Conservation and Heritage Science
Virginia M. Lladó-Buisán is the T. A. Barron Head of Conservation and Heritage Science. She has been working in the conservation field since 1990, having specialised in the conservation of works of art on paper and the technical study of artists' materials and techniques. Virginia joined the Bodleian Libraries in January 2010, and previously worked for conservation departments at the British Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York, The Guggenheim Museum, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, and the National Maritime Museum Greenwich.
An example of Virginia's study of the materiality of ancient Mesoamerican manuscripts in the Bodleian collections through the application of non-invasive spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging, a project that is still ongoing. Virginia co-authored the book “Mesoamerican Manuscripts: New Scientific Approaches and Interpretations” (Brill) after the international conference with the same title that she organised in June 2016, jointly with Professor Maarten Jansen.
Virginia has managed the Bodleian’s Heritage Science Section since 2021, and sits in the steering committee of the Oxford University Heritage Network. Virginia is a Co-I in the Oxford Collaboration in Heritage science Research and Engagement (OCHRE) project, which has been awarded ca. £1 million pounds by RICHeS in 2024, to support, enhance, and connect Oxford’s world-class strengths in built heritage, collections, and archaeology through a sustainable heritage science hub, linked to a network of new and updated equipment in eight participating laboratories.
Virginia very much enjoys participating in the Bodleian’s philanthropic endeavours, which brings together specialists and benefactors to achieve the best care and carry out cutting-edge research for our collections. Her own post was endowed in 2022 by author and philanthropist T. A. Barron, who is supporting the department in various ways: for example, through our T. A. Barron Fellowship in Conservation and a skills development programme for our staff, that has so far included events and activities such as the Textiles in Libraries series and the study of washi (Japanese paper) in Japan, visiting several master paper-makers.
Book conservation
The Book Conservation Team preserve and maintain the bound collections of the Bodleian Libraries, with our remit covering Manuscript and Rare Book Special Collections and also modern reference and lending books. We repair bindings in-situ, rebind where necessary, help with and prepare for digitisation or scientific analysis, and study the structures and materials of bindings though history and across the globe to better understand the cultural context that created them. We place value on the intellectual content of our books but also on their physical nature and the learning that can be had from studying them as material objects.
We advise on the care, handling and display of all books including artists books and unusual objects within the collections. We contribute to the teaching, research and public engagement activity of the libraries and the University, from running sessions for doctoral researchers to hands-on discovery workshops for schools.
Nicole Gilroy is the Head of Book Conservation. After a first degree in English Literature and Biology she began her conservation training at Camberwell College of Arts during which time she held internships at The National Archives, Trinity College, Dublin and the Oxford Colleges Consortium. Nicole began working at the Bodleian in 2001 and worked in a number of roles before taking on leadership of the Book Team when it was formed in 2011.
Nicole has worked on the survey of manuscripts and printed books at St. Catherine's monastery on Mt. Sinai as part of the Ligatus team. She sits on the Church of England's Conservation Committee for Sculpture and Furnishings, and is a trustee of the Leather Conservation Centre. Her interests include textiles and parchment in libraries, and the development of conservation from craft to profession. Nicole is strongly committed to training the next generation of conservators: she hosts placements for students and mentors accreditation candidates for Icon.
Alice Evans is a Book Conservator who joined the Bodleian Libraries in 2017 after completing her MA in Book and Paper Conservation at Camberwell College of Arts. Alice's current work focuses on the care and practical treatment of objects from the Libraries' special collections, from medieval manuscripts to early printed books and modern archives. Her current research interests include textiles in bindings, the complex questions artists' books can pose within library collections for conservators, and the care and conservation of papyrus.
During her time at the Bodleian Alice has been hosted as part of a skills exchange at the National Diet Library in Tokyo, presented at the Care and Conservation of Manuscripts conference at the University of Copenhagen in 2025, and is on the committee of the Oxford Conservators’ Group (OCG). She hosts the Textile in Libraries Network and welcomes contact from those interested in joining the group.
Simon Haigh is a Book Conservator working within the Book Conservation Team. After a first degree in Graphic Design from the London College of Printing he continued to study bookbinding at the college for a further 2 years. He then trained at James Brockman's Bindery in Oxford, where he worked as a bookbinder. He joined the Bodleian as a Conservation Technician in 2005, working in box making and the general bindery, before joining the newly formed Book Team in 2012.
His interests include developing discreet techniques to re-attach boards to printed books. Simon enjoys training students and new members of staff in binding and book conservation techniques.
Andrew has a degree in conservation from Camberwell College of Arts and a postgraduate diploma in the conservation of rare books and manuscripts from West Dean College. Before joining the Bodleian Libraries in 1998 he worked at the National Museum of Wales, the Oxford Conservation Consortium and Archbishop Marsh’s Library.
