Mike Widener
C-85: Law Books: History and Connoisseurship
17–21 June 2013

 

Detailed Course Evaluation

 

1)    How useful were the pre-course readings? Did you do any additional preparations in advance of the course?

 

1: Useful, but too many items to cull through or locate. 2: Fairly. Some pieces were not discussed in the course. 3: The pre-course readings were helpful. 4: Excellent. 5: Very. No. 6: Very useful. Full list of readings, essential ones clearly marked, but not too many. Some indication of the relative weighting and alignment with sequence of treatment would have helped prioritize advance reading a little more. 7: They were extremely helpful, even critical. What might be useful is a video tour of the parts of a book. So much of the structural stuff is visual, that a visual tool might be useful. 8: Too many. 9: Rather useful. 10: I liked them. It was a background I needed, and they provided a means to continue to read and learn after the class. 11: Pre-course readings were relevant and informative. I learned a lot. 12: Very helpful. Learned a lot. 13: Readings very helpful. Took bookbinding course [in preparation].

 

2)    Were the course workbook and other materials distributed in class appropriate and useful (or will they be so in the future, after you return home)?

 

1:.Yes. Would like more text beside bullet points for future reference. 2: Helpful. Somewhat useful in future. 3: Yes, very helpful, and I will certainly use them in the future, especially the lists of reference works and important/useful websites. 4: Yes. 5: Workbook was extremely useful, and will be placed on my desk as a reference source. 6: Yes, and yes. 7: Yes. 8: Yes. 9:  Very useful. I will use to develop my own reference collection. 10: Yes. I took notes there and separately and believe I’ll refer to both extensively after I leave. 11: Workbook was very informative. I look forward to using resources listed in it when I return to work. 12: Yes. I will revise and read again almost everything. 13: Yes. Very helpful.

 

3)    Have you taken one or more RBS courses before? If so, how did this course compare with your previous coursework?

 

1:.Yes. This one was more informed and more time spent on lab projects. 2: No. 3: I have taken five other RBS courses before and this one compares very favorably with the best courses I’ve taken in the past. 4: This is my first. 5: Yes, one other (Introduction to Special Collections Librarianship). Both were fantastic. 6–7: No. 8: Yes. About the same. 9: One previous course. Both have been very good and allowed me to think, develop new ideas and learn from others. 10: Yes, two. Because this course relates directly to my job, I loved it. I enjoyed the other courses, too, but this one was inspirational, and I will be acting on the things I learned.  11: This class was a little more relevant because it was specifically on my subject of work. I learned a lot to bring back and use at work. 12: No. 13: N/A.

 

4)    What aspects of the course content were of the greatest interest or relevance for your purposes?

 

1: A pretty good balance. Would have liked more discussion about historic law books and how they influenced others. Liked the practical overview on research, preservation of books. 2: Seeing and hearing about the books. 3: Hearing the instructor and my classmates, both librarians and collectors, discuss their collections, strategies and rationales. 4: Talking to book dealers. 5: Overview of Anglo-American sources; recommendations for reference sources and helpful website. Probably my favorite aspects: just anecdotes and casual helpful tips about the day-to-day life of an experienced rare book librarian in a law library. 7: All were very useful. I was pretty familiar with the UK and US material, but [illegible] I learned things. The exercises were extremely beneficial. 8: Days 3-5, which were more practical. First two days of overview of legal history can be condensed. 9: Collection development. 10: Purchasing items, building collections and witnessing how research and history play into those decisions. Also, watching how an experienced rare book librarian interacts with the physical, intellectual materials, was helpful and fascinating. 11: The common law system and Anglo-American law was most relevant, but I enjoyed learning more about Roman and [illegible]. 12: Rare book collecting. Not so much the book-dealer part of it. All three exercises were fun, difficult, and very helpful. 13: Was looking for the ‘big picture’ background information, so all [was] helpful.

