The University of Chicago Library is built to support the present and future needs of its faculty, students, and staff. There are six libraries throughout the campus, and the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) and the conservation lab are located in the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library. The Preservation Department is under the Library’s Collections & Access Division and consists of three units—Binding & Shelf Preparation, Conservation, and Digitization. The Preservation Department’s mission is to ensure the long-term use of the collected resources in all formats. The Conservation Unit covers the physical treatments of the Library collections, from basic stabilization to complex treatment for books and paper materials in both general and special collections. There are three staff members in Conservation: Ann Lindsey (head of Conservation and my supervisor), Melina Avery (conservator), and Jenny Kim (conservation specialist).

In the midst of the pandemic, I started my third-year internship in September 2020 at the Library’s Conservation Unit. Following the University’s response to COVID-19, I worked from home until mid-November and then started working onsite twice a week. Earlier on, I made book models at home and performed book and paper treatments on-site, along with virtual meetings with individuals in the Library Departments. Then, my work expanded to discussions about treatment decision-making, more book treatments, housing projects, and an analytical research project.

This internship was generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the University of Chicago.