Preservation and Care of Photograph Albums

Includes a Live In-Person Event on 11/05/2025 at 9:00 AM (EST)

November 5-7, 2025, Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Instructors: Georgia Southworth and Catherine Stephens

This three-day workshop will provide participants with an overview of the history, development, and care of photograph albums. Book conservators Georgia Southworth and Catherine (Cat) E. Stephens will acquaint participants with a variety of album structures, review common areas of deterioration, and discuss the conservation and preservation needs of photograph albums, accompanied by a small amount of hands-on supervised treatment instruction.

Participants will be introduced to the descriptive terminology of books and albums for condition and treatment reporting, and will learn to handle, display and house albums safely. Instructors will introduce some of the challenges of photograph album preservation and conservation through hands-on exercises, including the proper arrangement of book supports and performing minor structural repairs to damaged albums. Complex conservation treatments will be discussed but are too time intensive and potentially interventive to be demonstrated or taught within the timeframe of this workshop. Each of the three days will include a variety of learning activities, including group conversations, a PowerPoint presentation, object viewings, and hands-on activities.

Workshop applicants should have at least two years experience in photograph, paper, and/or book conservation. Some experience with photograph conservation is preferred.

Interested individuals must apply by August 1, 2025. The registration fee is $570 for AIC members, $864 for non-members. Free registration and a $1,000 travel stipend will be provided to a limited number of participants upon request in their application.

Funding for this program comes from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation fund for Collaborative Workshops in Photograph Conservation and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) Endowment for Professional Development, which was created by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is supported by donations from members of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and its friends. Workshops are made possible with the assistance of many AIC members, but no AIC membership dues were used to create or present this course.

FAIC relies on your contributions to support these and its many other programs. Learn more about donating to the foundation.

Interested individuals must complete an application by August 1, 2025. Each potential participant will be asked to describe their relationship with photograph albums and how they would use and share the knowledge gained from this workshop with others. Priority will go to conservation professionals who will be working with photograph albums immediately following this workshop (if not already). Geographic diversity will also be considered.

Submit an application by clicking the "Apply" button below. Applications are submitted through our online application portal. When you enter the portal, you will be prompted to login to the system using a login ID and password. Please note that this system is not connected to your F/AIC profile on our general website.

Criteria for Review

Experience and current interactions with the topic
Need for the content (current challenges around the topic)
Plan for dissemination of information gained
The program seeks to support a diverse set of participants and will consider geographic location, place of employment type, and profession.

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Georgia Southworth

Book Conservator

Book conservator Georgia Southworth has worked independently since 2002, as well as on staff at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 2007-2023 in the Department of Photograph Conservation. Along with exhibition, loan, and acquisition responsibilities, Southworth’s work in Photograph Conservation focused on the specific preservation and treatment needs of photograph albums and other bound volumes, and she has written, presented, and taught on the care and conservation of these multidisciplinary objects. As an independent conservator, Southworth has completed numerous treatment grants, preservation surveys, and exhibition preparation projects supporting regional and New York-based cultural institutions, including at the New York Botanical Garden, the New York Academy of Medicine, Columbia University, the Morgan Library & Museum, and the Yale Center for British Art. Southworth earned an MA in Book and Paper Conservation from Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London, and a BA from Union College.

Catherine E. "Cat" Stephens

Book Conservator

Catherine E "Cat" Stephens is a Conservator of books and archival materials at the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden. Between 2021 and 2024 Stephens was a fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Photograph Conservation (DPhC), where she studied the conservation of photograph albums, and worked with supervisor Georgia Southworth on an ongoing preservation survey of albums and photographically illustrated books held in the Museum's Department of Photographs. As the 2022-24 Research Scholar in Photograph Conservation at The Met, Stephens researched the folding endurance of several popular book and photo conservation adhesives to determine which might offer the best flexibility for treating fragile 19^th and 20^th century books. Stephens is a 2021 graduate of the Library and Archive Conservation dual master’s degree program at the NYU Institute of Fine Arts, and she earned a BFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011. She has held library and archive conservation positions at The Morgan Library & Museum, NYU Libraries, the New York Public Library, the New-York Historical Society, and the New York City Municipal Archives.