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Julia Miller to Give Clay Lecture and Seminar on 24 and 25 October

Poster designed by Michael Russem at Kat Ran Press

[11 October 2012] RBS is pleased to announce its upcoming Clay lecture and seminar, to be delivered by Julia Miller, book conservator and independent scholar, on Wednesday, 24 October and Thursday, 25 October. Both events are free and open to the public, although space in the seminar is limited.

Julia Miller
Book Conservator & Independent Scholar

Standing in the Shadow [of the Text]:
The Value of Studying Historical Bindings

Wednesday, 24 October 2012
5:30–6:30 p.m.
The Auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature, and Culture and the Albert and Shirley Small
Special Collections Library

The lecture will describe the importance of studying original bindings and how that study has progressed over time. The text contained in a book is of first importance; the binding is constructed to connect and protect it. United they present an idea in time and allow us to see, read, and handle our written history clothed in its original garment. Separated, the cover and text are each deprived of much of their vitality. The lecture will conclude with suggestions for multi-discipline involvement in projects to identify and describe historical bindings. The PowerPoint presentation will be supported by examples of historical bindings, some available for handling.

The lecture will be followed by a reception in 112 Alderman Library.

 

Mysteries Abound: Observing and Interpreting the Physical Elements of Historical Bindings
A seminar taught by Julia Miller
Thursday, 25 October 2012; 3:30–5:00 p.m.
The Byrd/Morris Seminar Rooms of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American
History, Literature, and Culture and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library

Hand-bound books come in all shapes and sizes and degrees of physical complexity. This seminar will introduce participants to a variety of physical elements found on historical bindings in our collections. Some of these elements are truly hidden, and some are visible but are difficult to describe. We will briefly look at examples of “extra” elements ranging from overcovers, artwork, old mends, and repurposed materials, and discuss the value of these often surprising additions. We will close by exploring how a thorough understanding of the physical book can be gained and transmitted to support research involving historical bindings. The lecture will be supported by examples of historical bindings, some available for participants to handle. 

To sign up for this seminar, please contact RBS Development Assistant Natasha Richter at nlr9t@virginia.edu by Friday, 19 October. Space is limited and acceptance is on a first-come, first-served basis.

New Mellon Fellowship Program at Rare Book School

[1 October 2012] Rare Book School has been awarded a grant in the amount of $896,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund a new fellowship program, The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in Critical Bibliography. The aim of the program is to reinvigorate bibliographical studies within the humanities by introducing doctoral candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty to specialized skills, methods, and professional networks for conducting advanced research with material texts. Fellows will receive funding for RBS course attendance, as well as generous stipends, and support for research-related travel to special collections, over the course of three years. The deadline for application to the program is December 1, 2012. Interested scholars are encouraged to apply as soon as possible; see the RBS-Mellon Fellowship page for more details. View press release

RBS Faculty Member Tom Congalton Elected President of ILAB

Photo courtesy ilab.org

[25 September 2012] The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) has elected Tom Congalton as its new president in a unanimous vote. Congalton has taught at RBS since 2008, where he co-teaches The Printed Book since 1800: Description & Analysis with Katherine Reagan.

Jennifer Howard of The Chronicle of Higher Education Blogs about RBS and the Born-Digital

[24 September 2012] Part 4: "Rushdie's Digital Shadow, or How to Create Electronic Archives"

[23 August 2012] Part 3: "CSI: Rare Book School, or Computer Forensics in the Archives"

[22 August 2012] Part 2: "Digital Materiality, or Learning to Love our Machines"

[26 July 2012] Part 1: "But is it a book?"

Now Accepting Applications for RBS 2012 Scholarships

[17 September 2012] Please check the Rare Book School Scholarships page for the newly updated application form for the 2012 scholarship cycle. The application deadline for 2012 is October 15.

RBS Director Michael Suarez Helps Launch OSEO in Oxford

[7 September 2012] See this short video to learn more:

Rare Book School featured in The New York Times

[24 June 2012] Rare Book School is featured in today's New York Times—the lead article in the Arts section!

If you like Jennifer Schuessler's piece as much as we do, we think you'll love our eight-minute video:

RBS Announces 2012 Summer Lecture Series Schedule

[24 May 2012] The staff at Rare Book School are thrilled to announce the exciting lineup for this summer's lecture series! The schedule is packed with talks by specialists from a wide-array of book-related subjects—typography, history, conservation, and more.