Andrew is currently cataloguing medieval bindings of English manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries dating from 1066–1250. He teaches the materiality of books and manuscripts within the University and to summer schools, and publishes on book conservation, bookbinding and paper history.
He is an Institute of Conservation (Icon) accredited conservator and an elected a fellow of the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) and the Society of Antiquaries. He is a member of the Faculty of English, Oxford, and was a visiting fellow at the Ligatus Research Unit, University of the Arts, London. He is the Conservation Inspector to the Mappa Mundi Trust, Hereford Cathedral.
Carrie Marks joined the team as Book Repair Technician in 2025. Her role focuses on the treatment of post-1850 printed books within the library's circulating collections, and she provides guidance to library staff on collection care and book repair practices to ensure the long-term preservation of the Bodleian's holdings. She also supports the library through show-and-tells for students and visitors, and by assisting readers.
After graduating from Norwich University of the Arts in 2014 with a first degree in Photography, Carrie began her heritage career with the National Trust as a Conservation Assistant. She then combined her love of photography and conservation with a digitisation traineeship with Historic England, going on to manage Access Digitisation for Imperial War Museums. Before joining the Book Conservation team in 2025, Carrie managed the visitor and volunteer experience at Kelmscott Manor where she championed access to collections and heritage environments for families.
Kirstin Williams is a Book Conservator with ten years of experience working with archive and library collections in the UK. She earned her MA in Book and Paper Conservation from West Dean College in 2017 and subsequently worked at the Parliamentary Archives in the UK Parliament, where she presented her research at the ICON19 conference in Belfast.
Since 2020 she has been part of the Book Conservation Team at the Bodleian Libraries. Her work spans archives, printed books, and manuscripts across the Libraries' extensive holdings, and she provides guidance and training to library staff on book and collection care practices. Additionally, she supports the Book Repair Technician in the care and repair of post-1850 printed books and library materials in the circulating collections. Her professional interests include the development of Western book and manuscript conservation practice, the materiality of Western books and media, and the ethical principles that guide conservation.
Carla Salem is a paper conservator and is the current T. A. Barron Fellow in Conservation at the Bodleian Libraries, focusing on the care of the library’s historic photographic collections. She holds a PhD from the Tokyo University of the Arts, where she spent ten years studying traditional Japanese papermaking and printmaking, developing specialist knowledge in washi, inks and pigments. Her current research interests include sustainable, material-aware approaches to paper conservation, particularly where traditional knowledge can support informed decision-making.
She worked in academia for ten years in papermaking and printmaking alongside an artistic practice in calligraphy, and later gained conservation experience at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. She formalised her conservation training with an MA in Paper Conservation at Northumbria University and has also worked at the Wellcome Collection.
Paper conservation
The work of the Paper Conservation Team focuses on stabilising the condition of works on paper and related materials such as parchment, papyrus, palm leaf, and birch bark through tailored conservation treatments.
The team has specialist expertise in treating vulnerable media, large-format works, and scrolls. Their practice includes the application of advanced techniques using gels and enzymes, as well as the design of bespoke mounting and housing solutions. They also support digitisation and exhibition programmes, ensuring that items are safely prepared.
Alongside conservation treatments, the team leads innovative research that advances conservation methods and contributes to technical studies on the materiality of manuscripts and books. Active in the global academic community, the team shares its work through publications, professional forums, and collaborative projects as well as through teaching and public events, promoting a greater understanding of both conservation and the Bodleian Libraries' collections.
Marinita Stiglitz manages the Paper Conservation team at the Bodleian Libraries. She specialises in the conservation of books and large-format works with a research focus on the comparative study of painting materials and paper used in book production. Her work bridges disciplines through collaboration with scientists, curators, and traditional craftspeople, bringing original perspectives on manuscript studies and new approaches to their conservation. She has published on conservation practices, the history of conservation, and the technical examination of manuscripts.
She studied art history at Sapienza University of Rome and conservation at the European School for the Conservation of Library Materials in Spoleto, continuing her training in various institutions including the Folger Shakespeare Library and the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington DC, and worked as a conservator in Rome before joining the Bodleian Library in 2004.
Articles and publications by Marinita Stiglitz
Julia Bearman is a Senior Paper Conservator. She graduated in Fine Art before training in conservation at postgraduate level. She worked for several institutions in London before joining the Bodleian Libraries in 2007.
Julia specialises in the treatment of unstable paper and parchment substrates and painted surfaces as well as large formats on paper, working on some of the Bodleian Libraries' major treasures.
Julia has managed large scale projects including the treatment and rehousing of the earliest papers of the Oxford University Archives housed within a historical interior and the ‘John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera’. Complex projects include the conservation of two seventeenth-century Chinese scrolls, the consolidation of paintings within a Mughal album, and the repair and rehousing of an eleventh-century Greek menologion.
She is actively involved in developing the section’s expertise in photographic conservation.
Yan Ling Choi is a Paper Conservator in the Paper Conservation Team. She holds a BA and an MS in Art Conservation, graduating from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in the United States as an Andrew W. Mellon Graduate Fellow in Library and Archive Conservation. She had internships and held positions at various institutions including the Walters Art Museum, the University of Washington Libraries, the University of Michigan Libraries, and the University of Hong Kong Libraries. She joined the Bodleian Libraries in 2022 to work on externally funded projects, contributing to the Green Books Project (2022–2024) and currently the Genizah Conservation Project (2024–present).
Articles and publications by Yan Choi
Céline Delattre is a Paper Conservator who joined the Bodleian Libraries in 2017. She holds a master’s degree in Paper Conservation from the Institut national du patrimoine in Paris and previously worked as a freelance conservator in Paris and northern France.
At the Bodleian Libraries, Céline works on the conservation of manuscripts, archival materials and works of art on paper, often involving complex and delicate treatments. A major long-term project has been the conservation of the Green Books of Felix Mendelssohn, an extensive correspondence collection requiring detailed technical study and careful treatment. She also contributes to the care of a wide range of collections and materials across the Libraries.
Her personal research interests focus on the use of gels and enzymes in paper conservation and on developing innovative, case-specific treatment methods through practical experimentation and applied research.
Lindsay McPherson is a paper conservator and joined the Bodleian Libraries in 2022. She holds a BA in History of Art and Material Studies, an MA in History of Art both from UCL, and an MA in Conservation of Fine Art (Works on Paper) from Northumbria University. As part of her professional conservation training, she undertook placements at The Wellcome Trust and The Rijksmuseum. She previously worked at Tate as a Paper and Photographs conservator on their loans program, and at the British Museum as the ICON Old Masters Prints and Drawings conservation intern.
Articles and publications by Lindsay McPherson
Robert Minte is Senior Paper Conservator in the Paper Conservation Team, specialising in the conservation of East Asian collections. With over forty-five years’ experience in conservation, he has held a variety of roles at the Bodleian Libraries, including Head of the Book Conservation Workshop from 1992–2004.
Robert gained experience in book and paper conservation while serving a bookbinding apprenticeship at the Bodleian Libraries, before completing an advanced internship at West Dean College, followed by placements and further study in The Netherlands, Hong Kong and an extended period in Japan.
His professional interests focus on practical conservation — the importance of developing and maintaining hands-on skills and passing them on to future conservators – and the study of objects’ materials within the context of conservation treatments. He is an accredited member of Icon, and served as an accreditation assessor from 2003 to 2023.
Preventive conservation
The Preventive Conservation Team aims to maximise the useful lifetime of the Bodleian Libraries’ collections with various preservation activities and initiatives. Their work includes environmental monitoring, delivering training, integrated pest management and advising on the storage, display and handling of collections.
The team also manage the Preservation Volunteer Programme, working to improve the storage of special collections through rehousing. They work in close collaboration with many other sections of the Bodleian Libraries and the wider University.
Alex Walker is the Head of Preventive Conservation, and manages the preventive conservation team. She joined the Bodleian Libraries in 2013 as a preventive conservator. Her main responsibilities include managing preventive conservation projects, environmental monitoring, integrated pest management (IPM), providing and developing training programmes and managing the preservation volunteer programme.
She trained in Paper Conservation at Camberwell College of Art and has an MA in Preventive Conservation from Northumbria University. Alex is an accredited member of Icon.
Lauren Christmas is a Collection Care Conservator. She works across two teams: Preventive, and Book Conservation. Lauren trained at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and received a Master’s in Cultural Material Conservation specialising in paper and books. Prior to joining the team in 2024, Lauren worked at the National Library of Australia as project conservator working specially with mould affected collections; and at the Australian War Memorial, as a digitisation conservator working with paper-based items including correspondence and maps. At the Bodleian Libraries her main responsibilities include managing online preventive requests, archival housing projects, quarantine room procedures, and the treatment of modern books.
Catherine Harris is a Preventive Conservator. She studied for an MA in the Conservation of Historic Objects at the University of Lincoln, undertaking internships at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum Exeter and Ironbridge Gorge Museums. She has previously worked for the National Trust in historic properties and as a preventive conservator, as well as carrying out site work in stone and wall paintings conservation for a private conservation practice. She joined the Bodleian Libraries team in 2017.
Catherine has a particular interest in insect pests and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and in training staff in preventive conservation practices. Her main responsibilities include IPM, assessing collections for mould/pests, environmental monitoring, emergency salvage preparedness and providing training to Bodleian staff. She represents the Bodleian on Pest Odyssey, the UK’s Integrated Pest Management Steering Group.
