>> Cesar Reyes: Hello everybody,
my name is Cesar Reyes,
also pronounced Cesar Reyes,
and this is LOC Unbound:
Books Bring Us Together.
This video series aims
to highlight the 2022
National Book Festival theme,
which as we know is
Books Bring Us Together.
We hope that our series allows
us to shed light on individuals
across the library and emphasize
the power of storytelling,
literature and books have
in forging connections
between us all.
Today, I am fortunate to
have Jennifer Evers with me.
I'm going to read her short bio
real quick as an introduction.
Jennifer Evers is a Senior
Book Conservator at the Library
of Congress, where she is a
liaison for the Manuscripts,
American Folk-life, and Veterans
History project collections.
Her previous conservation
experience includes the
Huntington library and
advance conservation internship
at the Folger Shakespeare
Library and a Mellon fellowship
at the Walters Art Museum.
She holds a Master of Library
and Information Science degree
with a certificate in book
conservation from the University
of Texas at Austin, as well
as undergraduate degrees
in Studio Art and Psychology
from the University of Arizona.
Jennifer, thank you
for joining me today.
How you doing?
>> Jennifer Evers: I'm great,
thanks so much for having me.
>> Cesar Reyes: Of course.
And so in the spirit of
Books Bring Us Together,
I want to ask you
this first question.
Can you tell us about a
time when a book or perhaps
when you shared a
story with someone
that brought you closer to them?
>> Jennifer Evers: Sure.
I kind of have a 2-part
answer to this one.
>> Cesar Reyes: Love it.
>> Jennifer Evers:
So when I was a kid,
my mom read me all the time, so
I have like very strong memories
of growing up with
her paying attention
to me by reading to me.
And I specifically
remember like going
through all the [inaudible]
stories together.
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers:
[inaudible]really positive
memories of that as a child.
And one of my best friends
recently had a child
and I started buying her
books and reading to her.
And I just really love
that sense of continuity
and connection like
a shared experience
with people over time.
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers: But I also
think books can forge connection
across time and experience.
And example that I
have is a book that one
of the paper conservators
and I are working
on currently at the Library.
It's the Child Study manuscript
and the original
was of Virginia.
It was written in the
late 16 to early 1700s.
And you know, just a law book.
It's written in iron gall ink,
on handmade paper
and bound in leather.
>> Cesar Reyes: Wow.
>> Jennifer Evers: But after it
was out of date, as a law book,
it was somehow at
one point transmitted
to this [inaudible] Virginia.
And it was used as waste
paper by the tavern goers.
So it has like doodles and
scribbles and calculations
and curses and practice
signatures.
And I think the reason that
I feel like the book is
so interesting and
important is okay,
it's a very important
historical object
but also you get the sense that
people in the past weren't just,
you know, these historic figures
who are very stylish and proper,
they also wrote these really
rude and scandalous things.
And so [inaudible] this sense of
like, "Oh they're real people.
They're also just like us."
>> Cesar Reyes: I love that, I
love that one, the [inaudible]
that you mention, right?
And I also love the window into
the past that those doodles
or rude things that
they've said kind of bring
to light the individuals
of that time.
>> Jennifer Evers:
It's fascinating,
like [inaudible] great drawings
of like little horses and dogs
and the whole thing is
microfilmed, so it's available
on the website if anyone
wants to look at it.
Pretty great.
>> Cesar Reyes: That's
beautiful.
So that makes me curious
about my next question.
What was the moment you knew
that you loved literature,
or was there a specific
moment or please share.
>> Jennifer Evers: There was.
I actually have this very
specific memory of being
like very small,
maybe like 5 or 6.
And I started reading
really early
and I had done something
to upset my parents.
I don't know what it
was, but the punishment
that they gave me was
"You're not allowed to read
for the rest of the afternoon."
>> Cesar Reyes: Wow,
[inaudible] read a lot.
>> Jennifer Evers:
Yeah [inaudible] specific
memory is sitting in a chair
and being like, what do
I do with myself now?
>> Cesar Reyes: Then
is that what kind
of brought you to the library?
Is that what kind of had
your trajectory to be
in a conservatory at all?
Like what was that
about that, that journey
and loving literature
that brought you to LOC?
>> Jennifer Evers: So I
have always loved books,
but I didn't know
about art conservation
and until I was much older.
I was at the end of my
undergraduate career and I found
out about conservation,
which was kind of startling
because I was like "This is
a thing that people can do.
This is amazing."
It's this great mix of art
and science and history,
and you get to work with your
hands and you get to work
on like original
source materials.
And so that was kind of my
background into conservation.
>> Cesar Reyes: That's awesome.
I've been talking with
people before and it seems
to be conservation really is
kind of like a craft as well.
Would you say that's accurate,
or how would you describe
what a conservator does?
>> Jennifer Evers: I think
conservation is a really good
mix of history and
science and art.
Like you have to have
really good hand skills
but you also have to have
a knowledge of science.
You have to know history and for
book conservation, book history
and book-binding techniques.
