Jan Merrill-Oldham, preservation librarian, dies

Jan Merrill-Oldham, Harvard’s Malloy-Rabinowitz Preservation Librarian from 1995 to 2010 and the driving force in developing the renowned preservation programs in the Harvard Library, died Oct. 5 at her home in Cambridge.

It is to her credit that the Harvard Library benefits from a carefully coordinated relationship between collections conservation and special collections conservation; state-of-the-art conservation labs in Widener Library and the Weissman Preservation Center; a multifaceted special collections program for the conservation of books, paper, photographs, and film; a preservation review program; a comprehensive imaging services program; and a proven Library Collections Emergency Team.

A memorial ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Storey Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge.