aroline Bendix is an accredited freelance library conservator with 37 years’ experience, working for major national conservation bodies, (many on a continuing consultancy basis), cathedrals, churches, synagogues, learned societies and institutions, museums, historic houses, private collections, universities, municipal collections, schools, the Government, Historic Royal Palaces and independent libraries.
2019: Awarded the Plowden Medal for services to conservation
(click here for details)
Specialties:
- Pragmatic and practical advice and conservation, tailored to individual libraries
- Preservation audits/surveys/reports
- Advice on environment, storage, handling, salvage and display, long-term maintenance/conservation/use of collections
- Full conservation surveys of books
- Advice on/implementation of packing/moving libraries
- In-situ conservation/stabilisation
- Supply of conservators trained by self for in-situ conservation
- Training conservators, volunteers, librarians and curators
- Advice on exhibition/display of books
- Lecturing on all aspects of library conservation
- Working with a range of stakeholders and other conservation professionals
- Conservation in action and visitor/member engagement in fundraising
In addition to her freelance work, Caroline holds the following posts:
- Advisor (1992 to date) to the National Trust on library conservation in 165 properties
- Advisor to The Arts Society (formerly NADFAS), 1992 to date
- Continuing consultancies to other organisations, such as All Souls College (Oxford), Eton College, the Royal College of Physicians, Hatfield House, Lambeth Palace and the Royal Horticultural Society.
She has written three of the preservation leaflets for the British Library’s Preservation Advisory Service and teaches courses on damage recognition and cleaning collections at the British Library, run by West Dean College.
