News Archives

Rare Books Librarian —The Saint Louis University Libraries & Museums

The Saint Louis University Libraries & Museums seek an innovative Rare Books Librarian who will develop our collections, support research, increase campus engagement, and strengthen relationships with donors and stakeholders. Serving in the Distinctive Collections and Digital Services department and supervised by the University Archivist, the Rare Books Librarian will oversee a collection of more than 30,000 rare books with particular strengths in Jesuit and Catholic history, philosophy, exploration and travel, and science and medicine. The Rare Books Librarian will also support Humanities instruction in the Research and Instruction Services department as a subject liaison for one or more subjects, […]

Announcing the 2024–26 RBS-Mellon SoFCB Junior Fellows

The Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography (SoFCB) at Rare Book School is pleased to welcome its 2024–26 cohort of Junior Fellows. Many congratulations to all the new Junior Fellows; we look forward to seeing you at RBS! […]

RBS at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

Rare Book School will be at the 64th annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which runs from Thursday, April 4 to Sunday, April 7.

Barbara Heritage (RBS Director of Collections, Exhibitions & Scholarly Initiatives) and Adam Miller (RBS Director of Development) will be “on the ground” at the Park Avenue Armory, so if you see them, be sure to say hello! […]

Education and Outreach Librarian for Special Collections — Hamilton College

Hamilton College is currently seeking a Special Collections Education and Outreach Librarian, who will be responsible for promoting, interpreting, and encouraging the use of the Library’s special collections in support of teaching, learning, and research. Responsibilities include supporting the integration of special collections materials into the curriculum by faculty and students; research support for faculty, students, and researchers; and creating finding aids in collaboration with other special collections and archives staff. Desired qualifications include a master’s degree in library science or a related field and previous instructional experience in a college-level or higher setting. To learn more, including how to apply, […]

Conservation & Book Arts Librarian — Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University is currently searching for a new Conservation & Book Arts Librarian to oversee the library’s conservation and preservation activities through the managing of the book conservation lab. Additionally, the selected candidate will build upon the existing foundations of working with faculty, classes, and students to create class sessions and learning opportunities related to book construction and other book arts topics. The Conservation & Book Arts Librarian will work within a newly formed Unique Collections department, where they will get to work closely with other collections’ managers that range from special collections, university archives, ethnographic collections, and world music collections.  […]

Traveling Seminar: Afro-Eurasian Origins of Print

The Research and Academic Program of the Clark Art Institute is sponsoring a travelling seminar on the global origins and transmission of print. The seminar will first convene September 18–21, 2024 in Williamstown, MA and in New Haven, CT to explore collections and begin establishing material and conceptual arenas of exploration. In May 2025, the working group will travel to South Korea for a week to visit collections, and final dates will be determined based on participants’ availability for future travel to Munich and Mainz, Germany. For more information, including how to apply, please click here. […]

New Training Program: San Gemini Book & Paper Conservation School

San Gemini Preservation Studies is pleased to announce a new program: the San Gemini Book & Paper Conservation School. Students will be taught the skills necessary to be a professional conservator/restorer of books and documents made with Western paper technology from the sixteenth century to the present. The program is aimed at people wishing to work in rare book libraries, archives, museums, and conservation laboratories. The classes take place from September 2024 to May 2025 in San Gemini, Italy, and all education is to be done in-person, in the English language. […]

Wells Book Arts Summer Institute

What will you make this summer? Explore the lakeside studios of the Wells College Book Arts Center at this year’s Summer Institute. Study with experienced instructors from around the country in close-knit, intensive workshops for bookbinding, letterpress, risograph printing, papermaking, marbling, book making, woodcut, and wood engraving. Summer 2024 workshops take place June 9–15 and June 16–22 in Aurora-on-Cayuga, New York. Discover more online at wellsbookartscenter.org or https://bit.ly/bookarts2024. […]

2024–26 Wells College Art Archivist Fellowship

The Book Art Center and Louis Jefferson Long Library at Wells College in Aurora, N.Y., welcomes applications for the 2024–26 Fellowship in Art Archiving. The Art Archivist Fellowship is intended for a recent graduate from a library, museum, or related program who wishes to pursue collections-based work, and is made possible through the Windgate Foundation. More information and application instructions are available here. Applications will be accepted through March 31 for an anticipated July start date. […]

RBS General and Buice Scholarship Awards for 2024 Announced

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

RBS Announces M. C. Lang Fellows in Book History, Bibliography, and Humanities Teaching with Historical Sources

With pleasure, Rare Book School announces the fifth cohort of M. C. Lang Fellows in Book History, Bibliography, and Humanities Teaching with Historical Sources. Congratulations to all, and we look forward to welcoming you to RBS this summer! […]

Cluster of four Curators — Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University

The Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library at Yale University invites applications for a cluster of four curators to build, interpret, and steward the library’s extraordinary collections in one or more of the following areas of focus: 1) Indigenous history and culture; 2) European history and culture, pre-1800; 3) Caribbean and/or Black Atlantic World; 3) Medieval studies; 4) U.S. history and culture, especially pre-1900; 5) Ethnicity, race, and migration; 6) Gender and sexuality; 7) History of science; 8) Environmental studies; 9) Visual culture; and 10) Material history. To learn more about this job opening and to apply, please click here. […]

Rare Book School Summer Course Applications Now Open

Rare Book School (RBS) is now accepting applications for its summer 2024 courses. This year’s schedule features 42 classes, including online and in-person offerings at RBS’s new home in the University of Virginia’s recently renovated main library in Charlottesville. The second-floor suite boasts state-of-the-art classrooms, ample exhibition and event spaces, and spacious storage areas for our collections and printing equipment. Other in-person courses will run at our partner institutions in Chicago; New Haven, Connecticut; New York City; Philadelphia; Princeton, New Jersey; and Upperville, Virginia. […]

Rare Books Librarian (Assistant Librarian) — J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah

The Division of Special Collections at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library seeks a vital contributor to its research, teaching, and collections development missions in the role of Rare Books Librarian. This key position will help guide the strategic direction of Special Collections by acting as the primary caretaker of one of the major rare books collections in Utah and the Intermountain West. An active and visible presence on campus, the Librarian will establish collaboration and teaching opportunities in a wide range of subjects and uses of collection items. Reporting to the Associate Dean of Special Collections, the Rare Books Librarian will participate in setting divisional priorities and developing practices and policies together with the Special Collections leadership team. […]

RBS Announces Summer 2024 Course Schedule

Rare Book School is pleased to announce its summer 2024 course schedule! Our list of more than 30 in-person and online courses can be found at rarebookschool.org/schedule. New and updated courses for 2024 include: 

• • Medieval Manuscript Fragments: Cataloging & Discoverability (L-145), taught by Lisa Fagin Davis 
  • A History of the Indigenous Book in the Americas (H-150), taught by Will Hansen & Robert Warrior 
  • Modern Special Collections Cataloging (L-150), taught by Brenna Bychowski 

RBS will be adding a few more courses, […]

Newly Posted RBS Summer Lecture Videos Available

This summer, Rare Book School welcomed a variety of esteemed experts who discussed a wealth of topics, such as reading habits during the COVID-19 lockdown, Indigenous communities and printing history, the joys of collecting rare materials, and the importance of public history.

We are delighted to share video recordings of our Summer 2023 Lecture Series below. Audio files of lectures are also available. All lectures took place in Charlottesville unless otherwise noted. […]

Library Company of Philadelphia Exhibition: Leaves of Green

Please join the Library Company of Philadelphia for a special exhibition honoring Jim Green’s 38 years of service as Librarian Emeritus at the Library Company. The free exhibition, “Leaves of Green,” begins 8 November and is open to the public Mondays through Fridays. It will highlight some of Jim’s favorite acquisitions made during his time as Curator and Librarian (1983– 2021), as well as his exhibitions, scholarship, and the lasting relationships he formed with collectors and shareholders at the Library Company. As an RBS faculty member, Jim has taught “The History of the Book in Antebellum America,” “Key Moments in the History of the Book in the Antebellum United States,” and “The History of the Book in America, […]

Three-Part Lectures Series: “Cambridge Bookbinding, 1450-1775”

RBS faculty member David Pearson will give three lectures as part of the 2023 Sandars Lectures at Cambridge University next month. Pearson most recently taught the RBS summer course Provenance: Tracing Owners & Collections. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the University of London’s Institute of English Studies. The Sandars Lectures, which are free and open to the public, will be held in person (at Cambridge University’s Robinson College), live-streamed, and recorded. […]

RBS at the Boston Book Fair

If you’ll be at the 45th annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair this coming weekend (27–29 October), please be sure to stop by the Rare Book School table on Cultural Row. We’ll be at Booth 233, with information about our courses, fellowships, job opportunities, and more.

Michael F. Suarez, S.J. (RBS Executive Director); Barbara Heritage (RBS Director of Collections, Exhibitions & Scholarly Initiatives); Kay Min (RBS Assistant Curator); and other colleagues and friends will be at our table as well as on the show floor. We look forward to seeing you at the Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston this weekend! […]

Library Director — The Society of the Cincinnati

The Society of the Cincinnati is seeking a Library Director to join their team in Washington, D.C. Qualifications for the Library Director position include appreciation for the mission of the Society and for early American history; currently serving as a practicing librarian, with a master’s degree in library and information science, or related field, with relevant experience in special collections management; and professional presentation skills and excellent approachability/social skills. […]