Preservation Committee Meeting: October 10, 2025

Conference Call / Zoom

Members attending: 

• Alex Altan, Prairie State College
• Patti Gibbons, University of Chicago, co-chair
• Stephanie Gowler, Northwestern University
• Bonnie Parr, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
• Sata Prescott, Northern Illinois University
• Amy Sherwood, University of Illinois Chicago
• Jason Smith, Lewis University
• Bradley Wiles, Northern Illinois University, co-chair

Member absent: 

• Liz Bloodworth, Illinois Wesleyan University

CARLI Staff attending: 

• Elizabeth Clarage

Tasks Assigned

• Minutes taken by Stephanie Gowler. 
• Patty and Brad will write an introduction to accompany distribution of the final Preservation Survey report. Due to CARLI staff by 10/24. 
• Try to have all links checked by next meeting; any new additions will be discussed by the group for inclusion on the site. 
• Patti will provide Polygon contact information to Elizabeth and Nicole. 
• Bonnie will get more information about book repair workshops led by cataloger Linda Johnson. 

Decisions

The September minutes were approved.

Announcements

• CARLI Announcements:
  • Anne Craig (CARLI Senior Director) is retiring; the search for a new director is underway.

Discussion

• Preservation Survey Final Report: Draft was approved for distribution. The survey report with the survey tool as an appendix will be compiled and saved as a PDF. The report will be made available on the website and will be distributed via the newsletter and email lists. 
• Checking links: Bonnie reported on updates to the Book section. Whenever possible, be sure to include a replacement link for dead links. Include a small blurb about the resource the link is directing towards. Committee will discuss new additions to the resource list at next month's meeting. 
• Monthly Preservation Articles schedule: Brad volunteered to write the May/June 2026 article on Preservation of AI Produced Materials. Deadlines: Newsletter comes out on the last Wednesday of each month; drafts due to Elizabeth and Nicole by the Thursday before (and earlier if requesting feedback from the committee). 
• “Ask a Preservation Expert” sessions coming up in November and May. There is a document in Box with some of the preliminary questions and responses for the November event. Committee members can add any other thoughts, tips, resources, etc. to that document prior to the event. Be sure to register if you plan to attend. 
• Topic for Annual Meeting table talk related to developing AI polices. Bradley and Jason will staff the table. 
• Illinois Digital Newspaper Project webinar on Dec 11. 
• Committee project for the year: Severe Weather and Emergency Response document/resource. Elizabeth will forward the email from the SAA that inspired this idea. Patti, Brad, and Stephanie volunteered to form a small working group and will begin conversations via email and plan to report back to the larger committee at the next meeting. 
• Other possible events or offerings for the year: 
  • Consider a spring webinar (timed to coincide with the beginning of storm/tornado season) for a Polygon webinar. Patti will provide contact information to Elizabth and Nicole.  
  • Hands-on book repair workshop: Bonnie will reach out to Linda Johnson, a cataloger who offers book repair workshops for public libraries. Even if we are not able to contract with her, there may be the possibility of organizing an event taught by committee members. 

Next Meeting Dates and Deadlines

The next Preservation Committee meeting will be November 14, at 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Future Committee Meeting Dates:
November 14, 2025, minutes taker: Bonnie Parr
December 12, 2025, minutes taker: Sata Prescott
January 9, 2026, minutes taker: Amy Sherwood
February 13, 2026, minutes taker: Jason Smith
March 13, 2026, minutes taker: Bradley Wiles
April 10, 2026, minutes taker: Alex Altan
May 8, 2026, minutes taker: TBD
June XX, 2026, minutes taker: TBD

Deadlines: