I came from Brazil where I worked as a pastor in a southern city. I have always been passionate about books, not only about their content, but also their shape, structure, binding and preservation. For the ancient book artisans, the artistic elements of a book were more than style, they used to represent the very core of the book’s message. With this in mind, my first job was in a book bindery and restoration company. There I learned the different approaches to books with preservation and restoration needs, as well as the different techniques of modern book bindery. This background gave me the way to work and attain my baccalaureate in theology. And today, I am very proud to use this knowledge to approach the historical materials of our church, and attain my PhD degree.

This is exactly the opportunity that my job at CAR gives me, to be a part of history. I work here in the digitization department, which I consider the new, and maybe the last, frontier of the book conservation task. I have also done some preservation tasks, and most recently I had the opportunity to handle Joseph Bates’ Bible. To handle, digitize, and preserve this Bible was an amazing experience for me. I had never thought I would have this book in my hands when I first read about its author. This is like encountering the past and reaffirming my faith. The most wonderful thing of all is that this happens every day here at the Center for Adventist Research.
Felipe Masotti, Student Worker / A PhD student from Brazil who loves working with books.