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Bookplate Index by Library or Collector
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Myra Jo Moon Memorial Preservation Reference Collection, Jefferson County Public Library Myra Jo Moon
(1931–1993) is remembered as a pioneer in the field of library
preservation in Colorado. As preservation librarian at Colorado State
University from 1982 until her death on 15 March 1993 she was the
spearhead of Colorado’s preservation efforts. A tireless workshop
presenter and consultant on numerous preservation problems across the
state, she was considered the preservation resource of Colorado. She was a
founding member of the Colorado Center for the Book, the Colorado
Preservation Alliance, and the Preservation Roundtable for the Colorado
Library Association. At the national level she was a member of the
American Library Association’s Preservation of Library Materials
Section, and served on the Library Binding Institute Planning Committee. The formation of
the Colorado Preservation Alliance (CPA) was particularly important to
Myra Jo. The CPA is a nonprofit consortium of libraries, archives,
museums, historical and genealogical societies, government agencies, and
other interested organizations and individuals committed to preserving
cultural and historical resources in the state of Colorado to insure their
availability for present and future generations. In May 1989, over a
hundred librarians, archivists, and interested individuals attended a
meeting to express concern and to focus on the future of Colorado
preservation. The Colorado Preservation Alliance was created as a result
of that meeting. The purpose of the alliance is to coordinate preservation
efforts on a statewide level and to develop a comprehensive statewide plan
for the preservation of books, manuscripts, archival records, photographs,
works of art on paper, audio-visual materials, and other media. Since its inception
the CPA has published a quarterly newsletter, the Colorado Preservation
Alert, helped found a Preservation Roundtable in the Colorado Library
Association, forged alliances with related organizations in the state,
such as the Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists, the Colorado-Wyoming
Association of Museums, and the Colorado Genealogical Society, and held
annual workshops on various preservation topics. In 1995 the CPA received
a grant to create three preservation study kits, which are now available
for rental to any institution in the state. The alliance has also begun
work on developing a preservation component, an electronic “bulletin
board” for the Access Colorado Library Information Network (ACLIN). Part of the
original CPA mandate was to produce a plan to coordinate and focus the
many individual efforts in the state. In 1992 the CPA applied for and
received a Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) grant from the
Colorado State Library to hire a consultant and produce a statewide plan
for preservation. The members of the alliance board worked long hours, but
none contributed more than Myra Jo Moon, who was serving as project
director. She died after completing the plan but before she could see the
finished product. The plan is dedicated to her memory. It was published in
May 1993. At that time the CPA Annual Award for Preservation, honoring
significant contributions to preservation in Colorado, was awarded
posthumously to Moon. Myra Jo Moon had
made a tremendous personal investment in preservation and had amassed a
large collection of reference material. This collection was donated to the
Colorado Preservation Alliance in May 1993 by Rosemary Whitaker. The Myra
Jo Moon Memorial Preservation Reference Collection contains over 150 books
and videos that Myra Jo Moon had acquired during her years of leadership
in preservation. In addition, there are SPEC Kits, periodicals, pamphlets,
etc., that comprised Moon’s personal preservation reference collection.
The collection includes extensive information on the subjects of disaster
planning, state-wide planning, book repair, care and handling of specific
media, etc. It includes both current and historical information. It is the
most comprehensive collections preservation reference resource in the
state. The collection
exists to serve the needs of the community as a source of information on
the myriad aspects of preservation. This circulating collection is housed
at Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) in its professional collection.
It may be accessed in the JCPL catalog under the subject heading “Myra
Jo Moon Memorial Preservation Reference Collection.” The entire
collection can be accessed through the ACLIN system by picking
“Jefferson County Public Library” and doing a subject search using
“Myra Jo.” All of the titles in the collection are available through
interlibrary loan through the Jefferson County Public Library. In the
spring of 1994, the Colorado Preservation Alliance published an annotated
bibliography to this collection. The bibliography is divided into sections
on bookbinding, both traditional hand bookbinding and commercial binding;
disaster planning and recovery; paper chemistry and deacidification; book
repair; environment and storage; preservation ad-ministration; care and
handling techniques for various media; and security. The bibliography was
compiled and edited by Sharon Partridge, documents librarian, and Karen
Jones, collections conservator at JCPL. Both are members of the CPA board.
Along with the bibliography, the CPA commissioned a bookplate design for
the collection. Jane Dahlrymple-Hollo, an artist and book conservator
living in Boulder, accepted the commission. As someone who knew and
admired Myra Jo Moon’s commitment to preservation, she was happy to be
involved in this tribute. After visiting Moon’s home and talking to her
friend, Rosemary Whitaker, Jane designed several plates. The final design,
measuring 3 3 /4_ wide by 5 3
/4_ high, synthesizes two of the most important aspects of Myra Jo
Moon’s life, as remembered by her friends and family. The cornet
represents her love for classical music. She played the cornet through
high school at Drumright, Oklahoma, and in the marching and concert bands
at the University of Oklahoma, where she received a bachelor of science
degree in 1954 and a master’s of library science in 1965. All the arts
nourished her life, but she remained an aficionado of classical brass
ensembles and band music. The instrument also works to announce a
“fanfare” to preservation (symbolized by the books), which reflects
that lifelong commitment. The collection was dedicated at the CPA annual
meeting in the spring of 1994. We cannot express
enough appreciation to Rosemary Whitaker for the generous donation of this
collection and her encouragement to make it the core of a continuing
memorial to Myra Jo Moon’s dedication to preservation in Colorado.
Donations to the Myra Jo Moon Memorial Preservation Reference Collection
endowment can be sent to the CPA, c/o Colorado State Archives, 1313
Sherman, Denver, CO 80203. Karen
Jones Jefferson
County Public Library Lakewood, Colorado
[Originally published in Libraries & Culture, vol. 32, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 372-374.]
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| Last updated June 8, 2001 |