The lectures are free and open to the public. All talks will take place on Monday and Wednesday evenings at 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library (unless otherwise noted). Lectures will last 30–40 minutes with 10 minutes for Q&A, and will be followed by a reception in the RBS space on the first floor of Alderman Library. Information regarding lecture titles and topics will be announced as the summer progresses.

Date Lecturer Title Background
4 June Jeff Peachey "Reconstructing Diderot: Eighteenth Century French Bookbinding"

Conservator and Maker of Conservation Tools

6 June Sören Edgren "Papermaking and Woodblock Printing in Chinese Book History" East Asian Studies Department, Princeton University
11 June Ed Hirschland "A Funhouse Mirror—Reflecting on Books, Collecting and Chicago History" President, The Landhardt Corporation
13 June Anne-Marie Eze "A Most Fascinating and Dangerous Pursuit: Rare Books at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
2 July Johan Kugelberg "Documenting Counter-Culture: Problems and Solutions in the Preservation of Unpopular Historical Narratives" Author/Curator/Archivist
4 July** Matthew P. Brown "Bell's Liberties" Director, The Center for the Book at the University of Iowa
16 July Stuart Bennett "Trade Bookbinding in the British Isles, 1660-1800" Owner, Stuart Bennett Rare Books
18 July Sue Gosin "Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Revival of Hand Papermaking in the 20th & 21st Centuries" Co-founder of Dieu Donné Press & Paper
23 July Matthew Carter "Genuine Imitations" - 2012 Sol. M. and Mary Ann O'Brian Malkin Lecture Type Designer and 2010 MacArthur Fellow
25 July Ezra Greenspan "The Biographer and the Mysteries of the Archive: The Case of William Wells Brown" Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Chair in Humanities, Southern Methodist University

**The July 4th lecture will take place in Jefferson Hall on the West Range.

Now Accepting Applications for October 2012 Course

Photo courtesy aasid.parsons.edu

[16 May 2012] RBS is now accepting applications for Introduction to Illuminated Manuscripts (M-50), to be taught by Roger Wieck at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. Wieck, the Morgan's Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, has taught the course since 2001. The course, which is aimed at newcomers to the field, offers a rare chance to work closely with the Morgan's world-class manuscripts collections.

Applications are available here.

Changes at Rare Book School!

[11 May 2012] We are delighted to share some exciting news: Rare Book School is renovating some 2,500 square feet of newly acquired space adjacent to our current space for our students and faculty members. By the beginning of our summer sessions, we'll have a new classroom, collections vault, reception space, and galley kitchen! To read more and view pictures of the continuing construction, visit our renovations page.

UVA Special Collections Appoints Two New Curators

[7 May 2012] Earlier this year, the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at UVA announced the appointment of two new curators: Molly Schwartzburg and David R. Whitesell.

From Library Director Nichole Bouché:

Molly Schwartzburg, presently Cline Curator of Literature at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin, and David R. Whitesell, Curator of Books at the American Antiquarian Society,  in Worcester, MA, will join the staff of the UVA Libraries in April, combining their diverse backgrounds and experience to provide leadership and direction for the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library's rare and special collections in American history, American literature, European literature,  and the history of the book, printing, and illustration, as well as our many specially focused collections, such as the Marion duPont Scott Sporting Collection,  the Albert H. Small Declaration of Independence Collection, and the Douglas H. Gordon Collection of French Books.

Molly Schwartzburg began her tenure at the Ransom Center in 2006, and has worked closely with the HRC’s leadership to build and promote the Center’s British and American literature collections. She also has been active in interpreting collections to the academic and research community, and to the general public, through her contributions to HRC exhibitions, public programs, and digital initiatives. Her current online exhibit, "The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door: A Portal to Bohemia, 1920-1925," was recently featured in the New York Times Book Review (link to article).

Prior to her appointment at the HRC, Molly was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Stanford University, where she also received her Ph. D. in English and American literature. She received her M.A. in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and her A. B. in English from Harvard University.  She is presently working towards an M.L.I.S. at UT Austin. Prior to her graduate studies, she worked briefly in publishing and in the book trade. Molly is an active member of Rare Book and Manuscript Section (RBMS) of the American Library Association/Association of College and Research Libraries, and currently chairs the Exhibition Awards Committee. She has also published articles and spoken on a variety of topics in literature and author studies.

