The University of Kansas Libraries

The Jerry and Katherine Stannard Conservation Laboratory

In 1994, as an outcome of a strategic planning process, the Libraries organized a Preservation Department and recruited Brian Baird as the first Preservation Librarian. Almost immediately, work began to plan, build, staff, and equip a state-of-the-art conservation laboratory. These efforts came to fruition in 1997 with three major events: Meg Brown was appointed as the Libraries’ first full-time Conservator; a renovation project was completed on the ground floor of Watson Library to create contiguous working space for the Preservation Department; and $104,000 was raised from private donors to equip the facility.

On March 19, 1998 the University of Kansas Libraries dedicated the Jerry and Katherine Stannard Conservation Laboratory and paid tribute to Jerry and Katherine Stannard, the Southwestern Bell Foundation, the Ethel and Raymond F. Rice Foundation, the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation, the Lawrence Wal-Mart Green Team, and Kathryn Davis for their generous gifts that made it possible to equip the Stannard Laboratory. At the dedication, Erica Stannard-Schenk, Jerry and Katherine's daughter, unveiled a beautiful quilt that is now on permanent display in the entrance of the laboratory.

Images of the Lab

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