Nixon Library Short of Goal for Attendance

The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace has yet to reach its goal of 1,000 visitors a day, but officials say they are pleased with attendance figures, even though the bulk of the library’s revenue comes from sources other than ticket sales.

Library officials decline to release current attendance figures; 1990 tax information filed with the state indicates that in its opening months, the library generated most of its revenue through memberships, contributions, gifts and other bequests--not through ticket sales.

John H. Taylor, the Nixon library’s executive director, said Tuesday that an average of 612 people a day visited the institution during its first five months of operation in 1990. Those attendance figures include children, who are admitted free, and senior citizens, who are given a discount.

Officials say that the Nixon library surpassed all other presidential libraries in paid attendance last year. But in its first two months of operation, the new Ronald Reagan Presidential Library received more than 100,000 paying visitors, officials there said.

Tax information filed with the California Registry of Charitable Trusts indicates that ticket sales for the last five months of 1990--the Nixon library opened in July of that year--brought in $246,155.

Taylor said paid attendance grew in 1991, the library’s first full year of operation, but declined to say by how much. He added, however, that the Nixon library surpassed the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum’s 127,300 paid visitors last year.

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin, Tex., attracts roughly 308,000 visitors each year, but it charges no admission.

While ticket sales accounted for a relatively small percentage of the Nixon library’s overall budget, officials hastened to say that is neither surprising nor disappointing.

“The expansion and the energetic operations of this library will always depend on an endowment,” said attorney Hugh Hewitt, a former executive director of the library.

Hewitt and other library officials said they expect to launch an endowment drive in the coming year to help pay for operations and exhibits.

While the Nixon library has yet to approach the number of visitors to the Johnson library, officials say they are pleased by its popularity.

“We’re delighted by our attendance figures,” Taylor said. “I never thought we would be at 1,000 per day this soon. . . . We have a growth-oriented mentality here, and we’re still building attendance.”

The library reported $4.2 million in total public support, which includes grants, contributions and gifts. It also netted $31,458 in interest on its investments, but recorded a loss on its stock holdings. In all, the library reported revenues of just over $5 million for 1990.

Meanwhile, officials say they expect to see attendance figures and ticket sales rise as the library becomes better known.

“Our repeat business is ramping up very nicely,” Hewitt said. “It’s a very, very excellent start-off, and the board is very pleased. It’ll take a while (to reach 1,000 visitors a day). You’ve got to let people know that you’re there.”