The Special Collections-Preservation paid internship program for the summer of 2010 has selected Carrie A. Gross of Riva, Maryland.
Carrie, presently enrolled as a MLIS student at Catholic University is expecting to graduate in December of 2010. Her long-standing interest in literature and books, as demonstrated by her undergraduate studies at the College of William and Mary, has lead to her goal of rare book and manuscript librarianship.
Carrie has pursued both work and educational opportunities that support her desire for a rare books career. Most recent is her participation in various projects with the Maryland State Archives, including practical work in their conservation lab.
The opportunity to work with the Dibner Library's collection of manuscripts and rare books is what drew Carrie to apply for the internship. Her duties so far have included unboxing and organizing Dibner transfer materials from other Libraries collections. Included are 19th century scientific journals that, once sorted, will be shelved with the existing journal collections. Carrie also spends one day a week in the Book Conservation Lab where she is creating book and manuscript supports for exhibitions, and various types of enclosures for the wide range of materials within Libraries collections.
While Carrie wishes to pursue a career in rare books and preservation, she is an advocate for access through digitization. She states, "I believe in the importance to have information and content available to researchers through digitization. In turn, this protects the bibliographic integrity of the physical object as it's handled less frequently."
In addition to her internship at the Libraries, Carrie works as an amateur costume designer with Spirited Productions in Annapolis. She is engaged to be married in May 2011. Her fiancé, Alex, is working toward an academic career in the Humanities.
—Vanessa Haight-Smith
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