Whitesell has taught at RBS in various capacities since 1998.

David R. Whitesell has been Curator of Books at the American Antiquarian Society since 2006, building the AAS’s premiere collections of pre-1877 American imprints.  In addition, he participates in research and instruction outreach activities, and also served as content coordinator for the AAS’s contributions to the Sabin Americana, 1500-1929 (Gale Digital Collections) project.  David is currently preparing the AAS’s bicentennial exhibition, for the fall of 2012.

Prior to his appointment at the AAS, David served as Rare Book Cataloger at The Houghton Library,  Harvard University, and before that worked in New York for Richard C. Ramer Old & Rare Books, and as a cataloguer in the Books & Manuscripts Department of Sotheby’s. David received his M.S. from the School of Library Service at Columbia University, and his A.B. in History from the University of Michigan. He has published articles and spoken on a variety of topics in bibliography, the book trade, and special collections librarianship, and is on the faculty of the Rare Book School (UVA).  He is an active member of RBMS, as well as of several leading bibliographical societies, including the Grolier Club and the Bibliographical Society of America.

 

RBS Faculty Member Richard Noble Identifies Paul Revere Engraving

[19 April 2012] Brown University Rare Books Cataloguer and longtime RBS faculty member Richard Noble was recently featured in both a National Public Radio story and a New York Times article concerning the John Hay Library's recent discovery of a rare Paul Revere engraving. The engraving, which portrays Jesus' baptism in an unusual manner, is one of only five known copies in existence.

Noble, who has taught at RBS since the late 1990s, will be teaching RBS course Advanced Descriptive Bibliography (G-50) this summer during the 16-20 July session.

Now Accepting Applications for the Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship

[12 March 2012] The Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship opportunity that is available to all antiquarian booksellers interested in taking Joel Silver's course, Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books (L-25), 23-27 July 2012. One Tavistock Scholarship will be awarded in 2012. Preference will be given to individuals in the early stages of their careers, and to those who would not otherwise be able to attend RBS without scholarship assistance.

To apply for the Tavistock scholarship, please submit a 2012 summer application to RBS no later than 16 April 2012. In a cover letter, discuss your reasons for applying for the scholarship to attend "Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books"; please include a brief description of your work in the antiquarian book trade, financial needs, and other relevant information. While not required, a recommendation letter from an ABAA member to accompany the application would be beneficial. Scholarship applicants will be notified of decisions by 30 April 2012.

Now Accepting Applications for the 2012 George Robert Kane Scholarship

[7 March 2012] The Northern California Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (NCC/ABAA) is now accepting applications for the 2012 George Robert Kane Scholarship, which will provide funding to attend courses offered by Rare Book School, the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar, or California Rare Book School (Los Angeles). These scholarships honor the memory of long-time NCC/ABAA member George Robert Kane (6 October 1913--28 November 2009) and are designed to promote professionalism and education relevant to the book trade.

To apply, please fill out the application form (PDF) and send it to Chapter Secretary Chris Lowenstein at chris@bookhuntersholiday.com. Please contact Ms. Lowenstein with any questions or comments.

Applications are due by 5 pm on 11 May 2012.

UPenn Symposium in Honor of RBS Faculty Member Daniel Traister

[2 March 2012] In honor of Daniel Traister on the occasion of his retirement, the University of Pennsylvania Libraries will host a symposium, 30-31 March, examining the worlds of librarians and scholars and how these worlds intersect with and influence each other. Themes to be addressed by symposium speakers will include:

   * History of Collections and Collecting: Encyclopedism vs. Curiosity
   * Epistemology and Its Classifications in Libraries
   * History of Librarianship/Portraits of Librarians
   * The Role of the Librarian: Scholar and/or Professional
   * Changes and Continuities in the Digital Age: Textual Conversion, Reading Practices, and Knowledge

Crossing disciplines and time periods, these themes reflect some of the broad interests that Dan has brought to his own work at institutions including the New York Public Library and the University of Pennsylvania. Dan has shared his insights with colleagues and students at those institutions as well as at Rare Book School, where for many years he taught courses and influenced a new generation of librarians. In addition, he has published many articles and reviews on scholarly and library-related topics.

