Barbara Shailor

71: The Book in the Manuscript Era [H-20]

26-30 July 2004


 

1)   How useful were the pre-course readings?


1: Very helpful and will be good to review for consolidating class notes. 2: Very useful. A few were hard to get hold of, but I was able to read all of them, and found that they provided me with a good background. (I did find the illustrations in the Brown “Scripts” book hard to use, though the dictionary by Brown [Understanding illuminated manuscripts: a guide to technical terms] was exceptional.) 3: Very useful -- good resources for an overview, as well as some more specific information. 4: Extremely useful. Must read. 5: The readings were very helpful. They covered a wide range of topics both generally and specifically. 6: Very useful. It was also useful to have Michelle Brown’s book in class. 7: Very useful, but some were hard to acquire. Good basic reading of material that was covered in class as the “basics.” 8: The pre-course readings provided an excellent overview to what was covered in class. 9: Very good as introduction for the course and aspects not 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: BAS gave very good outlines and provided excellent bibliographies. 2: Yes -- very useful -- I feel that they will help me as well when I return home. 3: Yes -- I hope to read more, finish some books I hadn’t finished yet, and read more books from the bibliographies. 4: Course materials/handouts are all appropriate and will be consulted. 5: Definitely! 6: Tons of great material, including the CD, that I plan to use as reference in the future. The handouts also made the class easier to follow. 7: Yes, particularly the bibliographies. 8: The distributed material was indispensable for the class. 9: Yes.

 

3)   What aspects of the course content were of the greatest interest or relevance for your purposes? Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?


1: The actual fragments which could be touched and studied. I was glad that BAS kept the level at a level beginners can understand, yet learn technical details. 2: I frequently have to refer or suggest to users a particular text in our historical collections. I’m also asked questions about format of historical collections contents. This will help explain to patrons what they will be seeing prior to a visit and will help as well in the classes I teach on the history of medicine. 3: This was a wonderfully challenging course. The level and material discussed at first intimidated me, but the precision and way we went over the material taught me a lot. BAS has a very good ability of showing you what to look for, encouraging you to do it yourself, and then helping when you get stuck or encouraging you in the right direction. 4: The plentiful examples of manuscripts, discussion of how materials used. Latin is extremely helpful. Exercise/project extremely relevant. 5: The emphasis on scripts was particularly helpful and discussions about the integration of the evolution of scripts within the cultural context. The intellectual level was right on target for me. 6: The field trip was wonderful. I also appreciated being able to use U.Va. Special Collections materials in spite of the move they are currently undertaking. Best of all were the pieces we could handle ourselves in class exercises. The final projects were a great innovation, and very challenging! 7: Instructions in the basics of (curatorial) cataloging, mastering the jargon. 8: As I knew very little of the subject matter beforehand, the overall content of the course was very interesting, with the intellectual level being appropriate. Some knowledge of the Bible and rudimentary Latin is certainly helpful, but not necessary. 9: I learned a lot more about script than I expected. Yes.

 

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


1: The field trips enabled us to see items which we very likely would not have had access to on our own. 2: It was hard to see some of the volumes being displayed during the field trip because of the arrangement at the Folger; otherwise, it was a useful trip. 3: Yes -- totally spent looking at and discussing collections. Loved all the collections at U.Va., Folger, and Library of Congress! 4: Yes -- traveled to the Library of Congress and the Folger. Great examples of manuscript. 5: Absolutely! Wonderful trip to the Folger and Library of Congress Rosenwald Collection. 6: Yes! We saw a variety of interesting pieces. 7: Very. 8: The time spent on the field trip was excellent. 9: Yes.

 

5)   What did you like best about the course?


1: The teacher’s joyful enthusiasm for the fragments/books she presented. 2: I found BAS’s library of images most helpful, since she could zoom in to show particular points very closely. I also found it useful to analyze a particular manuscript. 3: The enthusiasm and knowledge of the instructor -- I was awed and am leaving with a determination to learn more! She made it very fun. 4: Abundance of examples. 5: BAS’s enthusiasm and approachability -- she is a terrific instructor. 6: BAS was the best part -- informed, well prepared, eloquent, and always entertaining. 7: Hands-on work with fragments helped to give a better appreciation of the physical aspects of parchment, etc. 8: BAS, who is a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable instructor. 9: BAS is a great instructor. Very enthusiastic. Hands-on exercise was good. Seeing lots of books and binding was great.

