Today I met with Sarah who is the preservation librarian at the Library. She went to the University of Illinois for art and art history for her undergradute degree. Right after getting her degree she worked as a librarian for 2 years, and went to school for her masters degree in library services. She was inspired by a woman who was a conservator, and after their meeting she became interested and applied for a job at the Library as a preservation librarian, since she had a background on art. She has been working in the Library for 4 years. She preserves the collection, puts up exhibits, keeps the collection available for research, arranges the collection, and secures the enivronment. She makes sure that the books are safe from insects, water, and that the temperature is approriate. Also she gives tours to people, lessons on book history, and works on the database.
The most challenging thing about her job would to be prioritizing the tasks. She wishes there was enough time to sort through the collection, and that there were more student help. Progress is what keeps her happy in her job. She likes to see the bigger picture of what she does instead of just the one thing that she spends her focus on. Her memorable experiences are just feeling the satisfaction that there is some sort of difference in her work. Currently, she is working on a book program called Adopt a Rare Book Program, which involves people being part of the program when they donate money for conservation. She is also preserving the collection of Harvey Cushing's brain collection. As for her future she hopes to still be in her job but at bigger levels as well as working with the digital library, which will have pictures of some the collection.
Today is my last day and it has been so much fun. I have learned so much from the people that I have been fortunate to meet and interview. I will remember scanning an article with Kelly. I will remember seeing old books in the basement that date back to the 16th century like the Copernicus books which explained that the sun was the center of the Earth not the Earth as the center of the universe and all things surrounding the Earth. People thought that the Sun surrounded the Earth, and the catholic church at the time retaliated to the idea of Copernicus. I will remember the ice-cream party which was held at the Sternling library for the staff. I will remember seeing the staff and the building. I really had fun, and I will be back for the unveiling of the Harvey Cushing brain collection next summer. I think will keep coming back for as long as I am in Connecticut!
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