Keynote addresses will be delivered by Roger Chartier (Collège de France and University of Pennsylvania) and Michael F. Suarez, S.J. (University of Virginia and Director, Rare Book School). Other speakers include John Bidwell (Morgan Library), Rachel Buurma (Swarthmore College), Rosemary Cullen (Brown University), Lynne Farrington (University of Pennsylvania), James Green (Library Company of Philadelphia), Andrea Immel (Princeton University), Zachary Lesser (University of Pennsylvania), Jack Lynch (Rutgers University), Kathy Peiss (University of Pennsylvania), Alice Schreyer (University of Chicago), Jacob Soll (Rutgers University), and Peter Stallybrass (University of Pennsylvania).

Registration is free and available on the website. A tentative schedule has been posted.

RBS Faculty Member Timothy Barrett Featured in New York Times Article

[1 March 2012] University of Iowa research scientist, 2009 MacArthur Fellow, papermaking historian and longtime RBS faculty member Timothy Barrett was recently featured in a New York Times article, "Can a Papermaker Help to Save Civilization?" Published on 17 February, the article follows his annual washi Japanese-style papermaking process and features an excellent photographic slideshow. Barrett will be teaching The History of European & American Papermaking 11-15 June, alongside Morgan Library Books Curator John Bidwell. The two have taught the course together off-and-on sice 1987.

 

 

RBS Clay Lectures

[14 February 2012]

H. Tomás Gómez-Arostegui
Associate Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School

Copyright at Common Law before 1710
and Its Modern Implications

Thursday, 1 March 2012
5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
The Auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature, and Culture and the Albert and Shirley Small
Special Collections Library

In this lecture, Prof. H. Tomás Gómez-Arostegui will discuss the origins of Anglo-American copyright law and will address, in particular, whether a copyright in published works existed under the common law of England before 1710, which was the year the first modern copyright statute was enacted. His lecture will examine new evidence from the National Archives of twenty unreported copyright-infringement suits that were filed in courts of equity before 1710.

The cases are significant for two reasons. First, legal historians have assumed that no such lawsuits were filed before 1710.Rather, the conventional view has been that suits enforcing a common-law copyright arose only after the statutory terms of the newly enacted copyright statute of 1710 began to expire in the 1730s. Second, the cases are especially important because the origin of copyright has been under question in recent years as scholars—including legal historians and book-trade historians—have begun to more critically examine the theoretical and historical bases of copyright law. At the heart of the debate is whether to treat copyright as a natural right or property right, on the one hand, or as a privilege that was created solely by statute. These differing viewpoints carry hefty baggage because they set the default basis of copyright law. The common-law view suggests that the original purpose of copyright was to protect authors and their assigns in their works. The statutory view suggests, however, that copyright was created principally for the benefit of the public and that the rights given to authors were merely incidental to that purpose. The latter view has been gaining traction in recent years as scholars have attempted to prove that common-law copyright was a myth.

Apart from delving into this legal question, Prof. Gómez’s lecture will offer insights into the operation of the book trade in London in the years before the copyright statute of 1710. This lecture will thus be of value to those interested in copyright, the book trade, or legal history.

The lecture will be followed by a reception in 116 Alderman Library.

 

"Civil Legal Records of the English Courts before 1800:
Finding and Interpreting Documents Relating to the Book Trade"

A seminar taught by H. Tomás Gómez-Arostegui
Friday, 2 March 2012; 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
The Byrd/Morris Seminar Rooms of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American
History, Literature, and Culture and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library

Civil litigation records provide one of the richest sources of information still extant on the book trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. Already known by many bibliographers and book-trade historians as potential treasure troves, the records are often elusive, difficult to navigate, and sometimes seemingly impenetrable. During this seminar, Professor Gómez-Arostegui will explain the where and the what of the records generated by the principal courts of England, focusing particularly on the records of the Court of Chancery, where many cases involving the book trade were filed. His presentation will offer attendees a multi-media experience, as he will make extensive use of his database of over 2,000 high-resolution images of court records (of nearly every conceivable type) from 1560 to 1800 that he has collected over six years of regular visits to the National Archives in London.  

To sign up for this seminar, please contact RBS Program Director Amanda Nelsen at an2b@virginia.edu by February 27, 2012. Space is limited and acceptance is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please note: Ms Miller's March lecture and seminar have been cancelled and will be rescheduled for fall 2012. 

(You can download the Clay Lectures poster as a PDF here.)

 

Now Accepting Applications for Summer 2012

[16 December 2011] Applications are now available for our five summer sessions in Charlottesville. Please visit our Applications page to read about application procedures and to download the form.

