Hitting the Books

While the Scripps interns were learning about paper conservation, UCLA graduate student Jacque Giebel was honing her book repair skills under the tutelage of The Huntington’s rare-book conservators. As a master’s candidate in library and information studies, Giebel had been working at UCLA’s Library Conservation Center, where she became a self-declared book repair addict.

But UCLA students only repair books from the general collection. With a love of history and an undergraduate degree from San Diego State University, she was eager to get her hands on rare books. Her adviser suggested she approach The Huntington. At the time, a formal internship did not yet exist. But Holly Moore, The Huntington’s head of conservation, was looking for ways to expand internship opportunities, and a new UCLA Information Studies Internship was the answer.

When Giebel first walked into the lab in the fall of 2010 she was awestruck. “A lab like this was where I wanted to go with my career,” she said. Over the course of her Huntington internship, Giebel learned techniques for reattaching a book’s front and back cover, or “boards.” She created new hollow spines in place of tight-back spines that had weakened over time due to use. A hollow spine better distributes the weight of the pages of the book, thus reducing the pressure to the spine and adding years to a book’s life. In addition, she learned how to dye, trim, and finish leather—a technique out of reach for many book conservation labs because of the time and skill needed to work in leather and the elevated cost of the materials.

One of the most valuable elements of the internship was interaction with a diverse group of conservators. There’s no single right way to repair a rare book, as Giebel learned as she considered treatment options. Exhibits conservator Marieka Kaye might suggest one approach she learned in graduate school at Buffalo State College. Assistant book conservator Justin Johnson might offer another, one that he had practiced as a graduate student at West Dean College in West Sussex, England. Giebel would come away not only having learned treatment options; she also gained valuable insights into the distinctions between conservation graduate programs.

By the end of her 12-week internship, Giebel completed five books to include in her portfolio, all of them dating from the 1800s. She felt invigorated, with a clearer focus on the future. “Grad school involves so many assignments it can blind you until you lose track of your career goals,” says Giebel. “This experience reminded me why I wanted to become a conservator.”