RBS 2003 Course Evaluation: The Book in the Manuscript Era

1: Very useful. 2: Very. They provided a solid background for the course. 3: Quite useful. 4: Most were very helpful, though one book, Adventure and Art, was rather dull and proved unnecessary. 5: Very helpful. 6: The readings were very important with regard to the classes. 7: Very useful background. 8: Extremely useful to absolutely essential -- Michelle Brown, A Guide to Western Historical Scripts, was really essential for much of what we did. 9: Very useful. 10: The pre-course readings were useful and essential. 11: I found them very useful. It was helpful to me that the instructor laid out the particular order in which the texts should be read to get the most benefit. 12: Very useful.

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. 2: Yes, and yes. 3: Yes. 4: I hope they will be. We received no syllabus; I wish we had. The other, extensive, materials will be useful later, I expect. 5: Helpful and interesting. 6: All materials were extremely useful in class and will be used again upon my return to home / work. 7: Yes. 8: The CD should be particularly helpful in the future -- and is a much-appreciated touch. 9: Keepers -- I plan to look over the MSS in library collections using reading list and handouts. Added benefit of getting CD with images of MSS used in class discussions. 10: This course had many handouts. I think they were useful because they supported the tremendous amount of material that was covered in a mnemonic way. They also point the way to further reading. 11: Yes. The CD is a wonderful gift -- we saw so many images over the course of the week that it will be a real pleasure to be able to go back to things and really look at them closely. 12: Yes -- especially the CD.

1-3: Yes. 4: Yes, I am a student and therefore not as familiar with some terms, but BAS was always willing to explain. 5: Good. 6: Yes, very appropriate. 7: Yes. 8: Yes, pitched at a very high level. 9: Yes -- explanations provided at level for those with more expertise in subject and questions answered for those with less background. 10: Yes. It was right on target. 11: Yes, and humbling, too. 12: Yes.

1: Yes, it’s valuable to view examples both on the “big screen” (easier to see details, &c.) And in actuality (you get a true sense of the object -- size, &c.) 2: Yes, however the car ride was awful. Classes of twelve or more full-size adults need a bus, or a mini-bus. 3: Absolutely. 4: Yes. 5: We went to the Library of Congress and the Folger Shakespeare Library, as well as UVa Special Collections. Very worthwhile, to see unique materials. 6: The field trip to the Library of Congress and the Folger Library were extremely interesting and provided a rare opportunity to view manuscripts in person. 7: Yes, although the van trip was excruciating. 8: Special Collections -- Extremely useful -- nothing like actually seeing the books. Trip to Folger and Library of Congress -- also quite useful, a good experience, but an awfully long trip. 9: Field trip to Library of Congress and Folger was added treat. 10: Yes, and I particularly appreciated how BAS had taken special care to choose material that she thought was interesting for special reasons. In other words, we didn’t simply look at the “glory hallelujah” stuff. 11: We spent a wonderful day at the Library of Congress and the Folger. We were treated with great care at both institutions. We also went to Special Collections at UVa and they made extra time for us -- thank you. 12: Very well spent.

1: The images the instructor used to illustrate her lectures were amazing. 2: The ample visual examples. 3: The trip to the Library of Congress and the Folger. 4: The explanation of the early progression of script. 5: Only one thing? 6: BAS was able to work very well around the different skill levels of the students and made everyone very comfortable. I would definitely take another course from BAS! The CD was a wonderful idea and is truly appreciated! 7: Seeing manuscripts in the flesh! Enjoyed all the class periods. 8: BAS’s expertise, coupled with clear enthusiasm and low-key colloquial teaching style -- a real treat to be taught thus by someone of her stature in the field. 9: Great teacher -- showed examples of manuscripts in classroom, Special Collections, and on field trips. Conveyed her extensive knowledge on subject -- with style and humor. 10: The instructor. BAS is as good as they come! She worked very hard on preparation and it showed. I particularly enjoyed the way we got a lot of hands-on paleographic experience. BAS knows her subject inside-and-out and often illustrated her points with her own research, which was invaluable. The course was not “textbook,” or generic, which is one thing that makes Rare Book School, and this course in particular, so great. 11: I especially liked having the chance to see so many wonderful MSS “in the flesh.” Digital images are great, but nothing replaces the experience of getting to look at / handle the real thing. The experience is so different. 12: The instructor’s energy, enthusiasm and command of her subject -- all first-rate.