2011 Scholarship Awards Announced

[2 December 2011] Rare Book School is pleased to announce the winners of its 2011 Scholarship Committee awards. Congratulations to all!

SHARP-RBS Scholarship: Gabriel Fuchs

James Davis Scholarship: Gabriella Miyares

Directors' Scholarship Fund:

Gay Acompanado
Meghan Petersen
Danielle Blouin Katarzyna Plaszczynska
Benjamin Durham Pauline Reid
Lauren Grewe Rebecca Russell
Robin Katz Jessica Showalter
Andrew Keener Paul Stapleton
Shu-han Luo Nathan Suhr-Sytsma
Hannah Marcus Ardrej Svorencik
Katherine McGettigan Kellyanne Ure
Matthew Murphy Amanda Visconti
Sarah Norris Ryan Wheeler
Tanya K. Ocker Lynda Yankaskas

RBS Announces its 2012 Winter/Summer Course Schedule

[25 October 2011] Rare Book School is pleased to announce the schedule for another exciting summer of classes at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Complete course descriptions will be available in the coming weeks. Applications will be posted in early 2012.

9-13 January 2012 in Baltimore, MD

H-20 The Book in the Manuscript Era

Will Noel

4-8 June 2012 in Charlottesville, VA

H-30 The Printed Book in the West to 1800 Martin Antonetti
I-20 Book Illustration Processes to 1900 Terry Belanger
H-70 The History of the Book in America, c.1700-1830 James N. Green
L-30 Rare Book Cataloging Deborah J. Leslie
L-70 XML in Action: Creating Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) Texts David Seaman

11-15 June 2012 in Charlottesville, VA

H-60 The History of European & American Papermaking Timothy Barrett & John Bidwell
G-30 Printed Books since 1800: Description & Analysis Tom Congalton & Katherine Reagan
L-65 Digitizing the Historical Record Bethany Nowviskie & Andrew Stauffer
G-45 Analytical Bibliography Stephen Tabor
L-25 Scholarly Editing: Principles & Practice David Vander Meulen

2-6 July 2012 in Charlottesville, VA

I-30 Advanced Seminar in Book Illustration Processes Terry Belanger
M-10 Introduction to Paleography, 800-1500 Consuelo Dutschke
L-95 Born-Digital Materials: Theory & Practice Matthew Kirschenbaum & Naomi Nelson
H-90 Teaching the History of the Book Michael F. Suarez, S.J.
G-20 Printed Books to 1800: Description & Analysis David Whitesell

16-20 July 2012 in Charlottesville, VA

H-10 The History of the Book, 200-2000 John Buchtel & Mark Dimunation
G-50 Advanced Descriptive Bibliography Richard Noble
I-35 The Identification of Photographic Print Processes James M. Reilly assisted by Ryan Boatright
L-10 Special Collections Librarianship Alice Schreyer
B-10 Introduction to the History of Bookbinding Jan Storm van Leeuwen

23-27 July 2012 in Charlottesville, VA

M-20 Introduction to Western Codicology Albert Derolez
H-40 The Printed Book in the West since 1800 Eric Holzenberg
G-55 Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books Joel Silver
G-10 Introduction to the Principles of Bibliographical Description David Whitesell
H-15 The History of the Book in America: A Survey from Colonial to Modern Michael Winship

 

January 2012 Course

Students gather around a book in the Walters Museum in January 2011.

[10 October 2011] Rare Book School is currently accepting applications for The Book in the Manuscript Era, taking place 9-13 January at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. The course, which was last taught by Barbara Shailor in 2008, will be taught by Walters Manuscripts Curator Will Noel. Covering the period from late antiquity to the beginning of the c16, this is the first course in a three-part book history sequence that includes The Printed Book in the West to 1800 (H-30) and The Printed Book in the West since 1800 (H-40).

SHARP-RBS Scholarship Fund

[16 September 2011] CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Rare Book School and the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, & Publishing (SHARP) are partnering to offer scholarship opportunities for current graduate students and recent masters and Ph.D. recipients who wish to attend RBS. The SHARP-RBS Scholarship recipients will receive full tuition and a travel/lodging stipend. Graduate students, post-docs, junior faculty, adjunct professors, and those within 5 years of their last awarded degree in any discipline are encouraged to apply.

