1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Excellent as well as being excellent post-course reference. 2: (Gascoigne) Very useful - indispensable. 4: Gascoigne was essential reading prior to the first class. Mayor was less useful. 5: Very useful, a must for following the pace of the course. 6: Very useful. Gascoigne's book provided a rudimentary knowledge that was necessary to bring into class. 7: Very useful to give me needed background and details. 8: Don't come without reading Gascoigne - many of us did read it thoroughly before coming. 9: Absolutely necessary. 10: I couldn't have gotten along without having first read Gascoigne (or almost all of Gascoigne). 11: Gascoigne was wonderful - essential. I did not want to look at the second book. 12: Invaluable/essential - for future use - but if I had not read material I think I still could have followed what was discussed in class.

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. Did not feel it was necessary to take notes so could concentrate on studying the material. 2: Highly appropriate and useful. 3: Yes - useful ready reference and reading list. 4: Yes they were appropriate and useful. Reading list will be helpful for future study. 5: Certainly. Illustration list particularly so. 6: Yes. The reading list that was provided will be very useful for further research on print topics. 7: Excellent. They will be very useful for my future study. 8: Absolutely - I'm going to try to make my own packet at home. 9: Reading list is very helpful. 10: Yes, they were appropriate and will be useful in returning to do identification work at my institution. 11: The time-line and reading list are/will be helpful. The rest don't seem so helpful - or necessary - at this time. 12: Very much so [syllabus was appropriate]. Yes [will be useful in the future].

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

1: For someone of my inexperience, excellent. Appreciated instructor's ability to relate the subject matter to general external events and developments 2: Yes. Very much so. 3: Extremely so! 4-6: Yes. 7: Very much so. 8: Yes, just right. 9: Yes. 10: Definitely. 11: Yes. 12: Yes.

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

1: Not applicable. 2-3: N/A. 5: We only journeyed to the press. 6: Not relevant. 8-9: N/A. 10: N/A. We spent all of our time in the lab. I am glad there were no field trips to detract from our time with the packets here.

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: Very exactly. 3-9: Yes. 10: Yes, everything was as promised in the brochure. This is a great course. 11-12: Yes.

6) What did you like best about the course?

1: Instructor's knowledge, insight, and humor combined with excellent study materials. 2: The meatiness of the lectures and opportunity to inspect lots of specimens of the things being discussed. Come to think of it, the hands-on work with making and printing images in different media was valuably humbling. 3: It gives a perspective on the enormity of the field. The hands-on aspect of examining the prints was very helpful as well as the reading list and books available for further study. 4: Getting to see numerous examples of the processes being discussed. Materials were pulled quickly and efficiently in large part because of the hard work of our TA, Heather [Horechny]. Knowledgeable teacher. 5: The wonderful compatibility of lecture and illustration. This is subject matter not always covered in school, so the illustration was priceless. The knowledge conveyed by the professor in such a short time was amazing and certainly an enjoyable experience. 6: The chance to see such a variety of prints and the opportunity to meet other individuals in related fields of work and study. 7: The outstanding organization and wealth of material shown was unexpected and welcome. The teacher's broad background was evident and important. 8: Learning a systematic way to approach book illustrations. 9: Repetition of examination techniques and clues proved helpful by end of week - very important but practical skills. 10: The illustration packets, self-tests, and hands-on nature of the course. You can't get this anywhere else. And TB's wit and humor of course. 11: Instructor's method/manner, having examples and tools. Hands-on practice. 12: Opportunity to look at so many actual examples of various processes, and informative discourse on the prints, their history and keys to identification.

7) How could the course have been improved?

