Current Course Schedule

Rare Book School offers short, non-credit intensive courses on a wide range of bibliographical topics. The majority of courses take place during the summer, though we also offer courses at other times of the year. In-person courses are held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, as well as at our partner institutions around the U.S. and in the U.K.

Students sitting at table, surrounded by shelves of books, having a discussion with rare books and note pads in front of them.

Application Deadline

Applications for our 2026 summer courses are now open and will be considered on a rolling basis until all seats are filled.

Summer 2026

20–22 May

Philadelphia, PA

H-225
James N. Green & John H. Pollack
Histories of the Book in the Age of Atlantic Revolutions

31 May – 5 June

Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia

C-90
David Pearson
Provenance: Tracing Owners & Collections
G-20
David R. Whitesell
Printed Books to 1800: Description & Analysis
G-55
David Vander Meulen
Scholarly Editing: Principles & Practice
I-35
Ryan Boatright
The Identification of Photographic & Digital Print Processes
M-10
Lisa Fagin Davis
Introduction to Paleography, 800–1500

Online Only

L-25v
Joel Silver
Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books
L-155v
Robert Riter
Institutional Book Arts Collections: Evaluating & Describing

7–12 June

Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia

G-80
Brian Cassidy
Identifying and Understanding Twentieth-Century Duplicating Technologies
H-65
Matthew Edney
Material Foundations of Map History, 1450–1900
H-165
Michael F. Suarez, S.J.
Book History, Bibliography, and Humanities Teaching
I-10
Erin C. Blake
The History of Printed Book Illustration in the West
L-30
Rare Book Cataloging
Deborah J. Leslie, assisted by Jessica Grzegorski

Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan

G-75
Cathleen A. Baker, assisted by Trina Parks-Matthews
Paper as Bibliographical Evidence

Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin

G-60
Aaron T. Pratt
Evidence in Handpress-Era Books, 1450–1830
L-165
Stephen Enniss & Megan Barnard
Literary Manuscripts

14–19 June

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University

H-220
Peter Stallybrass & David Stern
The Materiality of Jewish and Christian Books

5–10 July

Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia

H-30
Martin Antonetti
The Printed Book in the West to 1800
H-40
Eric Holzenberg
The Printed Book in the West since 1800
I-40
Caroline Duroselle-Melish & Roger Gaskell
The Illustrated Scientific Book to 1800
L-30
Deborah J. Leslie, assisted by Amy Tims
Rare Book Cataloging
T-60
John Kristensen, Katherine M. Ruffin & Amelia Hugill-Fontanel
The History of 19th- & 20th-Century Typography & Printing

Oxford, UK: Oxford University

H-195
Transmission of the Bible from the Beginnings to 1500
Peter Toth
M-60
David Rundle
Researching Medieval Manuscripts: From Cataloging to Cultural History

Online Only

H-215v
Caroline Wigginton
Indigenous North American Cartographies
L-170v
Bryanna Knotts & Katherine Mintie
The Care of Photographic Prints & Negatives in Collections
M-65v
Anthony Grafton
From Poggio to Mabillon: The Study of Latin Manuscripts in the First Age of Print

12–17 July

Boston, MA: North Bennet Street School

B-95
Jeff Altepeter & Todd Pattison
Bookbinding for Book Historians

New York, NY: New York Public Library & The Grolier Club

H-10
Michael Inman & Charlotte Priddle
Histories of the Book, 200–2000
H-155
Tony White
The History of Artists’ Books since 1950

York, UK: The University of York; Thin Ice Press & The York Centre for Print

H-210
Jennie Batchelor
The Rise of Periodical Print Culture, 1700–1830
T-65
Nick Gill & Helen Smith
The Culture & Craft of Wood Type

Online Only

G-90v
Brandon Castle & Michael Kelly
Indigenous Agency & Intervention in the Bibliographical Record

19–24 July

Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia

H-15
Scott E. Casper & Jeffrey D. Groves
The History of the Book in America: A Survey from Colonial to Modern
H-85
Yuzhou Bai & Soren Edgren
The History of the Book in China
I-20
Terry Belanger
Book Illustration Processes to 1900
L-150
Brenna Bychowski
Modern Special Collections Cataloging
M-70
Heather Wolfe
The Handwriting & Culture of Early Modern English Manuscripts

Upperville, VA: Oak Spring Garden Foundation

I-50
Peter Crane & Roger Gaskell
Six Hundred Years of Botanical Illustration

Online Only

H-175v
Albert A. Palacios
The Printing Press in Spanish America, 1500–1830
I-45v
Richard Ovenden
The Photographic Book since 1843

26–31 July

Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia

B-10
Karen Limper-Herz
Introduction to the History of Bookbinding
G-10
David R. Whitesell
Introduction to the Principles of Bibliographical Description
M-20
M. Michèle Mulchahey
Seminar in Western Codicology

Princeton, NJ: Princeton University

H-25
Paul Needham & Eric White
Fifteenth-Century Books in Print & Manuscript

9–14 August

Chicago, IL: The Newberry Library & The University of Chicago

H-150
Will Hansen & Robert Warrior
A History of the Indigenous Book in the Americas: North of the Rio Grande
H-205
Ada Palmer
Censorship from the Inquisition to the Present
View Printer-Friendly Schedule
A group of RBS students gather around a rare book that is laid out on foam rests on a table. Their faculty member looks on from the other side of the table.

Course Catalog

View all RBS courses and request courses you want to see added to a future course schedule.

View Course Catalog