 

6)   How could the course have been improved?


1: I feel I don’t know enough about course planning to offer any suggestions. I think BAS covered an amazing amount of ground without “losing” any of us. 2: Some items were hard to see (when we looked at real items.) I know it is impossible to pass them around, but perhaps the viewing arrangement could be altered to facilitate a better view. 3: Can’t think of a thing. 4: More time in the RBS library to use the books for our projects. 5: If possible, just a couple of hours more of time to work on our projects, but I wouldn’t want to delete any of the class time either. 6: More time! Not possible, I know...but I would love to spend several weeks with this class. 7: More discussions about researching provenance, etc. Most of class focused on what autopsy alone could provide -- considering limited time, that is appropriate. 8: It couldn’t. 9: Perhaps a little more historical framework for general development of the book.

 

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 was impressed by the attention given to the handling of material. 2: I was very grateful for the color copy of my assigned manuscript. I would suggest that the rest of the pages also be copied for future students. 3: I think it went really well. Everyone was very careful. Staff, students, and instructor all were respectful of the materials. 4: The materials were handled quite professionally by RBS staff. Only problem -- difficult for all to see materials. 5: None -- Sara Hudson did an excellent job for us. 6: No suggestions. 7: Fine. 8: None.

 

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


1: I attended both, and was interested in hearing RBS history (Sunday), and a view of the future of research libraries on Monday. 2: Yes, the lectures were interesting and relevant. 3: N/A. 4: Yes -- or else. 5: Yes. 6: The Sunday evening lecture was a great overview of RBS history. 7: Pretty much. The chairs in Clemons lecture hall were uncomfortable, though. 8: N/A. 9: Yes.


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


1: I was doing homework and was sorry to miss the videos. They would have been especially useful for this course. 3: N/A. 5: It was okay. 6: I enjoyed Video Night. I think it’s great that RBS coordinates the movie themes with current classes. 7: Yes, although the busy schedule made it difficult to make good use of the books on reserve, &c. 8: N/A. 9: Yes.

 

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


1: Yes. One addition -- at break (morning), we need to get some doughnuts earlier in the week. They are easier to nibble while allowing more time to get to chat with other attendees. 2: Absolutely. I’ll return as soon as I can, and highly recommend this course to anyone who needs to work around manuscripts. 3: Of course! Actually, I think this course benefits tremendously as a Special Collections employee, and opened my eyes to what we (U.Va) has, and inspires me to learn more so I can be better in my job here. I will be doing class show-and-tells, and I think this was tremendously valuable! 4: Of course. As always, a job well done. Kudos to all. Pack light, get sleep, be prepared, and enjoy. Be considerate of your classmates. Let others see the manuscript materials. Latin is extremely helpful. 5: Definitely -- try to come well rested! 6: Yes. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn about manuscripts. The combination is unbeatable -- a world-class scholar, access to three wonderful collections, and RBS, which is in itself a unique opportunity that should not be missed. 7: Yes. No. 8: Yes. As always, RBS provides an excellent environment to gain knowledge and experiences one can rarely receive either in library or graduate programs or on-the-job. 9: Yes, do reading. It is a good complement to the other medieval book courses.


Number of respondents: 9


Percentages


Leave                       Tuition                    Housing                   Travel


Institution                 Institution                 Institution                 Institution

gave me leave            paid tuition               paid housing              paid travel


78%                            78%                            44%                            44%



I took vaca-                I paid tui-                  I paid for my              I paid my own

tion time                    tion myself                 own housing              travel


11%                            11%                            33%                            33%



N/A: self-                   N/A: Self-                   N/A: stayed                N/A: lived

employed, re-             employed,                  with friends               nearby

tired, or had              retired, or                  or lived at

summers off              exchange                   home


11%                            11%                            23%                            23%




There were two rare book librarians (23%), three general librarians with some rare book duties (33%), two full-time students (22%), one conservator/binder/preservation librarian (11%), and one special collections librarian (11%).