One of the great things you experience upon returning home from rare books school, is the ability, after a an intensive week of study, to look at a collection or a project with a fresh eye and a renewed sense of vigor for the work. It is no different for me.
One of the first things I did upon my return was wander down to the RBR and take a long look at some of our oldest books: a set of the Decretales (in canon law, these are letters from the pope)from 1588 and a set of the Pandectarum, from 1590. All of these books are bound in a very rugged vellum. It may be these bindings have suffered over time, or perhaps, as materials were scarce, the vellum is a product of reuse and recycling. Thick raised bands cross the spine, and titles are hand lettered, but there are other details that these books share in common. They've been vandalized.
When I first arrived on the job here, back in February, I took a gander at these books. I wasn't expecting to find anything of this age and it was quite a surprise to see these thick books in their vellum bindings on the shelf. But more surprising still, were unmistakable marks of ownership that lead me to believe these books were all donated by the same person.
I've been researching the provenance of these volumes whenever I've had a spare minute ever since. They're uncatalogued and so, they're on my list of things to do. However, in order to move past the "do" into the "done" list I need to know a bit more about them. Finally, after checking accession and donor records I discovered the donor's name - and it turns out to be someone I've met along life's journey.
How would I know these books had come from a single donor, you might ask? What was the tip off and how were they vandalized? It was right in front of my face. The first place a librarian turns to in a book is the title page. If the title page is missing a whole realm of detective work must commence. Indeed, some title pages were missing, and others had the printer's device cut from the title page. It does make things not only unattractive, with threads loose and torn page fragments hanging in shreds, but this kind of missing and crucial information is not always easy to track down.
When I was at RBS I made sure to inquire about tracking down this information. I learned that many book history scholars, when confronted with this kind of damage, rely on Google Books as a tool. Simply deciding on a key phrase and "googling" it can often lead to the answer. I'm still working on that one. Since I don't speak or read Latin, knowing just exactly which phrase to use, and I've tried many at this point, has proven a bit difficult. Needless to say, I'm still on the case.
So, why would someone take the trouble to rip out the title page and/or cut out the printer's device, an engraved illustration that denotes which printing house printed the text? The simple answer is because they're beautiful. Title pages or printer's devices from this period are woodcuts and often quite beautiful. Many times collectors cut these attractive plates from the books, including any illustrations that may have been inside, and hung them on the walls of their personal library.
And here's something else I learned about title pages from Rare Book School - extra title pages were often printed and used as advertisements or fliers posted around town to alert potential buyers to the availability of a new work and where to purchase it. Many of us have seen, under the printer's name on old English books, a phrase similar to "under the Sign of the Unicorn." That's the printer's address. You could find the book there and purchase it from the very shop where it was printed.
Now that I have one of the mysteries about these books solved, I'll be able to add a bookplate denoting the donor and I'm one step closer to cataloging them. And by the way, I'm not blaming the donor. With a history of over 400 years behind these books there's been plenty of time for title pages and printer's devices to have been cut and ravaged along the way.
And tomorrow? I think we'll pick up a magnifying glass and take a look at all the ideas I generated for the rare book room and it's collections from my week at Rare Book School. Until then, dear readers, adieu!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Looking back, looking forward
When I last posted to this blog, a month ago today, I closed with the words, "until tomorrow!" Well, it's not that tomorrow never came - it's just that tomorrow was cram packed with activities and blogging didn't make the list.
So, here I am, picking up the quill again, so to speak, and looking back over my last two days at RBS, while looking forward to the changes and enhancements I hope to bring to the Colborn Rare Book Room here at the Law School.
The end of the week at RBS always brings something fun to look forward to, and something sad too. Thursday nights are devoted to a very enjoyable evening activity for bibliophiles called Bookseller Night. Charlottesville is full of booksellers, many are located on the historic downtown pedestrian mall. They're nestled cheek by jowl with an interesting array of restaurants offering nearly any cuisine you have a hankering for. All in all it makes for a good night - you can browse through bookstore after bookstore, and then stop for a delightful dinner in one of the restaurants on the mall. Our entire class met for dinner Thursday with our instructor, Mike Widener, and his wife Emma. We had a lovely evening, dining outside in the pleasant evening air, discussing the week's activities and books we'd found in the stalls.
