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Inside Spencer: The KSRL Blog

Books on a shelf

Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.

Mapping Kansas, One Repair at a Time

July 6th, 2012

Former conservation student assistant, Noah Smutz, tells all:

In October of 2011 Whitney (Head of Conservation) assigned me the project of working on an item from the Kansas Collection at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library.  The project involved mending extensively on an atlas of Kansas from 1887, The Official State Atlas of Kansas: compiled from government surveys, county records, and personal investigations (RH Atlas H85). The atlas had many fold-out maps of Kansas towns. I was excited to work on this project as it was my first chance to gain experience working on a rare, special collections item.

Image of Official State Atlas of Kansas (1887)

The Official State Atlas of Kansas: compiled from government surveys, county records, and personal investigations. Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co., 1887. (RH Atlas H85, Additional copy RH VLT H2)

I began by addressing the first fifteen pages of the book. Over time the paper had become brittle. This brittleness led to the edges of these pages becoming torn to various degrees. Read the rest of this entry »