 

5)    Did the instructor(s) successfully help you to acquire the information, knowledge, and skills that the course was intended to convey? Was the intellectual level of the course appropriate?

 

1: Yes. MW does a great job interacting with students and showing his interest in the subject and their education.  2: Yes, generally. A number of topics were covered in a rather cursory way. 3: Yes, and yes. 4: Yes. Yes. 5: Absolutely. I learned so much that I feel like my head might explode. In a good way. J 6: Yes. Yes. 7: Yes, and yes. 8: Yes. 9: Yes. Yes. So knowledgeable. 10: Absolutely. Above and beyond. It was challenging, but always fun. 11: Yes. I learned everything that was intended. The intellectual level was very appropriate. 12: Yes it was. 13: Yes, and yes.

 

6)    What did you like best about the course?

 

1: Good overview of the history of the law and see comments above. Great list of reference and research materials for later use. 2: A good group, and an instructor who was really committed to making the experience worthwhile. 3: Listening to MW discuss his experiences and motivations in developing collections. Listening to the other students share their ideas on the subjects. Learning more about the history and development of civil, common, and canon law. 4: Conversations.  5: MW. You just can’t get their insights by a book or by reading articles about the professor. 6: Overall structure of the course, nicely diverse set of backgrounds and interests of students, well moderated discussion and direct instruction. 7: The exercises. 8: MW’s knowledge base, love of topic, willingness to share. 9: So many new ideas! 10: The discussions with the instructor and my classmates, and hearing their projects. 11: Visiting the rare books and doing the exercises because they were very useful. 12: The lectures, presentations and discussions of the lecturer. 13: The close contact and communication between faculty and class members—accessibility.

 

7)    How could the course have been improved?

 

1: See above. Perhaps less time on lab projects and more on substance. On the other hand, some of them helped make me think about this subject in a useful way. 2: Some of the very elementary things under ‘the book as a physical object’ could have been omitted. 3: I would have appreciated more history on how law and legal theory was transmitted in MS and print through history. 5: I honestly can’t think of much. I did think some of the lists of important sources and categories of materials from multiple countries was a bit repetitive, but only by about 15-20 minutes. 7: The lectures about the system could have been given with a little more context. We acquired much of the context in pre-course reading but if the lectures had tracked a structure more expressly it might have helped. At times it felt like a series of slides of beautiful books. 8: Allow little bit more time for discussion amongst students to develop. Frequently had to cut them off to stay on track. 9: Bigger room. Not everyone could sit at the table. 10: Can’t think of any. 11: Great the way it is. 13: More precise information about schedules, extra-curricular activities, and responsibilities and opportunities.

 

8)    Did you learn what the course description/advertisement indicated you would learn? Additional comments optional. Y/N

 

1–2: Yes. I didn’t know what to expect, but was pleased with the result. 3–4: Yes. 5: Yes. See answer to number five! 6–13: Yes.

 

9)    Did you learn what you wanted in the course? Additional comments optional. Y/N

 

1: Yes. See above. 2–13: Yes.

 

10)  How do you intend to use or apply the knowledge or skills learned in this course?

 

1: Better focus on books and will use resources provided to improve my knowledge and analysis of books. 2: I may actually do the collection work we planned in [area three]. 3: What I learned in class will very much help me professionally, both in understanding the history of law books and in reaching out to others in the field. 4: [Working] with dean and administrators to build a focused rare book collection. 5:  I want to really focus my collection goals to research new collection avenues. Start to be more proactive about engaging with colleagues in and outside my institution. 6: Will likely dip my toe into collecting, and dramatically enrich the basis for expanding potential career transition. 7: This gives my professional work so much more context. It will be very helpful. 9: Develop new collections. Evaluate current holdings with new eye to thinking of as ‘special’. 10: With a number of projects, and now I have an idea how to start. 11: The collection plan will be useful when I return to work. 12: I will try to apply many things. Not sure if I will be able to do it. 13: Will give greater depth to current activities.

