News Archives

RBS Mourns the Loss of Christopher Clarkson

This morning we received the very sad news that longtime Rare Book School faculty member Christopher Clarkson died last night in Oxford. A renowned consultant on the care of medieval manuscripts and bindings, Clarkson held conservation positions at the Library of Congress, the Walters Art Museum, and the Bodleian Library, and until recently was engaged in independent practice in Oxford. He was awarded the Royal Warrant Holders Association’s 2004 Plowden Medal in recognition of significant contribution to the advancement of the conservation profession, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of the Arts London in 2012. […]

Spaces Still Available in Summer 2017 Courses

It’s not too late to apply for a Rare Book School course this summer! Applications for all courses are being considered on a rolling basis until each has reached enrollment capacity. The following RBS courses still have space(s) available, as of 30 March: […]

RBS Mourns the Loss of Michael L. Turner

We were saddened to hear of the death last week of Michael L. Turner, longtime Rare Book School friend and faculty member. Michael held various positions at the Bodleian Library throughout his long career at that institution, retiring as Head of Preservation Services. He was also Lecturer in the History of Printing at the University of Oxford, and served as the editor of Publishing History, a co-editor of The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, Volume 5 (1695–1830), as an associate editor for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and as president of the Oxford Bibliographical Society. […]

Two Courses Added to Summer 2017 Schedule

We are very pleased to announce two additional RBS summer courses, to be offered 16–21 July at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC:

• H-100. The Eighteenth-Century Book, taught by Mark Dimunation & Michael F. Suarez, S.J.
• H-130. The History & Construction of the Mesoamerican Codex, 600–1550, taught by John Hessler

Please log in to your myRBS account or create a new account to begin the application process.

Course applications are considered on a rolling basis until a course has reached enrollment capacity. […]

RBS-UVA Fellowship Applications Open

Applications for the 2017–18 RBS-UVA Fellowships are now being accepted. Rare Book School invites students at the University of Virginia to apply for a fellowship designed to enhance research employing special collections, including written, printed, and digital materials. Please note that you will need to complete a standard RBS course application via our applications page (submission by 20 February is encouraged as courses fill quickly).

Significant dates for the fellowship application process:

8 February 2017: Information Reception (11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.; 118 Alderman Library)
9 February 2017: Information Reception (4–6 p.m.; […]

Apply Now for Spring and Summer 2017 Courses

Applications for spring and summer 2017 courses are now being accepted via our online application system, myRBS.

Please log in to your myRBS account or create a new account to begin the application process.

Applications for Rare Book School courses are considered on a rolling basis until a course has reached enrollment capacity. To be considered for the first round of admissions decisions, submit your application(s) for spring and summer courses by 20 February.

See the Course Application page for more details. […]

RBS Scholarship Awards Announced

Rare Book School is pleased to announce the recipients of its Scholarship Committee awards, as well as the winners of the Buice Scholarships for returning RBS students and the RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowship. Congratulations! […]

RBS Receives $100,000 Matching Grant from NEH

Rare Book School has received a $100,000 matching grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through their Humanities Access Grant program.

These matching funds will support thirty-six scholarships, to cover full tuition to a Rare Book School course as well as travel and housing costs. These scholarships will be awarded to librarians, humanities scholars, students, conservators, and other professionals working with humanities-based heritage collections; eligible applicants will either identify with underrepresented racial or ethnic communities, or will work primarily with collections that document minority, immigrant, and non-western cultural traditions. […]

RBS Announces Spring and Summer 2017 Course Schedule

We are very pleased to announce the 2017 Rare Book School spring and summer course schedule! Along with 27 courses in Charlottesville, RBS will also offer courses at the Lilly Library at Indiana University Bloomington; the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Library and the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven; and the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. […]

Reminder: Applications for RBS Scholarships & RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowships Due on 31 October

Reminder: the deadline for applications as part of the 2016 RBS scholarship cycle is Monday, 31 October. Applications are open for all RBS-awarded scholarships (for both first-time and returning RBS students) and for the RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowship Program. For general queries about scholarships or fellowships, see the FAQs page. Participation in the scholarship/fellowship program implies acceptance of the scholarship Terms and Conditions.

