91´«Ã½

CHICAGO—The 2017 Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant has been awarded to John Dewees, library associate at The Ohio State University Libraries, in Columbus, Ohio.

The Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant is provided annually by the of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) to support travel to the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) Annual Conference and Exhibition. The 2017 award will be presented on June 24 at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony during the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in Chicago.

The $1,250 grant, sponsored by the , provides librarians and paraprofessionals new to the preservation field with the opportunity to attend a professional conference and encourages professional development through active participation at the national level. The grant supports airfare, lodging and registration fees to attend the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference. The recipient will attend the Preservation Administrators Interest Group meeting and at least one other PARS interest group meeting. The recipient will record his conference experience for “ALCTS News.”

Dewees attained his Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree from Kent State University in 2014. In addition to his position at The Ohio State University he serves as public services associate for the Upper Arlington Public Library in Upper Arlington, Ohio. Although neither position focuses directly on preservation, this is where Dewees’ passion lies. Since completing his MLIS he has been devoted to developing his skills in preservation. He successfully sought out volunteer and internship opportunities, worked in OSU’s conservation lab, received a continuing education grant from the Ohio Preservation Council to enroll in online training opportunities, and participated in similar activities to enhance his professional and educational growth. Dewees is currently taking part in a pilot project where a portion of his work day is dedicated to duties in OSU Libraries’ Preservation and Reformatting division. This arrangement allows him to continue to gain hands-on experience in this new area, while also assisting the library in completing several ongoing reformatting projects.

In seeking this award John acknowledges that attending a major professional conference such as 91´«Ã½ is central to his development as a librarian and will “allow [him] to begin interacting with a wider range of librarians… start to understand the governance and committee structures that exist within our professional organizations and how to get involved.” This level of commitment and interest in personal and professional growth directly aligns with the purpose of the Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant.

The is the national association for information providers who work in collections and technical services, such as acquisitions, cataloging, collection development, preservation and continuing resources in digital and print formats. ALCTS is a division of the 91´«Ã½.