Preservation Committee Meeting: December 12, 2025

Conference Call / Zoom

Members attending: 

• Stephanie Gowler, Northwestern University
• Bonnie Parr, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
• Amy Sherwood, University of Illinois Chicago
• Jason Smith, Lewis University
• Bradley Wiles, Northern Illinois University, co-chair

Members absent: 

• Liz Bloodworth, Illinois Wesleyan University
• Patti Gibbons, University of Chicago, co-chair
• Sata Prescott, Northern Illinois University

CARLI Staff attending: 

• Elizabeth Clarage
• Nicole Swanson

Tasks Assigned

• Minutes taken by Jason Smith.
• Amy Sherwood will take meeting minutes for the next meeting on January 9, 2026.
• General call to members to reach out to potential colleagues to join the committee.
• Bonnie is submitting her article for January.
• Elizabeth is updating the Preservation Resources page to include the new resources and changes provided by the Committee members.

Decisions

• The November minutes were approved.
• Bonnie’s blog entry is moved to January and other articles will continue as scheduled.
• Sata Prescott and Jason Smith swapped dates for minute taking; Sata will now take minutes at the February meeting.
• Preservation Survey Report passed as amended and is ready to share.

Announcements

• Member Announcements:
  • Bonnie Parr (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum): Bonnie is retiring! Congratulations Bonnie!
  • Bradley Wiles (Northern Illinois University): Alex Altan has resigned from the Preservation Committee.
• CARLI Announcements:
  • The Archives Committee’s Introduction to Appraising Born-Digital Records webinar was held on December 12th. CARLI staff will shared that it was interesting and helpful and will share the recording after transcription is completed.
  • A webinar, Archives in Action: Empowering Student Workers and Community Volunteers, will be held February 4th, 2026 at 1 p.m.
  • The Archives Committee is hosting an Open House at Illinois State University on April 16th, 2026.

Discussion

• Bradley asked about CARLI plans for the 250th Celebration; committee members discussed how their institutions are participating.
• The Committee discussed possible additions to the committee in light of Bonnie’s retirement and Alex’s resignation.
  • Although committees do not typically have two members from the same institution, the appointment would only have a year overlap, so committee members may ask others at their institutions.
  • Interested people can fill out the volunteer form.
• No changes made to the Preservation Resources webliography yet; this will be completed before next meeting.
• Preservation Survey Report Updates
  • Nicole provided an update that she added the survey instrument in an accessible format to the end of the report.
  • Encountered some difficulty exporting the instrument into .docx so visual appearance of the instrument is not an exact match with the original but content, questions, and answer choices remain the same.
  • Matrices would not convert properly (too small for accessibility) but alt text was added to the formatted matrices and questions and answers were written out in text/list format.
  • Blurb will be added for when report is shared out to membership.
  • Will be added to the Preservation Resources page.
• The Committee discussed their thoughts on the Illinois Digital Newspaper Project webinar held on December 11th; the Committee members shared that the presentation was helpful and appreciate the Illinois Digital Newspaper Project’s resources and work. 
  • 57 people attended.
  • Recording will be sent out when available.
• Next Ask a Preservation Expert session will be held on May 1, 2026.
• Emergency Response and Disaster Preparedness Subgroup (Stephanie, Bradley, Jason, Liz, and Patti) met on December 11th and began discussing ideas for emergency responses resources. Stephanie Gowler provided an update to the Committee.
  • Subgroup discussed seasonal email newsletters to consider different weather events and patterns.
  • Subgroup discussed having resources available on the Preservation Committee’s webpage.
  • Subgroup discussed developing lists of local resources across the state.
  • Subgroup discussed ideas for rare weather events or disasters.
    • Elizabeth Clarage mentioned there is a fault in the Southern part of the state.
  • Subgroup will meet again early next year and develop a draft.
• Bonnie has not heard back from IHLS regarding plans for Spring book repair workshops.
• Other potential resources and events:
  • Illinois Library Association (ILA) conference in Peoria next year, October 6-8.
  • Illinois College (Jacksonville) hosting first conference on Underground Railroad first weekend in February; unsure how much academic library interest currently but worth considering.
• Meeting adjourned at 2:04 p.m.

Next Meeting Dates and Deadlines

The next Preservation Committee meeting will be January 9, 2026, at 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Future Committee Meeting Dates:
January 9, 2026, minutes taker: Amy Sherwood
February 13, 2026, minutes taker: Sata Prescott
March 13, 2026, minutes taker: Bradley Wiles
April 10, 2026, minutes taker: TBD
May 8, 2026, minutes taker: TBD
June XX, 2026, minutes taker: TBD

Deadlines:
January article – submit early in the week of January 19, 2026