Rare Book School

RBS Awards $8,250 in Prizes to UVA Students for "Why Books Matter" Competition

[15 April 2013] Rare Book School is pleased to announce the winners of the "Why Books Matter" University-wide competition. The competition, which was sponsored by The Jefferson Trust (an initiative of the UVA Alumni Association), asked UVA students to explore the changing nature of textual media, and to envision new approaches to engaging with books as physical objects. The competition celebrates Rare Book School’s twentieth anniversary on Grounds and is meant to promote research and design related to the book, broadly conceived—that is, any recorded text, including manuscript, printed, and digital media. Its substantial prizes, ranging from $500 to $1,500, recognize UVA’s ongoing commitment to innovative research and design relating to books.

Rare Book School will be hosting an awards ceremony and reception at noon on Friday, April 19 in Alderman 421, and will exhibit these student projects through 5 p.m. on the same day. RBS invites UVA students, faculty, and staff,  as well as members from the local community, to attend the event, and to congratulate these students on their accomplishments. See the winners here...

Deadline Extended for Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship

[2 April 2013] The deadline for the Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship has been extended to Monday, 8 April at 5:00 p.m. The scholarship is available to all antiquarian booksellers interested in taking Joel Silver’s course, Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books (L-25), taking place 22–26 July. Preference will be given to individuals in the early stages of their careers and to those who would not otherwise be able to attend RBS without scholarship assistance.

Now Accepting Applications for October Courses

[26 March 2013] The applications for our two October courses in Washington, D.C., are now available on the myRBS application system. Both are new courses taught by veteran RBS faculty. Advanced Rare Book Cataloging (L-35), taught by Deborah J. Leslie, will be held at the Folger Shakespeare Library; Hokusai & Book Illustration (I-95), taught by Ellis Tinios, will be held at the Freer/Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution.

RBS Faculty Member Joel Silver Appointed Director of Indiana University's Lilly Library

[20 March 2013] Dean of Indiana University Libraries Brenda Johnson recently announced the appointment of Joel Silver as Director of the Lilly Library, the university's celebrated rare books and manuscripts library. Silver was previously Associate Director and Curator of Books at the Lilly. He began teaching at RBS in the summer of 2012 with his course Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books (L-25), which will be offered again this summer in late July. Read the full IU News Room article here.

RBS Assistant Director & Curator of Collections Barbara Heritage Wins Charlottesville "4 Under 40" Award

[15 March 2013] Rare Book School Assistant Director & Curator of Collections Barbara Heritage was recently selected to receive one of Charlottesville Woman's "4 Under 40" awards, an annual prize given by the Charlottesville Daily Progress, honoring local women who make an impact on the community by balancing work, family, and activism. Read more in the CW article (PDF).

RBS-Mellon Fellowships Awarded

[8 March 2013] RBS is pleased to announce that the selection process for the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in Critical Bibliography is now complete: 20 RBS-Mellon Fellows have been chosen from a pool of 250 applicants. The aim of the fellowship program is to reinvigorate bibliographical studies within the humanities by introducing doctoral candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty to specialized skills, methods, and professional networks for conducting advanced research with material texts. View press release

Still Accepting Applications for Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship

[5 March 2013] The Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship opportunity that is available to all antiquarian booksellers interested in taking Joel Silver’s course, Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books (L-25), at RBS in Charlottesville, Virginia. One Tavistock Scholarship will be awarded in 2013. Preference will be given to individuals in the early stages of their careers and to those who would not otherwise be able to attend RBS without scholarship assistance.

To apply for the Tavistock scholarship, please submit a 2013 summer application to RBS no later than 1 April 2013. In a cover letter, discuss your reasons for applying for the scholarship to attend "Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books"; please include a brief description of your work in the antiquarian book trade, financial needs, and other relevant information. While not required, a recommendation letter from an ABAA member to accompany the application would be beneficial. Scholarship applicants will be notified of decisions by 30 April 2013.

