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No. 45: Rare Book Cataloging. 4 August - 8 August 1997 |
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1. How useful were the pre-course readings
1: The format facsimiles were helpful, as well as the research bibliographies for rare book cataloging. 2-3: Yes. 4: Yes. The examples of rare book cataloging will be very useful to refer to when I am cataloging material at my library. I will use the bibliography to expand my reference collection. 5: Very relevant for immediate use and for long-term reference sources. 6: I think that these give me something to use and also something to build on as time goes by. 7: Yes. Good list of reference sources will come in very handy. 8: Very useful handouts, especially the website list. I plan to use the BAP large sheets (8vo, 4o, 12mo) as a teaching aid with others (staff and readers) at my library. I just loved the video on The anatomy of a book, especially the woman in the background trying to fold her sheet! 9: Yes to both questions. I'm particularly glad for the take home-value. 10: Some topics were skipped. Charts and diagrams and lists will be useful. 11: Yes, they will be helpful when I'm at work. 12: Very! I expect to make good use of them in the future. |
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2. Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?
1-4: Yes. 5: Yes, very. 6: The intellectual content was appropriate. 7-9: Yes. 10: Course content and class level matched extraordinarily well. 12: Yes! For someone with no background in rare books, things were easy to follow, without being talked down to or over one's head. |
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3. Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?
1-4: Yes. 5: Yes, very. 6: The intellectual content was appropriate. 7-9: Yes. 10: Course content and class level matched extraordinarily well. 12: Yes! For someone with no background in rare books, things were easy to follow, without being talked down to or over one's head. |
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4. Did the actual course content correspond to its RBS bro chure description and Expanded Course Description (ECD)? Did the course in general meet your expectations?
1: Yes, although I think it would be helpful to have more examples of rare books to illustrate important points (and more interesting books). Rare Book Cataloging was treated like the poor relative of Desbib during Week 4. 2: Yes. 3: Mostly, although I thought we would be doing more cataloging exercises. 4: The course covered the areas men tioned in the brochure. I learned more about cataloging rare books, but I did not have any specific expectations because I knew that you can't learn to catalog rare books in one week. 5: Yes. We addressed everything mentioned in the description and even managed to discuss our particular interests. 6: The course content followed the description. I think it passed my expectations as it took the subject to a level beyond where I am working now and helped me see the subject through the eyes of my superiors. 7: For the most part. I expected more technical application of DCRB and less bibliography. I suppose it was necessary, but the rule-by- rule survey of DCRB could have played a larger role. 8: Yes. I wouldn't have minded going a bit further with format and collation. 9: Yes, to both questions. 10: The course was well described. 11: Would it not be more fair to state in print, "must be acquainted with MARC formatting" some where? 12: Definitely! |
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5. What did you like best about the course?
1: The practicums (collating and final cataloging). The folders of illustrative media were helpful, too. 2: There was a lot of discussion. The best part was the hands-on stuff, writing a transcription, doing a collation, and the practicum. I enjoyed EH's lively and informal manner of teaching. 3: Actual cataloging/examining rare books. Also, the talks covering binding and illustrations were very informative. 4: The combination of lecture with hands-on practice of cataloging rare books. The instructor had an excellent background and is a good teacher. 5: EH is a very good teacher. He presents material in an enthusiastic and humorous manner so that even the sometimes potentially dull portions are not. Classes are small enough to receive individual attention. 6: Class discussions where I could see how others dealt (or didn't deal) with these issues. Hands-on experience. 7: Practicum - putting it all together. 8: EH's humor and good sense. 9: Nice mix of generalization and practical. Very realistic approach. Material was presented in a non-mystical manner. 10: Opportunity to ask questions. Pretty complete coverage of DCRB. 12: The easy-going atmosphere, feeling free to ask questions. |
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6.How could the course have been improved?
1: More examples of rare books and their final DCRB records (analyzed by the instructor) would have been helpful. 2: I wish we had had a chance to work with more books and to do more practice. Wednesday kind of dragged and I think it was because we didn't do any exercises. We could have had some tricky samples of illustrations and tried to identify the technique. I like to have a chance to test what I've learned and make sure I understand it. I wish that TB's Museums had been incorporated into the course. I wouldn't have minded staying late doing some homework, if it had meant more hands-on experience. 3: I think that covering a catalog record in detail from beginning to end would be helpful. The instructor could show a rare book that s/he had cataloged, go over how s/he researched it for cataloging, show the full DCRB record, and then an AACR2 or Core Record version. Also more time should be given for students to do transcription and cataloging. 4: More cataloging exercises, with review by the instructor. 6: There should be more books to work on. Perhaps even homework of one record done a night on a real book. There were problems with the computer. 7: In a perfect world, it would have been nice to have more hands-on time, including more examples of type, binding, etc. 8: More hands-on experience cataloging actual books. Maybe pass around copies of useful reference books (on binding, illustration, etc.). 9: A little more time for practicing/doing. 10: More hands-on opportunities to try to catalog. A more problem-solving approach to the material. Greater effort to include the entire class in discussions - tone down the vocal minority. 11: I would like to see more group/individual practice using the excellent Examples book. More time spent on transcriptions and collations, less on bindings, illustrations. 12: I would love to have had more time to practice, but realize the time constraint. |
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7.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 and videos, evening lectures, Bookseller Night, tour of the Alderman digital/electronic centers, printing demonstrations, &c.
