Paige Ewert, one of Gammelgården’s summer interns, worked at the museum from May 20th to August 24th. Paige is a Senior at St. Olaf College with a degree in History and Art History. She has worked at her college’s archives for three years, with a specialization in books and printed materials.
Paige’s special project for the museum was focused on entering Gammelgården’s book collection into CollectiveAccess (which is tied to MNCollections). Because of her dedication and hard work, 483 books are now on CollectiveAccess and MNCollections. This represents 38% of the artifacts that the public can see on Gammelgården’s database on MNCollections.
In addition, Paige led an archival-quality book cover workshop at the museum on Saturday, August 9th for 19 people. She taught the participants how to make covers for some of the historic books in the museum’s collection, including ones from the 1800s and early-1900s.Through the workshop, and with covers that Paige had created prior to the workshop to show as examples, 24 book covers were made. These covers ensure the long-term preservation of the books by protecting them from environmental damage and physical wear, and maintaining their value for future generations.
Paige also helped at events, with museum administration, the Pastor’s House restoration project, field trips, and greeting guests. This represents some of the many ways that Paige contributed her skills and knowledge to Gammelgården. Her enthusiasm about historical books, documentation of them, and conservation work will have a lasting impact on Gammelgården, visitors, volunteers, and staff.
Current Exhibits Closing on October 25th