Rare Book School: Related Institutes
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UNITED STATES

  Los Angeles, California

Professor Beverly P. Lynch of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA, is the Secretary of the RBS Board of Directors. In June 2005, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS, a federal agency) funded her proposal to inaugurate a California Rare Book School based in Los Angeles. The IMLS grant is for $109,000, with matching funds of $99,000 provided by UCLA. CA RBS plans to begin offering courses in August 2006. More as it happens.

For further information, consult their web site:
http://www.calrbs.org/

  College Station, Texas

Since 2001, Professor Steven Escar Smith (Director, Cushing Library and Archives, Texas A&M University) has directed an annual Texas A&M Workshop in the History of Books and Printing. The five-day workshop is aimed at librarians, archivists, students, teachers, collectors, private individuals and others who work in areas related to or who have an interest in the subject. It provides an intensive, hands-on introduction to and survey of the history of books and printing in a combination of labs and seminars designed to provide students with practical experience as well as a broad historical survey of the field.

For further information, consult the Workshop's web site:
http://lib-oldweb.tamu.edu/cushing/bookhistory/

  Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

In 2003, the Conferences and Institutes Division of the University of Illinois’s Office of Continuing Education ran three five-day courses on rare books, special collections, and printing history subjects. In 2004, the IU venue shifted to the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS), with five one- and two-day courses offered in the summer, and two others in the fall. Keep an eye on the GSLIS web site for current offerings.

A pair of fall 2005 offerings has recently been announced.

  Colorado Springs, Colorado

The Out-of-print and Antiquarian Book Market Seminar. "Specialists share their expertise and experience with booksellers, librarians, and collectors in this comprehensive survey of the out-of-print, antiquarian, rare and used book markets. Basic procedures and problems are discussed both formally and informally through a series of lectures, demonstrations, discussions and practical workshops."

For further information, consult the Seminar's Web site:
http://www.bookseminars.com

FRANCE

  École de Institut d'histoire du livre | Book History Workshop

The Book History Workshop (BHW) was inaugurated in 2001 in Lyons under the auspices of the Institut d'histoire du livre. Each spring, the BHW offers courses in both English and French at the Ecole Normale Supérieure - Lettres et Sciences Humaines (Lyons), with sessions at the Lyons Printing Museum and the rare book collection of the City Library.

For further information, consult the Institut's Web site:
http://ihl.enssib.fr/index_eng.htm
or write
Institut d'histoire du livre
c/o Musée de l'imprimerie de Lyon
13 rue de la Poulaillerie
69002 Lyon
or email
ihl@enssib.fr

UNITED KINGDOM

  London Summer School in Manuscript Studies

In about 2003, a Centre for Manuscript and Print Studies was created at the University of London from a merger of the Centre for Palaeography and the Research Centre in the History of the Book.

The Institute of English Studies (part of London University's School of Advanced Study) hosts the new Centre for Manuscript and Print Studies for a partnership including the British Library, St Bridge Printing Library, the University of London Library, the English Departments of the Universities of Birmingham and Reading, and the Open University.

Since 2004, the new Centre's Summer School in Manuscript Studies has offered a variety of related one-day courses on medieval manuscripts and related subjects.

For details consult the Centre's web site:
http://www2.sas.ac.uk/ies/cmps/Events/Courses/SummerSchool/index.htm

AUSTRALASIA

  Dunedin, New Zealand 2005

The inaugural session of the Australasian Rare Book School took place in Dunedin, New Zealand, from 17-21 January 2005. Three courses were offered:

  • Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts, taught by Dr. Christopher de Hamel
  • The English Book 1600-1800: Production, Analysis and Description, taught jointly by Dr. Keith Maslen and Dr. Brian McMullin
  • Lithography: the Popularization of Printing in the 19th Century, taught by Prof. Michael Twyman

The school plans to offer annual sessions in a three-year cycle in Dunedin, Melbourne and Wellington, with each location drawing upon the strengths of local collections.

Thanks to the generosity of local benefactors, the Dunedin Public Library hosts a collection of medieval manuscripts well-suited to teaching, while the Hocken Library houses a strong collection of lithographed posters, color printing, and ephemera, and the University Library possesses collections in European theology, guidebooks and poetry. Drawing upon these resources from across the city, the Dunedin school offers excellent instruction in a relaxed summer setting.

  Melbourne, Australia 2006

The Second Australian and New Zealand Rare Book School will be held in Melbourne from 13 to17 February 2006. Jointly sponsored by the Centre for the Book, Monash University, and by the State Library of Victoria, the School will be held essentially in rooms and with materials made available by the State Library. Four courses are offered:

  • European Bookbinding, 1450-1820, taught by Nicholas Pickwoad
  • Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts, taught by Margaret Manion and Bernard Muir
  • The European Book in the Handpress Period, 1450-1830, taught by Brian McMullin and Pamela Pryde
  • The Book Trade in c19 Australia, taught by Wallace Kirsop and Ian Morrison

The fee for an intensive five-day course is Aust $700 (inclusive of GST).

Further information and a downloadable applications form are available at http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/cftb/.