 

11)  If your course left its classroom, was the time devoted to this purpose well spent?

 

1: Fine. 2: I didn’t do the one seller visit that was specific to this course. 3: I very much enjoyed our trip to SC, both actually to see the items MW showed us, and to see the breadth of the Yale law library collections. 4: Definitely well-spent time at [William] Reese and [David] Lesser [Rare Books]. 5: Yes, all. 6: Yes. Visit with local book dealers was very appropriate, enjoyable, worthwhile. 7: Yes. 8: Yes, especially trips to book dealers. 9: Yes. 10: Yes, loved the RBR. 11: Yes. Trip to rare book room and David Lesser’s bookshop was informative. 12: Yes, it was. 13: Yes.

 

12)  If you attended the evening events (e.g., RBS Lecture, Video Night, RBS Forum, Booksellers’ Night) were they worth attending?

 

1: Yes. 2: Did not attend, except the Reese visit, which was worth while (if a bit expensive). 4: Absolutely. 5: Video night was good, but hard to see. 7: Yes. 9: Yes. 10: Yes. I was tired after class, though. I liked the book sellers. 11: Attended video night and enjoyed the video. Also enjoyed trip to [William] Reese. 12–13: Yes.

 

13)  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: Fine. 2: Things were handled well. 4: More touching (we did do a lot, but more is always better). 5: N/A. 7: None. 13: We were well-prepared and instructed in handling requirements.

 

14)  Did you (or your institution) get your money’s worth? Would you recommend this course to others?

 

1: Yes. 2: Yes. Yes, but for a very specialized group. 3: Yes, and yes. 4: Yes. Yes. 5: Yes, yes, yes. 6: Yes. Yes. 7: Yes, and yes. 8–9: Yes. Yes. 10: Yes, absolutely. 11: Yes. I learned a lot in a short time. Would recommend this course. Great professor. 12: Yes. I will. 13: Yes, and yes.

 

15)  Any final or summary thoughts, or advice for other persons considering taking this course in a future year? (If you have further praise/concerns, please speak with Amanda Nelsen or Michael Suarez.)

 

2: Here you not only learn a good deal about rare law books, but you become a member of a rare law book community. This may be the greatest benefit. 4: Solicit applications for legal history faculty to take class. Their perspective from a use/research point of view would be invaluable. 5: Fantastic experience all around. I can’t wait to take a third (and fourth, fifth, sixth, &c.) RBS course. 7: Take it! 10: Just take it. You’ll be glad you did. 13: Come!

 

Aggregate Statistics

 

Number of respondents: 13

 

Leave

Institution gave me leave: 10 (77%)

I took vacation time: 1 (7%)

N/A: self-employed, retired, or had summers off: 2 (16%)

 

Tuition

Institution paid tuition: 9 (69%)

I paid tuition myself: 4 (31%)

N/A: self-employed, retired, or scholarship: 3 (23%)

 

Housing

Institution paid housing: 6 (46%)

I paid for my own housing: 4 (31%)

N/A: stayed with friends or lived at home: 3 (23%)

 

Travel

Institution paid travel: 6 (46%)

I paid my own travel: 4 (31%)

N/A: lived nearby: 3 (23%)
           

Which one category most closely defines what you do for a living, or why you are at RBS? (Please check only one category)

 

Antiquarian bookseller: 1 (8%)
Book collector: 2 (15%)
Juris Doctorate: 1 (8%)
Librarian with some rare book duties: 5 (38%)
Library/University Administrator: 2 (15%)
Rare book librarian: 1 (8%)
Publisher: 1 (8%)

 

How did you hear about this course?

 

RBS website: 5 (38%)
RBS printed schedule: 1 (8%)
Word of mouth: 3 (23%)
RBS faculty or staff recommendation: 3 (23%)
Listserv: 1 (8%)