RBS News

Register Now for RBS Seminar at MIT (12–14 December)

Rare Book School is sponsoring a two-and-a-half-day seminar, “Digital Sustainability for Cultural Collections” at the MIT Libraries in Cambridge, MA on Wednesday–Friday, 12–14 December 2018. Nancy Y. McGovern (Director for Digital Preservation at MIT Libraries) and Kari R. Smith (Institute Archivist and Program Head for Digital Archives at the MIT Institute Archives and Special Collections) will lead the seminar sessions.

This seminar has been designed to be of interest to curators and librarians of all kinds who are or may become responsible for the long-term management of digital content, but signup is open to anyone with an interest in the topics covered. […]

RBS Scholarship & Fellowship Applications Now Available

We are now accepting applications for the 2018 Rare Book School scholarship and fellowship cycle.

Applications are open for all RBS-awarded scholarships (for both first-time and returning RBS students), for the RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowship Program, and for the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography. 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, please log into your myRBS account (or create a new myRBS account). […]

Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2018 & Winter 2019 Courses

Applications are now being accepted via myRBS for six Rare Book School courses offered this fall and winter at the Morgan Library & Museum, the Library of Congress, and the University of Virginia. […]

Announcing “Archives, Memory & Identity: A Public Symposium”

During a time when “alternative facts” are regularly discussed and disputed in the mainstream media, archive-based evidence has become increasingly valued for its ability to document the histories and perspectives of diverse peoples, cultures, and movements. We invite you to join Rare Book School and UVA Libraries for “Archives, Memory & Identity,” a public, one-day symposium that will bring together archivists, librarians, curators, digital humanists, academics, artists, and activists working on a range of cross-disciplinary, culturally sensitive projects that challenge traditional models for creating and stewarding visual and textual artifacts.

Featuring panel discussions on access, […]

Register Now for RBS Seminar at Winterthur & University of Delaware (9–11 September)

Rare Book School is sponsoring a two-day seminar, Exploring Ephemera, at the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library and the University of Delaware on Monday and Tuesday 10–11 September 2018, preceded by a group dinner on Sunday, 9 September.

This seminar has been designed to be of interest to curators, collectors, and librarians of all kinds who care for, research, and teach with ephemera collections, but signup is open to anyone with an interest in the topics covered. The cost to attend the seminar is $500.

As space is limited,  […]

RBS Mourns the Loss of William S. Reese

We were very saddened to learn of the death this morning of William S. Reese, longtime proprietor of the William Reese Company and a great friend to Rare Book School.

Bill co-taught two Rare Book School courses, both with George A. Miles: “Western Americana” in 1986 and 1987, and “American Historical Bibliography” in 1989, 1990, and 1993. He also delivered four Rare Book School evening lectures, including the 2000 Sol M. Malkin Lecture and the 600th RBS lecture, in 2016: […]

RBS Announces 2018 Summer Lecture Schedule

We are thrilled to announce the 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). […]

Instructor Change for Course B-10

Please note that course B-10, Introduction to the History of Bookbinding, offered 8–13 July at UVA, will be taught by Karen Limper-Herz, a new member of the RBS faculty. Karen is Lead Curator for Incunabula and Sixteenth Century Printed Books at the British Library. A student of Mirjam Foot and Jan Storm van Leeuwen, she has worked with and studied bookbindings from different countries and periods for nearly twenty years, and regularly publishes and speaks about bookbindings in the U.K. and abroad. She is the Honorary Secretary of the Bibliographical Society (U.K.) and regularly attends and speaks at the annual conferences organized by the Arbeitskreis für die Erfassung, […]

RBS Announces 2018–20 RBS-Mellon SoFCB Junior Fellows & 2018–19 RBS-UVA Fellows

We are pleased to announce the 2018–20 Junior Fellows in the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography, as well as the 2018–19 cohort of RBS-UVA Fellows. Many congratulations to all the Fellows; we much look forward to seeing you at RBS soon!

The 2018–20 RBS-Mellon SoFCB Junior Fellows are: […]

RBS Receives Jefferson Trust Grant for “Presswork” Project

Rare Book School, in partnership with UVA Special Collections, has received a grant from The Jefferson Trust, an initiative of the UVA Alumni Association, to fund “Presswork: A Program for Hands-on Historical Printing & Research.” This two-year, public-facing project draws on a spectrum of technologies and experiential learning techniques to foster student- and faculty-led printing and research at the University of Virginia. The program will publicize and augment UVA’s prominence as a leading research center for the history of printing, while training undergraduate and graduate students in the art of historical letterpress and intaglio printing techniques that they will then demonstrate to a variety of audiences, […]

Watch Michael Suarez’s TEDxCharlottesville Talk, “Glorious Bookishness”

RBS Executive Director Michael F. Suarez, S.J., recently delivered a TEDxCharlottesville talk, “Glorious Bookishness: Learning Anew in the Material World.” Click the link to watch the video, or go directly to YouTube. […]

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, the first cohort of NEH-GBHI Scholarships, and the RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowship. Congratulations! […]

Apply Now for Spring and Summer 2018 Courses

Applications for spring and summer 2018 courses are now being accepted via our online application system, myRBS. Along with 25 courses in Charlottesville, RBS will also offer courses at the Lilly Library at Indiana University Bloomington; the Thomas J. Watson Library at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Amherst College; Yale University; the University of Pennsylvania; and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

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. […]

Ruth-Ellen St. Onge Promoted to Associate Curator of Collections

Rare Book School is pleased to announce the promotion of Ruth-Ellen St. Onge to the position of Associate Curator of Collections and Special Assistant to the Associate Director.

