1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: A lot of the books I needed were on inter-library loan. I am glad the effort was made by my library to get the reading material. It helped as a prepared overview. 2: I found them useful and interesting, though I probably would have gotten as much from the course and readings had I only done the more basic reading first and the more specific readings afterwards, rather than trying to read as much as I could of the whole lot ahead of time. 3: Useful but not essential. Some were too hard to find. 4: Useful. 5: Very useful, especially as an introduction to terminology. 6: Very useful. Readings provided good background for the course material but the course did not repeat reading material. 7: Tremendously useful. It took some time to get through, but was well worth it. A few articles I'd like to go back and read again having taken this class. 8: Pre-course readings were essential as a basis for understanding the course work and made it much easier to follow some of the more technical aspects of binding structure. 9: IF a student has no or little background in bookbinding, the readings can be a bit technical -- as is the course. That said, they are very helpful as background to the course sessions. 10: All were essential. I benefitted from them all, even though I read most before.

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, the definitions and drawings were the standard for our course. They will be on my board for future reference. 2: Very useful to have the slide notes circulated. I found it convenient to add my own notes to them rather than keeping a separate notebook. The workbook, I expect, will also be a good reference in the future. 3: The booklet handed out for class will be part of my permanent reference collection at home. 4: Very useful -- I abandoned taking notes early on in the course and took notes directly onto the slide list. 5: Yes, especially the handouts identifying the slides and the instructor's illustrations. 6: Yes. I am especially grateful for the list of numbered slides, which eased note taking, and drawings provided by the instructor. 7: Yes! 8: All material distributed was appropriate and useful -- probably could have used even more drawings -- the ones in the workbook were very clear and helpful. 9-10: Yes.

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

1: The research NP has worked on over the years is evident as his presentation progressed. The foundation of information given to us grew, and grew, and grew! 2: Yes. I especially appreciated the way the instructor related details of binding structure and evidence to the historical circumstances in which the work was produced and read. 3: Very much so; and high enough to make you reach, but not too far to grasp. 4-6: Yes. 7: Yes, but went very fast. A few new concepts took me a moment to comprehend fully. 8: Slightly above my intellectual level, but overall definitely appropriate and useful for my profession. 9: Yes -- extremely detailed look at the subject. 10: Excellent.

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

1: Every minute in our class was spent on the topic. Our visit to the McGregor Room was very beneficial to view books otherwise only available on slides. 2: Yes. Visit to Special Collections worthwhile to look at examples of finer bindings and bindings by known binders, examples of whose work could not be expected to be found in the RBS collection. 3: The session in the McGregor Room was very informative. Something like this should always be part of the course. 4: Yes -- wish we could have spent more time with Special Collections materials. 5-6: Yes. 7: Yes! 8: Definitely. 9: Yes -- it was good to see some of the fancier bindings in Special Collections. 10: Yes. We visited Special Collections one afternoon. Time well spent.

5) What did you like best about the course?

1: The time spent was used wisely. We wasted no time on unnecessary chatter. 2: The opportunity to learn from a scholar who is developing the field of binding history. Listening to him approach and describe any single binding was a marvelous course all in itself. 3: The professor, his slides, his comments, his instruction overall -- everything! 4: NP -- he was well organized, focused on the topic, and extremely knowledgeable about his subject. He has had so much practical experience and knows a great deal about the history of the book generally that he can teach this course to a wide variety of students. Though I am not a conservator and there are technical aspects to the course, I thoroughly enjoyed the week and rarely glanced at my watch. In my experience at RBS, there is often one slightly annoying person in the class who begins to really grate on your nerves by Day 3. Luckily, I had great classmates and NP had so much to fit in that I never felt the slightest bit of annoyance with anyone. 5: I was most interested in the different structural developments. 6: The wealth of material, both slides and real books made available for viewing and analyzing. The instructor's ability to draw connections between various bookbinding styles and practices in regions to larger historic events and trends. 7: Where do I begin! The sheer number of slides and books gave us the opportunity to get our minds around the vast knowledge NP was trying to convey. Plus, kept the class interesting. It has served to develop my eye for looking at book structures, which is much more valuable than remembering specific details. 8: The completeness and thoroughness of the topic covered; also, there was a good mixture of slides and theoretical information followed by the physical examples that helped to understand the information. 9: NP's amazing knowledge of the subject, and his generosity in describing things that can be hard to show. Also, the way he can conjure an entire history from structural details that almost anyone else would not give a second glance to. 10: The depth of the instructor's knowledge and the depth of the RBS collections.

