When the Smithsonian Institution was founded “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge,” it was difficult to know how impactful this mission would still be 175 years on. To this more »
Category: The Fix (Preservation)
Ask a Conservator: Emergency Management Wednesday, June 23 at 5 pm ET Cultural heritage is not renewable. If books, documents, pieces of art, or any other ephemera are destroyed in more »
Na au iki a me na au nui o ka ʻike: The little and the large currents of knowledge. In preparation for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I chose more »
Curious about our conservators’ favorite books or trickiest treatments? While they’ve had to step away from the bench during the pandemic, our Preservation Services staff have been hard at work more »
We’re always in awe of our book conservators. Whether it’s mending a torn cover, giving a 16th century book the “full treatment”, or helping with international disaster relief efforts, they more »
As with many of the books that come into our lab, the Baby Bird-Finder (1904-1906), a two-volume illustrated bird guide, was intended to be used. And used these volumes were, more »
The Smithsonian Libraries would like to welcome Daniel Viltsek as the newest book conservator in the Preservation Department. Daniel has been hired to perform conservation treatments for items included in more »