Whitney Baker, University of Kansas conservator, pauses to watch as one of her student assistants applies paste to the spine of an unbound book. The song “Our House” by Madness plays softly in the background, relieving the otherwise quiet atmosphere of the conservation lab.
“I really didn’t know what I would be doing when I went to college,” Baker said. “I never thought I’d be back here working at KU.”
Nor did she think she would be constantly working with books. Now, however, she loves it.
Although Baker’s military family moved around a lot, she came to think of Kansas as home. After graduating from Wichita’s Northwest High School, Baker came to KU to study Spanish and chemistry. She said she realized in her junior year that she didn’t know how she would use her degrees after graduating.
“I was in the Honors program, so I went to see J. Michael Young, who was then the director,” Baker said, her respect for Young evident in her voice. “He said, ‘I think you’re the kind of person who would enjoy repairing old books.’” She laughed. “Frankly, that didn’t seem too scholarly.”
Baker said Young told her to speak with Bill Mitchell, who worked with the KU library’s special collections. He showed her a professional journal about conservation.
“It seemed very scholarly,” Baker said. “You have to have a lot of chemistry to apply for grad school.”
That meeting with Mitchell sparked Baker’s interest in book conservation, and she applied to the Center for the Book at the University of Iowa, thinking she’d take classes for a year and then apply to graduate school if she liked the work. She did.
“It was a great place to be,” she said.
There are only about five graduate programs in conservation in North America and most of those focus on fine arts, Baker said. She applied to the University of Texas at Austin because its program focused on library conservation.
“Most students want to be paintings conservators,” Baker said, shrugging. She smiled. “I don’t know why. I guess it’s sexier than books.”
She was accepted to the three-year, 81-hour program and, as the final part of her degree, interned for eight months in the book division of the Library of Congress.
“I was actually offered a job,” she said, “but I just didn’t feel it was right. I ended up at the University of Kentucky, where I met my husband.” Baker laughed again and her hazel eyes twinkled. “Maybe that’s why.”
Baker worked as conservator for the University of Kentucky for more than three years and said she enjoyed her time there. When presenting a research paper at a conference in 2001, she was invited to go to Cuba for two weeks with a group of conservators to teach classes. There her Spanish came into play.
“That was an interesting place,” Baker said. “It seems so exotic to Americans. I had a lot of pre-conceived notions, a lot of which were wrong. It was great!”
In 2002, however, KU’s conservator position opened up, and Baker and her husband moved to Kansas so she could take the position. As KU conservator, Baker also teaches a class in the museum studies program.
One of Baker’s current students worked at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo., and suggested some of KU’s special collection items might be useful for display in the Dead Sea Scrolls special exhibit.
“I’m really happy that came about,” Baker said. “I was also happy to see one of my students involved and on the job.”
For Baker, the best difference between her position in Kentucky and her work here is her conservation assistant Adonia David. Baker appreciates having someone to help her with the student workers in the lab, and can’t seem to sing David’s praises highly enough. David feels the same way about Baker.
“Whitney is very knowledgeable,” David said. “Her willingness to share this knowledge, as well as her commitment to her employees, make her a wonderful boss. We do well down here in our little lab.”
Ashleigh Ferguson, an art history major from Olathe who works in the lab, agrees. “I’ve always loved it here,” she said.
Special Collections librarian Richard Clement described Baker’s work as essential to the library’s mission to preserve materials for future generations.
“She’s very modest,” Clement said. “She doesn’t toot her own horn much.”
Perhaps this is because of Baker’s outlook on her role as conservator.
“Not every day is roses, but it’s a good job,” Baker said. “I feel like it’s more of a calling than a job.”