So there's a lot involved
that you're bringing together.
So at the Library of Congress,
I work on the bound items
and I work on, whatever
the curatorial staff sees
as important for any given year.
And the role of a conservator is
to ensure the long-term
preservation
of cultural heritage.
And sometimes this
is just as simple
as making sure books are stored
in an appropriate condition,
that they're in good
housings, if necessary,
and that researchers are aware
of safe handling practices
so that when they are using
the item, that they are used
as safely as possible.
But the large portion of my
job and my favorite portion
of my job is actually working
with the physical items.
When they're damaged or
in need of treatment.
And treatment can entail, you
know, mending a tear in a page
or [inaudible] a page
or reattaching boards
that have become detached.
>> Cesar Reyes: Wow.
>> Jennifer Evers: So.
>> Cesar Reyes: [inaudible]
that's cool,
like that is just so cool.
I had the great fortune
of being able to talk
with the book binder
here in California
at the California Library,
which was like watching her
work was just fascinating to me
to be able to restore
something and be able
to make it useful again.
I'm curious, what has been
your experience in, you know,
getting these books that have
been torn or I don't know
through time have been just,
you know, are old or brittle,
what's it like restoring them
or bringing them back
to being accessible?
>> Jennifer Evers: It is, I have
to say, it is such a fun job
like I love my job so much.
It is such a privilege to be
able to work on these materials.
But I really like actually being
able to work with my hands.
I train as a painter
and undergrad,
so I feel like this is it's a
way to kind of use the skills
that I learned in my art program
to ensure the preservation
of historical material, which
is just such a privilege.
>> Cesar Reyes: That's awesome.
And I know right
now you're working
on the Veterans History
project collection.
Can you tell us about
the project a little,
like what its aim is and what
it's trying to accomplish?
>> Jennifer Evers: Sure, so the,
[inaudible] Veteran's History
project [inaudible] and preserve
and make accessible
the personal accounts
of American war veterans so
that future generations can hear
directly from the veterans
and better understand
the realities of war.
>> Cesar Reyes: Wow.
>> Jennifer Evers: And I think
it's these personal accounts
of individual veterans that
make the collection so important
because suddenly it's not
just about war as a concept
or as a historical account.
It's a specific story
from a specific individual
that had a whole life
separate from being a soldier.
And I think it's these very
kind of personal accounts
that make it so important
and so interesting.
>> Cesar Reyes: I
mean, that's awesome.
I think it seems like, it
seems like, as you said,
super important because you get
to hear those first person
accounts, which I imagine
like must be heartfelt, must be
just, ah, it just blows my mind
to think about the stories
that they may be sharing.
So I'm curious, is there a
specific story or a moment
that kind of resonates with
you when you have been working
on this project at all?
>> Jennifer Evers:
Yeah, there's a diary
that I just finished treating
that is the Irving
W. Greenwald diary.
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers: And he
was a father from New York
in the first World War.
He was a member of
the Lost Battalion.
And he spent a lot of time
in France during the war.
And he kept this diary,
a tiny little diary,
it's like 3 by 5 inches.
And the handwriting is
just absolutely minuscule
like I cannot--
>> Cesar Reyes: Really.
>> Jennifer Evers: read
it without magnification.
It's so tiny.
Like can you imagine like how he
wrote it there while you know,
camping in less than
great conditions.
>> Cesar Reyes: Sure.
>> Jennifer Evers: And so
it's very much like a day
to day account of what
he's going through
and how he's missing
his family back home.
He left right before his
first child was born,
like 4 days before she was
born, so he talks about--
>> Cesar Reyes: [inaudible]
gosh.
>> Jennifer Evers: regarding
not being able to see her.
He talks a lot every
single day he mentioned
like what he had
for meal that day--
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers: which is
just really fascinating to see.
And yeah, it's just, it's
such an interesting account
of this individual who's writing
this just for himself, you know,
he's not intending this to be
published or to be, you know,
read by anybody other than
maybe his family at some point.
But he is making a mark of
who he is and what he's doing
and where he is which I
think it's just fascinating.
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah, I
think it's just brilliant
because it's bringing to
light these experiences.
It's providing a voice for
people in the past to share
and for us to learn
from perhaps, right?
>> Jennifer Evers: Exactly.
>> Cesar Reyes: Where
can people kind
of find the Veteran's
project materials?
Is it online that they're
able to access these or?
>> Jennifer Evers: Yes, so if
you go to the Library's website,
you can just type in
Veteran's History project,
or you can just Google
Veteran's History project
and it brings you
to their homepage.
And you can look up individual
veterans if you know somebody
who is already part
of the collection
or you can search
different variables
to see what you're
interested in.
But it's a great collection.
They're working on
digitizing parts of it
and [inaudible] audio
recordings you can listen to,
it's very cool.
>> Cesar Reyes: That is awesome.
And so in the spirit of
sharing stories and talking
about people sharing their
stories, is there a story
that you've read
recently that you connect
with that people can also read?
>> Jennifer Evers: So yes,
can I mention a couple?
