Then one day in 1980 she took a student job at the UW Libraries, and that was it. "I decided this was a place I wanted to work for a very long time," she says. She's been there ever since, earning a library degree along the way, and this year she's earned the Distinguished Staff Award for her work.

Most of her time has been spent in a place outsiders never see — a large, table-filled basement room in Suzzallo called the Mendery. It is, among other things, the place where books that have been damaged go to be repaired.

That includes everything from a single book with a torn page to the hundreds of books that received smoke damage in the fire at the Center for Urban Horticulture.

Whatever is wrong, Leonard and her colleagues will try to find the best techniques to fix it. What they do requires a knowledge of books, paper and preservation techniques, combined with a steady hand and a patience that is less common in our computer-driven age. It was exactly the right fit for Leonard.

"When I initially began working at the library, I was very intrigued with the possibility of using my hands," she says. "I wanted craftsmanship, aesthetic concerns to be a part of my daily work experience."

And no wonder. Leonard has been making art for many years, and she has a special love for paper. At home she not only has a huge collection of paper, but her own letterpress for printing. "I've always been interested in sculptural forms made of paper — sculptural books, pieces that can unfold, display themselves, become something different than they first appear," she says. "I usually work in small format."

Several of her pieces reside in the UW's Book Arts Collection. She's also the creative force behind most of the posters for the libraries' exhibits.

Lizabeth Wilson, dean of University Libraries, tells of how Leonard had, as a student, been asked to produce signs for an exhibit. "She exceeded her supervisor's expectations by writing the signs in beautiful calligraphy," Wilson writes. "From that point on she became known for her beautifully designed exhibit posters and signage for exhibits…. Kate deserves much of the credit for our expanded exhibit program…."

Day to day, Leonard devotes most of her time to damaged books and paper. Damage from use and inherent physical deterioration is, she says, the most common. But disaster recovery creates unexpected needs. Taking care of the smoke-damaged urban horticulture books was a challenge because the rare materials could not be subjected to standard recovery methods. Instead, Leonard and her colleagues experimented with a material called zeolite. The books were packed in boxes with zeolite enclosed in mesh plastic bags. Over time, the zeolite absorbed the smoke smell and the books became odor-free. The best part, Leonard says, is that the zeolite is recyclable.

"You put it out in the sun and it loses the smoke smell. It's absorbed so you can reuse it."

Leonard has also been called upon to do complex projects ranging from designing special containers for fragile materials in Special Collections to creating a souvenir book for departing President Richard McCormick.

But it isn't only her technical skills that win Leonard accolades. Her co-workers Judith Johnson and Katherine Dodsley call her "a role model of professional conduct, treating people with dignity and compassion while striving for excellence in her own work."

Leonard returns the compliment, saying of her job: "I enjoy the problem solving that each project offers and I enjoy the collaboration with my colleagues more than anything — colleagues within the department and outside. Right now we have four or five projects going on. It's still breathtaking to me that I can come in every morning and work with people like my coworkers. There's human skill, there's professional dedication, there's good humor. And those are the things I'd be looking for if I were to go anywhere else."