The two persons who have been mainstays of the Prints and Photographs Division with its huge collection of visual materials are retiring from the Library.
They are division Chief Stephen E. Ostrow and Assistant Chief Elisabeth Parker, who told their colleagues goodbye at a retirement party Dec. 11.
Under Mr. Ostrow's 12-year leadership, the Prints and Photographs (P&P) Division grew from a staff of 22 to 62, initiated new projects to preserve and make pictorial materials accessible, acquired important new collections and reduced a backlog of unprocessed materials by nearly 5.5 million items (41.6 percent), to 7.6 million items as of Sept. 30.
Mr. Ostrow said that as a member of the Management and Planning (MAP) committee during the late 1980s, during division chiefs' meetings, and at any other opportune time, "I argued that we needed more resources for the special-format collections, and not just in P&P. The Library was distinguished for its holdings of special materials, not just monographs and serials. They listened."
These special collections had been "politically weak," he said, "because you could never make the argument that by cataloging unique items (such as Civil War photographs), you were serving the needs of the nation's other libraries, as is the case with cataloging monographs."
As the result of his unrelenting advocacy for the processing, preservation and care of the Library's special-format collections, which comprise two-thirds of the Library's holdings, the Library did shift its priorities and provide the resources necessary to care for special materials, not just in P&P but throughout the divisions responsible for special-format collections.
In a July 1989 letter to Mr. Ostrow, Dr. Billington said: "Your persistence and cogency in championing the needs and importance of the special collections has had a major impact on the future of the Library of Congress. By articulating the consequences of failing to process, preserve, and make accessible the special collections, you have established a new focus and priority for the Library."