>> Cesar Reyes: Oh
yes, please, please do.
>> Jennifer Evers: Okay, so the
one that I just finished reading
like yesterday, I think,
it's an audio book,
but it's David Sedaris'
"Happy-Go-Lucky".
>> Cesar Reyes: Okay.
>> Jennifer Evers: And I
just, I love him as an author
because I feel like
he talks about kind
of very difficult things
sometimes like very,
things that are hard
to talk about.
So in this book--
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers: he's
talking a lot about the death
of his father and he had a
very troubled relationship
with his father.
But he writes about it in a
way that is quite funny often.
And even though his father
dies, you get the sense
that he is grieving this person
even though they have this
troubled relationship
like nothing is all good
or bad and you can have--
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers: mixed
feelings about things.
And I feel like his ability to
talk about hard things is a way
for people that connect
really like to know
that there's nothing
that has happened
that can't be discussed, like
everything can be discussed
and everything connects
us basically.
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers: Another
book that I've read recently
that I really loved
is called "Mudlarking"
or maybe it's called "Mudlark".
So mudlarking, traditionally
was like 18th
to 19th century children who
would go down to the shore
of the Thames after
the tide was out
and they would collect whatever
detritus was left behind
and sell it.
And it wasn't like a great job
or a great way to make money,
but it was done out
of necessity.
And now people are doing it like
for fun, just to find artifacts.
And you have to have
like a license to do it--
>> Cesar Reyes: No way.
>> Jennifer Evers:
[inaudible] raves
about her experiences
mudlarking,
like going down to the
riverbed and looking for things.
And I think it is such
an interesting book
and such an interesting
concept because, you know,
sometimes you might
not find anything,
some days you might
find something great.
But even if you find
something kind of like mediocre
like a button or something,
that can still tell a story,
like it tells you something
about person who made it,
it tells you about the path.
And it's yeah, just, it's
such a nice way of thinking
that every artifact has a story.
>> Cesar Reyes: That's
beautiful.
And what is it about
those stories
that you think you've gleamed?
Is there any one point
or is it just the sharing
of stories that fascinates you?
>> Jennifer Evers: I think it's
partially the sharing of stories
but I think it's more about
the sense of connection,
like it helps you feel connected
to people from other places
and other times and they
give you kind of a sense
of your place in the world,
which is really just
a small place and--
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers: I don't
know, I just feel like it's all
about community and connection.
>> Cesar Reyes: And would you
say that's why you think people
continue to share stories?
I mean, we've had
stories for ages now,
right and more books
are coming out
and more stories
are being shared.
What do you think it is
about people sharing stories
that you know, continues
to be pushed forward?
>> Jennifer Evers:
I think partly it's
about connection and diversion.
And I think it's also
partly about kind of coming
up with the narrative
to make sense of life,
to make meaning out of life.
So it's not just
this thing happened
and this thing happened, it's--
>> Cesar Reyes: Right.
>> Jennifer Evers: this
thing happened which connects
to this other thing which
gives a sense of continuity,
which kind of gives you a way
to think about the situation.
>> Cesar Reyes: [inaudible].
>> Jennifer Evers:
[inaudible]great answer.
>> Cesar Reyes: No,
it's a great answer.
It gives me the idea of like
how much context is important
sometimes, right?
Like the coloring in between
everything else, not just the--
>> Jennifer Evers: Yeah.
>> Cesar Reyes: big moments,
but the small moments in between
that really lead up to
those big moments, right?
>> Jennifer Evers: Exactly.
It's like the small moments
are the moments that matter.
Like the big moments--
>> Cesar Reyes: Right.
>> Jennifer Evers: are the
moments we all hear about
but the small moments are
the moments that matter.
>> Cesar Reyes: Yes, exactly.
And I just actually have
one last question for you.
>> Jennifer Evers: Sure.
>> Cesar Reyes: And I can thank
you enough for taking the time
to talk with me today.
I'm curious what
does it mean to you
when you hear books
bring us together?
>> Jennifer Evers: Well,
since I'm a book conservator,
I tend to think of books as
artifacts, as well as ways
of transmitting information.
>> Cesar Reyes: Yeah.
>> Jennifer Evers:
So I think, you know,
we can all be connected
by stories
but I think we can also be
connected by the physical items.
And I think one of the joys
of my job honestly is to look
at something, just like maybe
a book from 500 years ago,
and see like a fingerprint
smudge in the margin.
And suddenly it takes you
out of that moment like, "Oh,
this is an artifact" to
"Oh, this is an artifact
that somebody interacted with"
like there was a
real person back here
that accidentally
spilled some ink
and was probably
pretty bummed about it.
And suddenly it's a way
of tying us to the past.
>> Cesar Reyes: I love that.
Thank you, Jennifer.
I appreciate your time and
having a conversation with me.
This has been lovely.
>> Jennifer Evers: Thank you
so much, so nice to meet you.
>> Cesar Reyes: It was a
pleasure to meet you as well.
[ Music ]