More than halfway

The summer is flying by and the expansion of my knowledge of conservation has grown so much. Every little bit more that I learn the more I am excited about pursuing this career. So what have I been up to?

Hand skills for the most part. I told Kristen I wanted knowledge on beginning book repair and I have been fortunate enough to work on the circulating collection at UCLA. So far, I am seven books down with each book having different repairs being needed. Reback, recase, heat set tissue repair, hollow tube spine lining, broken sewing repair, end sheet replacement, and even a complete rebinding! Cooking paste with a Cook & Stir has got to be my new favorite method of preparing paste.

I am learning photo documentation and typing out the beginnings of my condition reports. One of the greatest exercises I have done is Kristen having me type up my initial assessment of a book before treatment and then I read it aloud to her. It was painful and awkward, but most eye opening to how I write down what I see.



I am doing my first condition survey of the Charles Young Research Library’s (YRL) journal collection with Emilia Mahaffey (preservation administration intern). Spending time in the stacks is a fantastic way to get you hands on materials and see what a collection is comprised of. We are comparing the condition of the in-house copies at the YRL to copies deposited in the SRLF. It is great experience working with spreadsheets and compiling lots of information in a cohesive format. Here is an account of Emilia’s experience thus far.

I have gotten to assist Kristen in boxing and rehousing some of the special collections of the Performing Arts Library on campus, which has come of the most beautiful French bindings I’ve seen.



This week I am working with the Huntington Library conservators, giving their intern an opportunity to work at the UCLA lab. I learned a much more efficient way to make a clamshell box, which turned out fabulous! I was so excited that I didn’t drop a glob of PVA and ruin the pretty fabric. By learning to use the ultrasonic welder I have been able to transfer the architectural drawings and blue prints of the Huntington’s expansion project in 1929. I am a huge fan of architecture so they are quite a treat to look at. Below is a shot of some Los Angeles area maps I am helping to prepare for digitalization. I hope to finish the week up by exploring the gardens. It is a must see for those who are visiting Southern California, especially when the lotus flowers are in bloom.





What’s most important is that I’ve gotten to talk with so many conservators about their experiences and what they see for the future of book conservation. The future is very shaky, but I remain optimistic about learning such a wonderful craft. I can’t imagine doing anything else.