Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award

The Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award is given annually by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (a division of the American Library Association) recognizing the contribution of a outstanding professional preservation specialist who has been active in the field of preservation and/or conservation for library and/or archival materials.

Winners are selected by merit of their accomplishments as they relate to preservation leadership in such activities as leadership in professional associations at local state, regional or national level; contributions to the development, application or utilization of new or improved methods, techniques and routines; significant contribution to professional literature; or training and mentoring in the field of preservation.

The award is given in memory of Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris, early leaders in library preservation, teachers, and mentors for many in the field of preservation.

Recipients of the Award:

Janet Gertz	2008
Walter Henry	2007
Gary Frost	2006
Paul Conway	2005
Jan Merrill-Oldham	2004
John F. Dean	2003
Ellen McCrady	2002
Sarah Buchanan	2001

Janet Gertz, the director of preservation at Columbia University is the winner of the 2008 Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award from the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association.

The award, consisting of $1,500 and a citation, sponsored by Preservation Technologies, L. P., recognizes the contribution of a professional preservation specialist who has been active in the field of preservation and/or conservation for library and /or archival materials. The Banks/ Harris Preservation Award honors the memories of Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris, early leaders in library preservation, teachers and mentors for many in the field of preservation.

Janet Gertz, an internationally recognized leader in library preservation, has served as director of preservation at Columbia University for two decades, where she has developed a highly respected preservation program that has advanced a research agenda as well as maintained and protected Columbia’s priceless assets.

As a member of ALCTS’ Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS), Gertz has served as PARS chair and chair or co-chair of 10 other committees, discussion groups and task forces and participated as a member in many more. She has served on committees and panels for the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), The Commission on Preservation and Access, the Digital Library Federation (DLF), the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Research Libraries Group (RLG), the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and SOLINET.

A frequent presenter at national and international conferences and workshops, Gertz speaks with authority on a wide variety of preservation topics, from those from the traditional preservation canon, such as disaster preparedness, commercial binding, preservation microfilming and vendor contracts, to those fast developing “hot topics,” such as digital preservation, audio preservation, preservation metadata and large-scale mass digitization.

She has been an outstanding mentor to numerous people within preservation, both formally as a sponsor of the Mellon intern project and informally as a generous resource for new professionals in the field. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University, and she also has served as a guest lecturer at Rutgers’ Preservation Management Institute and at Queen’s College.

Gertz has contributed significantly to preservation research and literature by publishing in Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS), Microform and Imaging Review, Cataloging and Classification Quarterly, College and Research Libraries, Fontes Artis Musica and the Geoscience Information Society’s Proceedings. A chapter, “Vendor Relations,” written by Janet is included in NEDCC’s Handbook for Digital Projects: A Management Tool for Preservation and Access.

An outstanding mentor, advocate, practitioner, author and leader, her contributions to the preservation community have been accomplished with great expertise, verve, generosity and humor.

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) is the national association for information providers who work in collections and technical services, such as acquisitions, cataloging, collection development, preservation and continuing resources in digital and print formats.

Preservation Technologies is pleased to sponsor this award on behalf of ALCTS and the American Library Association.