Ruth-Ellen first joined the RBS staff in June of 2015. She was graduated from the University of Toronto with a Ph.D. in French and an MIS in information studies and library science; both her doctoral and master’s level studies were carried out in conjunction with Toronto’s collaborative program in Book History and Print Culture. During the past two-and-a-half years and in the role of RBS’s Assistant Curator of Collections, Ruth-Ellen has considerably developed the School’s teaching collections by working closely with RBS’s staff and international faculty. […]

RBS Announces Spring and Summer 2018 Course Schedule

The spring and summer 2018 Rare Book School course schedule is available! Along with 25 courses in Charlottesville, RBS will also offer courses at the Lilly Library at Indiana University Bloomington; the Thomas J. Watson Library at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Amherst College; Yale University; the University of Pennsylvania; and the Free Library of Philadelphia. […]

Register Now for RBS Seminar at MIT (11–12 December)

Rare Book School is sponsoring a two-day seminar, “Digital Sustainability for Cultural Collections” at the MIT Libraries in Cambridge, MA on Monday and Tuesday, 11–12 December 2017. Nancy Y. McGovern (Director for Digital Preservation at MIT Libraries) and Kari R. Smith (Institute Archivist and Program Head for Digital Archives at the MIT Institute Archives and Special Collections) will lead the seminar sessions.

This seminar has been designed to be of interest to curators and librarians of all kinds who are or may become responsible for the long-term management of digital content, but signup is open to anyone with an interest in the topics covered. […]

RBS Scholarship & Fellowship Applications Now Available

We are now accepting applications for the 2017 Rare Book School scholarship and fellowship cycle.

Applications are open for all RBS-awarded scholarships (for both first-time and returning RBS students), for the RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowship Program, and for the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography. Among the many scholarship opportunities available, RBS is delighted to announce that we will award up to 24 NEH-GBHI Scholarships this year. 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. […]

RBS Mourns the Loss of David Ferris

This weekend we received the sad news that former Rare Book School staff and faculty member David Ferris died at his home in Cambridge, MA on 18 August. David was involved with Rare Book School beginning in 1986, serving as joint assistant director in 1990 and 1991 and as Associate Director from 1993 through 1996. He co-taught “Introduction to Descriptive Bibliography” with Terry Belanger during seven RBS summers. David served as Curator of Rare Books and Early Manuscripts at the Harvard Law School Library from 1991 until 2011.

Our sincere condolences to David’s family and colleagues. […]

Message from the Executive Director concerning the events of 12 and 13 August 2017

Dear Friends and Members of the Rare Book School Community,

We are most grateful for the thoughtful messages of concern and support that many have sent. I am happy to be able to assure you that all of our RBS staff and their families are safe.

Nonetheless, we are disgusted and saddened that such hatred and violence should come to our University and to Charlottesville. We mourn the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer and Virginia State Troopers Berke Bates and Jay Cullen, and we condole with their families in their sudden and terrible loss. We thank those in the Charlottesville community who bravely protected the safety of local citizens, […]

Rachael Dealy Salisbury Appointed Director of Development

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Rachael Dealy Salisbury as Rare Book School’s Director of Development. Rachael first joined our development staff in 2013; her role quickly grew to encompass prospect development, special projects, and analytics. She gained further experience on the development team at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates Monticello, before returning to RBS in 2016 as Assistant Director of Development.

Before joining the RBS staff, Rachael secured grants and individual gifts to support the establishment of a botanical teaching garden at UVA (her alma mater), and held various positions at cultural institutions in New York City and Charlottesville, […]

Now Accepting Applications for Winter 2018 Courses

Applications are now being accepted via myRBS for two Rare Book School courses offered this winter in New York City (7–12 January 2018 at the Grolier Club): […]

RBS Receives Grant to Support Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography

Rare Book School has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography. Building on the success of the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in Critical Bibliography, this new scholarly organization will identify and investigate matters of new, compelling cross-disciplinary interest in the areas of bibliography and book history. The Society will especially direct its energies toward addressing the interpretation of original textual artifacts in concert with emerging techniques and technologies for the analysis and transmission of texts. […]

Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2017 Courses

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

RBS Announces 2017 Summer Lecture Schedule

We are thrilled to announce the 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). […]

Announcing the 2017–18 RBS-UVA Fellows

We are pleased to announce the 2017–18 cohort of RBS-UVA Fellows:

• Ashley Boulden – Ph.D. student, McIntire Department of Art
• Nouha Gammar – Ph.D. student, Department of French
• Andrew Hill – Ph.D. student, Department of French
• Samuel Lemley – Ph.D. student, Department of English
• Julianne McCobin – Ph.D. student, Department of English
• Anne Marie Thompson – Ph.D. student, Department of English
• Natalie Thompson – Ph.D. student, Department of English

[…]

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.; […]