31. History of the Printed Book in the West

24-28 July 1995

Topics include: early printed books; printing materials and processes; bookbinding; typography and book design; authorship, publishing, reading, and the book trade; the book in America and American books; graphic arts and book illustration; the c19 mechanization of the printing trades; c20 fine printing. Intended for those with no prior coursework or extensive reading in the field. The instructor welcomes students from a broad range of academic disciplines, collectors, dealers, and librarians. Offered again in Week 3.

1. How useful were the pre-course readings?

2: Very useful. 3: I did the reading and found it useful as introductory material. 4: Useful as an introduction -- wish I'd had more time to prepare. 5: Good -- but I could not locate one. 6: Very useful. There was constant referral to reference sources during class. 8: Very useful. 9: Useful. I was glad to know of the books suggested and to make a beginning on a variety of topics new to me.

2. Did your instructor prepare sufficiently to teach THIS course? Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class useful?

1: This being his first year, MA was currently and freshly and fully prepared. More handouts would have been appreciated. 3: Very well prepared -- extremely conscientious. 4: Instructor was prepared adequately. I would have preferred a more detailed syllabus or written material. 5: Excellent preparation of the instructor. Could not have been better. 6: Very much so; followed the syllabus. Useful. 7: Yes, he was very well prepared. 8: More than adequately!! Yes. 9: Yes and yes, emphatically.

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

1: Yes. This is a challenge when preparing for an unknown diverse group, but he hit it perfectly. I came fearing the pedantic. 3-5: Yes. 6: Very much so. 7-8: Yes. 9: YES!

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

1: Viewing the rare books was an essential and wonderful part of this course. Slides would have been a poor and unfortunate substitute. 2: Absolutely. 3: Extremely effective. 4: Yes. 5: One class period each day -- or five trips -- to Special Collections. Excellent, thrilling, actually. 6: Very much so. 7: Yes. 8: Yes. 9: YES!

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

1: It fit the promise and exceeded my expectations by weaving social history with technical history of the craft and form. 3: It met my expectations completely! 4-5: Yes. 6: Very much so. 7-8: Yes. 9: Yes; exceeded my expectations!

6. What did you like best about the course?

1: The instructor. He was organized, articulate, and personable. 3: Everything: lectures were well presented; slides provided important illumination to lectures; Special Collections meetings were extraordinary. 4: Broadness. 5: The instructor. 6: I liked most the genuine enthusiasm and expertise of the instructor. Also the wonderful material we viewed. 7: Visits to Special Collections, classmates, MA's vast knowledge. 8: Lectures were well prepared and well delivered. The breadth of knowledge of our instructor for this and related fields was impressive. Also, instructor was involved and supportive and encouraging of students of varied backgrounds. 9: I liked all aspects, especially slides, Special Collections, demonstrations ....

7. How could the course have been improved?

1: Having a second part! 3: I missed not getting to c19 book production. 4: More time. 5: More time to look at the RBS museum items. 6: I found the course excellent and well paced. 7: Eliminate films during lunch/pre-lecture (not enough time to eat/breathe). Start/finish on time. MA might pace himself better. 9: More time in the RBS museum. Not enough personal browsing time.

8. Any final thoughts?

2: I highly recommend it. 3: I think very highly of MA. With his gentle demeanor, informative lectures, and passion for books, he made the course. First-rate! 4: A lot of material and activity and not enough time for that or sleep. 5: Excellent instructor. 6: I will recommend this course enthusiastically as it covered so well material that will enhance my work and my personal interest. I was very impressed with MA's level of expertise and the enthusiasm he brought to the subject matter. 7: Get a lot of rest beforehand.

Number of respondents: 9

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