EFEO Archival Book Conservation
2022 · conservation
Provided archival-grade book repair, restoration, and conservation services to the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), a Paris-based international research institution with a Jakarta presence. The engagement covered physical conservation work and archival consultation from 2021 to 2023.
Working with EFEO taught me the difference between bookbinding and conservation. A bookbinder makes books. A conservator preserves them. Every intervention must be reversible, every material must meet archival standards, and the original artefact's integrity takes priority over aesthetic preference.
What this proved: Institutional conservation work demands a different standard: every intervention must be reversible, every material must be archival-grade, every decision must be documented.