News Archives

Rare Book School Shares Summer 2023 Lecture Series

Rare Book School is thrilled to announce the lineup for this summer’s lecture series at the University of Virginia, as well as special lectures at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the Grolier Club in New York City.

All lectures are free and open to the public. Unless noted, these talks will take place at 5:30 p.m. ET. Lectures are 30–40 minutes in length with approximately 10 minutes for Q&A, and will be followed by a reception. RSVPs are not required. Lecture recordings will be made available by fall 2023. […]

Announcing the 2023–25 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 2023–25 cohort of Junior Fellows. Many congratulations to all the new Junior Fellows; we look forward to seeing you at RBS!

The names and institutional affiliations of 2022–24 RBS-Mellon SoFCB Junior Fellows are:

Jiayi Chen – Ph.D. Candidate, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago

Du Fei – Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, Cornell University

Heng Du – Andrew W. […]

RBS Fellowship Program Kicks Off New Podcast Series about Archival Materials and Counter Narratives

On Wednesday, 29 March 2023, the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Heritage at Rare Book School launched Counter Narratives in Practice, a podcast series about multicultural heritage collections, storytelling, and representation in galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and beyond. This podcast is part of a larger project that highlights the work of the RBS Cultural Heritage Fellows.

The Fellows, led by book historian Allie Alvis, worked together from across the U.S. to tell stories about the archival materials in their collections and how those stories can prompt thinking about counter narratives in professional practice. […]

RBS in the News: “For Rare Book Librarians, It’s Gloves Off. Seriously.” – a New York Times Article by Jennifer Schuessler

The following article by Jennifer Schuessler, which features Barbara Heritage (RBS Associate Director & Curator of Collections) appeared in The New York Times on 9 March 2023. Click here to view the article via nytimes.com.  

Last month, The New York Times reported on an ultrarare medieval Hebrew Bible that was headed to auction with a record-smashing estimate of up to $50 million.

The reaction was swift.

“Why are they handling this without cotton gloves? Shame on them,” one reader wrote in the comments section, referring to photographs showing someone touching the worn pages. […]

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

With pleasure, Rare Book School announces the fourth 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! […]

RBS General and Buice Scholarship Awards for 2023 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 Summer 2023 Course Applications

We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for Rare Book School’s summer 2023 courses! Our roster of more than 40 in-person and online courses can be found at rarebookschool.org/schedule/. Click on the course titles to view detailed descriptions and faculty biographies, along with the schedule, format, location, and fee for each offering. For courses that have run before, be sure to consult the evaluations written by past students in order to gain further insights into what to expect.

For the best chance of being admitted, please submit your application(s) by the first-round deadline: Monday, […]

RBS in the News: “The 2,000-Year Story of Building the Book” – a New York Times Article by Jennifer Schuessler

The following article by Jennifer Schuessler about “Building the Book from the Ancient World to the Present Day,” RBS’s Grolier Club exhibition, appeared in The New York Times on 2 December 2022. Click here to view the article via nytimes.com.  

For a certain kind of book nerd, Rare Book School at the University of Virginia is the closest a person can come to Valhalla.Each summer, bibliophiles from all over the world gather for weeklong courses in nearly every aspect of the history of the book, in an atmosphere that combines deep immersion in the most arcane aspects of printing, […]

RBS Scholarship & Fellowship Applications Now Available

We are now accepting applications for the 2022 Rare Book School scholarship and fellowship cycle.

Applications are open for all RBS-awarded scholarships (for both first-time and returning RBS students), and for the M. C. Lang Fellowship in Book History, Bibliography, and Humanities Teaching with Historical Sources and the SoFCB Junior Fellows Program. For general queries about scholarships or fellowships, see the FAQs page. Participation in the scholarship/fellowship program implies acceptance of the scholarship and fellowship Terms and Conditions.

