20-24 July 1998
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1) How useful were the pre-course readings? 1: Very helpful in providing context, ensuring that all participants have roughly the same level of experience in the subject areas. 2: Very useful. 3: Extremely valuable and especially good preparation for the course since our backgrounds varied widely. 4: The pre-course readings set the stage for what the instructors examined in greater detail. 5: The readings were directly related to the content; they enabled me to immediately focus on the lectures. They served as a good introduction to the material. 6: Very useful as background. 7: Excellent. 8: Generally relevant and interesting background. I would have liked to have had more discussion related to the readings. 9: Extremely useful. A very long and daunting list, but I read 'em all and thought they were excellent. 10: Excellent preparation for the content of the course. 2) Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class useful (or will they be so in the future, after you return home)? 1: Yes and yes. 2: The course materials distributed are very, very useful. I will use them often. However, I would suggest a bit more organization putting them together (a table of contents would be nice). 3: Yes. 4: Material distributed in class was invaluable. I will consult it regularly in the future. 5: The materials were extensive and mostly interesting. A ring binder was provided to hold them together. Some of the sections, such as bibliographical lists, will be consulted regularly. 6: Yes, absolutely! 7: Excellent. A numbered outline with pagination by section (e.g., 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3) might help. 8: Yes, very much so. 9: Very useful. I will use them often, after breaking them apart and stashing in subject-specific files. One suggestion: please number the pages. This would reduce the amount of time spent fumbling for the right pages during class. 10: All of the above. Excellent materials. 3) Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate? 1-3: Yes. 4: The mix of this particular class was wonderful, leading to stimulating discussions from diverse backgrounds and viewpoints. 5: I was pleased with the intellectual level of every aspect of this course, the materials, the people, the overall environment. It would be hard to raise the intellectual level much and still enjoy a one-week course. 6-7: Yes. 8: Yes. I found my classmates stimulating, knowledgeable, curious, interested, and interesting. MC and DW did an excellent job facilitating discussion. 9: Yes. We were not beginners, and appreciated not rehashing elementary stuff. 10: Yes. 4) If your course had field trips, were they effective? 1: Yes. MC and DW clearly had taken the time to set up the visit in advance - very worthwhile! 2: Yes. 3: Time devoted was well spent in both Alderman Special Collections and UVA Law School Special Collections. For the trip to the latter, a foul up with the cab transportation cut short time there. 4: Our one class trip was quite pleasant (the Law School Library was most gracious). 5: We went to the special collections department of the Law School. The thoughtfully selected items were a highlight of the week. I enjoyed the opportunity to examine them personally. 6: Yes - we went on a field trip to the UVa Law Library, a beautiful new facility, and spent some time with the curator of rare books there. 7: We had a good visit to UVA Law School's Special Collections. 8: Yes - but a little more time should have been allotted to our field trip. 9: Yes - loved the visit to UVA Law Library and Alderman's Special Collections. 10: Yes. 5) Did the actual course content correspond to its RBS brochure description and Expanded Course Description (ECD)? Did the course in general meet your expectations? 1: Yes. 2: For the most part. 3: Yes. 4: I found it more comprehensive than advertised, although this can probably be attributed to the class mix. 5: It seemed to cover everything in the description, but there was somewhat more to the course than the description indicated. That was pleasing. 6-8: Yes. 9: Yes. 10: Yes. 6) What did you like best about the course? 1: No question - MC and DW! They are great instructors who clearly know this topic and were able to convey their knowledge and concern with care. 2: The faculty and interacting with the other students. 3: Both instructors. The way they shared responsibilities for the lectures. 4: I particularly enjoyed the easy camaraderie and mutual respect of the two instructors. It is rare for a course which is taught in such a manner to exhibit so much generosity of knowledge. 5: The instructors. I leave with new friends. RBS's relaxed environment gives one a comfortable learning experience. 6: The readings and handouts. The wonderful rapport between the two excellent instructors - perfect for a seminar/workshop such as this. Plenty of opportunity for participation of staff. 7: The opportunity to hear, in a small group setting, from leading people in the field. 8: The instructors. 9: The instructors!!! Tops in their fields - they know so much and are so very generous about sharing their expertise. I cannot praise them highly enough. 