1: Eliminate the Latin / English cursive writing translation exercise. Thought it was the least valuable of the hands-on activities. In fact, it would be great to end the course in the same way it started -- looking at MS fragments and describing them. 2: More hands-on material; more discussion of secular texts. 4: We received a homework assignment that was, I felt, well above the ability of most of the class. I believe this was meant to give us a lesson in “humility.” I believe it was a waste of time. All I learned was that it helps to have experts in the field as friends, and years of experience behind you. 5: More general improvement: the course would be more appropriately titled, “The Book in Medieval Europe.” “Manuscript era” is imprecise -- ancient history qualified for books, through mid-c19 for documents (pre-typewriter); this class dealt with Europe. “Medieval” is more readily understood. 6: I cannot think of a single way. 7: Would it be possible to take the train to D.C. instead of the van? Very uncomfortable and long trip. 8: Pitch things less heavily toward paleography and use the time to discuss bindings, binding history, and the development of the MS book trade. Also discuss a bit more the transition from MS book to printed book? 10: I don’t see how. Perhaps it would help to have a slightly bigger bus for the field trip(s), but that has nothing to do with the course in particular. 11: I found the outline handout from the last session very helpful. I would have liked more of those. 12: Not really possible.

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: Gloves should be used when handling books with metal bosses / clasps as the oils from even clean hands is detrimental to metal. 2: None. 3: I saw no instances of biblio-abuse. 6-7: None. 8: Appropriate care always used. 10: I thought the instruction on how to handle things was very good. 11: We had baskets and other protection for our materials. I think they were well treated.

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

2: N/A. 3: Both were good. I plan on stealing some of TB’s comments. 4: Yes. 5: William Noel was terrific! And very appropriate for this week’s courses (because of the “Book in the Manuscript Era” and the “Intro to Illuminated Manuscripts”). 6: The Monday night lecture was quite interesting and highly informative. 7: Monday night was very interesting. Sunday was rather long. 8: TB’s talk was both amusing and interesting. The Monday lecture was extremely interesting, and also quite apropos for this class. 9-10: Yes. 11: Yes, definitely. WN was extremely engaging. 12: Yes, both.

2: N/A. 3: Yes -- Stan Nelson’s punch-cutting demonstration was particularly good. 4: Yes. 5-6: N/A. 7: Yes. 8: Great chance to see some nifty items. 10: Yes; I particularly enjoyed the punch-cutting demonstration. 11: Yes -- I especially enjoyed watching Stan Nelson work on his punch.

1: Yes. 2: Absolutely. Thanks for another great RBS class! 3: I would highly recommend this course. RBS is always a bargain given the cost. 4: Find ways of getting here; it’s well worth it. 5: Definitely. 6: Yes -- much more than my money’s worth. The field trip was the true highlight for me. RBS provides the ideal setting in which to study and learn about rare books and manuscripts. Advice -- be certain to read all of the pre-course readings. 7: Yes. 8: The course was a real pleasure, taught by not only an expert but a wonderful teacher. 9: Definitely worth costs. 10: Yes. 11: Absolutely! 12: Yes, definitely. Do the reading as thoroughly as possible -- the more you know, the more you’ll get out of the class.

Leave	Tuition	Housing	Travel
Institution gave me leave	Institution paid tuition	Institution paid housing	Institution paid travel
59%	67%	59%	41%
I took vaca- tion time	I paid tui- tion myself	I paid for my own housing	I paid my own travel
8%	25%	41%	41%
N/A: self-employed, retired, or had summers off	N/A: self-employed, retired, or exchange	N/A: stayed with friends or lived at home	N/A: lived nearby
33%	8%	0%	18%

There were four rare book librarians (34%), two general librarians with some rare book duties (18%), one teacher or professor (8%), one full-time student (8%), two antiquarian booksellers (18%), one conservator, bookbinder, or preservation librarian (8%), and one book-collector (8%).