Workshops at the Center: Book Cradles for Reading Rooms and Exhibitions

Exhibit and research use of rare and fragile books without proper supports can cause damage. This workshop will provide you with an overview of the types of commercially made book cradles for reading rooms and exhibits, focusing on the most useful features of each. We will also review aspects of making book cradles in-house, including supply costs, space and sustainability.   Finally, we will walk you through the hands-on process of showing you how to construct a simple, inexpensive custom book cradle. Through this workshop, you will:  

• Compare institutional needs with book cradles that are commercially available 
• Estimate how to budget time and money for making multiple book cradles 
• Practice making a book cradle with the understanding that the goal is not necessarily to have a perfect, finished book cradle at the end of the workshop 
•  Develop an appreciation of dexterity and aptitude and physical space needed to make a book cradle 

As part of the workshop, enjoy a tour of CCAHA’s conservation lab at the conclusion of the program. 

This workshop addresses Focus Area #1: core competencies in preservation for continuing education and career development of the FAIC’s Held In Trust Report on Education, Professional Development, and Leadership.

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About our instructor: 

As Senior Book Conservator, Eliza Gilligan meets with clients, assesses condition and treatment needs, documents findings in reports, and treats a wide variety of bound materials, from incunabula to 20th-century artists’ books. Eliza formerly worked as a book conservator at the University of Virginia Library. She provided technical expertise for book repair, general collections care, exhibits, and digital services at the Library. She also performed conservation treatment on books and paper from the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.  Eliza received her graduate training in book conservation from the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 2000. She has had internships in conservation labs at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center. She was also a Kress Fellow at the Northeast Document Conservation Center. Her previous positions include Book Conservator at Michigan State University and Department Head for Preservation Services at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.