[PADG:935] 2006 Banks Harris Preservation Award

["Patricia P. Selinger" <patricia.selinger@xxxxxxx>]

   Banks/Harris Preservation Award to Gary L. Frost

Gary L. Frost, Conservator at the University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa 
City, and Instructor at the University of Iowa School of Library and 
Information Science and at the Iowa Center for the Book has been named 
the recipient of the 2006 Paul Banks & Carolyn Harris Preservation 
Award. The award is sponsored by Preservation Technologies, L.P. and 
includes $1,500 and a citation.

The Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award honors the memories 
of Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris, early leaders in library preservation, 
who were teachers and mentors for many in the field of preservation. The 
award recognizes the contribution of a professional preservation 
specialist who has been active in the field of preservation and/or 
conservation of library and /or archival materials.

Mr. Frost’s professional career began after he completed an M.F.A. at 
the Art Institute of Chicago in 1969. That year he joined the staff of 
the Newberry Library under the supervision of Paul Banks and Norvell 
Jones. By the time he left the Newberry in 1981, he was managing the 
conservation program. Beginning his formal teaching at the School of the 
Art Institute of Chicago in 1972, Mr. Frost has served as a role model 
for a generation of conservators and preservation librarians. He joined 
the faculty of the School of Library Service at Columbia University in 
the Preservation/Conservation training program founded by Paul Banks 
1981. In 1983, while with Columbia University, he helped begin the Book 
and Paper Intensive (PBI) and still serves as an advisor and teacher to 
the organization. The Preservation/Conservation training program moved 
to the University of Texas at Austin Graduate School of Library and 
Information Science and Mr. Frost joined the faculty from 1992 to 1999. 
Since moving to the University of Iowa Libraries, he joined the faculty 
of the School of Library and Information Science where he continues to 
mentor and inspire a new generation of conservators and librarians. His 
students work in many of the top institutions of the country, including 
the Library of Congress, MIT, Harvard, Yale, UCLA, and Brown.

Mr. Frost’s ongoing and detailed research into historical and modern 
book structures has resulted in cut-away models that reflect bookbinding 
from many different eras as well as geographical locations. He developed 
an Ethopian binding kit to provide preservation and book arts 
instructors with an affordable way to allow students to sew a book model 
representing an early binding technique. From his research into modern 
inexpensive paperbacks he developed the “sewn boards binding”, a modern 
adaptation of an ancient design that is now used in conservation labs 
across the country. While at BookLab, he changed the way libraries 
looked at vendor services and developed efficient, cost-effective 
treatments for circulating collections. He also created a functional and 
economical cloth for rebacking nineteenth century publishers’ bindings.

As a writer and thinker, Mr. Frost’s numerous publications range from 
the theoretical to the practical. A few of his classic publications 
include “A Brief History of Western Bookbinding without One Mention of 
Decoration”, “Historical Paper Case Binding and Conservation Rebinding”, 
“Structure and Action in Hand Bookbinding”, and “Digital Preservation in 
the Context of Changing Reading Behaviors and Reading Methods”. He also 
writes on a range of related topics on his Weblog, 
www.futureofthebook.com <http://www.futureofthebook.com/>, which began 
in 2000.

Mr. Frost is a highly respected colleague in the preservation field. His 
ability to inspire individuals to utilize their skills for the benefit 
of libraries is impressive. His creativity and dedication are 
inspirational; his heartfelt sincerity is sublime, and his talent as a 
book conservator, teacher, and artist are extraordinary.

--
Patricia Palmer Selinger
Head, Preservation Department
Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries

patricia.selinger@xxxxxxx
(ph)   804.828.1096
(fax)  804.828.0151