Student Blog: Library of Congress

​Last fall, I began my 11-month graduate placement at the Library of Congress (LoC) - Conservation Division, Book Conservation Section.

LoC​ is home to more than 164 million rare books, photographic materials, works on paper, and objects that celebrate and reminisce humankind's complex nature. While the collection is marvelous in its own right, its preservation is supported by the Conservation Division's photo, book, and paper conservators. The Book Conservation Section has a staff of eight Book Conservators and one Conservation Technician. The team brings forth an invaluable wealth of practical and theoretical expertise. The internship is structured so that I am assigned a project under each conservator every other month to strengthen my critical thinking and practical skills. The fortuitous combination of an unparalleled collection coupled with apprentice-style training makes LoC a spectacular institution to intern at!

​To date, I have treated seven parchment fragments, a Hebraic poetry manuscript, a music book, a Roman Law book, and two trial pamphlets. This summer will take off with the treatment of an Islamic binding, a photo album, and an antiphonal! In addition to bench work, I participate in a Library-wide stacks survey, bookbinding model making, general collections care, tours, translation, workshops, and emergency response activities. 

When I interviewed at the Library, I expressed interest in working with parchment bindings. Lo and behold, Claire Dekle, Senior Book Conservator certainly had an interesting treatment in mind. The book is called: “Conflictus iure consultorum inter sese discrepantium" (1662) which in a more fluid sense means “Conflicts between Differing Legal Authorities." The binding contains two Tomes written by “Franciscvs Pavlvs Perremvto," an attorney working in Sicily in the mid-17th century. The content is written in Latin, the area of law addressed is Roman, specifically Consilia –a collection of opinions offered to European kingdoms and communities by well-known jurists who made themselves available for consultation.

The structure is a parchment over boards binding consisting of 130 paper gatherings of 2 bifolia each, for an approximate thickness of 8 cm! Historically, parchment overboards bindings may splay as a side effect of environmental fluctuations, pulling the supports away from the spine thus compromising the board-to-textblock attachment. A combination of RH/T changes, mishandling, and inadequate repairs were behind the Law Library's decision for this book to receive conservation treatment. The boards were splayed and detached, the supports were broken, much of the sewing thread was missing, one endband was lost and the other partially detached, the transverse spine linings were broken at the joints, and the backfolds of the textblock were split, rendering the book inappropriate for research consultation.

Claire and I agreed that the book's inherent vice warranted dividing it into two Tomes to distribute the stress the structure receives during handling. We also opted to create a bookbinding model to assess its mechanical properties and inform the treatment proposal. We decided on a limp parchment structure with alum-tawed supports due to its proven flexibility and durability. 

To reduce waste during case model-making, we decided to experiment with the University of Iowa case paper and 10pt. board. The blank textblock had a similar number of gatherings and bifolia, number of supports, sewing structure style, endbands, and spine linings as the object.

A major considerati​on was decreasing the gathering's overall swelling after sewing, this concern was addressed by using thin sewing thread and a consolidating/loaded stick during sewing. The uncontrolled throw-up associated with 2-on sewing was addressed by packing the textblock off the sewing frame. The model was a success and the paper limp binding with laced-in alum-tawed supports allowed the textblock to open freely!

Once testing was over, the textblocks were prepared. Then, parchment cases for each Tome were modeled after 10 pt. board. Similar skins of parchment were selected to create the cases. The measurements from the paper case templates were transferred to the skins, the cases were creased and folded, and the two Tomes were laced-in! And there you have it, our 2 months of experimentation are now embedded into the story of this 17th-century imprint.​

​With graduation around the corner, DC continues to be a major highlight in my life. I am happy to share that I will be staying at the Library of Congress as the Harper-Inglis Fellow. My research project pertains to the study of watermarks and the European paper trade in Puerto Rico. During my term, while conducting research I will continue to acquire hands-on experience by participating in lab activities such as surveys; conservation documentation, treatment, and housing; research and analysis; digitization and/or exhibit preparation; collections emergency response and recovery; and environmental monitoring and analysis. I am thrilled for this new chapter and to continue calling DC my second home!​

— Verónica Ivette Mercado Oliveras​, WUDPAC Class of 2023​