44. Rare Book Cataloging

Taught in 1994 by Suzy Taraba
(Evaluation of the RBS 1994 version of this course)

Aimed at catalog librarians who find that their present duties include (or shortly will include) the cataloging of rare books and/or special collections materials. Attention will be given to cataloging both books from the handpress period and c19 and c20 books in a special collections context. Topics include: comparison of rare book and general cataloging; application of codes and standards; uses of special files; problems in transcription, collation and physical description; and setting cataloging policy within an institutional context.

• I. How useful were the pre-course readings?
  
  1: Very useful in preparing for the course. I appreciate the promptness with which they were sent. Wasn't it around Memorial Day? 2: Good variety + very helpful in making sure all in the class were at a similar level. 3: Very helpful. It was a good balance of preparing catalogers with no rare book experience or rare books librarians with little cataloging experience with background for classes. Since this was the bulk of the people who made up the class, it meant we could more easily understand where others were coming from. 4: Very useful. 5: They were very good and helpful. 6: The readings were excellent, but it was difficult to obtain some of the materials. 7: Very. 8: Very helpful; though I did not have the chance to complete them, the list furnishes guidance for ongoing reading and reference. I will keep some items in my office from now on. 9: All were extremely useful. 10: Quite useful. It was clear, though, that ST had expected some of us not to do it, or not all of it. That was nice. 11: Most were useful; the Levarie book on the history of the book was probably the least useful, but I can see why it was included. 12: Quite useful, especially for someone fairly new to rare book cataloging. 13: Most of the pre-course readings were absolutely essential. I have absolutely no background in rare book cataloging and I feel that I was much better able to keep up with the class after having done the reading. 14: The pre-course readings were mostly review material for me, but they helped establish a good mindset. 15: Very useful. In-class use of the two primary class texts, DCRB and the Examples to accompany DCRB, was very well handled and extremely helpful. 16: Useful and important, but personally it wasn't possible for me to get through all of them before coming.
  
  
• II. Did your instructor prepare properly and sufficiently to teach THIS course?
  
  1: Yes, one of ST's strong points is that she is a practitioner with many years of first-hand experience. 2: Yes. 3: Yes. ST had a wealth of knowledge to share with us and was extremely well organized. 4: Yes -- great -- the course was really impressive with regard to organization and content. 5: Yes. 6: Yes, she was excellent. 7: Yes. 8: The instructor was extremely well prepared and was never at a loss in dealing with the questions of even the most knowledgeable members of the class. 9: Definitely. 10: ST was extremely organized. Handouts and practicum materials were useful. 11: Yes! 12: Absolutely. She was superbly prepared. 13: The instructor was very well organized and extremely well prepared. She was the perfect person to teach this course. 14: Absolutely. Aside from knowing the material cold, ST is a truly gifted teacher. 15: Extremely so. 16: Yes.
  
  
• III. Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?
  
  1-4: Yes. 5: It was at my level. 6: Yes. I am a newcomer to rare book cataloging and ST made sure that everything was clear, references were explained, and all questions were answered. 7: Yes. 8: Yes -- and amazingly, appropriate for all members with widely varying levels of expertise. 9: More than appropriate! Extremely satisfying. 10: Very appropriate. We had wonderful discussions. Thanks for providing the opportunity for 16 rare book catalogers to get together and share! 11-12: Yes. 13: Yes, absolutely. No matter what our previous experiences were, we all learned something. 14: Yes. This course is, and should remain, aimed at experienced catalogers. 15-16: Yes.
  
  
• IV. If your course had field trips, were they effective?
  
  2: Video on book format appropriate and a good break in the routine. 4: No field trips -- they would not be appropriate for this course. 5: N/A. But I liked the video presentation very much, even if it was not a field trip.
  
  
• V. Did the actual course content correspond to its RBS bro- chure description and Expanded Course Description? Did the course in general meet your expectations?
  