RBS Now Accepting Submissions for "Why Books Matter" Competition

[31 January 2013] “Why Books Matter” is a University-wide competition open to all UVA students who wish to explore the changing nature of textual media, and who envision new approaches to engaging with books as physical objects. The competition celebrates Rare Book School’s twentieth anniversary on Grounds, and is meant to promote research and design related to the book, broadly conceived—that is, any recorded text, including manuscript, printed, and digital media. Its substantial prizes—ranging from $500 to $1,500—are meant to recognize UVA’s ongoing commitment to innovative research and design relating to books.

Students may submit projects in one of three categories: Essays; Fine Arts; and Science, Technology & Entrepreneurship. The deadline for submissions has been extended to 15 March 2013. The submission form, along with competition details, is now available on our "Why Books Matter" page.

Exhibition Tours for "Turning the Page: Technology & Innovation in Nineteenth-Century Books"

[30 January 2013] RBS is pleased to announce the gallery tours of the exhibition "Turning the Page: Technology & Innovation in c19 Books," from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, January 30, February 13, and February 27. Gallery tours will last approximately 15 to 20 minutes and are open to the public.

"Turning the Page" is an exhibition that explores the relationship between new technologies and the rise of modern mass media in the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, books were still manufactured using many of the same craft skills and techniques used since the introduction of moveable type in the fifteenth century. By the end of the 1800s, the book had changed from a largely handmade object to a mass-produced industrial product. This exhibition showcases the technological innovations that helped to transform book manufacture. Highlighted in each case are advances in papermaking, printing, binding, and illustration processes, all of which contributed to a century-long quest to make books more quickly, more cheaply, and in greater numbers than ever before.

This exhibition has been made possible by Rare Book School and The Jefferson Trust, an initiative of the UVA Alumni Association, as part of the “Why Books Matter” Exhibition Series, celebrating Rare Book School’s twentieth anniversary on Grounds.

For more information about the exhibition, please contact the exhibition's curator, Elizabeth Ott, at elo2be@virginia.edu.

RBS Launches Its New Online Application System

[22 January 2013] RBS is pleased to announce myRBS, a new customized web application developed for every member of the RBS community. Through myRBS, you will be able to apply for a course, gain access to and edit your contact information, view your course history and Friend status, and more! More details here...

2012 Scholarship Awards Announced

[19 December 2012] Rare Book School is pleased to announce the winners of its 2012 Scholarship Committee awards. Congratulations to all! See the list of winners here...

RBS Announces Its 2013 Course Schedule

[31 October 2012] RBS is excited to announce its course schedule for 2013, a double-anniversary—30 years in operation and 20 years at the University of Virginia! This year's schedule includes some major expansions, featuring the addition of several new courses and new host venues, including Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania. See the full schedule here.

Julia Miller to Give Clay Lecture and Seminar on 24 and 25 October

[11 October 2012] RBS is pleased to announce its upcoming Clay lecture and seminar, to be delivered by Julia Miller, book conservator and independent scholar, on Wednesday, 24 October and Thursday, 25 October. Both events are free and open to the public, although space in the seminar is limited. More details here...

New Mellon Fellowship Program at Rare Book School

[1 October 2012] Rare Book School has been awarded a grant in the amount of $896,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund a new fellowship program, the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in Critical Bibliography. The aim of the program is to reinvigorate bibliographical studies within the humanities by introducing doctoral candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty to specialized skills, methods, and professional networks for conducting advanced research with material texts. Fellows will receive funding for RBS course attendance, as well as generous stipends, and support for research-related travel to special collections, over the course of three years. The deadline for application to the program is December 1, 2012. Interested scholars are encouraged to apply as soon as possible; see the RBS-Mellon Fellowship page for more details. View press release.

2013/14 Yale Law Library Rare Book Fellowship

[8 October 2013] The Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School is pleased to announce a Rare Book Fellowship to train the next generation of rare book librarians. We encourage applications from recent graduates and from those who are about to finish a degree in library science...Full Story

FABS Announces Essay Competition

[18 September 2012] The Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS) announces "American Book Collectors & Collecting from 1940 to the Present," an essay competition with a $1000 award for an original essay of 3000 to 4000 words by a writer aged 30 years or younger...Full Story

Call for Papers: 21st Annual SHARP Conference in Philadelphia

[16 September 2012] The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) invites submissions for its 21st annual conference, to be held in Philadelphia from July 18-21, 2013. The program will take place primarily on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania...Full Story