Rare Book School (RBS) is an independent, non-profit and tax-exempt institute supporting the study of the history of books and printing and related subjects, governed by its own board of directors. Founded in 1983, it moved to its present home at the University of Virginia in 1992.

At various times during the year, RBS offers about 30 five-day non-credit courses for adults on topics concerning old and rare books, manuscripts, and special collections. The majority of courses take place in Charlottesville, but courses are also offered in New York City, Baltimore, and Washington DC.

The educational and professional prerequisites for RBS courses vary. Some courses are broadly directed toward antiquarian booksellers, book collectors, bookbinders, conservators, teachers, and professional and avocational students of the history of books and printing. Others are primarily intended for archivists and for research and rare book librarians and curators.

Most RBS courses are limited to twelve or fewer students, who make a full-time commitment to any course they attend, from 8:30 or 9 am through 5 pm, Monday - Friday; most students also attend an informal dinner and orientation on the Sunday evening before their first class on Monday. In addition to the formal classes during the day, there are early evening public lectures and other bookish events throughout each week of the RBS Charlottesville sessions.

In the RBS March session in Charlottesville, reasonably-priced hotel accommodation is readily available in nearby hotels. Inexpensive hotel accommodations (at the Peabody Inn in Mt Vernon Place) are usually available for students attending sessions in Baltimore. In both the Baltimore and Charlottesville sessions, air-conditioned dormitory housing is also available.

In 2006, the tuition for each five-day RBS course is $845. Admission to RBS courses is on a rolling basis. The first round of admit decisions for each course is made three months before the course begins, and admit letters put into the US post. Applications received thereafter are processed immediately.

Many RBS documents are available online, including:

• Course Bulletin: a comprehensive listing of all RBScourse offerings by subject
• Course Schedule: a listing of courses to be offered in upcoming sessions
• Application forms for RBS courses
• Scholarship information
• Faculty biographies
• Preliminary Reading Lists for RBS courses
• Evaluations of past RBS courses
• Public Lectures and other upcoming events
• Friends of Rare Book School
• Bequests
• Publications from the Book Arts Press and RBS gift items, including mugs, tote bags, aprons, and tape measures
• Staff Contact List for year-round RBS staff, with email addresses
• Transportation and lodging information to assist in estimating the expense involved in attending RBS
• Miscellaneous information and documents (see next paragraph), including those mentioned in Freshest Advices, an occasional RBS newsletter distributed to the Book_Arts-L, ExLibris, and SHARP-L bulletin boards.

RBS staff members and other persons with an RBS connection occasionally mount documents in a separate Miscellaneous page on this Web site, generally on a temporary basis in connection with postings to the Book_Arts-L, ExLibris, and SHARP-L bulletin boards and the like.

If you have further questions, would like a printed copy of the RBS Course Bulletin, or were unable to download a copy of the RBS application form, please write Rare Book School, PO Box 400103, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4103; fax 434-924-8824; ; or telephone 434-924-8851.

The RBS lion logo (derived from an early c19 English watermark, but with many Continental ancestors) made his first appearance on an RBS publication in 1984.

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