Deborah J. Leslie

64: Rare Book Cataloging [L-30]

28 July - 1 August 2003

1)   How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Extremely helpful, and I was particularly grateful that only a few core readings were separated out from the purely optional (though I did read some of those!) 2: Very critical to the pace of the class for a basic understanding and starting point for everyone. Familiarity with Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books and John Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors was necessary for terminology basics. 3: Fairly useful. 4: Very useful. 5: Very useful. I would not have been prepared without them, and all were helpful. 6: The readings were extremely helpful, in fact essential. There was not an overload of reading, but rather an appropriate amount. Reading DCRB thoroughly before class was a great help. 7: I’m glad I read pre-course reading before I came, but they seemed very overwhelming at the time. Class lecture clarified many things I didn’t understand when I read them at first. 8: Very useful. 9: I think that the pre-course readings were well geared toward the material that we covered. 10: Very useful, essential to understanding the course. 11: Very useful -- though I admit I read some during the week here at RBS, where they made more sense. 12: Very.

2)   Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class useful (or will they be so in the future, after you return home)?

1: Seems the instructor has taught the course enough times by now to have created a very workable syllabus -- course materials gave me plenty of ideas for additions to my cataloging manual back home. 2: Yes. Examples are important learning tool to reinforce class discussion. 3: Yes, and I will use my examples and notes frequently. 4: Yes, I plan to keep these materials to use as ready reference at work. 5: Yes. 6: Yes: the handouts, particularly the exercises and answers, will be very useful when I get home, as well as the excellent workbook. 7: I know I will use this material at my home institution. 8: Useful in class and very useful at home. 9: There was a generous amount of information distributed, and I hope to look at the example packets more closely at home. 10: Very appropriate. Workbook will assist in future cataloging efforts. 11: Very appropriate and will be used upon returning home. 12: Yes.

3)   Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?

1: Yes -- very refreshing to be challenged, but I was never left out of my depth, or left to sink if I thought I was. 2: Yes -- could add a bit more so ever depending on background of students’ experiences. 3: Yes. 4: Very appropriate. 5: Yes. 6: Yes: challenging but not unmanageable. 7-8: Yes. 9: Yes, discussions were thoughtful and yet probing as well. 10: Perfect. 11: Yes. I am often bored at professional development classes. This was not the case here. I learned an enormous amount. 12: Yes.

4)   If your course had field trips, were they effective?

1: Oh yes -- Lovely to visit the collections in UVa’s Special Collections -- so many copies to compare and learn from. 2: Yes -- David Vander Meulen’s presentation was very good and informative on varying editions, issues, and states. 3: Very much. 4: Our trip to Special Collections was a great learning experience and definitely helped to illustrate concepts we had learned in class. 5: Yes. 6: Yes: our trip to UVa Special Collections was very useful. 7: Yes, very well spent -- a special talk and demonstration on issues / editions. 8: Very well spent -- helped to solidify concepts. 9: Yes, the example we saw in Special Collections really helped to solidify terminology. I would encourage more of that if possible -- maybe even at Museum Night. 10: Very well spent. Examples in Special Collections underscored the curriculum. 11: Yes. 12: Very much so -- Special Collections visit with David Vander Meulen as presenter.

5)   What did you like best about the course?

1: Working on the books themselves, lots of practical experience. 2: Discussions on issues, questions, and best approaches, examples -- looking at example books and working them out. Consulting with classmates and instructor about problems and issues. 3: The course was well designed and Deborah did a great job explaining some of the more difficult areas of DCRB cataloging. 4: Very useful and practical information, but also provided a wonderful overview to rare books and printing, binding, illustrations, &c. 5: Discussion of cataloging exercises, examples, and practicums. Learning about the history of book production and discussions of policy were also very interesting. The teacher was chatty and open to discussion without letting things get chaotic. 6: I was thrilled to be able to catalog in many cases from actual pre-1801 books, and to be able to see actual examples of what we were discussing from the RBS collections. I also appreciated having such an experienced, knowledgeable, and professionally-connected instructor. 7: I really appreciated all the members of the class and how willing they were to share knowledge and experience. 8: Hands-on work, variety of structure (some lecture, some solo work, some group work, discussion). 9: I liked the practicums the best. Applying knowledge learnt in lecture was very helpful. 10: Hands-on exercises and open discussion. Working in groups was also pleasant. 11: Lots of hands-on experience. This was especially useful for collation exercises. I don’t think I would have gotten it otherwise. 12: Punctual approach; easy and relaxed interchange of information; scintillating discussion; interesting classmates.

