Rare Book School Summer 2026 Course Applications Now Open
Rare Book School (RBS) is now accepting applications for its summer 2026 courses. This year’s schedule features almost 50 in-person and online courses, including nine new courses. Courses in Charlottesville will once again be offered at RBS’s home in the University of Virginia’s Edgar Shannon Library.
RBS has launched new partnerships and course locations this summer: York in the United Kingdom, North Bennet Street School in Boston, and the University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center.
Here are the new courses, along with one that is being offered in the summer season for the first time:
- Histories of the Book in the Age of Atlantic Revolutions (H-225), taught by James N. Green & John H. Pollack in Philadelphia, PA
- Evidence in Handpress-Era Books, 1450–1830 (G-60), taught by Aaron T. Pratt in Austin, TX
- Literary Manuscripts (L-165), taught by Stephen Enniss & Megan Barnard in Austin, TX
- The Care of Photographic Prints & Negatives in Collections (L-170v), taught online only by Bryanna Knotts & Katherine Mintie
- From Poggio to Mabillon: The Study of Latin Manuscripts in the First Age of Print (M-65v), taught online only by Anthony Grafton
- Indigenous North American Cartographies (H-215v), taught online only by Caroline Wigginton
- Bookbinding for Book Historians (B-95), taught by Jeff Altepeter & Todd Pattison in Boston, MA
- The Rise of Periodical Print Culture, 1700–1830 (H-210), taught by Jennie Batchelor in York, UK
- The Culture & Craft of Wood Type (T-65), taught by Nick Gill & Helen Smith in York, UK
- Indigenous Agency & Intervention in the Bibliographical Record (G-90v), taught online only by Brandon Castle & Michael Kelly
To learn more about the courses offered this summer, 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 to gain further insight into the course.
For the best chance of being admitted, please submit your application(s) by the first-round deadline on 17 February. Applications received after that date will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all available seats have filled, but many of the classes will fill in the first round of admissions decisions.
Applications will be accepted through the myRBS system; instructions for using the site can be found on the landing page once you’ve created an account. For information about the application process, visit rarebookschool.org/admissions-awards/application. If you have any questions, please contact rbsprograms@virginia.edu.
We look forward to welcoming you to an RBS course this summer!