  1: The course met my expectations. 2: Yes, yes. 3: Yes. 4: Yes, yes. 5: Yes. Yes, the course fully met my expectations. I feel very lucky to have attended this course with its wonderful instructor. 6: Yes. Yes, I learned a great deal and feel much better prepared to contribute to local policy decisions in conjunction with the Head of Special Collections and the Head of Cataloging. 7: Yes. 8: Yes. The course really exceeded my expectations and leaves me wanting to return in future years. 9: Yes -- more than met my expectations -- an out- standing course! 10: Yes and Yes! The course met my expectations based on the course description. The information I learned will be so useful that I wish I could have come here several years ago. 11: Yes, it did. 12: Yes, and yes. 13: The course definitely met my expectations. I wish it could have been longer, though. It was a lot to cram into five days. 14: Yes to both. 15: Yes, in every way. 16: Exceeded my expectations.
  
  
• VI. What did you like best about the course?
  
  1: I liked doing the sample exercises and the discussion which ST helped spark on the various topics we covered. 2: It touched on all/most of the crucial areas; had time for practicing with books; congenial atmosphere created by the instructor. 3: The mix of classmates. It was very enlightening to hear from so many different voices in rare book librarianship. It was a good exposure to common problems in different institutions. 4: The practical exercises which were evaluated by the instructor. Also the wide range of experience represented by course participants. 5: The way ST teaches. It's very vivid and easily understood for a beginner. 6: The atmosphere of the class was relaxed and open. ST was well organized, kept to her schedule, and provided humor. There was no tension and no put- downs. 7: ST provided a good balance between providing skills training and in encouraging discussion of more theoretical issues (both about ideas behind the rule and the administrative issues in managing cataloging units). 8: The instructor's manner was at once knowledgeable and reassuring. Discussions were pleasant and well-paced. The instructor was adept at drawing class members into discussions of issues and concerns, often asking follow-up questions to assure that we learned from one another's experience as well as from hers. 9: ST's skillful integration of cataloging theory and cataloging philosophy into each practicum. 10: The open discussion that was permitted, then the hands-on opportunity to work with books and apply what we'd covered. 11: Class discussions (of which there were many) and opportunity (Thursday's ``office hour'') to ask questions individually (one on one). 12: ST's combining review of DCRB, hands-on exercises, and very practical discussions of situations we face in our institutions. The questions and information exchange among classmates was also very helpful. 13: The instructor's patience, kindness, and sense of humor. 14: The ``no pressure'' approach to the practical exercises. Catalogers are deathly afraid of making mistakes, but in a course this short you just have to slog through a couple of tough problems if you're going to learn anything. 15: ST's measured, common sense approach to all of the complexities of rare book cataloging. 16: Hearing ST give her perspective on things. She is extremely articulate, experienced, and helpful.
  
  
• VII. How could the course have been improved?
  
  1: It seems that the course was well planned. I like the series of receptions which encouraged us to mingle and advance in our profession. 3: Only if it were longer. Perhaps an advanced rare book cataloging course might also be useful. 4: Perhaps a folder with copies of some of the articles on the reading list could be available for overnight loan from the RBS office (I had trouble locating a few items at my home institution and UVa copies were checked out or in Special Collections -- possible, but a bit difficult, to use). Along with the pre-course readings, suggestions of a few libraries to look at on the Internet -- to see various options of rare book cataloging in practice. 5: I wish the course lasted more than one week. 6: There was some dead time while each participant worked alone and ST talked with each individual. Doing one catalog record did not bring up every issue (or in some cases even very many issues) of rare book cataloging. I would have liked a chance to go through several examples as a class. 7: Fewer individual exercises replaced by the entire group reviewing all the exercises. Rather than each of us doing several exercises, each of us might do one and, in the remaining time, the group could review particular samples together to gain added knowledge and experience that numerous samples present. 8: I have no suggestions, really. For my purposes it was excellent. 10: Participants asked to bring samples to share of written policies, if any, from their home institutions. 11: More graded cataloging exercises (if not graded by the instructor, then perhaps with access to answer keys). 12: For the limited time it has, I can't imagine any improvement -- other than making it longer. 13: Add another week! Or, at least, a follow-up course. 14: Better chalk board and sketchpad arrangements. ST spent a lot of time juggling markers and taping up pages of notes. 15: In the collation and pagination sections of the course, we had prepared answer keys to compare to our own work. This would have been very helpful for the full-dress records that we created on Thursday afternoon. ST could only look at one record from each of us, but we worked on more than one. 16: Can't think of any way.
  
