1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: I had at least dug into many of them before, but they were all worthwhile, and some more than that. 2: Very useful. 3: Titles of most books were practical. 4: Useful. 5: Very useful. 6: Very good.

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. 2: Yes. I would have wished for a copy of the detailed syllabus being used by the instructors. 3-4: Yes. 5: Yes, particularly the reading list. 6: Yes. 7: Appropriate.

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

1: Yes. 2: Yes. Much detail was supplied, and much reference of the relationship of the book world to other social/cultural pursuits. 3: Yes, graduate level, based on foundational knowledge and background. 4: No. 5-7: Yes.

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

1: Yes. 2: Very useful. 3: Seeing the Rare Book Section was quite enlightening. 4: Yes. 5: Yes -- particularly useful visiting Special Collections stacks; had never had this opportunity. 7: 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: Exactly. 3- 7: Yes.

6) What did you like best about the course?

1: The complementary styles of the instructors, and the ways they helped to expand my understanding of book collecting. 2: The in-depth experience of the instructors and their engaging style of communication. 3: I appreciated the part about cataloging/inventories. 4: Instructor's backgrounds and knowledge of book collecting and the book trade. 5: Expertise and responsiveness of instructors. 6: Being exposed to information from experts. 7: The anecdotes illustrating the points made.

7) How could the course have been improved?

1: Don't know. If I think of something later on, I'll get back to you. 2: I would have liked more detailed information on the mechanics of managing a collection -- conservation, cataloging, &c. 3: Maybe a "quiz" here and there. 4: More emphasis on how to build personal book collections (how to develop and improve taste and technique); less time on anecdotes and stamp collecting. 5: I found the book pricing lab and discussion most useful. Perhaps more time could be allocated to book pricing and appraisal. 6: More students and more material about book collecting.

8) We are always concerned about the physical well-being both of the RBS 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: No opinion. 2: Review at beginning of course recommended practice for handling rare books, manuscripts. 3: Perhaps gloves on some of the more rare items. 4: As discussed in class, materials could be more gently handled by curatorial staff during show and tell sessions. 5: Material handling in classroom was fine. 6: None.

9) Please comment on the quality/enjoyability of the various RBS activities in which you took part outside of class (e.g. Sunday afternoon tour, Sunday night dinner, evening lectures, Bookseller Night, Video Night, Study Night, tour of the Alderman digital/electronic centers, printing demonstrations, &c.).

1: I skipped the opening tour, since I'm local. The Monday night lecture was exceptionally fine, and Wednesday's was interesting; the post-lecture remarks on TB were especially appreciated. 2: Sunday night dinner/lecture and Rotunda lecture excellent. 3: These were okay, but I could not attend all of them. 4: The Greer Allen and Nicolas Barker lectures were excellent. The booksellers were very friendly and accommodating. The food at the Sunday dinner and daily breaks was of good quality and variety. 5: Particularly enjoyed Bookseller Night. 6: Very good. 7: Fine.

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

1: Sure. My main reasons for taking the course were to help me refine my collecting and to help me to decide on the collection's disposition, but I suppose I didn't really think that, with my specialized interests, the course would be able to provide definite answers. I had a good time, nonetheless, and I think I learned a lot. 2: Absolutely. 3: The course fine- tuned the rare books' specialization for me explicitly. 4: No. The course content could have been much more substantial and useful to me as a collector. 5: Yes, emphatically. 6: Yes. 7: N/A.

Number of respondents: 7

There were two rare book librarians (29%), one general librarian (14%), three book-collectors (43%), and one technology information specialist (14%).

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