Alice Schreyer

54: Introduction to Special Collections Librarianship [L-10]

14-18 July 2003

1)   How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: These readings were helpful in putting me in the right frame of reference for the developments in Special Collections in recent years. 2: Very useful to me, since I have a museum background. The readings raised some relevant issues for both the museum and library fields. 3: Very good – brought to my attention articles / books I was unaware of. 4: Useful and well-chosen – in the case of John Carter, ABC for Book Collectors, necessary. 5: They were fairly helpful for background information, but were never discussed directly / explicitly during class. 6: Some, like Carter, were worth the time. I found Roderick Cave, Rare Book Librarianship, to be too dated and simplified to be of much relevance. 7: ABC by Carter -- essential. Cave, I could have done without. 8: I thought the online materials were very relevant, and the Carter book was an excellent pre-course assignment. 9: Very helpful. Gave me a larger perspective from which to consider my responsibilities. 10: Very useful. I appreciated the appropriate readings that also were not too time-consuming to complete. 11: Articles were relevant -- two textbooks could have been skimmed instead of read -- one was so dated it was hard to read -- the other was an encyclopedia. 12: Extremely.

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: The syllabus will be especially useful as I continue to draw on the readings once I assume my new job responsibilities. 2: Yes, I will definitely refer to the materials in the future. 3: Yes -- course materials will be a great resource. 4: Si! 5: The course pack we received was incredible -- very thorough and informative. This is something I will keep around for reference. 6: Yes -- very much so. 7: Oh yes! I’ll be consulting them often. 8: Very useful, and I look forward to reading them in the future. 9: Very. 10: Yes, very much so. The course packet is an excellent reference source that I’ll be referring to in the future. 11: Yes -- a great resource to refer to later. 12: Yes, extremely so.

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

1: A substantial amount of course content was review for me, but as an introduction it did help to cement certain issues and areas, as well as give opportunities for more detailed discussion amongst the class members. 2: Yes (see number five). 3: Yes -- very. 4: Yes. 5: Yes. I think it was a good mix of introductory and more advanced information. Students had no reason to shy away from asking “basic” questions, but we covered many issues fairly deeply, as well. 6: Yes. Some was review and more depth might have been appropriate, but for an “introduction” I think AS did as much as one could reasonably expect. 7: For me, right combination of familiar and unfamiliar. 8: Yes, the discussions balanced theory with practicality. 9: Yes! Very useful. 10: Yes. 11: Even at an introductory course there was a wide range of experiences -- had to keep at a pretty basic level. 12: Yes.

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

1: Our two visits to Special Collections would have been more instructive if we had been given tours of the department and not just listened to issues related to the imminent move to new facilities next year. 2: I enjoyed the lectures from Special Collections staff. 3: It was really helpful to hear the presentations from the Special Collections staff, and they were very receptive to all questions. 4: Yes. Though it would have been interesting to visit the Reading Room. 5: I would have enjoyed a tour of the Special Collections stacks / facilities one of the two days, instead of listening to two staff members speak on very similar topics. 6: This is the one criticism I have of the course. I thought the visit to UVa Special Collections would have been more relevant if we had been brought into the stacks, shown books and manuscripts, and actually “seen” how things run behind the scenes. It was a bit dull listening to Heather Moore and Mike Plunkett. 7: Honestly -- no. We spent about three contact hours total, hours which would have been better spent in class. Half the time would have been better. 8: I thought the Special Collections visits were good uses of time. The design of the new rare books building was the most enlightening topic. 9: Yes -- in Alderman Special Collections. 10: Very good selection of Special Collections personnel and topic to learn about. Appreciated the administrative perspective. 11: Yes -- needed more real life examples -- not so much classroom lecture. 12: Yes.

5)   What did you like best about the course?

1: I benefitted most from the opportunity to participate in discussions, ask questions, and hear others’ perspectives. 2: Our professor was very articulate, and she managed to keep the interest of those with more experience while remaining sensitive to those who did not have such a strong background. She encouraged everyone to challenge assumptions. We each had to evaluate an RBS book, an exercise that taught us all a lot. 3: The class interaction was terrific, and AS presented many different scenarios for us to consider as we discussed different topics. 4: A) AS’s ability to articulate. B) Learning about the experiences of my classmates. 5: The instructor was incredibly knowledgeable and up-to-date on current library issues, and guided discussions beautifully and skillfully. 6: I like AS’s deep knowledge, organization, and enthusiasm. She is good at involving all members of the class in her discussion, and she makes students feel valued for their contributions. I liked the freedom we had to develop presentations of our choice and the time during the day to work on them. 7: Meeting the other students, feeling that we are all working on the same issues. Instructor’s expertise and support were wonderful! 8: The closeness of the members of the class, and that certainly was cultivated by AS’s direction. She is an excellent teacher and listener. 9: AS has a wonderfully warm personality, which creates a friendly, engaging teaching style. She also has the breadth of experience and knowledge to impart to make this course so worthwhile to a long time professional librarian who is new to Special Collections. 10: AS’s wide knowledge and ability to explain, accurately but briefly, a variety of subjects raised by students. Also, her ability to draw students in, to note their specific interests, yet to not let the class get bogged down in details or specific cases. 11: AS’s enthusiasm for Special Collections. 12: The instructor and the workbook and the other people in the class!

6)   How could the course have been improved?

