ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

An award winner brings preservation out off the lab

By Connie Vinita Dowell

The John Cotton Dana award spotlights a preservation program

Indiana University Libraries won a 1993 John Cotton Dana Special Award for their exceptional public relations program tackling one of the most difficult issues confronting librar- ies. Their “Preservation Awareness Week” fea- tured sophisticated graphics and creative pro- grams to educate a wide audience about preservation issues and to improve the care and handling of its collections.

The John Cotton Dana Awards have been given annually since 1946 by the H. W. Wilson Publishing Company and ALA’s Library Administration and Management Association’s Public Relations Section. The contest honors the career of John Cotton Dana, an eminent librarian who was a pioneer in using public relations techniques to promote library use and support.

The slice of pizza smeared across an open book is every academic librarian’s nightmare. Indiana University Libraries’ Preservation Program’s goal is to encourage care in the use of their collection. This poster design also appears in table tent form.

Sixteen awards were presented at the 1993 ALA conference in New Orleans. This year’s entries came from 108 public, academic, school, military and special libraries, as well as library consortia, library associations, and other agen- cies that promote library services such as Friends groups. Of these, only 13 were aca- demic libraries and Indiana emerged as the only John Cotton Dana academic winner this year.

The graphics

Many of the problems of preservation are ex- tremely difficult to communicate to users. IU’s series of supporting materials (bookmarks, book bags, copy card holders, posters and table tents) accomplishes this task with clever sophistication. The letter “P” from the pres- ervation program appears throughout, illustrating every imaginable travesty to library materials. Some “Ps” are dog- eared, asking library users to please use the bookmark on which they appear instead of folding down the corners of pages. Others sport paper clips and glass rings.

A table tent, more com- monly associated with diners than libraries, was one of the most popular publicity inven- tions. These stood on library tables and carrels to remind patrons that “Food and books don’t mix.” A slice of pizza smeared over an open book dramatized the point.

Connie Vinita Dowell is college librarian at Connecticut College and a John Cotton Dana judge

Collaboration between the Library Preservation Committee and an IU School of Fine Arts graphic arts class created the logo, graphic designs and text for these materials. While professional designers could have been used, the commit-tee made an extra effort to work with a graduate student class. This project provided students with an opportunity to apply their skills in a real-world situation and to gain valuable knowledge about preservation.

Samples ot the graphics and a price list may be obtained by contacting Lorraine Olley, Head, Preservation Department, Main Library E050, Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington, IN 47405, or olley@ ucs.indiana.edu.

The activities—films and Dr. Book

Indiana’s ambitious program spanned National Library Week with an impressive number of activities. “Dr. Book” and book preservation demonstrations were located in the main library lobby, a high traffic area which 5,000 people enter each day. Jo Burgess (“Dr. Book”), head of Collection Conservation at Indiana, attracted the concerned and the curious with her sewing frame demonstration and her expert advice on the proper treatment of library and private collections.

Lorraine Olley, head of the Preservation Department, enjoyed “hanging out at the Dr. Book exhibit and watching people become excited about preservation. They went away with a better understanding of the fragility of library materials and got a better idea of why paper is brittle,” she says. “I think it was very successful, and we'll do some of these activities again. We have gotten a lot more questions from all over campus about preservation. I still see a lot of our posters, book bags, and bookmarks around.”

One of the week’s most successful offerings was a series of films on papermaking and bookbinding, care and treatment of materials, and basic preservation awareness. Twelve films were shown at five different times over four days. A list of nine titles follows this article.

Other activities during “Preservation Awareness Week” included a talk on new trends and challenges in library and archives conservation by Dr. George Cunha, founder and director emeritus of the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Massachusetts, and tours of IU’s preservation work center.

These are two of nine designs that appear on both posters and bookmarks and are part of the Preservation Program PR at the University of Indiana Libraries. The back of the one on the left reads: “More than a quarter of the books in the world’s libraries will deteriorate before the year 2000. Help preserve our books.” The back of the other reads: “Dropping books may cause serious damage, especially if the paper and bindings are already brittle. Here’s what you can do to help …”

The target audience for these activities was extremely broad: “All those who use and support the Indiana University Libraries’ collections: librarians, support staff and student assistants on all Indiana University campuses, teaching faculty and students systemwide (particularly those enrolled in the School of Library and Information Science), Monroe County residents and library donors.”

The Preservation Committee, which included four staff and four librarians from a variety of departments and branches was chaired by Dee Mortensen, reference and collections assistant for African studies. “Hard work, good timing and bringing preservation out of the laboratory,” made the project successful according to Mortensen.

Ed. note:The 1994 John Cotton Dana Contest deadline is February 8. Copies of the entry forms are available by writing The John Cotton Dana Library PR Awards Contest, The H. W. Wilson Company, 950 University Avenue, Bronx, NY 10452. ■