Museum Studies Intern at the University Library System (University of Pittsburgh Archive Service Center) - Fall 2017
This semester I was able to intern at the University of Pittsburgh Archive Service Center on Thomas Blvd. I worked in the preservations department at the center. The main job for the interns in the preservations department is to repair and rehouse books and documents that are sent to us from the different libraries and collections that are housed in Pitt facilities. One of the first jobs I and other interns learned was how to disbound books. To disbound a book means to remove the pages from the bound volume, we would then clean the pages and remove leftover glue and string and recut the pages so they can be rebound at a later date.
One of the most important tasks I learned to do was build corrugated clamshells for books. A clamshell is a housing device built from cardboard like paper to be used as a shelter for books that have become fragile and need extra care. This task is something every intern learns and uses very often. In the preservations department, there is a whole wall filled with books that need rehousing and can be found at all levels of damage. The process of building a clamshell is the same for every book, the only unique part is the dimension needed for the clamshell. This can be tricky at times but once you do a few dozen of them, it becomes second nature. We house many different types of books in the preservation department, but one of the amazing parts of this internship is the chance to see something rare and unique. During the past month, I have been housing some very special books that are equally as beautiful in appearance as in words. The preservations department got a cart full of Charles Dickens novels. These books are from the 1840’s and in some cases are believed to be first editions! The outside covers of these books are gorgeous and ornate as well as having equally beautiful illustrations inside the books. Having the chance to see such unique books at the archives is a real treat and being able to work with people that have the same mindset as me when it comes to unique finds like this made this internship so much fun.
Lastly, the final project that I am working on at the archives has to do with something a little louder and cumbersome. In my final month working in the department, I was assigned solely to work on housing for musical instruments that need to be preserved. In the deep recesses of the department, there is a shelf that has three different instruments on it, a guitar, a drum and a horn. Each instrument with its own unique shape must have its own custom case made by hand. Each instrument will be encased in a foam box then that foam case will be put into a custom fit corrugated clamshell that will be used for extra protection. Each foam case has to be cut out from a large foam sheet, which is no easy task. What makes this task even more interesting is that these instruments are from a famous local jazz band from Pittsburgh’s history!
Working at the Archives has been an amazing experience for me. Having the opportunity to work so closely with artifacts and books have helped me further decide on my future profession which will most certainly have to do with curating and similar work.
Learn more about the Collecting Knowledge Pittsburgh initiative here