To begin the application process, please log into your myRBS account (or create a new myRBS account). On the Home screen, click the “Apply for a Scholarship or Fellowship” button on the left side of the page. […]

New Deadline: Calls for Proposals for Bibliography Among the Disciplines Conference

Calls for Proposals and Participants for sessions at the Bibliography Among the Disciplines Conference (12–15 October 2017 in Philadelphia) are now available at http://rarebookschool.org/bibliography-conference-2017/. Conference session formats include paper sessions, roundtables, short presentations, and working groups. Proposals are now due by 15 November.

To receive updates and registration information about the conference, please fill out the Mailing List Signup Form. […]

RBS Announces Fall 2016 Public Lectures

We are pleased to announce three public Rare Book School lectures this fall:

• At 6:00 p.m. on Monday, 17 October at the Grolier Club in New York City, Elizabeth McHenry (Associate Professor of English, New York University) will speak on “Making Negro Literature: Rethinking Literature’s Workspaces and the Margins of Print Culture.” This event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.
• At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 18 October at East City Bookshop in Washington, D.C., RBS Director Michael F. Suarez, S.J. will speak on “The Other Hamilton: Sir William Hamilton and the Revolution in Eighteenth-Century Collecting.”

[…]

Now Accepting Applications for January Course at Harvard

Applications are now being accepted via myRBS for Rare Book School’s winter session in Cambridge, MA, 8–13 January 2017:

• Book Production and Social Practice in Early Modern Europe and America, taught by Ann Blair and David D. Hall at the Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Please log in to your myRBS account or create a new account to begin the application process. […]

Calls for Proposals Now Open for Bibliography Among the Disciplines Conference

Calls for Proposals and Participants for sessions at the Bibliography Among the Disciplines Conference (12–15 October 2017 in Philadelphia) are now available at http://rarebookschool.org/bibliography-conference-2017/. Conference session formats include paper sessions, roundtables, short presentations, and working groups. Proposals are due by 25 October.

To receive updates and registration information about the conference, please fill out the Mailing List Signup Form. […]

Now Accepting Applications for RBS Scholarships and RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowships

We are now accepting applications for the 2016 scholarship cycle. Applications are open for all RBS-awarded scholarships (for both first-time and returning RBS students) and for the RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowship Program. For general queries about scholarships or fellowships, see the FAQs page. Participation in the scholarship/fellowship program implies acceptance of the scholarship Terms and Conditions.

To begin the application process, please log into your myRBS account (or create a new myRBS account). On the Home screen, click the “Apply for a Scholarship or Fellowship” […]

Rare Book School Receives $1 Million Gift

We are honored to announce that Rare Book School has received a $1 million gift from philanthropist Jay T. Last. This donation, the single largest in the School’s history, is to be used over the next four years to “strengthen the School for the future,” as Mr. Last wrote in a letter accompanying the gift.

The funds from Mr. Last’s benefaction will be used to improve and expand Rare Book School programs, and to increase the School’s visibility, sustainability, and impact over the long term. “After carefully studying our organization, Jay has chosen to make a philanthropic investment in the future success of RBS’s educational mission,” […]

RBS Announces 2016 Summer Lecture Schedule

The staff at Rare Book School are thrilled to announce the exciting lineup for this summer’s lecture series at the University of Virginia. The lectures are free and open to the public. All talks will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library (unless otherwise noted). Lectures will last 30–40 minutes with 10 minutes for Q&A, and will be followed by a reception in the RBS suite on the first floor of Alderman Library (Alderman 118). […]

Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2016 Courses

Applications are now being accepted via myRBS for eight Rare Book School courses offered this fall in New York City, Washington, DC, and Charlottesville, VA. […]

Announcing the 2016–17 RBS-UVA Fellows

We are pleased to announce the 2016–17 cohort of RBS-UVA Fellows:

• DeVan Ard – Ph.D. student, Department of English
• Thomas Berenato – Ph.D. student, Department of English
• Evan Cheney – Ph.D. student, Department of English
• Ashleigh Elser – Ph.D. student, Department of Religious Studies
• Mary Gilbert – Ph.D. student, Department of Classics
• Samantha Wallace – Ph.D. student, Department of English
• Chloe Wells – Ph.D. student, McIntire Department of Art

[…]

RBS Receives Grant for “Bibliography Among the Disciplines” Conference

Rare Book School has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund a four-day international conference, “Bibliography Among the Disciplines.” To be held in Philadelphia from 12 to 15 October 2017, the meeting will focus on developing object-oriented methods, skills, and collaborative projects across disciplinary fields, time periods, regions, and languages. The project will culminate in 2019 with a volume of essays contributed by conference participants. […]