10: The balance of strengths of the two instructors; they complemented each other so well. The material content was excellent, just what I was looking for. Also, the range of students was excellent. 7) How could the course have been improved? 1: Two weeks instead of just one (but at the same price)! Seriously, the course was great and RBS was wonderful - all that I had hoped it would be. 2: The course is called "Collecting the History of Anglo-American Law" so I knew that collecting would be a primary focus. However, at times the collecting aspect seemed to engulf the course entirely, leaving less time for other interesting topics. 3: Keep doing it this elegantly! 4: Too much to carry around, although I don't see what can do done about it when the material is all so valuable. 5: I do not believe that it can be. 6: This is not really a criticism, but I thought there was a little too much emphasis on "the trade." (I'm a researcher who cannot afford to buy rare books, so I go to libraries instead!) 8: Extend it another week - there is certainly enough material. 9: Just my personal opinion: slightly rein in the lengthy discussions about the details of personal book collection, long talks about individual dealers, &c. 10: Provide legal research information that was given on Friday earlier in the week. 8) We are always concerned about the physical well-being both of the BAP's 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? 2-3: None. 4: It always appeared as though material was handled with care. 5: I observed some rough handling of teaching materials. They should be restricted to Alderman Library or only handled by the instructors. 6: I think that the BAP teaching collection material received careful handling by instructors and participants. 7: Items were treated carefully. 9: No suggestions. 10: None. 9) Please comment on the quality/enjoyability of the various RBS activities in which you took part outside of class, eg Sunday afternoon tour, Sunday night dinner and videos, evening lectures, Bookseller Night, tour of the Alderman digital/electronic centers,, &c. 1: Overall, quite good. The RBS guide did mention maps of places to go running, but they were not included. Runners are almost as fanatic as book people, so the inclusion of the maps would have been nice. 2: Greer Allen and Ellen Dunlap's lectures were interesting, but a new room needs to be selected for lectures and videos (Clemons is too hard to see the speaker and the screen). Have you no auditoriums at UVA? 3: All were of interest, but the 6pm hour for lectures could perhaps be rethought. Ending classes at 5pm leaves no time for dinner beforehand and the on-campus dining room hours (4:30-6:30pm) eliminates eating there after the lecture. Those without cars cannot get to places more distant than the Corner for late dinner. 4: Bookseller Night is always a great experience and the lectures were enjoyable. (I missed the digital/electronic center tours - hadn't heard about it until now). 5: Booksellers Night was fine, but the transportation was difficult. I would bus everyone downtown and back at the same time. 6: Sunday night dinner is always fun. Lectures were, as usual, interesting and informative. 7: Sunday night dinner and videos were good and I enjoyed the lectures. When was the tour of the digital/electronic centers? 8: It might be nice to have booksellers come in, time allowing, especially selectively, to show their expertise in various areas. Tours/lectures were enjoyable. 9: I partook in few activities, relishing instead the time to read and think deeply about how I will implement what I have learned when I return to work. 10: Beneficial overall. I need more time to think about this and may respond with a future email. 10) Any final thoughts? Did you get your money's worth? 1: Yes, I got my money's worth! 2: I feel that I received my money's worth. I hope that RBS continues the law book course with MC and DW. 3: I had more than my money's worth. Much of what I hoped to learn about books, law books, &c., I did. An added benefit was the variety of people in the course - scholars, booksellers, collectors. 4: Absolutely! Compared to vast sums library administrators spend sending colleagues to conventions where more time is spent locating exhibit halls than exchanging ideas, RBS is a real bargain. 5: This is an important, unique course. It affords the best opportunity currently available for students of legal history to investigate collecting its books, manuscripts, and other materials. 6: Both instructors are charming, knowledgeable, and very good teachers. 7: This was an excellent course - it met all my expectations. 8: 9: Take the course! I think tuition was very reasonable (of course, I didn't pay for it myself!). MC and DW are the greatest and the campus [i.e., Grounds] is beautiful. RBS is an excellent program. Thank you!!! 10: I would recommend this course highly and was honored to take it. Number of respondents: 10
There were ten students: three (30%) were general librarians with some rare book duties, two (20%) were antiquarian booksellers, and one each (10%) each was a book collector, a library director, a rare book librarian, was retired, but writing, and a teacher/professor. |