Deborah J. Leslie

Rare Book Cataloging

July 12-16 2010

1. How useful were the pre-course readings? (Leave blank if you applied and were accepted late for the course, and thus did not get the list in time.)

1: In general they were useful, but because I am relatively new to rare book cataloging, I couldn't make sense of the reading until I learned more in the classroom. 2: The pre-course readings were essential to help follow the fast pace of each class. 3: Very useful readings, some were a bit difficult to understand from the first read through but were then elaborated on in class. 4: Very useful reading. It was a lot to read, but should not be less, because the more we know, the more we get out of the course. Maybe they should be even advanced. 5: They were useful and essential to get the most out of the course. 6: Very. 7: Useful. Especially the Belanger and the "advanced transcription" articles. 8: They were quite useful. The Belanger article and Leslie article encapsulated well the work that awaited us. 9:. Helpful. My first exposure to DCRM(B) and descriptive bibliography. Although most of it was at first confusing, it helped to have that exposure before class. 10: The pre-course readings were extremely helpful in leveling the knowledge field among classmates—so we could jump right into a subject at great depth and not push off from first iterations of material. Just the right amount of reading.

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: Definitely useful; I learned a lot. 2: The workbook and handouts are wonderful and will form a basis for my cataloging reference manual. 3: Yes, the syllabus and workbook were very useful. I will continue to refer to the workbook when I return home because I was able to find the answers to many of my questions in the workbook, especially the appendices. 4: I will certainly use my syllabus for future cataloging. Maybe they could get put online (with a password?) for future access, also in regard for future changes to it. 5: Useful in class and will be a valuable resource when I return home as well. 6: Yes. I will consult them frequently at my job. 7: Yes. The course workbook will be a very valuable tool for me in my future work. 8: The workbook distributed will be placed on my shelf at work and referenced often. 9: I'm sure I will refer to the notebook many times in the future. 10: Yes—the syllabus was easy to follow and quite well balanced. Any hitches were addressed in class, and the teacher was so quick to remedy problems that progress was not hampered!

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: It was interesting to see the difference between AACR2 and DCRM(B). I finally understand signatures. 2: The level was certainly appropriate. The concepts of edition, issue and state are much clearer now. 3: I was most interested in the transcription exercises as it is easier for me to learn through practice. DJL treated us as intelligent students but was also willing to answer strange questions and offered detailed explanations of things we did not understand at first. 4: Applying the cataloging rules with a guidance [sic], who checks. The course is much more than simply reading/studying the rules at home. 5: Transcription and physical description. The intellectual level was very appropriate and as advertised, geared to working catalogers. 6: Creating records for actual rare books. Level is appropriate. 7: I honestly cannot single out any particular aspects of the course, for me the vast majority were relevant to my interests. 8: I very much appreciated the signature and physical description areas. They are important and central to the work I do—and the work done in this class was very helpful. 9: Definitely the exercises in class. Intellectual level was appropriate and I felt very challenged in class. 10: How to handle describing illustrations. The importance of having proper equipment—reference materials, databases. I was grateful for the homework—learned a lot from the practice.

4. What did you like best about the course?

1: The practical exercises and the possibility to learn not only from the instructors but from the classmates as well. 2: Collation exercises were both frustrating and exhilarating. 3: The practical aspect of the full transcription exercises of the handpress books. It was nice to be able to work with the same books from the beginning of the week so we could correct mistakes as our learning progressed. 4: Very friendly atmosphere, nobody had problems with his own errors. 5: I enjoyed working with examples (both photocopies and especially physical items) to apply to the concepts from lecture. 6: DJL herself. She is enthusiastic and is eager to share her knowledge. 7: The exercises, as they helped to reinforce the concepts that we were discussing. 8: Working on examples and having DJL provide hard copy answers, receiving feedback on our work, working with real examples. 9: I really enjoyed working in tandem with different table partners and interacting with other catalogers from much bigger institutions. 10: The teacher. DJL put a lot into the planning and carry through of the course. Her warm personality and delightful sense of humor made the complex and dense aspects of cataloging instruction go down smoothly. Four stars!

5. Did the instructor(s) successfully help you to acquire the information and skills that the course was intended to convey?

1: Definitely. 2: Absolutely. 3: Yes, she was very informative and I am now more confident in cataloging the rare materials at my home institution according to DCRM(B). 4: Yes, certainly! One always wants a week more to practice, but that, I guess, is completely natural. 5: Very much so—DJL spoke of her "iteration" approach which helped introduce and reinforce new information and skills. 6-7: Yes. 8: Oh yes, I have learned a great deal. The relationship between signatures and physical description. DJL also was very generous in answering questions during the break, after class. I never felt that my questions were an intrusion on her time. It was a pleasure to have her as an instructor. 9: Yes, I believe everything was covered. 10: Yes.

6. Did you learn what the course description/advertisements indicated you would learn?

1-5: Yes. 6: Yes. Not so much about cataloging policy and uncertain about special files, but otherwise yes. 7-10: Yes.