6)   How could the course have been improved?

1: Maybe have an extra day with a field trip to the Folger! 2: Perhaps with a laptop instead of overhead with cataloging modules. More discussion of formats. 3: Having twelve copies of the same (or nearly the same) book for students to look at and discuss collectively. 4: Perhaps another field trip -- it was sometimes difficult sitting in the classroom all day. 5: I think perhaps it would have been good to do two practicums, if it could have been accommodated along with full class discussion of them all. 6: I don’t think it could be unless it was two weeks! 9: More homework examples (one or two). 10: Include a few less topics. 11: Space to write notes in the workbook. 12: More comfortable chairs.

7)   We are always concerned about the physical well-being both of the RBS teaching collections and of materials owned by UVa’s Special Collections. If relevant, what suggestions do you have for the improved classroom handling of such materials used in your course this week?

1: We should be reminded to wash our hands before coming back to handle things in a later session. 2: Importance of using book supports and snakes. Discussion on preservation, maybe more important than binding. 3: None. 5: No suggestions, no problems. 6: None -- I thought all handling of the collections was appropriate. 7: I needed more explanation on using some of the special tools (loup?). 9: None. 12: None.

8)   If you attended the Sunday and/or Monday night lectures, were they worth attending?

1: N/A. 2-3: Yes. 4: Yes -- very interesting. 5: The Sunday night lecture was a good introduction to RBS. The Monday lecture was interesting but my mind wandered occasionally because I couldn’t quite see how his points were progressing. 6: N/A. 7: Yes, even though medieval MS is out of my library’s collecting scope, I enjoyed this talk. 8: Enjoyable and informative. 9: The Monday lecture was intriguing, and even though I know little about the topic he spoke on, he is an excellent lecturer and, I think, engaged everyone no matter their familiarity with the topic. 10: Yes, very informative and enjoyable. 11-12: Yes.

9) If you attended Museum Night, was the time profitably spent?

1: N/A. 2: Yes -- excellent. More close-up discussions, able to look at hands-on. 3: Yes. 4: I especially enjoyed Museum Night. TB’s impromptu lectures were delightful. 5: Yes. I did not stay either night for the full two hours, but should have. Punch-cutting demonstration and looking at various illustration and printing plates (Printing Surfaces night) were my favorite parts. I missed most of TB’s presentation on Monotype and Linotype but liked what I did see. 6: Yes: I attended both Museum Nights, and seeing so many examples in person, and explained one-on-one by RBS staff, was wonderful. 7: It was interesting, but I was very tired and I don’t know how much information I absorbed. 8: Thursday Museum Night was particularly valuable to me, because we had been discussing types of illustrations that afternoon, so it was nice to see examples of the surfaces. 9: Yes, I like it when demonstrations are done or when staff explain things even if they weren’t relevant to the class I took. 10: Did not attend. 11: Yes. 12: N/A.

10) Did you get your money’s worth? Any final thoughts?

1: This is my third year and it’s always extremely rewarding to take an RBS session! 2: Yes -- consider offering advanced course. Discuss authority work. Great week, thank you! 3: Definitely, I now feel confident in applying DCRB rules to my rare book cataloging. 4: Absolutely! 5: I got my money’s worth. It was a good experience that got better as the week went on and didn’t drag. I learned a lot and picked up some bookish spirit. 6: Yes. No question that I got my money’s worth and more! I would love to see a “Rare Book Cataloging -- Advanced” or “Rare Book Librarianship” (i.e. access, administration, acquisitions, &c.) class. 7: Yes. 8: Yes, though I wish my institution was more financially supportive. 9: Yes. 10: Yes! A wonderful course. Preliminary readings are essential. 11: Absolutely. I will gladly pay for a future course out of my own pocket. 12: Yes. DJL is a crackerjack instructor and the perfect fit for conducting this course. A must for rare book catalogers!

Number of respondents: 12

Percentages

There were four rare book librarians (33%), three archivists or manuscript librarians (25%), and five librarians with some rare book duties (45%).

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