To begin the application process, […]

Building the Book from the Ancient World to the Present Day: Five Decades of Rare Book School & the Book Arts Press

This fall, the Grolier Club in New York City—America’s oldest and largest society for bibliophiles—presents a special exhibition that details how books have been produced throughout history and across various regions of the globe. Organized by Rare Book School and drawn from its unique collections, Building the Book from the Ancient World to the Present Day: Five Decades of Rare Book School & the Book Arts Press will be on view in the Grolier Club’s ground floor gallery from 28 September through 23 December 2022. The exhibition celebrates the international institute—founded by MacArthur Fellow Terry Belanger and currently directed by Michael F. […]

RBS Announces 2022 Summer Lectures

We are thrilled to announce the lineup for this summer’s lecture series at the University of Virginia. All talks will take place at 5:30 p.m. ET. Monday lectures will be held in the Dome Room of the Rotunda; Wednesday lectures, in the Auditorium of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Lectures will last 30–40 minutes with 10 minutes for Q&A, and will be followed by a reception. Lecture recordings will be made available by fall 2022.

Monday, 6 June: Dorothy C. Wong, Professor of East Asian Art, University of Virginia: Making Merit: East Asian Buddhist Material Culture of the Seventh and Eighth Centuries – NEH-Global Book Histories Initiative Lecture […]

Announcing the 2022 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 2022–24 cohort of Junior Fellows, including the recipient of the Nancy Norton Tomasko Fellowship. Many congratulations to all the new Junior Fellows; we look forward to seeing you at RBS!

The names and institutional affiliations of 2022–24 RBS-Mellon SoFCB Junior Fellows are:

Cat Lambert – Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Classics, Columbia University

Amanda Licastro – Emerging and Digital Literacy Designer, University of Pennsylvania Libraries, […]

Announcing the 2022–24 RBS-Mellon Cultural Heritage Fellows

Rare Book School is pleased to announce the 2022–24 RBS-Mellon Cultural Heritage Fellows in the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion & Cultural Heritage. Many congratulations to all the fellows.

The 2022–24 RBS-Mellon Cultural Heritage Fellows are: […]

Announcing the Kenneth W. Rendell Annual Endowed Lecture at Rare Book School

Rare Book School is pleased to announce that Kenneth W. Rendell and Shirley McNerney have generously endowed an annual lecture and publication series on the importance of original manuscripts and rare books to human understanding. The Kenneth W. Rendell Endowed Lecture at Rare Book School will focus on the connection that rare book and manuscript collecting provides with people and events of the past, our shared human history, and the intellectual thrill and emotional pleasures of collecting. This lecture series will spotlight the roles of collectors, librarians, and dealers, not only in preserving human history but also in providing insight and perspectives into the present and future. […]

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

With pleasure, Rare Book School announces the third 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! […]

RBS Announces Summer 2022 Course Applications

Applications for summer 2022 courses are now being accepted. To apply, you will first need to create an account in our new Salesforce-based myRBS system. […]

RBS General and Buice Scholarship Awards for 2022 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 Remembers the Passing of Donald Fry

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Donald Fry on 6 December 2021 in Charlottesville, VA.

In 2007, Don joined Rare Book School’s Board of Directors as the UVA President’s representative—a position he held until January of this year. His tenure distinguishes him as our Board’s longest-serving member.

Throughout his time on the Board, Don served as an essential bridge from the RBS Board to the Office of the President of UVA, working as an enthusiastic and able ambassador and advocate, and as a highly trusted and deeply prized advisor to two RBS Executive Directors, […]

RBS Announces Summer 2022 Schedule

The summer 2022 Rare Book School course schedule is available! Summer courses will be held at the University of Virginia in the Rotunda and adjacent buildings; the Latin American Library at Tulane University; the Firestone Library at Princeton University; the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University; the Oak Spring Garden Library; the Grolier Club; the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania; the Library Company of Philadelphia; and the Free Library of Philadelphia. […]

RBS Mourns the Passing of Jay T. Last

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Jay T. Last, friend and benefactor of Rare Book School. He died in Los Angeles on 11 November 2021; he was 92.

As a physicist and entrepreneur, Jay Last is renowned as one of the founders of the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, the origin of Silicon Valley. As an art collector, publisher, scholar, author, and philanthropist, Jay’s legacy of support for the arts, art history, and education will endure for many years to come. A collector of West and Central African Art, Jay, along with his wife Deborah, […]