  
• VIII. Any final thoughts?
  
  1: I was disappointed in TB's lecture entitled ``Bibliographical State of the Nation'' in the Rotunda on Thursday night. I expected some perspective on trends and directions in publishing and scholarly communication, but I came away empty-handed. Please ask the University Librarian to refrain from such statements to the effect of `I will not list his accomplishments because they are already known to you' in her introductions of various speakers as her career progresses. I, for one, was uninformed of TB's most recent accomplishments -- is he currently working on a book? has he been a speaker at a colloquium? what courses did he teach during the regular academic year? I would have liked to learn the answers to these questions and her introduction was the opportunity for me to find out. Alas, I did not. I am grateful to TB and the marvelous staff he has assembled in making Rare Book School a success. We are fortunate that RBS has a high visibility at the University of Virginia. This bodes well for what we do. ST was wonderfully patient and her cheerful manner set the tone for a work week in which we could probe, ask questions, and discuss problems. 3: Read the evaluations/yearbooks from this year and previous years to get an idea of what to expect. Do the course reading -- it really is an 8-5 job at RBS. Be prepared with questions to ask your instructor and colleagues -- it's a unique opportunity to get reports from people in similar situations. Come, learn a lot, enjoy yourself. 4: Take the pre-course readings seriously -- they are not really optional. 5: You must take this course if you want to be a rare book cataloger. It is excellent! 6: I would have used my stair-stepper dili- gently before coming if I had hand any idea of all the stairs I would be climbing! It might have helped to be told outright that there would be very little time spent in the dorm room. It has been a GREAT week!! 7: Enthusiastically recommend the course and encourage keeping it at a high skill level -- ie, don't reshape it into a basic cataloging course. 8: Thanks for bringing RBS to Virginia. In a state which offers no graduate library science school, RBS is a godsend for mid-career professionals. I like the one-week, intensive format. It is both affordable and manageable in terms of work schedule and family schedule. This is the most satisfactory professional development option that I have had available in-state and is certainly more convenient and affordable than out-of-state offerings at my level of professional development. 9: This is my first course at RBS -- and it was a fabulous experience! ST's presentation of the subject area, her skills, experience, and knowledge or rare book cataloging were excellent. A superb challenge! I'm very much interested and supportive of TB's concept of master level rare book courses taught by experts in the field/discipline and at the institution with the best collection!! Sorely needed! 10: Do it! The opportunity and experience are enriching. You meet lots of people in your field (ie, cataloging) and others working with the same types of materials. Stay on The Lawn. 11: Do it! 12: I would strongly recommend the course to anyone who needs a foundation in rare book cataloging. 13: If you are not coming from the Special Collections cataloging department or team or section, make sure to talk with someone about the policies for cataloging. 14: Either as an added attrac- tion or as a warning, the Vade mecum should mention all the opportunities for stair climbing around here. By the way, the rooms are not too cold, but maybe you should emphasize that people might want to bring sweaters. 15: Advice to those who do not consider themselves to be cat- alogers and who have curatorial responsibilities: take this course (even though, alas, ST will not be the one to give it). 16: Just that it is an important class to take and was well worth making the long trip.
  

Number of respondents: 16

Percentages

Leave         Tuition        Housing        Travel

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

100%          67%            40%            54%


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

0%            27%            42%            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   exchange       home

0%            6%             18%            6%

Nine students (56%) were rare book librarians, six students (38%) were general librarians with unspecified rare book duties, and one student (6%) was a general librarian with some rare book duties.