Short-term Costs for Long-term Benefits

The financial and economic crisis that started simmering in 2007 and came to a full boil in late 2008 affected organizations of every kind, including independent research libraries large and small. Having just completed long-term, strategic planning, the Newberry Library found itself having to make big adjustments to carefully crafted plans, in just a few weeks. These remarks explore how the Newberry's response to this crisis, despite much institutional pain, has strengthened it considerably-and what some of its independent peers have done at the same time.