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Name: Kate Kidd Job title: Conservator
Company: National Library of Scotland When did you start your job? I have been at the Library since September 2006, when I was brought on
as the Project Conservator for the John Murray Archive. The John Murray Archive is one of the world’s most significant collections of manuscripts and letters from some of history’s greatest minds such as Charles Darwin, Lord Byron, David Livingstone, Jane Austen, and Walter Scott, to name but a few. I moved to Edinburgh around the same time the news of the Library’s
purchase of the Archive hit the headlines, and I remember thinking to myself, “Some day, they are going to need a conservator to look after that archive!” Sure enough, two years later, the vacancy was advertised, and I’d like to think that it was my excitement about working on such an amazing collection that helped me get the job – I even told this story in the interview! My job was made permanent two years ago, and I now look after the Library’s collections as a whole. So what does your job actually involve? In the most general sense, working alongside my colleagues in the Preservation and Conservation Division, my job as a book and paper conservator is to look after the physical condition of the Library's collections, and ensure that they are accessible to future generations. In practice, this can mean anything from monitoring the Library's environmental conditions to ensure the collections are stored in the appropriate atmosphere, to making protective enclosures like boxes and portfolios, to performing complex treatments and repairs to single items. I use traditional bookbinding and repair methods combined with modern techniques and materials to repair paper objects and books that have become damaged through time and handling.
Best / Worst Aspects? The best part of my job by far is getting to work intimately with amazing objects. I have repaired letters and manuscripts of Lord Byron (and am proud to say I can even read his difficult handwriting now!), I have rebound the first copy of Darwin's Origin of Species, and I have made a custom mount for Mary Queen of Scots' last letter. However, many of the techniques we use require an incredible amount of time and patience, which brings me to the worst part of the job – I'm not a very patient person! I often have to remind myself that the hours and hours spent on repetitive repairs will be worth it in the end. However, the satisfaction of seeing what was once damaged and unusable become whole again cannot be described!
Looking back, what advice would you give to a young Kate at the start of her career? Keep in contact with everyone you work with. You might find yourself struggling with a difficult project down the line, and it's always good to know you can phone up an old colleague for advice! And finally . . . what are you most looking forward to in 2011? Spending more time with my husband and friends.
18–25 Aug 2011 THE LIST 117