Librarian and students from Centre College learn preservation at UK Libraries

Left to right: Peter Shirley, Nicolaus Stengl,
Beth Morgan, and Margaret Roulett

Kazuko Hioki, Conservation Librarian, and Margaret Roulett, a Conservation Lab graduate assistant, gave a one-day conservation and preservation training to three visitors from Centre College on July 28. Beth Morgan, Technical Services Librarian and System Administrator at Centre, joined Peter Shirley, a senior Economics major, and Nicolaus Stengl, a sophomore Philosophy major, in the workshop. Peter and Nicolaus, both Centre students, interned with Beth this summer by conducting a variety of projects in Centre’s Special Collections and Archives. This work included transcribing oral histories, editing finding aids, digitizing material, and evaluating the physical condition of items for conservation treatment.

Beth oversees the archival collection at Centre’s Grace Doherty Library. Since the Doherty Library at Centre does not have a preservation specialist, Beth asked Kazuko to share her expertise regarding preservation and conservation. They spent the day learning how to humidify and flatten rolled panoramic photos, clean the surface of archival documents and books, and execute other preservation techniques. Peter and Nicolaus said they were fascinated by the physical aspects of books and paper documents and wanted to continue handling the artifacts and learning how to preserve them. This project is a great example of cooperation between UK Libraries and other Kentucky institutions.