1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: None required. Bibliography and suggested books very useful. 2: Very helpful. 3: Not very. Some were. 4: Very helpful. 6: V ery useful. 7: Minimal. 8: Helpful in getting overview. 9: Very useful. 10: Very. 11: The pre-course readings were good. It would have been helpful to have chapters or portions of each book designated as specifically important to read prior to attendance, as the "preliminary advices" didn't direct the reading very much. 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: Yes. Would like a much fuller list of dealers and collectors and presses, with contact information for all of them. (But that's asking a lot, I know.) 2: List of items viewed extremely helpful. 3-4: Yes. 5: Not ready until Tues. pm. 6: Yes. 7: Excellent. Suggest a little more detail, ie addresses, websites, &c., of material listed in syllabus. 8: Yes -- very helpful. Class examples were essential for this course. 9: The syllabus wasn't strictly followed but the content will certainly be useful in the future. 10: Yes. 11: The syllabus contents were not complete until the second day of the course. It would have been better to have it the first day and better to stick to the daily scheduled topic more closely than we did. We meandered a bit too much. 12: Yes.

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

1-6: Yes. 7: Outstanding. 8-11: Yes. 12: Yes, although I would have appreciated more analysis of fewer books and more literary analysis.

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

1: Yes -- we went to Special Collections. However, it was very difficult to really see the books, since there are 12 of us and we weren't allowed to touch them. I think, considering that we are all professionals, we should be allowed to handle them. 2: Yes. 3: N/A. 4: Yes. 6: Yes. 7: N/A. 8: Yes. The supplemental books in Special Collections were important to see. 9: Visits to Special Collections: worthwhile, but showing fewer books and examining all of these closely would have been better. 10: Good materials viewed in Special Collections. 11: I think so. 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: Not as focused on strategies as I expected. But that didn't bother me! I'm glad there was a lot of time spent looking at books and having discussions. 2: Yes. 3: Somewhat. 4-7: Yes. 8: Yes, though could have given more emphasis to the "strategies for collecting" aspect. 9-10: Yes. 11: We spent far more time evaluating books and determining why they were artists' books than we did talking about collecting strategies. The evaluating is an important part of the process of building a collection, but we needed to talk more about strategies. 12: Yes.

6) What did you like best about the course?

1: JD has a great attitude and general teaching personality. She seemed willing to show us a wide range of books far beyond her own personal tastes, which is so important. She has a great sense of humor. 2: Atmosphere created by JD that encouraged discussion. Breadth of JD's experience/expertise, and her ability to communicate. Laughter. 3: Opportunity to see and examine a large gathering of books in the flesh. More time is needed for reviewing the books. 4: The instructor and of course the material she presented. 5: The instructor. 6: Seeing so many physical examples. The discussion of theoretical context. 7: Leader's ability to engage class members to participate and to do it gracefully. 8: The instructor's lectures and insights. 9: The instructor's knowledge of the field (historically and theoretically) and her practical knowledge of printing techniques. Also her willingness and openness to discuss, consider and reconsider various books. 10: The instructor, my fellow students (levels of knowledge). 11: The instructor's insights about artists' books and what they are. And how to distinguish artists' books from other types of artist-generated publications and works. 12: Professor -- wonderfully intelligent, knowledgeable and congenial.

7) How could the course have been improved?

1: Have evening sessions to look at books, so class time could be better used. 2: Longer, more time. 3: More lectures, especially information about historical contexts such as avant-garde movements of the c20. More focus on collection strategies -- how to evaluate strategies for workability. 4: Instructor has discussed the improvements she would make and asked for our feedback. 5: Slide lectures. 6: A couple of slide lectures introducing materials not in local collections. 8: Additional time to preview books before discussion, or to study them further after class -- I found it difficult to look at/read the books while the instructor continued the lecture/dialog. 9: In general, more focus and more structure to the actual course. An introductory lecture and one or two slide lectures for the historical materials would have worked better. Some of the discussions also went off-track and off-subject -- a little control would go a long way. More focus on fewer books would also have been an improvement. 10: There was a variety of backgrounds and sophistication which JD intends to address in the future by having a session on production techniques. 11: Sticking to the course topic -- collecting strategies. 12: Fewer books, more analysis.

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?

4: Artists' books need to be handled! 7: None. 11: N/A.

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: Please have healthy food on Wednesday and Thursday breakfast! 2: Fine. 4: O.K. 5: No printing demo -- why not? 6: Not stell ar, but O.K. 7: Sunday tour -- useful. 8: Very enjoyable, stimulating. 9: Tuesday night Bookseller Night much appreciated! 10: Good pop-up show in Special Collections. 11: Good. 12: If the booksellers had given even a modest discount, it would have been nice.

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

1: I highly recommend this class. 2: Read "The Century of Artists' Books." Yes [got my money's worth]. 4: Yes [got my money's worth]. Book a hotel room if you are bringing guests. 6: This was a superb course, enjoyed! A few more points of focus, a bit more time on analysis. But these may come the second time around. 7: Yes -- got my money's worth. 8: Try to see some exhibitions or collections before you come. 9: I would recommend this course, comments in #7, above, aside. Saw plenty of opportunity to consider issues of collection development, which made it worthwhile. Thanks for offering it. 10-12: Yes [got my money's worth].

Number of respondents: 12

There were four rare book librarians (33.6%), two teacher/professors (16.6%), one general librarian with some rare book duties, one full time student, one antiquarian bookseller, one museum employee, one book collector and one art librarian (8.3% each).

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