By adopting books at the British Library, donors have helped directly support the work of our conservators for over 25 years. We are very pleased to introduce our Adopt a Book conservators and tell you a little more about what they do in a new series of blog posts.

Kim Mulder, our new Adopt a Book conservator, is neither new to the British Library, nor new to conservation. She has already worked in the British Library conservation studio for 1.5 years on fixed term contracts and has extensive conservation experience. She previously worked in a number of institutions including Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen in Rotterdam, and The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency.

Kim has contributed significantly to several strands of our conservation programme including treatment on core collection items and running repairs. She has done extensive work on our War Office maps and also supports the Library’s major project to digitise some 60,000 maps and views in King George III’s personal collection by assessing their condition and managing any conservation treatment required.

Kim’s particular interest is in large paper objects. She says: “I like working on large format items because they come with their own set of challenges and parameters. I find them fulfilling to work on, but my training and experience allows me to work on a broad spectrum of objects.”

Adopt a Book conservator Kim Mulder

 Kim working at her bench

Kim is delighted to be championing the scheme and working in the British Library, home to a vast and important collection of rare and priceless paper based artifacts. She is also happy to be back in London having fallen in love with the city ever since she spent a few months working in the British Museum as an intern.

In our next post we will be introducing book conservator Rick Brown who joined the Library as an apprentice in 1984 and has been involved with the Adopt a Book scheme since it first began.

About Adopt a Book

Book-jacket gift cards

 Some of the book–jacket gift cards that donors receive; for the full range of 14 titles, see our website or check our British Library Shop

Funds raised through Adopt a Book have supported the work of conservators, enabling thousands of additional collection items ranging from books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, stamps and works of art on paper to be conserved, and also helping our conservators to acquire new skills and advance old ones to deal with more complex conservation challenges.

Following a re-launch of the scheme last year, books can now be adopted at the British Library Shop as well as online. By becoming a donor you not only directly contribute to our conservation work, but can also give a timeless gift to yourself or somebody else. For more information on the full range of adoptions available and benefits that more bespoke adoptions bring you, check our website www.bl.uk/adoptabook.

Iwona Jurkiewicz and Shimei Zhou