ICI Award winners

Information Conservation, Inc. Announces Preservation Plan Winners

     "Prize for a Plan" has large participation.

Faced with the reality of shrinking budgets and the tremendous need to
preserve library artifacts throughout the country, Information
Conservation, Inc. sponsored a competition for $3,000 worth of
conservation services from the Conservation Division.  The "Prize for
Plan" was announced in the late fall and entries were required to be
submitted by the end of November.

The response to the competition far exceeded the expectations of the
organizers as there were more than seventy (70) applications.  The
proposals came from 40 states and from every size and type of library
including universities, museums, historical societies, public libraries,
and special collection libraries.

This large response placed a special burden on the review committee to
read, evaluate, and make a decision for the final awards.  The committee
was composed of three highly regarded preservationists, who agreed on
the final recommendations.  The review committee members were:  Sharlane
Grant, Preservation Officer of Arizona State Library, Tempe, Arizona;
Eleanor Stewart, Conservation Officer for Stanford University, Palo
Alto, California; and Don Etherington, Vice President of Conservation
for Information Conservation, Inc. of Greensboro, North Carolina.

The proposals were evaluated by the reviewers on the basis of two major
criteria:

   1) What was the rationale for choosing the particular group of
      materials for the conservation treatment?

   2) Was the selected method of treatment appropriate for the materials
      and their future use?

Other factors that influenced the final selection were varied but
included such points as:

   a. Treatment that could not be carried out by in-house preservation
      staff and required professional skills and facilities.

   b. The use of the materials after treatment, e.g. exhibitions and the
   ability to research the material without further damage to the item.

   c. An ongoing commitment to the preservation endeavors within the
   institution.

The decision making process was further complicated by the fact that out
of the total number of entries, a high percentage were deemed to be
exceptional, making the final choice very difficult.

Winning Proposal: University of Oregon.  The review committee has
selected the Plan submitted by Normandy Helmer on behalf of the
University of Oregon as the one through which the library will receive a
$3,000 credit for conservation services from the ICI Conservation
Division.  Ms. Helmer will receive a $200 cash award for her excellent
presentation on behalf of the University.

The committee was very impressed with the many responses and Information
Conservation, Inc. has agreed to increase the amount of the total award
to more than double the size of the original award.  The level of
participation, the quality of the entries, and the obvious need for
conservation services were given as reasons for an additional $4,500 in
credits being awarded by the ICI Conservation Division.

As a result three libraries have been notified of an award for Honorable
Mention of $1,500 each for the library and $100 each for the individuals
who submitted the Plan:

 The University of Florida, Gainsville, FL - John Freund
 Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA - Elizabeth Kwater
 Jefferson County Public Library, Lakewood, Colorado - Karen Jones

John R. Fairfield, President of Information Conservation, Inc.,
announced that the company was very pleased with the response to the
program this year, happy to be able to increase the prize money, and
will offer the competition again next year.

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 5:37
                Distributed: Saturday, February 1, 1992
                        Message Id: cdl-5-37-002
                                  ***