News Archives

Rare Book Cataloging

Assisted by Amy Tims (1–6 June) & Jessica Grzegorski (20–25 July)

“Every single day was as useful and relevant as the last. I’m walking away not only a better, ‘sleeker’ cataloger, but an inspired one as well!” — 2017 student

Course Length: 30 hours
Course Weeks: 1–6 June 2025; 20–25 July 2025
Format: in person, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA
Fee: $1,495

Aimed at catalogers who find that their present duties include (or shortly will include) the cataloging of books in their rare materials or special collections and want to be trained in applying Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books). […]

Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books

“Until we live in the Matrix and can upload the Joel Silver Memory Palace Expansion Pack into our own brains, this course is the best you can get!” — 2017 student

Course Length: 22 hours
Course Week: 2–6 June 2025
Format: online only
Fee: $1,100

This course presents a systematic introduction to approximately 300 printed and electronic reference sources for researching rare books. Emphasis will be placed on sources in the fields of early printed books; British and American literature; historical Americana; voyages and travels; maps and atlases; science and medicine; […]

Advanced Descriptive Bibliography

A continuation and extension of Introduction to the Principles of Bibliographical Description (G-10), this course is based on the intensive examination of a representative range of books from the c16-c19. The goal of the course is to deepen students’ familiarity with the physical composition of books; to gain further experience in the use of Fredson Bowers’ Principles of Bibliographical Description; and to consider critically some of the uses of Bowers’ method (and its limitations) in the production of catalogs, bibliographies, critical editions, and histories of books and reading.

The method of this course is essentially the same as that of G-10, […]

Printed Books since 1800: Description & Analysis

This course is designed for librarians, booksellers, collectors, scholars, and others who seek an introductory understanding of how to recognize, evaluate and describe the physical aspects and textual significance of printed materials. Focusing on the post-1800 period, the course provides instruction and practice in identifying and analyzing books and other printed artifacts. Topics include: determining how books were manufactured, how to read a bibliographical description of a book; how to read and interpret dealer and auction descriptions; how to distinguish between edition, issue, and state; and how to assess the aesthetic, market, and research potential of materials. The course is built around hands-on interaction with RBS’s rich teaching collection of books, […]

Introduction to the Principles of Bibliographical Description

“I feel much more confident in my understanding of format and how it relates to book structure, as well as in my ability to create an in-depth analysis of an ideal copy.” — 2017 student

Course Length: 30+ hours
Course Week: 27 July–1 August 2025
Format: in person, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA
Fee: $1,595

This course is intended for those seeking a better understanding of best practices for the physical examination and description of printed books, especially of the period 1550–1900. […]

Provenance: Tracing Owners & Collections

Course Length: 30 hours
Course Week: 1–6 June 2025
Format: in person, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA
Fee: $1,495

Users and custodians of historic books are increasingly interested in evidence of former ownership, which helps to elucidate how they were used, read, regarded, and circulated. Provenance research includes recognizing and deciphering various forms of ownership markings, tracing owners and their books, and understanding the value of this information. The course will focus on all these areas, and aims to give participants an improved personal toolkit for interpreting the different kinds of provenance evidence they are likely to encounter. […]

Analytical Bibliography

“I walked away with a much finer eye; more attuned to certain details I may have otherwise missed. I certainly feel this has broadened my horizons as a researcher.” — 2017 student

Course Length: 30 hours
Course Week: 6–11 July 2025
Format: in person, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA
Fee: $1,495

An introduction to techniques for recognizing, recording, and understanding the traces preserved in printed books of the hand-press period which give evidence of the methods of their manufacture. Besides revealing details of early printing technology, analytical bibliography can uncover facts about now-lost manuscripts that served as copy for the typeset texts. […]

Printed Books to 1800: Description & Analysis

“Connecting the physicality of the pressroom to format and collation gave me a great model to think through the discovery process with a new book.” — 2017 student

Course Length: 30 hours
Course Week: 8–13 June 2025
Format: in person, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA
Fee: $1,495

The course is intended for collectors, booksellers, librarians, educators, and others who seek an introduction to the physical aspects of books printed during the hand-press period (1450–1800). Via lectures and hands-on workshops, the course covers the identification and description of paper (laid vs. […]

Reference Sources for Researching Printed Americana

“This is a course particularly useful for those researching or cataloging printed Americana. No matter how much you think you know, you will learn new things that will help you in your work or hobby.” — 2016 student

The European exploration and colonization of the New World coincided with the expansion of printing in Europe. From 1493 on, an increasing flow of printed materials relating to the Western Hemisphere informed readers about the wonders and riches to be found beyond the seas. Beginning with the establishment of printing in Mexico in the sixteenth century, a steadily-increasing number of books, […]

Scholarly Editing: Principles & Practice

Course Length: 30 hours
Course Week: 2–7 June 2024
Format: in person, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA
Fee: $1,395

This course is an introduction to the principles and practice of scholarly editing. The emphasis will be on the methodology of preparing an edition, either documentary or critical, and on the thinking that informs the decisions editors make about the issues they confront. In learning how to prepare new documents, the class will consider principles of textual criticism, that is, the study of the history of texts and the evaluation of their changes. […]

Developing Collections: Donors, Libraries & Booksellers

This course is aimed at librarians, booksellers, collectors, scholars, and others who seek an introduction to theoretical and practical approaches to building and stewarding modern collections. The course will cover the changing landscape for locating and selecting historically significant cultural material of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including books, archives, ephemera, photographs, art, sound and video recording, and other materials. Special attention will be paid to non-traditional materials and obsolete formats, such as texts reproduced on home/office equipment, and sound and video recordings on vinyl and tape. Topics will include institutional stewardship; navigating the antiquarian marketplace for cultural materials; how to assess the aesthetic, […]