6) How could the course have been improved?

1: I am satisfied with the presentation as given. 2: I would have appreciated the instructor taking time once in a while to write out descriptions of bindings the way one might do if we were preparing an exhibition or cataloging entry. Alternatively, a question-answer quiz en groupe, or a written test (like the illustration course) would leave me with a better sense of how much I do know -- and still don't know -- as a result of this course. 3: The examples of bindings (original, not facsimile) could stand a bit more handling and should not be verboten to touch. If a book is going to fall apart after being handled twice, then don't use it. 4: Give us a test on Friday morning -- see if we could provide some basics about a book. 5: There really isn't much I can think of -- it is a lot of material, but is presented in a clear and organized fashion. Maybe a picture of a hair sheep would be useful. 6: As a conservator, I would have been interested in perhaps more examples and discussion about treating books from this period, but clearly this would not have fit into the structure of this class -- but could, perhaps be a component of another similar course. 7: No thoughts, although it would be interesting to learn more about the evolution of NP's career and work as a model for others. 8: A glossary or timeline (even if not in complete detail) would help to bring all the information together. 9: Hard to say. 10: Could be slightly improved if there were more time for questions, but that's always a trade-off. I particularly appreciated the approachability of the instructor during breaks. This helped make up for lack of questions during the class.

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: It was not necessary for me to handle the books. NP did a wonderful job on how we viewed the details shown to us. 2: With the small class size, it really was not a problem that we could not handle the examples ourselves. 3: Essential but fragile examples can always be held by the teacher alone. Touch is an important sense for learning. 6: None come to mind. 7: It was tough (but understandable) not to be able to touch everything. One suggestion would be to get stiff board parchment bindings into drop spine boxes with internal wrappers to prevent further warping of boards. 8: Possibly an up-front discussion of handling before anything is seen and held, or a printed-out list of handling guidelines and practices -- there seems to be an assumption that people who attend classes at RBS must already have this knowledge. 9: NP was very careful handling the books and showing them to the class. 10: No concerns. The safety of the collection was emphasized more so than in the past, and I think such concern is appropriate. I got the feeling that there's an increasing level of concern from the RBS staff in this regard. I think that concern is warranted and the measures taken appropriate.

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

1: There was more information given on RBS I was not aware of. TB really poured his heart into his love for the school. The Sunday evening dinner was well done. Monday night's lecture on Dante was interesting too! 2: N/A. 3: Yes. 5: Sunday -- N/A. 6: N/A. 7: Sunday night was great -- to learn more about the history of the school. Monday night's lecture, I was less interested in. 8: Was not able to attend Sunday; attended Monday lecture but it was not an area of my interest and found it hard to follow. 9: Yes. 10: The lecture on Monday was good. The lecture on Sunday was also good. There was new (at least for me) material in the Sunday night lecture and I appreciated that.

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

1: More so than I thought. It helped to see all the aspects of the other classes too! 2: Yes, though might have been better if RBS staff were stationed at each or every other stop/exhibit to explain what was on display -- as TB did with the Linotype machine -- or John Buchtel with his Jane Eyre collection. 3: Very much; instructive and enjoyable. 5: Yes -- I enjoyed looking at the models and the school's new books. 6: N/A. 7: Did not attend. 8: Was not able to attend. 9: Yes -- good to see the RBS material and acquisitions. 10: Yes. Both were excellent.

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

1: Yes!! Take good walking shoes. Get your rest in the evening. This was a semester's worth of information given in the one week. 2: RBS is absolutely great value in terms of time and money invested. Lives up to its quality standard. Can't wait to come back for another course! 3: Certainly got money's worth. Hope prices will not rise too steeply, as I intend to come back for the next ten years. 4: Yes. 5: I really feel as ifI did (and I invested a good deal of my own money). 6: Yes. Excellent class. 7: Absolutely. This was probably the single most useful course I've taken so far in my professional career. 8: Definitely got my money's worth -- the class will definitely have a direct and positive influence on my work day to day. 9: I would not recommend this class for someone with NO experience in either bookbinding, conservation, or some book history. The study of structures is extremely technical, and NP does not make concessions. But for anyone with a background and seeking to know more about binding structures (and their relevance to book history) I can think of no better place or instructor. 10: I always get more than my money's worth at RBS.

Number of respondents: 10

There were five conservators, binders, or preservation librarians (50%), four rare book librarians (40%), and one general librarian with some rare book duties (10%).

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