Internships and Student Opportunities

Suzy Morgan of Chicago, IL, was Syracuse University Library's inaugural Gaylord Brothers Preservation Intern. The grant-funded Gaylord Brothers internship is intended to give current graduate students and recent graduates of preservation/conservation programs the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge of care and treatment of library and archives materials in an academic library. Interns also visit Gaylord Brothers to learn about the archival supply market and see how products are manufactured.

During her 12-weeks here Suzy worked to further develop her bench skills in book and paper conservation techniques, explored book structures, and contributed to the profession. She also had the opportunity to attend the 2011 American Institute of Conservation meeting in Philadelphia where she helped staff Gaylord's booth.

Special projects here at Syracuse included making bookbinding and conservation literature more accessible by developing a Google Docs-based multi-lingual dictionary something that she continues to develop with colleagues here and across the globe, "the goal of this project is to combine, in one place, all the known bookbinding and book conservation terminology, in as many languages as possible."

She also challenged herself by tackling the conservation treatment of a book following the concepts described by the Tomorrow's Past movement which seeks to meld conservation treatment and rebinding in a more interpretive way. Suzy received her MSIS from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009, where she trained in book and paper conservation at the Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record, the leading program for library preservation and conservation in the United States. She completed her year-long program internship in the conservation lab of Northwestern University Library in Evanston, IL. Back in Chicago, Suzy continues to work as a conservator in private practice in Chicago.

She is online at Digital Cellulose and described her experiences here on her blog. Here are some links to her internship specific posts.

• Internship report: Month 1, Part 1
• Internship Report: Month 1, Part 2, now with more coffee!

Samantha Quell began interning in the Conservation Lab during the spring of 2008 and will begin pursuing her MLIS at the SUNY Buffalo in January of 2011. She is also interning at the Western New York Book Arts Collaborative. As an Undergraduate student interested in conservation, it was not easy to find internship opportunities.  The Syracuse University Library's Conservation Lab provided her with a chance to get pre-program hands-on experience. Coming with some experience in artist's book structures, she had very little knowledge about traditional books on a structural level. Conservation Librarian David Stokoe was very helpful giving demonstrations and was easily approachable when questions arose.

In her own words:

"This internship has a wonderful learning experience that has improved the craftsmanship of my work and given me the confidence to peruse a career in conservation."

Samantha is chronicling her experiences on her blog at samquell.blogspot.com. In it she shows the wide range of treatments she has learned to complete as well as other projects. During her internship her she has made a significant positive impact in the overall output of the Conservation Lab. We look forward to following her career as it develops. She moved to Buffalo during the summer of 2010.

Marieka Kaye, a student in the Art Conservation Department of Buffalo State University , completed a one-week internship in book conservation techniques in the Conservation Lab with Donia Conn during January of 2002.

The conservation program in Buffalo, NY focuses on the conservation of works of art, therefore it does not have any formal classroom work in book conservation. Those students wanting to pursue a career in books need to find outside training experiences.

During her week in the Conservation Lab Kay completed 3 major projects. She reattached boards and did tissue mends on several Safire leather bindings, she learned the molded paper spine rebinding technique developed by Conn, and she rebound one of the collection's incunabula in a limp paper binding. She also spent her last day learning historic endbands techniques from Peter Verheyen.

In her own words:

"As a Masters student in the art conservation program at Buffalo State College, I am able to work on a variety of artifacts including paintings, objects, and paper. Gaining knowledge on the technology and treatment of a wide variety of materials is a valuable experience, but instruction in book conservation is not included. I worked in book conservation for several years prior to graduate school, and my passion for books remained. In order to keep up my skills and learn new techniques, I looked for a conservation lab in the upstate New York area, and naturally came upon Syracuse University.

My week working in the special collections lab was a truly valuable experience. Because I have not been able to work with books in my graduate program, I was anxious to work and learn again. I was given the opportunity to learn several new treatments, including the molded paper spine binding, board reattachment using joint tacketing, and Japanese tissue repairs for leather bindings. Donia provided series of books to work on with each problem, so that I could practice the techniques through repetition. It was so nice to work with books again, and I left feeling inspired and excited about pursuing further experiences in the book conservation field in the future."

Evan Ballinger of Los Angeles, a student in the American Academy of Bookbinding's (AAB) degree program completed a one- week internship (June 28 - July 2) in German binding techniques by working in the conservation lab with Peter Verheyen. Based in Telluride, CO, the AAB program focuses on French binding techniques and students are encouraged to pursue internship opportunities elsewhere to learn the nuances of other binding techniques and traditions. These kinds of opportunities are rare and often sought.

During his week in the Conservation Lab Ballinger completed 3 bindings - full vellum, full leather, and millimeter binding. Ballinger was well prepared for the experience, and discussions were frequent.

In exchange for this experience, Ballinger was trained in the making of preservation enclosures, and was able to clear out our rehousing backlog. A graphic designer and photographer, Ballinger received a tour of Bourke-White, Sipprell, and Eisenmann by Carolyn Davis at the end of his last day. We may well see him again as a visitor to our Reading Room.

Gregory Santos completed a semester-long, for-credit, independent study during the Spring of 2002. Santos, a senior working towards his BFA in the VPA School of Art and Design, had been exposed to bookbinding and conservation as a work-study student in the Conservation Lab, and developed a deep interest and passion for the medium. During this independent study, Santos learned about the history of the book as structure by making models with Donia Conn, the Rare Book and Paper Conservator, and about modern structures used for fine and edition binding from Peter Verheyen, the Preservation and Digital Access Librarian. Selections of the works produced were shown in Santos' BFA exhibition.

Her first day began with an overview of binding structure, associated problems, and treatment options. She then went into the stacks ad began surveying the collection volume by volume, entering the results into a Palm-computer database for later analysis. Discussion of item condition and treatment options was ongoing. After completion of the survey, the results were analyzed, sorted by treatment type, and compared with a list of titles receiving continual use in presentations by Library staff. A representative range of treatments was pulled from the shelves for treatment. These included simple repairs, "tissue" rebacks for books with broken joints and other "minor" problems, and full treatments involving washing & deacidification, extensive mending, and rebinding.

Christina also spent a morning with Marty Hanson, SUL Preservation Administrator. Discussion centered on the origins of the New York State preservation program and the development of the current program here at the Syracuse University Library. Marty also described in detail the organization and assorted function of the Preservation Department.

This internship provided a unique opportunity for Christina, allowing her to gain insight into the issues relating to the conservation of special collections materials, how treatment decisions are made, and what is involved with high-level treatments. We were pleased to have been able to offer her this opportunity.