1: Although the presentations were useful as an exercise, I think the time allowed for preparation and presentation could have been better spent in getting through the rest of the syllabus. 2: I would have liked to have more physical experience -- perhaps looking at more material from the Special Collections or studying more RBS books. 3: Although the presentations were very good -- perhaps shorten the amount of preparation time to allow more time for discussion. 4: You can and should always tinker with courses -- it might be useful to have two or three Specials Collections presented in the preliminary reading as case studies in various management styles, but it was a really wonderful and superbly taught class. 5: I would have preferred more class time spent on interactive learning and field trips. The presentations we gave wasted too much class time for what I feel we learned from them. 6: It might have been helpful to go through dealers’ catalogs as a group and “translate” some of the language of the trade into “English” so we would feel confident we know what we’re looking at. 7: Less time in Special Collections. More time discussing books and their physical care. Instructor has, on the whole, structured this very well. 8: Although it would be hard to do, you really need an extra few hours to cover all of the material. 9: A little more time to preservation / conservation and less to students presentations (cut students off at ten minutes!). 11: Less straight lecturing -- more interactive learning -- small assignments, group projects, &c. instead of one big presentation assignment. 12: It’s just about perfect!

7)   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: I noticed other students with coffee and other liquids on the table along with the teaching collections in our classroom. Student should be reminded that even teaching collections need to be protected from careless accidents. 3: There were no problems handling the RBS materials. 4: Phase boxes seem really in order for some of the books we used. 5: The RBS teaching collections were not all handled well in the classroom. Students should be encouraged to use book cradles, at least. 6: Nothing comes immediately to mind. 7: I have no suggestions. 8: Seemed fine to me. 9: Ask that no drinks be placed on the table with books. 10: Perhaps some cradles for book examinations in class. 11: OK to me.

8)   If you attended the Sunday and/or Monday night lectures, were they worth attending?

1: The orientation lecture and Greer Allen’s lecture were both worthwhile for me. 2: Yes -- very fun. 3: Yes -- TB’s discussion was great for setting up the week and GA was very entertaining! You should have GA return! 4: Sunday -- yes, useful overview of RBS history and the weeks’ doings. Monday -- GA: Bewick and ponies and book design -- totally enjoyable. 5: Yes; they provided useful orientations and some context, as well as opportunities for socialization. 6: Sunday was worthwhile for learning about the history of RBS. I did not attend Monday but heard good things about GA’s talk on book design and the racetrack. 7: Did not attend Monday. Sunday worth it. 8: I attended the Sunday night lecture and thought it was an excellent overview of the history and purposes of RBS. 9: Yes -- although I think all lectures should begin at 7pm if classes end at 5pm. 10: Yes, both. 11: Attended Sunday -- didn’t get the kind of overview I was expecting. Was too tired Monday to sit through one more hour of lecture. 12: N/A. (Too tired to attend.)

9) If you attended Museum Night, was the time profitably spent?

1: Museum Night was instructive, although somewhat overwhelming for a tyro such as myself. 2: Very much so. 3: Yes -- enjoyed the demonstrations as well as the hands-on opportunity to examine different book / printing structures and processes. The handouts are great resources. 4: Museum Nights -- both absolutely wonderful, and one of the most useful things I did -- printing surfaces, perhaps (though it’s a close decision), was invaluable in giving tactile and visual ideas of processes that words really can’t convey. 5: Yes! Museum Night was one of my favorite events. It was unique, engaging, and highly informative. 6: Yes -- I finally understood how a Linotype machine functions, after having been shown in the past to much less avail. 7: Yes. 8: N/A. 9: Yes. 10: Very useful. 11: Interesting -- but felt too crowded to get to everything. 12: N/A. (Too tired to attend.)

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

1: Definitely worthwhile for my first time, and I look forward to future attendance. The videos were especially enjoyable and their use beyond video night should be promoted and made available. 2: Yes. Future applicants should be aware that this course covers a broad range such as administrative problems, digital collections, exhibits, &c. (A very useful course, particularly since many jobs require wearing several hats.) 3: Definitely! A great course that covers a lot of information and educates you in resources to learn more! 4: A) Yes. B) An excellent experience overall. 5: I feel I got more than my money’s worth. This was a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait to come back. Advice -- do the readings, participate, take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities, and have fun! 6: Definitely worth the money. All the evening activities add a lot of value, as do informal talks with other attendees and listening to TB talk about whatever he is talking about at a given moment. Hope to return. 7: Absolutely, my institution got its money’s worth. Program, not course related: There is too much scheduled stuff, if we also have homework. I had to miss most evening things, which I regretted. Remember, Clemons closes at 10:00pm. Tell people to bring laptops, even just for word processing. Tell them printing is ten cents a page at the library. 8: Most definitely. I was here once before for a January session, and this was a much more positive learning experience. Future students for this class should heavily consult Carter’s ABC book before arriving. 9: Definitely -- it will make me so much more competent and confident in my new role as Rare Book Librarian -- gave me a good foundation. 10: Excellent introductory course. Highly recommended. I especially liked the class member presentations and variety of things they let me learn about different Special Collections operations. 11: Touched the very basics of administration; didn’t have time to go into depth. 12: Yes. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in Special Collections librarianship, especially those new to the field.

Number of respondents: 12

Percentages

There were five rare book librarians (42%), one archivist or manuscript librarian (8%), three general librarians with some rare book duties (26%), one general librarian with no rare book duties (8%), one full-time student (8%), and one museum employee (but not in a museum library) (8%).

RBS Home