1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Helpful. 2: Useful. 3: Essential, but RBS has bought up the remaining in-print copies of Stoddard's Marks in Books (it seems) so I do not have my own copy and was unable to find one for sale. 4: Pre-course readings were very useful. 5: Very useful. Some of the books were difficult to locate -- Interlibrary loan should be emphasized even more. 6: I perused the books on the bibliography and it was helpful in preparing for class. 7: Essential and useful for the most part. 8: Useful; they gave a good background. 9: Fairly useful -- though some seemed more detailed than a neophyte could usefully handle. 10: Very useful, the ones I got hold of. The provenance book was especially useful to me, being a novice in this aspect of the field. 11: Very useful and appropriate. I intend to go back to them when I return. 12: Some useful for the course, some interesting as background reading.

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: Yes, but more (and updated in terms of fresh photocopying) would be useful. 2: No course syllabus; other materials were appropriate. 3: Yes to all three. 4: Yes. The bibliography is especially helpful. 5: Yes. 6: No syllabus. 7: Very helpful. 8: Yes. 9: We got no syllabus. A good bibliography we got will be helpful. Other materials maybe not as helpful. 10: Yes. 11: Yes, they were very helpful. 12: Yes, mostly the bibliographies.

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

1-5: Yes. 6: It was a little over my head but I managed to keep up. 7: Perfect. 8: Absolutely. 9: Yes. Didn't present too much -- seemed about right level for participants, most of which seemed to fall within the same range of experience. 10: Yes -- very high level without leaving anyone behind. 11: Yes, perfectly. We came from different backgrounds, but were all treated like knowledgeable professionals. 12: Yes, informative and challenging.

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

1: Yes. 2: Two visits to Special Collections presented relevant examples of topics being studied. 3-5:Yes. 6: Yes! The Special Collections time was great. The books we saw were great illustrations of the lectures. 7: Yes. 8: And again, yes! 9: We visited Special Collections twice -- useful, but maybe could have been better -- I thought we got a bit hung up on details. 10: Yes -- our two trips to Special Collections were enjoyable and useful. 11: Yes, definitely. 12: Yes.

5) Did the actual course content correspond to its RBS brochure description and Expanded Course Description (ECD)? Did the course in general meet your expectations?

1: Name of the course is a little foggy. I would alter the title of the course to describe better what happens in the course, along the lines of "Researching a Rare Book," or similar. It's not an easy course title to explain to the library administration when seeking permission to attend RBS. 2: Yes. 3: It corresponded better to the description than the title. "Managing the Past" doesn't convey a thing. 4: Yes. 5: For the most part. The subjects covered are quite broad and even somewhat flexible. 6: Yes. 7: Yes indeed, though the title might be rethought. 8: The title was confusing, being too vague and general and thus not describing the contents of the course very well. 9: Pretty well, though the content was more specifically focused on some areas -- like armorials -- than I'd expected. "Managing the Past" sounds more administrative than this course. Maybe "NB Looks at Books" or "How to Look at Books" or "Working with Old Books." 10: Yes, almost exactly. The mysterious course title could be misleading to someone who doesn't read the description closely. 11: Yes. There was a lot of ground to cover and we managed to do so. 12: Sort of. The course description is somewhat general and the course title needs to be changed to be more descriptive. I suggest, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that Physical Evidence in Later Printed Books would be more descriptive.

6) What did you like best about the course?

1: Instructor, his insights, and breadth of knowledge. Handling the books, then discussing them. 2: NB's insightful overviews of various aspects of book history and his wonderful personal anecdotes. 3: The instructor! 4: Hearing NB's approach to and analysis of a variety of books. 5: The opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and experience of an eminent figure in this field. 6: I will know better after I've had a few days to reflect. But just quickly I liked what I learned (and learning about what else I need to know about rare books). 7: This course is NB and from my perspective I cannot see anyone else teaching it. Informed, experienced, humorous, and a skillful motivator (a master of positive feedback), he is an exceptionally talented and effective instructor; one of the best, most interesting courses I have ever taken!!! This was a delight. Thank you! 8: The lectures on bookbindings, marbled endpapers and the booktrade. Also our own projects -- finding out everything you can about one or two books. I have learned very much from that. 9: Just listening to NB talk about books for a week -- his balanced perspective, experience, useful angles on all kinds of issues -- the view from an important and rather authoritative vantage. 10: The opportunity to learn from such a distinguished and engaging scholar, and the friendly camaraderie that the class developed. 11: NB's knowledgeable and patient style of teaching. It made this session an excellent learning experience. 12: NB's incredible knowledge, humor and cheer and the opportunity to handle and research the books. The anecdotes were worth the price of admission.

