21-25 July, 2008

1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Very useful as research materials and excellent to own for future reference, but I would have liked more targeted comments on “how to read” them for the course. 2: Pre-course readings were extremely useful, especially regarding the scripts. 3: Useful and essential. 4: Very helpful, especially for a beginner such as I am. 5: They were a terrific introduction to the curriculum as presented by BAS. I arrived at RBS with a solid introduction. 6: Very useful, although unable to get through all of the secondary readings, but should be great follow-up material. 7: Very. 8: Very useful. Do the readings on scripts before you come to class. 9: Good, but a bit repetitious. 10: Excellent and very practical to the course. I loved this reading list.

2) Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class appropriate and useful (or will they be so in the future, after you return home)?

1: They will be very useful in the future, but I had difficulty making them useful in ways applicable to my research while in the class. 2: Excellent; great course pack, and the CD will be especially useful to check for reference in the future. 3: Very much so. 4: Yes. 5: Yes, very. 6: Yes. 7: Absolutely. 8: Yes, especially the disk with the images on it. 9: Very good. 10: This course has the most organized, comprehensive, and useful course packet I’ve yet seen.

3) What aspects of the course content were of the greatest interest or relevance for your purposes? Was the intellectual level of the course appropriate?

1: The individual projects and the library visit were of greatest interest and relevance for my purposes. It was also extremely useful for making contacts whose assistance will be essential to gain access to materials I will eventually need in my field. Yes, the intellectual level was appropriate. 2: This course was extremely useful, especially the foundations it laid for me in basic paleography and localization of scripts. 3: I was looking for an introduction to the recognition of manuscripts as a whole (characteristics of places, dates, etc), which this provided. The intellectual level was appropriate. 4: I was in slightly over my head, but it didn’t really matter. Since I am new to this field, everything was fascinating and stimulating. 5: Though my previous training/experience was a little skimpy compared with that of my classmates, I did not feel that the intellectual level of the course was over my head. The projects, and trips to the Library of Congress and Folger Library were most enlightening. 6: Yes. The study of the different types of scripts, how to interpret all the different parts of the manuscript book or scrap can give clues as to what you have. 7: Scripts were best for me personally, as well as manuscript composition. Yes. 8: The project was particularly useful. 9: Physical aspects of manuscripts, intellectual content, and historical context were all relevant and nicely mixed. The intellectual balance was very good. 10: Very high level of instruction and expectations, I really enjoyed deciphering scripts and putting them in a chronological context.

4) If your course left its classroom to visit Special Collections (SC) or to make other field trips away from your classroom, was the time devoted to this purpose well spent?

1: Absolutely. Learning through the course what kind of preparation is needed to have a positive experience (and that it is possible to have such an experience) at a large scale, non-university research library was the single most valuable part of the course to me. 2: Incredible! UVa’s SC was great and the trips to the Library of Congress and the Folger were an absolute treat. 3: Yes. 4: Yes, yes, and yes! 5: Absolutely. 6: Yes, the contrast of LC’s Rosenwald Collection with the Folger Collection was a great complement to each other, with the added bonus of the trip to the Folger’s conservation lab. 7: Yes. 8: The field trip was fabulous! And the number of actual manuscripts we got to see was outstanding and increased my knowledge exponentially. 9: The trip to DC was a very long day, but worth it. 10: Great trips to SC, LC, and the Folger. The trip to DC was a long day, but the materials were worth it.

5) What did you like best about the course?

1: See above. 2: BAS, my classmates, and the opportunity to apply the skills learned in the class to manuscripts. 3: Fantastic instructor! 4: The exposure (extensive) to actual rare books and manuscripts in Special Collections at UVA, the Library of Congress, and the Folger Library. 5: Working with the materials during our class projects. 6: All of the hands-on with manuscripts and having a project to work on through out the week. 7: I liked the involved study of the scripts. 8: The teacher and my classmates; wonderful group. 9: The individual course project was very important for encouraging in-depth engagement with course materials. 10: BAS’s teaching style.

6) How could the course have been improved?

1: I would have liked more variety in later texts, showing more on the vernacular transition, but I know that is difficult or impossible due to resources. I also would have preferred another week, but again, it is impossible due to the nature of the program. It would be nice for RBS instructors to visit for longer periods to teach. I know technology is always difficult, but it might help to provide a mouse for the laptop for easier scrolling and control of imaging. 2: If only it never ended. 3: ? 4: It was perfect as is. 5: Nothing immediately springs to mind. 6: Beyond wanting more time, I’m not sure there could be much more improvement. 8: More structure to the lectures. 9: ?

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: I recommend using cradles while handling books and cautioning viewers on the damage that light does to manuscripts. 2: All materials were well handled – with care and caution. 3-4: None. 5: Excellent care was given to all materials.

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

1: I attended the Sunday lecture, but it was less relevant to my field than to the bulk of the attendees. I was incapable of attending the other lectures. 2: Richard Kuhta’s lecture was one of best talks on bibliography I’ve heard. What a treat. 3: Yes! It would be nice to have Richard Kuhta’s talk available online. 4: I enjoyed the Monday evening lecture by Richard Kuhta and the Tuesday videos. I was glad that I attended both. 5: Yes, I got a lot out of the evening lectures and activities. 6: Yes. 8: Yes, all were very informative and topical. 9: The Monday lecture was good pep talk for rare book librarians; the Sunday talk was entertaining and informational as always. 10: Yes.

9) Did you get your money’s worth? Any final or summary thoughts, or advice for other persons considering taking this course in a future year?

1: Yes, I got my money’s worth. I would advise people to take an introductory Latin course first, because some of the Latin transcription and translation was of limited interest to me. 2: Take this course! 3: Yes. Basic knowledge of Latin very helpful. I was glad to have had Consuelo Dutschke’s Introduction to Paleography first. 4: Yes, and it really was my money. 5: Worth every penny, and I’m not just saying that because I attended on an RBS scholarship. 6: Yes. 7: I did get my money’s worth. However, we had a member of our class who was difficult and unpleasant. I will be up-front with you about her and her name [name withheld]. I don’t think she is a good candidate for future RBS courses. She hampered everyone else’s experiences by taking up too much class time showing off knowledge she didn’t have, and she monopolized space and time when looking at rare items. The entire class spent the week avoiding her. I understand RBS attracts many colorful personalities, but hers impeded the class. 8: Yes. Yes. Yes. Do the readings; be prepared. Also, be engaged; your classmates would appreciate your specialized knowledge. 9: The course was worth more to my library and its collection then the cost. Advice: do the reading before the class starts! 10: Yes, as always.

Number of respondents: 10

PERCENTAGES

Leave Tuition Housing Travel

Institution Institution Institution Institution
gave me leave paid tuition paid housing paid travel

80% 60% 60% 40%

I took vaca- I paid tui- I paid for my I paid my own
tion time tion myself own housing travel

10% 20% 30% 40%

N/A: self-                    N/A: Self-                   N/A: stayed                N/A: lived
employed, re-            employed,                  with friends               nearby
tired, or had              retired, or                  or lived at
summers off               scholarship                home

10% 20% 10% 20%

There were 3 rare book librarians (30%), 2 archivists/manuscript librarians (20%), 2 general librarians with some rare book duties (20%), 1 general librarian with no rare book duties (10%), and 2 full time students (20%).