Pamela Darling
Encyclopedia
Pamela W. Darling was an American library preservation specialist
. She was a leader in developing preservation procedures and planning for academic libraries. She developed a grid that is helpful in prioritizing preservation activities.
since the beginning of her career in the 1970s. She wrote many journal articles and several books stressing the need for a national plan for preservation. She urged the library profession to make preservation a priority "in which organization and cooperation are essential: standards-making, professional education, policy development, influencing legislation..." She also declared that preservation is the responsibility and duty of all library staff and anyone having to do with books, from publishers to users.
, Office of Management Studies in 1980, Pamela Darling helped develop and test planning procedures for academic libraries to identify preservation problem areas and what to do about them. In 1982, along with Duane E. Webster, she wrote Preservation Planning Program: An Assisted Self-Study Manual for Libraries, a practical guide for an organized preservation program plan. Dartmouth College
, the University of Washington
, and the University of Virginia
tested the ideas in the manual. Evaluations and suggestions from these schools were used to update future editions of the manual. Darling's work enabled academic libraries to establish or add to preservation programs without having to invent their own plan.
Darling also developed a method to prioritize preservation activities that she included in the manual. She created a grid containing four boxes to help determine which actions should be given the highest priority. Actions that have high impact and are easy to put into practice are put into Box 1; actions that are easy to put into practice but have little impact are put into Box 2; actions that have high impact but are hard to do are put into Box 3; and actions that are hard to do and have little impact are put into Box 4. According to Darling, the highest priority should be given to the actions in Box 1 since they have the highest impact and can be easily done. The actions in Box 3 should be accomplished because of their high impact. The actions in Box 2 and Box 4 could be eliminated since they both would have little impact.
. She graduated from Northwestern University
in 1965, with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and from Columbia University
in 1970-71, with a Master's in Library Science. She started her career at the Library of Congress
in 1971, and became an Executive Assistant in the Process Department in 1972. She was the Head of the Preservation Program Office at the New York Public Library
from 1973 to 1974. From 1974 to 1980, Darling was the Head of the Preservation Department for the Columbia University Libraries. She became the Preservation Specialist for the Association of Research Libraries
, Office of Management Studies in 1981.
Preservation Administrator
Preservation administrators are librarians who are trained in the management of preservation in libraries and archives. The term is often used as a parallel term to conservator, an allied profession that is focused primarily on the corrective repair of artefacts...
. She was a leader in developing preservation procedures and planning for academic libraries. She developed a grid that is helpful in prioritizing preservation activities.
Overview
Pamela Darling stressed the importance of preservationPreservation (library and archival science)
Preservation is a branch of library and information science concerned with maintaining or restoring access to artifacts, documents and records through the study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of decay and damage....
since the beginning of her career in the 1970s. She wrote many journal articles and several books stressing the need for a national plan for preservation. She urged the library profession to make preservation a priority "in which organization and cooperation are essential: standards-making, professional education, policy development, influencing legislation..." She also declared that preservation is the responsibility and duty of all library staff and anyone having to do with books, from publishers to users.
Significance to preservation
As the preservation specialist for the Association of Research LibrariesAssociation of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries is an organization of the leading research libraries in North America. As of October 2006, it comprises 123 libraries at comprehensive, research-intensive institutions in the US and Canada that share similar missions, aspirations, and achievements...
, Office of Management Studies in 1980, Pamela Darling helped develop and test planning procedures for academic libraries to identify preservation problem areas and what to do about them. In 1982, along with Duane E. Webster, she wrote Preservation Planning Program: An Assisted Self-Study Manual for Libraries, a practical guide for an organized preservation program plan. Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, and the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
tested the ideas in the manual. Evaluations and suggestions from these schools were used to update future editions of the manual. Darling's work enabled academic libraries to establish or add to preservation programs without having to invent their own plan.
Darling also developed a method to prioritize preservation activities that she included in the manual. She created a grid containing four boxes to help determine which actions should be given the highest priority. Actions that have high impact and are easy to put into practice are put into Box 1; actions that are easy to put into practice but have little impact are put into Box 2; actions that have high impact but are hard to do are put into Box 3; and actions that are hard to do and have little impact are put into Box 4. According to Darling, the highest priority should be given to the actions in Box 1 since they have the highest impact and can be easily done. The actions in Box 3 should be accomplished because of their high impact. The actions in Box 2 and Box 4 could be eliminated since they both would have little impact.
Education and career
Pamela W. Darling was born August 31, 1943, in Lake Forest, IllinoisLake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...
. She graduated from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in 1965, with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1970-71, with a Master's in Library Science. She started her career at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in 1971, and became an Executive Assistant in the Process Department in 1972. She was the Head of the Preservation Program Office at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
from 1973 to 1974. From 1974 to 1980, Darling was the Head of the Preservation Department for the Columbia University Libraries. She became the Preservation Specialist for the Association of Research Libraries
Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries is an organization of the leading research libraries in North America. As of October 2006, it comprises 123 libraries at comprehensive, research-intensive institutions in the US and Canada that share similar missions, aspirations, and achievements...
, Office of Management Studies in 1981.
Selected bibliography
- Darling, Pamela W. "Call To Action." Library Journal. 101.20 (15 November 1976): 2342.
- Darling, Pamela W. From Problems Perceived to Programs in Practice: The Preservation of Library Resources in the U.S.A., 1956-1980. American Library Association, 1981.
- Darling, Pamela W. "Preservation Epilogue: Signs of Hope." Library Journal.104.15(1 September 1979): 1627.
- Darling, Pamela W. "Preservation: a National Plan at Last?" Library Journal. 102.4(15 Feb. 1977): 447-449.
- Darling, Pamela W., and Duane E. Webster. Preservation Planning Program: An Assisted Self-Study Manual for Libraries. Association of Research Libraries, 1993.
- Darling, Pamela W. "Preservation: Today on a Shoestring, Tomorrow...?" Library Journal. 105.7(1 April 1980): 781-785.
- Ogden, Sherelyn. "Considerations for Prioritizing." Preservation Leaflets. 2007.