A Conservation Plan for 100 Rare Books in the Hong Kierkegaard Library

FAIN: PG-280603-21

St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN 55057-1574)
Gordon Marino (Project Director: January 2021 to July 2023)

A conservation treatment assessment for 100 rare books published prior to 1856 that are housed in the rare book room of St. Olaf College’s Hong Kierkegaard Library (HKL). The HKL, a special collection, is the official repository for books by Søren Kierkegaard and authors whom he influenced or who influenced him. The HKL has informed the work of nearly 95 percent of the world’s prominent Kierkegaard scholars. The library offers programming and courses to encourage the study of Kierkegaard among domestic and international scholars as well as St. Olaf students and faculty. This project would focus on the collection’s rarest books most in need of repair, informing HKL’s future efforts to fundraise for conservation treatment, most notably at the HKL’s 2022 International Kierkegaard Conference.

Conservator Bailey Kinsky will undertake a conservation treatment assessment for 100 rare books published prior to 1856 that are housed in the Rare Book Room of the St. Olaf College Hong Kierkegaard Library (HKL). Both a Special Collection and a renowned Center for Research and Publication, the HKL has informed the work of nearly 95% of the world’s prominent Kierkegaard scholars. This proposal prioritizes conservation documentation for 100 of the collection’s rarest books most in need of repair, enabling HKL staff to fundraise for conservation, most notably at the HKL’s 2022 International Kierkegaard Conference. Kinsky’s documentation will include a full examination pertaining to the binding, media, and current condition issues of each book and a treatment proposal. Two undergraduate student academic interns will assist; one helping Kinsky as she documents the rare books, and the other publicizing the project to fuel fundraising efforts for conservation.

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