Meet the Team — Conservator
We introduce Janet Ashdown, the Linnean Society's in-house Conservator
Published on 18th June 2019
Our latest Meet the Team profile is on our Conservator, Janet Ashdown.
![Janet Ashdown](https://ca1-tls.edcdn.com/_720xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Janet-project-pic-1.jpg)
What are the key parts to your role?
As the Society’s conservator I take care of the collections, ensuring they are preserved for the future.
What do you like about your job?
There is a huge variety of material in the Society’s collections – books, manuscripts, prints, drawings, paintings and natural history specimens. I am always learning new skills and techniques that help me care for them.
How did you end up in this job?
I started working part-time at the Society in 2000 repairing books and working in the office. In 2002 I became the full-time conservator.
What is the most interesting item to you in the Linnean Society collections?
![carpological colllection 12](https://ca1-tls.edcdn.com/_720xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Carpological-Collection-12.jpg)
When I first joined the Society I was asked to look at Smith’s Carpological collection with a view to conserving it. Because of other priorities this wasn’t possible until 2018 when the Society was awarded a grant towards cleaning and housing this fascinating collection of seeds and economic botany. You can read about the collection here. We also recently had a lunchtime lecture by Dr Maria Zytaruk on the history of seed exchange which focused on the packaging the collections were held in.