Blog Series: Preservation Outreach and Engagement

Project Introduction

The CARLI Preservation Committee is thrilled to kick off the 2024-2025 year with a new series. This year the focus will be on preservation-related outreach and engagement in its many forms. We will engage with you, our CARLI members, to learn more about your preservation needs, and share ways that you can reach out to your users and community to spread awareness of library preservation. 

2025 marks the 10-year anniversary of the committee's 2015 Preservation Survey, a perfect chance to check in with CARLI members to learn more about our institutions' biggest preservation needs and see what has changed in the past decade. A revised survey will be launched to learn more about the preservation work at our member institutions and will use the survey data to inform our work and plan effective programming and projects.

The committee is also planning several opportunities to talk directly with CARLI members. Keep an eye out for registration information about our Ask a Preservation Expert virtual office hours, where committee members will be on hand to answer questions, offer advice, and share resources. The first session will be November 6 at 1:00 p.m., with a second session to be scheduled in the spring. Committee members will also attend the CARLI Annual Meeting this fall, and we look forward to meeting some of you in person. 

In addition to articles about the new Preservation Survey, keep an eye out for tips and tricks to engage your community in preservation. We will share tips for hosting the ever-popular "Caring for Your Family Heirlooms" style workshops, ideas for fun preservation-related crafts, suggestions for promoting care and handling in an academic library setting, and ways to promote your collections through exhibits and displays. 

Do not forget to check out our Preservation Resources page, where you will find tons of links to helpful information and resources, as well as the Preservation Committee's previous projects. 

-- Shelby Strommer, Collections Care Coordinator, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Introducing the 2025 CARLI Preservation Survey