Preservation Committee Meeting: January 9, 2026

Preservation Committee Meeting: January 9, 2026

Conference Call / Zoom

Members attending: 

  • Liz Bloodworth, Illinois Wesleyan University
  • Patti Gibbons, University of Chicago, co-chair
  • Stephanie Gowler, Northwestern University
  • Sata Prescott, Northern Illinois University
  • Amy Sherwood, University of Illinois Chicago
  • Jason Smith, Lewis University
  • Bradley Wiles, Northern Illinois University, co-chair

CARLI Staff attending: 

  • Elizabeth Clarage
  • Laurie Blandino
  • Nicole Swanson

Tasks Assigned

  • Minutes taken by Patti Gibbons.

Decisions

  • The December 2025 minutes were approved.

Announcements

  • Member Announcements:
    • Jason Smith (Lewis University): Jason and colleagues sent in conference session proposals to present at SAA and other places.
    • Brad Wiles (Northern Illinois University): Teaching adjunct at Loyola University’s History Department in the spring.
    • Jason Smith (Lewis University): Teaching Public History: Exploring Archives at Lewis University. 
  • CARLI Announcements:

Discussion

  • Group welcomed new CARLI Director Laurie Blandino and introduced themselves to her.
  • Group discussed the two vacancies on the committee after Bonnie and Alex’s recent departures. A person volunteered in the fall and CARLI will reach out to them to see if they can join the group, starting possibly in February. Coming soon, in June/July, some current members cycle off and we will be open to recruiting additional members. Suggestions welcomed. Patti suggested someone from UIUC and a colleague from UChicago. There was a question about the possibility of having student interns be part of the committee. Committee discussed the idea and about encouraging new librarians to join.
  • Preservation link checking: group went through the list and answered questions and identified a few details that individual members will complete. Elizabeth will finalize edits.
  • Monthly newsletter blog articles: The committee will replace the original January topic with one that Bonnie supplied. Stephanie is writing an article next month on audio materials and Nicole requested that it be turned in by February 18-19th.
  • CARLI Preservation Committee’s 2025 Preservation Report distributed in December and will also go out in the January newsletter. No feedback received yet.
  • Projects and Programs 2025-26: Next “Ask a Preservation Expert” is May 1, 2026, and it was announced with the earlier session. It will get promoted about 2 months ahead of the event through the newsletter and email lists. Next meeting we will discuss who is going to staff the event. 
  • Projects and Programs 2025-26: Severe weather response project. Subcommittee started a shared documents with initial ideas and resources. Stephanie will organize another meeting in advance of the next committee meeting.
  • Projects and Programs 2025-26: Book repair workshop. Since this was Bonnie’s project, in her absence, we’ll move the idea to the potential project list.
  • Projects and Programs 2025-26: Elizabeth suggested we consider hosting a webinar with Polygon and timing it with the rollout of the severe weather resource rollout. Brad suggested late March or early April.
  • Projects and Programs 2025-26: no calls to discuss other ideas from the list of previous suggestions.

Next Meeting Dates and Deadlines

The next Preservation Committee meeting will be Friday, February 13, at 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Future Committee Meeting Dates:
February 13, 2026, minutes taker: Jason Smith
March 13, 2026, minutes taker: Bradley Wiles
April 10, 2026, minutes taker: Amy Sherwood (?)
May 8, 2026, minutes taker: TBD
June 10, 2026, minutes taker: TBD

Deadlines:
Complete link descriptions and edits by February meeting.