7. Did you learn what you wanted to learn in the course?

1-2: Yes. 3: Yes. Especially regarding signatures and pagination. 4-10: Yes.

8. How do you intend to use or apply the knowledge or skills learned in this course?

1: By rethinking our rare book cataloging process and writing an effective policy. 2: Plan to revise our cataloging policy. 3: I plan to create a rare books cataloging policy at my home institution, begin to catalog our rare materials in more depth using DCRM(B) and hopefully some day go back to the materials that have already been cataloged under other standards. 4: I will immediately apply the skills by starting to work on a new bequest. 5: I will be working on a rare book cataloging policy and procedure/checklist for my institution as well as cataloging rare materials with new eyes. 6: Will apply some or all of what I have learned to cataloging books at work. 7: Will use the course as a basis for future cataloging and the development of a rare book cataloging policy. 8: Improve my records! 9: Will, along with my special collections librarian, set policy for including DCRM(B) in the cataloging workflow. 10: Cataloging c19 century rare children's literature.

9. How could the course have been improved? If you have a suggestion for a new course (and—equally important—a person who could teach it), please contact the RBS Program Director.

3: An advanced rare book cataloging course would be very useful in which more time could be devoted to author main and added entries as well as using ESTC (or how to be careful when using it) and the RBMS Thesauri. 4: Maybe some more cataloging of older material and even manuscripts. 5: A final opportunity to catalog a single monograph in one session would have been nice, although perhaps not possible with all the other content. 7: While a difficult subject for this format, wish we would have spent more time discussing rare book cataloging policies. 8: I will speak with someone soon—no problems, really. 9: Many more examples, please! And would like more time, perhaps a tour of Special Collections.

10. 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: Yes, but I would have liked a tour of the rare book collection. The books shown to us were very good illustrations of what we learned in the classroom, but I hoped to see some more varieties. 2: Yes. I wish there was a general tour of SC. 3: Yes, we visited Special Collections and discussed the differences between issue, printing, edition and state. 4: Yes. 5: Our field trip to SC was an excellent illustration of class concepts as well as a nice change in class routine during the middle of the week. 6: Our visit to SC to hear David L. Vander Meulen was enlightening. Bibliographic studies had been a mystery to me previously. 7: Visited special collections, very useful. 8: Yes. I truly appreciated hearing from the user how he uses the information we provide as a cataloger. Understanding what a user needs helps me in my cataloging. 9: Yes, I got a better understanding of what bibliographers actually do with David Vander Meulen's "show and tell". 10: Yes—would have liked to have had a tour of the Special Collections.

11. 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?

2: The instructor gave a very useful demonstration of handling rare materials. 3: Less handling, or ask the students to only handle the materials when absolutely necessary. 6: None. 8: Difficult to say, we are catalogers, we need to handle materials. Constant reminders are never a bad thing. 9: I learned more about how I should better handle materials, so I can't suggest a thing. 10: All good.

12. If you attended the optional evening events (e.g., RBS Lecture, Video Night, RBS Forum, Booksellers' Night) were they worth attending?

2: Yes. I chose the ones most relevant to my work. 3: Yes. 4: The first lecture on stamps I did not regard as totally important. The second lecture on Tibetan books was very interesting and learned. 5: Great opportunities to learn new things and meet others, particularly from other courses. The Forum on Tibetan books was excellent. 6: I enjoyed each event. It was nice to have a variety of events to attend. 9: Thoroughly enjoyed everything I attended. The lecture and Forum were especially interesting. 10: Yes!!

13. Did you get your (or your institution's) money's worth? Any final or summary thoughts, or advice for other persons considering taking this course in a future year?

1: I think the tuition fee was well spent. 2: Yes. 3: Yes, well worth it. I learned so much in a very short period of time. 4: I will certainly recommend to others to take this course. 5: It was well worth the investment in tuition and travel expenses. This knowledge and experience were very valuable to me. 6: I feel that I did get my money's worth. The course is very useful, DJL is wonderful, my classmates have been open in sharing their knowledge and concerns. RBS staff create a warm environment. Excellent program here overall. 7: While all the costs with RBS are fairly expensive (in my opinion), I do believe that my institution received its money's worth. 8: Absolutely! 9: Definitely, it was a real treat to work with DJL, who is such a talented cataloger. 10: Perfect!

Number of respondents: 10

PERCENTAGES

Leave

Institution gave me leave

90%

I took vacation time

0%

N/A: self-employed, retired or had the summers off

10%

Tuition

Institution paid tuition

80%

I paid tuition myself

10%

N/A: Self-employed, retired

0%

Scholarship:

10%

Housing

Institution paid housing

80%

I paid for my own housing

20%

N/A: stayed with friends or lived at home

0%

Travel

Institution paid travel

60%

I paid my own travel

40%

N/A: lived nearby

0%

There was one rare book librarian, two catalogers, four general librarians with some rare book duties, two rare book catalogers, and one archivist.