Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant

A new professional development grant named in honor of Jan
Merrill-Oldham has recently been approved by the Association of
Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) and Preservation and
Reformatting Section (PARS) of the American Library Association
(ALA) and will be awarded in 2012.

For over 30 years, Merrill-Oldham has been a recognized leader in
the field of library and archives preservation. She has served on
key committees within ALA, the Association of Research Libraries,
the Council on Library and Information Resources, the National
Information Standards Organization and many others. She has educated
and mentored countless preservation librarians and conservators and
her support for students and dedication to the field serves as a
model to all of us. This award recognizes Merrill-Oldham's wide
ranging contributions, deep commitment to the field, and her undying
support of young professionals by supporting participation in an ALA
conference. In September of 2010, Merrill-Oldham announced her
retirement after a long and notable career.

Each year, the Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant
will consist of $1,250 to support travel to the ALA Annual
Conference for a librarian, para-professional or student new to the
preservation field.  The intention is to provide the opportunity to
attend an ALA conference and encourage professional development
through active participation at the national level. The recipient
will have the chance to work with a member of the jury to identify
relevant programs and interest group sessions to attend, must attend
the Preservation Administration Interest Group meeting, and must
attend at least one PARS discussion group meeting.

In order to make this grant a reality, the Library Binding Institute
(LBI) has graciously agreed to sponsor this grant on an annual
basis.  Debra Nolan, President of LBI, responded to the sponsorship
request by noting that, "Jan, who has played such a significant role
in library binding and with LBI, holds a very special place in our
hearts."  In addition to working with LBI, Ms. Merrill-Oldham
co-authored the Guide to the ANSI/NISO/LBI Library Binding Standard
with Paul Parisi.

Also assisting in making this grant possible is Hollinger Metal
Edge, Inc. by agreeing to sponsor the George Cunha and Susan
Swartzberg Award that LBI previously sponsored.

Thank you to LBI and Metal Edge for sponsoring the awards that
recognize our colleagues, to PARS Executive Council, ALCTS and the
ALA Awards Committee for approving the proposal, and to the grant
initiators:  Heather Caldwell, Head of Conservation Services in the
Harvard College Library; Beth Doyle, Head, Conservation Services
Department, Duke University Libraries; and Hilary Seo, Head,
Preservation Department, Iowa State University Library.

An announcement with more information on eligibility, application
and selection will be made available in the next month or two.  This
information will also be on the ALCTS awards web site, in the near
future:

  <URL:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/awards/index.cfm>

Hilary Seo
Heather Caldwell

Beth Doyle, Head of Conservation Services Department
Duke University Libraries


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:5
                   Distributed: Tuesday, July 5, 2011
                        Message Id: cdl-25-5-009
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