Emerging Conservation Professional
Special Collections
Morris Library, University of Delaware
Newark, DE
From Winter 2016 to present, I have worked as a student assistant in the University of Delaware's Special Collections Department. This job has provided me with invaluable experience in handling rare books and paper, but also in library practices. Over the course of my time here, I have not only formed many lasting friendships with librarians and other student assistants, but I have learned what it means to work in a museum and library setting. Each object, no matter how big or small, or old or new, tells a story. In addition to handling and processing rare books and manuscript materials, I was also able to gain knowledge of the exhibition planning and installation processes, and to work closely with and train new student employees.
My duties included:
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Processing new acquisitions
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Paging manuscript materials for researchers
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Preparing protective housing for fragile books
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Maintaining the stacks
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Preparing items for exhibition
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Monitoring the temperature and relative humidity in Special Collections spaces
Some of the skills I learned here include:
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Rare book and manuscript handling
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Matting and framing
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Exhibition Preparation
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Digitization of books and manuscript materials
