UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries’ 2025 William D. Minter Lectureship in Conservation on Thursday, April 24, will feature guest lecturer Randy Silverman, an internationally recognized, innovative expert in preservation and disaster recovery and leader in safeguarding global documentary cultural heritage.
Silverman has served as the head of preservation at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library for 32 years. He is known for groundbreaking work in preventive conservation, particularly through novel approaches to disaster planning and recovery. His presentation, titled “Postcards from the Disaster Fields: A Preservation Librarian’s Tale,” will be held as a hybrid presentation at 4 p.m. ET Thursday, April 24, in Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, on Penn State’s University Park campus. Attendees are asked to register online for either virtual or in-person attendance. Non-registered guests will be accommodated as space allows.
“Randy is a leading voice in library preservation, particularly in disaster response and recovery. He has also contributed to numerous discussions, one being the use of white gloves with rare library materials. We are delighted that he will be sharing his insights and experiences with us through ‘Postcards from the Field,’” Bill Minter, senior book conservator, said.
Throughout his career, Silverman has played a pivotal role in managing and mitigating the impact of catastrophic events on cultural institutions. His early experiences on the island of Kauai following Hurricane Iniki in 1993 laid the groundwork for a career devoted to preservation. His collaboration during the 1997 Colorado State University flood was crucial in preserving the 425,000 books that had been damaged. Silverman’s expertise was in high demand in 2005 when he assisted in addressing the challenges faced in Mississippi’s Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, in addition to the aftermath of flooding at the University of Hawai’i Manoa Hamilton Library. In 2017, he confronted a mold outbreak that jeopardized 80,000 rare books in Tbilisi, Georgia, underscoring his deep knowledge in emergency response and preventive conservation.
Silverman’s international influence was solidified in 2006 when UNESCO invited him to lead a workshop titled “Preservation and Access to Documentary Heritage in Asia and the Pacific” in Cheongju, South Korea. It was during this formative experience that he was first introduced to the rich legacy of early Korean printing, a discovery that later inspired his ongoing, multidisciplinary research project, “From Jikji to Gutenberg.” This collaborative initiative brings together more than 30 historians, material specialists and scientists to highlight East Asia’s significant contributions to early book printing, a narrative that predates Johannes Gutenberg’s 42-line Bible by 500 years.
A prolific scholar, Silverman has authored 122 publications and has shared his insights through lectures and workshops in 33 U.S. states and 13 countries. His work has earned him numerous accolades, including the American Library Association’s 2013 Banks-Harris Preservation Award, a 2014 Fulbright Specialist Award and the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters Gardner Prize in 2016. Additionally, his collaborative work with the National Library of Uzbekistan in 2015-16 through his Fulbright Specialist Award exemplifies his commitment to international preservation efforts.
The William D. Minter Lectureship in Conservation was named in honor of Bill (William) Minter, senior book conservator in the University Libraries’ Department of Preservation, Conservation and Digitization and its Conservation Centre, which was established in 2019.
The focus of the lectureship is to raise awareness and advance knowledge of book and special-collections conservation history, theory and practice among members of the Penn State community, central Pennsylvania residents and beyond. The annual lectureship hosts distinguished national and international researchers, scholars, practitioners and prominent library conservators as invited speakers.
For questions or more information, contact Jacque Quinn at jjq13@psu.edu.