1: I appreciated the wide variety of vegetarian food available at most functions. Juices should be offered at all breaks. 2: I forgot about the tour, didn't know about the Alderman tour, saw part of the printing demonstration only by accident, haven't had a chance to go to the Rotunda exhibition. I think some of these events could have been better publicized or timed. I enjoyed the Sunday night videos. 3: Along with the tour of the Rotunda and Lawn, perhaps a tour of Alderman Library could be offered during the lunch break on Monday. Sunday night buffet/dinner is a nice ice breaker. Booksellers Night is a great idea, very enjoyable. 4: I enjoyed the lectures and exhibits because they covered other aspects of rare books (particularly printing history) that were not covered by my course. The evening out to see the booksellers was fun. I wish there had been a map of their locations. 5: In general, the space could not accommodate all the students. Clemons 201 is not suitable for the entire RBS population. BAP is also too small for caffeine-deprived (depraved?) and hungry students. 6: These were interesting, but not enough. 7: Lectures were enjoyable except for conditions in 201 Clemons. It would have been nice to know early on that we could check our email from within Alderman Library. Our classroom was moved quite a distance and it made fitting in a trip to Clemons and coffee break rather challenging. If possible, alert RBS students to another lab to check email, since Clemons was open limited hours and overlapped with morning coffee! The van from downtown back to campus never showed up (we waited from 9:55 until 10:20). We walked, but we were expecting a van, as promised. If someone had been alone or unable to walk, they would have been forced to pay for a cab. 8: Hurrah for Bookseller Night. Are three lectures really necessary? 9: Generally enjoyable and well done. (201 Clemons is not a very pleasant room.) The crowdedness of the Book Arts Press area bothered me - was quite surprised to be eating on the floor Sunday night. 10: The Sunday afternoon tour was useful and enjoyable. Being at UVa provided an appropriate rare book environment. 11: The lecture in the Rotunda was exceptional both for presentation and environment. 12: I enjoyed the Sunday night dinner and the Wednesday and Thursday lectures. I was not crazy about the Monday lecture. The coffee breaks were great! |
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8.Any final thoughts? Did you get your money's worth?
1: Whoever teaches rare book cataloging should be a practicing cataloger so that they can answer detailed questions. They should also be involved in the Bibliographic Standards Committee and know what trends are coming down the pike. 2: I think people would be well advised to bring a coffee maker or water heating device, because one may get up early and not want to wait until 8 am for caffeine. 3: The information packet, Vade mecum, is very thorough. Thank you. (But I'm afraid that $595 is the top limit for a week's course.) 4: Have a good background in the history of books and printing. Yes! 5: Absolutely. A very well-run program. The breaks and coffee hours are necessary not only as a breather, but for encouraging students to connect. Occasionally, the course structure was dictated by the breaks, that is, we were forced to stop in the middle of a topic. In general, I appreciated and looked forward to mingling with colleagues. 6: I got my money's worth. This has made me very curious, interested, and aware of the rare book community and anxious to get back. 7: The Vade mecum was very helpful. It gave me a good idea of what to expect. I definitely got my (institution's) money's worth! (It would have helped my planning, though, to have acceptance information and other students' names earlier, so that I could have arranged travel and accommodations for less cost.) 8: All's well at Rare Book School. On to the next year. I love the lion ornaments in the Vade mecum! 9: Thanks heartily for a very good week. 10: Do the required reading. Be ready for tight regimen. Breakfast is too late. Finding good healthy food is a problem, although it is around if you know where to look. Consider taking [the Introduction to] Desbib [course] first. 11: The student should be currently working as a cataloger, particularly online and using MARC formatting. 12: I highly recommend this course. I can't believe how much I learned in a week. I certainly hope to return to Rare Book School in the future. |
| Number of respondents: 12 |
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| There were twelve students: six general librarians with some rare book duties (58%), five rare book librarians (42%), and one catalog librarian with unspecified rare book duties (8%). |