No. 36: Book Collecting

26-30 July 1999

1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Very important and well selected. Provided an excellent foundation upon which to build one’s knowledge. 2: They were not all that useful. They were rarely referred to. 3: The pre-course readings helped familiarize me with some of the content and prepared me to learn during the course. 4: Reasonably.

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: I have found them most helpful and will find them so in the future. Any supplementary information is helpful. The material was well designed and written. 2: They were fine. 3: Yes, yes, yes. 4: Yes.

3) Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?

1: Yes. The instructors provided the information in a manner which seemed suitable for sophisticated and less sophisticated book collectors. 2: There was a bit too much anecdote and the like, which took time from what I came to learn. My suggestion is less art, more matter. 3: Appropriate to the instructors and participants. 4: Yes.

4) If your course had field trips, were they effective?

1: Yes! It would be fun/instructive to have time to browse through the rare book stacks. 2: Yes, but what else might we have done in that 1½ hours? I would certainly consider dropping the Special Collections tour. 3: Very much so. 4: 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. 3: Yes!! 4: To a "T." In fact, it lived up to my expectations in every respect.

6) What did you like best about the course?

1: The informal yet informative manner in the presentation of the material. The anecdotes enhanced the subject matter. The lab assignment to research the price of several books of varying periods and evaluate their desirability as collectibles was very instructive. This will be extremely valuable in the future. 2: I learned a great deal - and the course put me in a position to learn a great deal more on my own. The course was relaxed, the instruction easy and witty. It was a blessing to have the books and catalogs and the like immediately to hand. The two instructors work well together. 3: The seminar atmosphere. Direct contact and conversation with the instructors and with the other students. The exercise pricing books and accepting or refusing the book at that cost was particularly valuable. A second exercise once we had partially mastered the first would also have been fun and great, but I can’t think of what that exercise might be. I also liked the instructors (and my fellow students) as people. 4: Feeling so comfortable in the company of other collectors.

7) How could the course have been improved?

1: Possibly a period with a commercial dealer such as Mrs Gilliam might be beneficial. A video of a book sale at Christie’s, Sotheby, or Swann’s to provide an idea of how the big boys handle an auction (if such a video is available). 2: Less art, more matter. Spend less time on general introductions like why do we collect, and why does anyone make a charitable contribution. Let’s have some handouts summarizing parts of the course, like the pricing exercise, like the tax document that WB wrote. 3: I can’t think of any way right now. I would like a list on leather bindings, but I suppose that’s really another course. 4: I can think of no way.

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?

1: At the expense of insulting the participants, remind everyone of the proper care of books. 2: No suggestions. 3: Possibly a short session on book handling on the first day. Use of foam supports so books just aren’t opened too far.

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: Excellent. 2: All went well - nicely managed. 3: I enjoyed all outside activities, and they were valuable to me. Bookseller Night lasted all week at lunchtime, so I may have lost a little weight during this course. 4: I enjoyed Sunday Night Dinner, the evening lectures, Bookseller Night, the Etext Center, and the Rotunda exhibition.

10) Any final thoughts? Did you get your money's worth?

1: I definitely got more than my money’s worth. 2: Sure [got money’s worth]. And more important, knowing what I know now about the course. Would I still have taken it again? Sure. 3: I will recommend this course to book collectors and plan to return for more courses. I’ve noticed a peculiar tic develop since starting this course: when reaching for a book on the booksellers shelf, if its condition is obviously bad, my hand starts out but then the muscles tighten up and I cannot pick up the book. I suppose I can next expect the onset of hand-weakening when the provenance is not up to the expected! The instructors did an excellent job and are well appreciated. 4: I don’t know many collectors (and you have to be a collector), but I can’t wait to recommend the course to those I do!

Number of respondents: 4

There were two teachers/professors (50%), and two book-collectors (50%).