1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Good background, but I was already familiar with at least 50% of the assigned reading. 2: Good to get basics -- essential for reference back at institution, post-RBS. 3: Very useful. They were tough to get through. However, after the midpoint of the class I re-read much of the material, and then it really made sense and reinforced what was covered in class. 4: Very useful. Some good overview with slightly more technical pieces. They will make more sense at the end of the week. 5: Very useful as background information as well as for the terminology, technology aspects. 6: They provided a good background, although it's only now that I'll be able to really make sense of them. It's hard to read about EAD before you do it. 7: The readings in retrospect were very useful, although details at the time did not necessarily make a lot of sense. 8: They were very useful in terms of dealing directly with EAD. I wish I had had more time to read material related to XML, because I felt a little lost during discussion of those topics. 9: Very useful. Excellent foundation and easy to understand. 10: Very useful -- provided a nice foundation for the class.

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: Very clear, room to scribble in notes, will provide good reference. 2-3: Yes. 4: Yes. Useful during the week and in the future. 5: Yes, very much so. 6: Yes. 7: Very useful. 8: Yes, especially the handbook. 9: Yes. I will keep the course handbook for reference. 10: Course materials were well organized and provide a great printed reference of the electronic files used in class. This will be a handy reference in the future.

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

1: Yes. 2: Yes, for the most part. 3-4: Yes. 5: Yes, very much so. 6: Yes. 7: Very appropriate to course description. 8: Yes. I felt the course, in addition to exposing me to EAD, gave me another intellectual and analytical level that I can use in approaching the processing of corrections and writing of finding aids. 9: Yes. 10: Intellectual level was perfect! DP went into depth on many subjects but was very careful to explain the technical aspects in a straightforward "plain language" manner.

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?

1-3: Yes. 4: Yes. Exactly. 5-8: Yes. 9: Yes. It was exactly what I expected. 10: Yes.

6) What did you like best about the course?

1: It did not turn me into an "expert." Left the class with questions; only now they're different questions than when I began, and I know how to find the answers. 2: Hands-on approach to reinforce concepts. 3: I liked the hands-on component -- this makes it different/superior to all other EAD courses currently offered. Hand-in-hand with that is the instructor, who was both extremely knowledgeable and very personable (how rare a combination!). 4: A good overview of the history of EAD, along with the very technical at the beginning of the week, implementation by day three as a group and then solo project by the end. DP took the time to sit with each individual at least once. His assistant, Kimberly Tryka, was also an asset. 5: The instructor. He is knowledgeable, kind, interesting, and makes students feel at ease. He is able to explain a difficult topic to different students with different levels of experience well. His ability to explain EAD conceptually as well as focus on the practical aspects made this course very good. And he has a good sense of humor and is very approachable. KT was great. 6: DP's teaching style -- good mix of lecture type instruction and hands-on work. He managed to make what could be incredibly dull interesting by putting it into a broader context and having such a good-natured and entertaining teaching style. 7: A nice mix/blend of philosophical aspects with the nitty-gritties of encoding. DP's humor and general manner did much towards alleviating any concerns. 8: The instructor: his patience, knowledge, humor, passion and commitment to the material. I also appreciated the fact that there was an assistant. I can't imagine teaching the class without one. 9: The fact that we got to bring our own finding aid to encode. We had the choice to apply what we had read/learned immediately and get DP's assistance with difficult bits. 10: I really appreciated how DP took the time to explain the technical processes behind EAD. He also has a great sense of humor, which made the class fun.

7) How could the course have been improved?

1: Two-week course would provide more time for "experimentation." 2: Add an advanced level course. 3: We covered a tremendous amount of material. I think the only thing that would have helped was had I been more knowledgeable ahead of time. 4: Perhaps a little more regarding style sheets. It seemed like this was one of the primary problems with the processed finding aid. I realize it may not be possible to finesse this, as they are very individualized, but it's a little disappointing not having something look the way you want it as an end result. 5: No improvement unless you want to make it into a two-week course. The addition of an assistant was very helpful to me and very much appreciated. 6: For me a more "dumbed down" explanation of the basic concepts and mechanics of using the software. But there was enough time for it to become clear enough by the end of the week that I really feel I grasped the basics of what I need to know to build on when I get home. 7: None. 8: More hours in the day! 9: It was very helpful for DP to have an assistant (KT). Everyone got individual help with their encoding, which wouldn't have been possible otherwise. 10: Great the way it is. (Perhaps a second course on publishing EAD?)

8) 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?

1-6: N/A. 7: Electronic lab: those in back row may have difficulty viewing overhead screen. 8-10: N/A.

9) Please comment on the quality/enjoyability of the various RBS activities in which you took part outside of class (e.g. 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: Enjoyable -- provided more opportunity to "network." 2: Very smooth -- enjoyable. 3: I enjoyed the Video Night. 4: Evening lecture very good. 5: The Sunday night dinner was fun and a good way to informally meet classmates and fellow RBS students. The evening lecture was very interesting. And, oh the cookies!! 6: I attended three of the events and enjoyed them (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday). It was a good way to mix with the other students and find dinner companions. I think it's an essential part of the enjoyment of the school week to make the evening activities available. 7: Enjoyable, but tiring. 8: I enjoyed the lecture. There could be better coordination, it seems, between booksellers and RBS. How come more aren't open later? 9: The "social" part of the program was very enjoyable. It was nice to meet people from other classes -- an interesting, varied group. 10: Attended everything but Sunday tour -- everything seemed well planned (and we certainly were fed well)!

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

1: A) I think so. B) Don't come in with expectations what you're going to learn or pre-conceived ideas of what's important. 2: Yes. 3: Yes. This was a bargain. I feel like I was able to spend a full week with the most-respected person in this field. I am grateful that DP is willing to teach, because he knows everything there is to know about EAD, enjoys what he does, and is willing to work with you regardless of your level of expertise. 4: Yes. The course was always very professionally run by interesting and very well-informed instructors who are concerned with the student's understanding of the material and the student's own professional needs. If you want to learn EAD, this is probably the best place to come. 5: Yes, am already thinking about coming next year. 6: Definitely got my money's worth. It's hard to find this quality of professional education, so has been far more valuable to me than short conference workshops &c. 7: Yes -- now I just have to find the time to do it. 8: Yes. Rest up before hand. 9: Absolutely. I feel completely comfortable with my grasp of the material and confident that I will be able to implement it on returning to my institution. Most highly recommended. 10: Yes Yes Yes! This was exactly what I need to move beyond simply throwing tags together and start "encoding." The XSL part of the course was very helpful!

Number of respondents: 10

There were five archivists or manuscript librarians (50%), one general librarian with some rare book duties (10%), one general librarian with no rare book duties (10%), one digital librarian (10%), one general cataloger (10%), and one digitization librarian (10%).

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