7) How could the course have been improved?

1: Better adherence to schedule, since it's hard to get food if time is too short. 2: There was some "down time" here and there and perhaps too much time devoted to class book project that could have been better filled with more comments from NB, who has so much to share. 3: More time with instructor. More explanatory comprehensive tour of library's reference holdings, both main and Special Collections. 4: Another trip to Special Collections with more examples of binding styles, provenance evidence, &c. 5: I should be able to experience this once a month or so! 7: A day, I believe, ought to have been spent entirely on American-related material. 8: No suggestions. I enjoyed it very much. 9: Add more on acquiring books, working with dealers and auctions. Less on heraldry. 10: Receiving our books to research a little earlier, and having a bit more time to work on them, would have been helpful. 12: More scheduled time with the books. Access after class should be available from the first day.

8) We are always concerned about the physical well-being both of the BAP's 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?

2: Handling was careful and appropriate. 3: Some books seem too delicate (or valuable) to be handled, even as gentle as we are; maybe some more clam shell boxes or other attempts to stabilize and protect would help. 5: The cradles we used for the materials seemed handy. Unfortunately, any difficulties mostly seemed to lie in students being careless, which is difficult to constantly monitor. 7: None; instructor carefully explained proper handling of archival book materials at once during first class. 8: No suggestions. 10: No real problems. 11: Perhaps better lighting in the McGregor Room.

9) Please comment on the quality/enjoyability of the various RBS activities in which you took part outside of class (eg Sunday afternoon tour, Sunday night dinner, evening lectures, Bookseller Night, Video Night, Study Night, tour of the Alderman digital/electronic centers, printing demonstrations, &c.).

1: All enjoyable, particularly Bookseller's Night. 2: All excellent, as usual. 3: I enjoy everything I did; always want more. 4: Evening lectures were very good. Found good books on Bookseller Night. 5: They were all quite enjoyable, and add to the almost retreat-like atmosphere of the week, where the only things that matter are bibliographic. 7: Good company; RBS staff invariably helpful and efficient. Recycled Xmas cookies not a healthy treat! 8: The lecture was interesting, though I did have to concentrate on hearing what the lecturer said (sound system?). The exhibition and reception afterwards were very good. Bookseller's Night was nice too, though I only visited two stores. And the dinner on Sunday was nice from the view that you can meet your fellow students for the following week. 9: I liked the Study Night idea and wished I didn't also need to prepare that night for an in-class presentation. 10: Sunday night dinner was great to start meeting people. TB's RBS lecture was informative and useful. Study Night was needed and proved very worthwhile to our class. The Mellon lecture was interesting and the Rotunda exhibit fun. 11: The evening lectures are too long. A half-hour lecture or two half-hour lectures (each by a different presenter) would be better. The Sunday night dinner is too expensive. The food/dish choices are not worth $12.00. 12: Fine and fun, although I skipped Bookseller Night in order to do homework.

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

1: Excellent as always, got money's worth, plan to come back next year. 2: Yes [got my money's worth]. 3: Yes to money's worth. Rename course for the future catalogues and perhaps a more detailed reference guide as a handout. 4: I got my money's worth. The pre-course readings definitely help students to follow NB's discussions. 5: I absolutely got my money's worth, including that which was actually mine and not my institution's. The course and the week as a whole was a wonderful refresher and re-energizer, and I am the better for it. 6: Yes. 7: I would market, generally, the fact and great benefit of small classes at RBS. I grew to know and appreciate the value of such close company and talented colleagues. 8: As said, I have enjoyed it tremendously. 9: I think I got my $'s worth. 10: Yes, I got my money's worth -- it is always a refreshing, if physically demanding, experience to come here. This course is a rare opportunity; I'm very glad I took it. 11: Excellent choice, especially if taught by NB. 12: Yes, one of the most practical and useful courses I have taken at RBS.

Number of respondents: 12

There were 6 rare book librarians (50%), 1 archivist/manuscript librarian with some rb and ref. duties, 1 general librarian with some rb duties, 1 antiquarian bookseller, 1 collection developer with a rare/antiquarian component, 1 rb appraiser and 1 art librarian (8.33% each).

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