To apply, please submit an RBS scholarship application by the 30 September 2011 deadline. If you are applying for a Directors' Scholarship you may be eligible for the SHARP-RBS Scholarship. Directors' Scholarship applicants will be considered for the SHARP-RBS Scholarship, so there is no need to apply twice. Terms and conditions are the same as those that apply to the Directors' Scholarship Fund.

Donations to the SHARP-RBS Scholarship Fund are being accepted by RBS. For more information about the fund and how you can contribute click here or contact Megan Gildea, Development Director, Rare Book School, at (434) 243-1010 or mgildea@virginia.edu. Thank you for your interest in RBS.

RBS featured in Washington Post

[2 August 2011] WASHINGTON, DC—Rare Book School featured in the Washington Post Metro Section on 28 July 2011. Dan de Vise, reporter for the Post, spent a day with RBS students, staff, and faculty during the fourth week of our summer sessions. Charlottesville-based photographer Stephanie Gross visited RBS classes and demonstrations during our final week.

October 2011 Course

[7 July 2011] Rare Book School is currently accepting applications for The Art of the Book in Edo and Meiji Japan, 1615-1912, taking place 3–7 October at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M Sackler Gallery Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Ellis Tinios taught this course in 2008 and is the Honorary Lecturer in the School of History, University of Leeds, visiting researcher at the Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University (Kyoto) and special assistant to the Japanese Section of the Department of Asia, British Museum.

2011 Lecture Schedule

[14 June 2011] CHARLOTTESVILLE—Rare Book School is pleased to announce the 2011 lecture and forum series during its June and July Charlottesville sessions. Our series began on Monday, June 6 with a talk by Ann Blair, the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History at Harvard, and it will conclude on Wednesday, July 27 with Leah Price, Professor of English at Harvard. Robert H. Jackson, collector and scholar, will deliver the Malkin Lecture on June 15 in the Rotunda.

To view the complete schedule, please visit Lectures and Events.

UVA President and Rare Book School Director to Conduct Flash Seminar

[4 April 2011] CHARLOTTESVILLE—Theresa Sullivan, President of the University of Virginia, and Professor Michael F. Suarez, S.J., Director of Rare Book School, will team up to lead the flash seminar: “What It Means to Lead the Good Life” today, April 4 at 7 pm, in Jefferson’s Academical Village in Pavilion V.

Flash Seminars are one-off seminars announced a week in advance on thought-provoking topics. These seminars give faculty and students a chance to interact in small, informal settings to explore ideas and issues outside the formal classroom. Flash Seminars work on a first-come, first-served basis and are offered a few times a week.

In scheduling the Flash Seminar for this evening, Professor Suarez made sure it would not conflict with the NCAA Basketball championship! 

Click here to read more about the history of Flash Seminars at the University of Virginia in the Washington Post.  

The Oxford Companion to the Book recognized by ALA Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) and others

[4 February 2011] SAN DIEGO—The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced its selection for the 2011 Outstanding Reference Sources.

The Outstanding Reference Sources list of titles identifies the most important reference publications for small and medium-sized public and academic libraries published in a given year. The publication of this list began in 1958 and now also includes outstanding electronic resources.

This year’s titles were selected by RUSA’s Outstanding Reference Sources Committee, whose members include Deborah Katz, chair, Washington University Libraries; Chaunacey Dunklee, Fullerton (Ca.) Public Library; Cynthia Dudenhöffer, Smiley Memorial Library, Fayette, MO; Patricia L. Gregory Ph.D., Pius XII Memorial Library, St. Louis; Patrick Wall, University City (MO) Public Library; Elinor Appel, North Seattle Community College; Claire Murata, Shoreline (Wa.) Community College; Stephen Marvin, West Chester University of Pennsylvania; Danise G. Hoover, Hunter College Library; Curtis Ferree, Fairfield University; and Anne-Marie Davis, University of Washington.

Among the 2011 winners is the publication by RBS Director Michael F. Suarez, S.J. and H.R. Woudhuysen, “The Oxford Companion to the Book.” Congratulations! See the RUSA website for a complete list of 2011 winners and more details.

Kirkus Reviews cited The Oxford Companion to the Book as one of "10 Must-Have Reference Books of 2010."

Additionally, The Oxford Companion to the Book was reviewed by Bruce Eldevik, Luther Seminary Librarian. "Highly recommended for all academic and special libraries," writes Eldevik in the Critical Review of Theological Librarianship.