Preservation (library and Archival Science) - History - Significant People in The History of Preservation

Significant People in The History of Preservation

• William Barrow (1904–1967) was an American chemist and paper conservator, and a pioneer of library and archives conservation. He introduced the field of conservation to paper deacidification through alkalization.
• Paul N. Banks (1934–2000) was Conservator and Head of the Conservation Department at the Newberry Library from 1964 to 1981, and published regularly on bookbinding, book and paper conservation, and problems related to conservation. He designed and implemented a curriculum for Columbia University's School of Library Science that dealt directly with preservation training.
• Pamela Darling, author and historian, was Preservation Specialist for the Association of Research Libraries. Her works include materials to aid libraries in establishing their own comprehensive preservation programs.
• Carolyn Harris worked as head of Columbia University Libraries' Preservation Division from 1981 until 1987, where she worked closely with Paul Banks. She published extensive research throughout her career, especially dealing with mass deacidification of wood-pulp paper.
• Peter Waters, former Conservation Officer at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, worked in the areas of disaster recovery and preparedness, and the salvaging of water-damaged paper goods.
• Nicholson Baker is a contemporary American novelist and author of Double Fold, a criticism of libraries' destruction of paper-based media.
• Patricia Battin, as the first president of the Commission on Preservation and Access, worked to organize a national campaign both for the use of alkaline paper in publishing companies and for a national program of preservation microfilming.
• John F. Dean, Preservation and Conservation Librarian at Cornell University, has made contributions towards improving preservation efforts in developing countries. Specifically, Dean has created online tutorials for library conservation and preservation in Southeast Asia and Iraq and the Middle East.

The Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award for outstanding preservation specialists in library and archival science, is given annually by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a subdivision of the American Library Association. It is awarded in recognition of professional preservation specialists who have made significant contributions to the field. Banks/Harris award winners:

• Sally Buchanan 2001 - Buchanan received the award in recognition of years of service in the preservation field while an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Science
• Ellen R. McCrady 2002-2008 - From 1975 to 2004, McCrady edited and published the "Abbey Newsletter", covering important information for preservation professionals. She also conducted research regarding papermaking and acid testing. From 1988-1997 she published the Alkaline Paper Advocate
• John F. Dean 2003 - Since its inception in 1985, Dean has led the Department of Preservation and Conservation at Cornell University.
• Jan Merrill-Oldham 2004 - As the Malloy-Rabinowitz Preservation Librarian at Harvard University, Merrill-Oldham oversees the Weissman Preservation Center and the Preservation and Imaging Department.
• Paul Conway 2005 - Conway is an associate professor in the University of Michigan School of Information and has worked with Yale and Duke University after beginning his career at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. His research and educational work focuses primarily on digital preservation and electronic media.
• Gary Frost 2006 - Currently the University Conservator at the University of Iowa Libraries, Frost has been an educator and practitioner in the field of library preservation for almost 40 years. Frost is actively involved in library preservation and maintains an online blog at Futureofthebook.com.
• Walter Henry 2007 - Henry, a conservator at the Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources, is the creator of Conservation OnLine and the Conservation DistList
• Janet Gertz 2008 - Director for Preservation, Columbia University Libraries has been chair of ALCTS' Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS). She has taught, spoken and published widely on topics ranging from traditional library preservation, disaster preparedness, commercial binding, and preservation microfilming to digital preservation, audio preservation, preservation metadata and large-scale mass digitization. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University, and has been a guest lecturer at Rutgers' Preservation Institute and at Queen's College.
• Barclay Ogden 2009
• Michele Cloonan 2010
• Roberta Pilette 2011
• Julie Allen Page 2012