Studying, Preserving, and Sharing Humanity’s Story
Upcoming Events
Programs that cultivate connection and deepen historically grounded perspectives on our cultural heritage
Heather O’Donnell: “They Can’t Buy It and They Can’t Take It”: Bookish Solidarity in a Time of Institutional Crisis
The 2026 Sue Allen Lecture for Women in Book History
This talk highlights a number of resourceful women in American book history, some celebrated and some whose names we’ll never know, who found ways to preserve and share aspects of the historical record outside the established institutions of their own day.
Elizabeth Canning: Women’s Libraries & Their Afterlives
The 2026 Kenneth W. Rendell Endowed Lecture
Women’s book collections appear in a wide range of forms: as catalogued libraries; as groups of surviving books linked by inscription and family use; or as volumes dispersed but still …
A “brilliant, once-in-a-lifetime, phenomenal chance to learn”
Experience cutting-edge, specialized instruction on bibliographical inquiry through intensive summer courses offered at the University of Virginia, online, or at partner institutions across the U.S. and in the U.K.
Recent News & Stories
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Make Your Mark
Support the present and future stewards of human history through a donation to Rare Book School. By investing in book education and preservation, you secure the future of the humanities through libraries, private collections, and the book trade.