Marie A. Quinlan Preservation Endowment at Northwestern

Marie A. Quinlan Preservation Endowment at Northwestern

Northwestern University has received an $8.6 million gift from the
estate of alumna Marie A. Quinlan.  The gift will benefit the
preservation department of the Northwestern University Library and
will help protect fragile and distinctive research assets in many
formats, including books, archival materials, textiles, art, audio,
film and digital collections.  The library's preservation program is
nationally known for its conservation work, research and training
initiatives.

The gift also established an endowed position within the library.
Scott W. Devine, the head of the library's preservation department,
was awarded the "Marie A. Quinlan Director of Preservation and
Conservation" title at an investiture ceremony on March 13, 2014 in
Northwestern's Deering Library.

Both Quinlan and her husband, George, graduated from Northwestern in
1933.  He passed away in 1990 and she in 2010.  She was a
mathematics teacher in the Chicago Public Schools for 25 years.

Quinlan was an active member of the Northwestern University Library
Board of Governors for two decades and was made a Life Member in
2000.  She and her husband donated annually to Northwestern for
decades, including a period of 31 consecutive years.

   "Marie's philanthropy was intrinsically tied to her love of
    learning and her genuine commitment to education," said Stephen
    M. Strachan, chair of the Library Board of Governors.  "Her
    generosity will continue to allow the preservation department to
    explore new technologies, preserve more of the library's
    precious resources and help create an enduring legacy for future
    generations of Northwestern scholars."

The gift from Quinlan's estate is funding many exciting new projects
within the preservation department, including: the addition of a
project conservator for high-priority projects, including the repair
of items from the Siege and Commune of Paris Collection, which will
undergo a major digitization project; a renovation and expansion of
the conservation lab, which is responsible for the repair of books
and archival material as well as a broad range of objects from the
library's diverse collections; the purchase of specialized equipment
to preserve collections through digital reformatting; and the
creation of a core infrastructure needed to keep digitized
collections and born-digital archives healthy and available to
researchers over a long period of time.

Quinlan established the Marie Quinlan Preservation Fund at the
University in 1992 and the Quinlan Preservation Fund in 1994.  In
2003, she set up the George and Marie Quinlan Endowed Fund for
Preservation--which was used to create the annual George and Marie
Quinlan Endowed Lecture for Preservation and Conservation, which
brings nationally recognized conservators and scholars to
Northwestern to share information about their current research.

"We are extremely grateful for Marie's dedication to the
Northwestern University Library over many years," said Sarah M.
Pritchard, Dean of Libraries and Charles Deering McCormick
University Librarian.  "Her passion for education was a driving
force in her work with the library.  She had a sincere commitment to
preserving and protecting the library's collections for the benefit
of all Northwestern users.  She helped build the library into the
extraordinary resource it is today."

Scott W. Devine
Marie A. Quinlan Director of Preservation and Conservation
Northwestern University Library
1970 Campus Drive
Evanston, Illinois 60208
847-491-4672


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:35
                  Distributed: Tuesday, March 18, 2014
                       Message Id: cdl-27-35-003
                                  ***