1: Do not think of many reasons. Not sure instructor should be logging stuff on the computer - assistant should do that once program is perfected. Problem with materials location slowed things on occasion - but gave time to study material at hand. 2: Can't think of anything. 4: Some time on the last day for self study and to digest material. Less difficult linoleum blocks to cut. The point was to learn the process, not spend hours creating a "piece of art." 6: The information packets about Charlottesville that was sent to the RBS students could have been sent earlier than it was. 7: I can think of no way. 8: More space in the room. 9: Some sort of checklist at end of class would be helpful. 10: Make it longer. There is so much to learn and so little time to do it in. Would a two week course be feasible? 11: Is there a color process we could actually do? 12: Would be nice to make an actual lithograph and see equipment used. I enjoyed making a linoleum print but would have preferred spending more time studying resources at RBS - going through prints on my own.

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: None, given constraints of space. 2: None. 4: Require use of pencils. Accordion folders and flat folders work well for storage and easy retrieval, but the crowded space of the tables made it difficult to have items flat, not pile things on them, &c. 6: A slightly larger work surface to study prints. 7: The class seemed to value the materials and handled them accordingly. 8: More space in the room and on tables. 9: More room on tables to handle materials. 11: I'm thankful you are so generous with your collections. 12: More table space to set prints down on.

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: Sunday night dinner - excellent. Videos - most informative - is there a list of these available for view, rent, or purchase? Evening lectures - worthwhile. Did not participate in Bookseller Night - was cutting lino block. 2: They were very agreeable, but definitely of secondary importance next to the actual instruction/labs. 3: The outside activities were enjoyable and helpful in creating a rapport with others in the class. Also an excellent opportunity to network with others in the same professional field. 4: Nice to have activities available outside of class to participate in, but not to feel obligated to attend. Enjoyed having common breaks so we could mingle with people in other classes. 5: Because of scheduling limits of my own, I had less time for outside activities than I would have liked. 6: The Sunday dinner was an appropriate and friendly introduction to the program. Keep the dinner and Bookseller Night, certainly. 7: I enjoyed each outside activity, in spite of the long day before. 8: Just great - as always, met interesting people and renewed old friendships. 9: Reversal of Sunday and Thursday events is a good idea. 10: I attended all functions except, unfortunately, not Bookseller Night. Each of them was enjoyable and informative. Study Night was particularly important for my course. 11: I thoroughly enjoyed and found useful Wednesday evening, but almost left before I realized what was available and how I could benefit. Perhaps I missed the pitch, but maybe it could have been thrown at my head. 12: Not many stayed open after 6 pm [Bookseller Night]. Too long [videos]. Two hours would be plenty. [They were two hours! -Ed.] All quite informative.

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

1: Certainly got money's worth - probably underpriced for value, but because tuition came out of my pocket, can't really complain at all. Very valuable for the professional and most rewarding for the innocent bystander. Reading Gascoigne really important, as promised. 2: Definitely got my money's worth, and I'd violently recommend that anyone who was thinking about such a thing to take the plunge. 3: This is a very intense course and at times overwhelming in the amount of information being relayed, but well worth the time. 4: Worthwhile course, but be sure to do your reading beforehand. 5: This course should be a regular requirement for those working in Special Collections or Fine Arts Libraries. Money well spent. 6: I would highly recommend this course to others in my field. I certainly got my money's worth. 7: I thought the course was excellent in every way and would certainly encourage friends to attend. It was worth every penny I spent and all of it out of my own pocket - I shall be able to take the knowledge acquired and apply it to my children's book collection as I study and catalogue it in the future. 8: This was a pleasure because we got to deal with content and my job is often administrative. So this was very enriching. 9: Very worthy and helpful course - yes. 10: This was an excellent course and definitely worth the money. I highly recommend the course to anyone involved in the rare book trade whether dealer, librarian or collector. 11: Do your reading. Do it again. It has been money wonderfully well spent. 12: Yes [got my money's worth]. Well worth taking - still much to learn after one week - appreciate that even experts have a difficult time with some prints.

Number of respondents: 12

There were three rare book librarians (25%); two antiquarian booksellers and two book collectors (17% each); and one each of the following: a general librarian with some rare book duties, a general librarian with no rare book duties, a curator, a teacher/professor, a full-time student, and a retiree.