Library Employee Spotlight

My name is Aileen Gonzalez and I am a fourth-year Anthropology major with minors in Art and Architectural History and Architectural Heritage Conservation. I am pursuing a career in book and paper conservation.

For the last couple of years, I have had the opportunity to work as a student technician in the Conservation Lab of the Texas A&M University Libraries. In the Spring 2023 semester the Libraries selected me to work on the Yell Book Digitization Project as a student technician. I jumped at the opportunity and was extremely grateful for such a wonderful learning experience. Throughout this process, I worked closely with the Director of Preservation, the University Archivist, the Director of the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, the Digital Archivist, as well as the Collections Care and Conservation sections of the Preservation Department. We had weekly meetings to discuss our progress, plans, and timeframes for the project.

Throughout my time working on the Yell Book Digitization Project, I participated in special collections behind-the-scenes work, helping to preserve a physical collection and prepare it for digital access. I completed an inventory of the Yell Books and met with the Collections Care and Conservation sections to determine the conservation needs of the Yell Books. I learned about various conservation treatments, the importance of proper storing and housing of the items, and the considerations that should be taken when preserving a special collection. I was then able to digitize the collection and complete post-processing. I also learned about the metadata that is applied to digital collections to make them searchable and accessible to the public. We created a digital exhibit to increase the accessibility of this collection.

I was able to collaborate and work closely with professionals from different units like Preservation, Conservation, and Digitization, showing me that library projects like these are truly interdisciplinary. I’ve learned so much about the process of preparing a collection for exhibition, preserving the collection, and digitizing it for online access. This experience has also allowed me to practice valuable skills like communication, collaboration, time management, accountability, and adaptability. These are skills that I know will help me in various aspects of my life, education, and career.

My work with the Yell Book Digitization Project has already helped me advance my professional aspirations. While looking for internships for Summer 2023, I made sure to include this opportunity in my applications and I believe this played an important role in my appointment to a conservation internship with the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives in Washington, D.C. I was able to use the knowledge I gained from my experience with the Yell Book Digitization Project, in addition to working as a preservation technician for the University Libraries, to help me make the most of my internship opportunity.

I am incredibly grateful for the wonderful opportunities that this project provided me. As an undergraduate student, it is difficult to come by unique opportunities like this one. I am incredibly grateful to the Friends of the Library for making the Yell Book Digitization Project possible.