for botanical science and the associated foundations teaching greenhouse, providing hands-on botanical science opportunities for children and families, and showcasing orchids and other tropical collections. * adjacent laboratories for botanical research where botanists are using cryopreservation techniques, testing ways to safely freeze and conserve fragile plant tissue, and where genetic research on cycads reveals much about the plant's evolutionary history. * the ranch garden, testing and demonstrating contemporary ideas for sustainable urban agriculture. * additional garden areas are devoted to roses and camellias, each collection having more than 1,400 different cultivars. * the australian, herb, jungle, lily ponds, palm, and subtropical gardens are among other important botanical attractions. Each year, the huntington hosts botanical shows, conferences, lectures, and plant sales that focus on specific themes; more than 175 cactus and succulent enthusiasts attended the annual desert garden forum, 140 people attended the annual succulent plants symposium, and 100 people attended the chinese garden symposium. The north american clivia society show, southern california camellia show, california bonsai society show, aiseki kai viewing stones show, the cactus & succulent society of america annual show, huntington orchid show, and the bonsai-a-thon are hosted by the huntington each year and are open to the public and attended by hundreds of visitors. The gardens also hosted multiple workshops intended to educate the public and specialty plant growers on management of trees and the pests that affect them, the polyphagous shot-hole borer in particular. Recently the gardens initiated a much stronger program in conservation and research focusing on plant variation, cryopreservation and propagation, as well as productivity in urban settings.”

“The huntington library, art collections, and botanical gardens is a collections-based research and educational institution serving scholars and the general public. Each year, the huntington: * provides more than 1,700 scholars with access to a world-class collection of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, paintings, prints, sculptures, decorative arts; * awards approximately $1.85 million in fellowships (through a peer-review process) to scholars for advanced humanities research; * educates thousands of schoolchildren and their teachers in art, history, literature, and botanical science through special tours and programs; * organizes special exhibitions to enhance the visitor experience, interpret the collections, and facilitate learning; * hosts more than 750,000 visitors. The huntington has a membership totaling more than 44,000, a volunteer corps of more than 1,200, and a full- and part-time staff over 500. It is an independent non-profit organization, supported by gifts and grants from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies and by a private endowment.”