Thank goodness for my trusty notebook! Luckily it does a better job of remembering my activities that I do. I'm counting on my notebook to remind me of all the things we did in class Thursday and Friday. These days were devoted to the connoisseurship aspect of the course. Thursday morning we discussed buying books abroad and the regulations involved in that kind of purchase, as well as deaccessioning books that no longer fit the collecting scope.
We also worked on an exercise for a Collection Development Policy. I had already begun work on a collection develop policy at WVU and as luck would have it, I had a copy with me on a flashdrive. I used it as the basis for my collection policy but I changed it significantly, drawing on the materials I'd learned over the course of the week. I have a copy of it and it's on the desk beside the laptop as I type this.
The exercise was to focus, not broadly, on special collections as a whole, but to develop a niche important to your institution. I chose to develop a West Virginia legal collection policy. We were to draw together resources, such as supporting documentation like bibliographic materials, specific items that would be important to the development of the collection, and thoughts about what would and would not be acceptable additions to the collection. It was a well chosen and very interesting exercise. I will apply these techniques to the policy as I develop it here.
Friday arrived, and with it, the last day of class. It's a short class day with a long lunch break. A reception follows the last class period where there is time to say goodbye to all the people we met over the course of the week, exchange business cards, and take our turns mulling over the souvenirs in the RBS gift shop. Nothing like an opportunity to do a little shopping before you go. I came away with an RBS t-shirt for myself and my husband, as well as one of their nifty little pocket measuring tapes. I have a couple of these and I keep one in my desk drawer. They're handy little devices that can be whipped out at a moment's notice to measure a book, a window, an archival box, or anything else. I highly recommended having one of these little babies on hand.
The final class period was spent on another assignment. We were to describe a book from the RBS collections as one would be described by a bookseller. This was a fascinating exercise, as it placed the curator/buyer in the role of the bookseller. When holding a book in your hands to describe, you look for all the same things as you would when examining a rare book, but you look at it from a different perspective.
As an old bookseller told me years ago, "there's a way to describe a book that makes it sound like a war casualty and a way to describe a book to make it sound good to potential buyers. This is what you have to keep in mind as a seller. Book flaws can be described in many ways, and some of them are better than others. When talking about a book that has been exposed to strong sunlight you could say it's faded, or you could say it's "sunned." I think one sounds better than the other, but I'll let you make that decision.
And so, we've shared knowledge and learned a great deal. We've been exposed to new ideas and new perspectives. The easy part, the education, is over. It's time to gather up all our thoughts, return home and apply them!
That will have to wait, dare I say it, until tomorrow!
So, here I am, picking up the quill again, so to speak, and looking back over my last two days at RBS, while looking forward to the changes and enhancements I hope to bring to the Colborn Rare Book Room here at the Law School.
The end of the week at RBS always brings something fun to look forward to, and something sad too. Thursday nights are devoted to a very enjoyable evening activity for bibliophiles called Bookseller Night. Charlottesville is full of booksellers, many are located on the historic downtown pedestrian mall. They're nestled cheek by jowl with an interesting array of restaurants offering nearly any cuisine you have a hankering for. All in all it makes for a good night - you can browse through bookstore after bookstore, and then stop for a delightful dinner in one of the restaurants on the mall. Our entire class met for dinner Thursday with our instructor, Mike Widener, and his wife Emma. We had a lovely evening, dining outside in the pleasant evening air, discussing the week's activities and books we'd found in the stalls.
Thank goodness for my trusty notebook! Luckily it does a better job of remembering my activities that I do. I'm counting on my notebook to remind me of all the things we did in class Thursday and Friday. These days were devoted to the connoisseurship aspect of the course. Thursday morning we discussed buying books abroad and the regulations involved in that kind of purchase, as well as deaccessioning books that no longer fit the collecting scope.
We also worked on an exercise for a Collection Development Policy. I had already begun work on a collection develop policy at WVU and as luck would have it, I had a copy with me on a flashdrive. I used it as the basis for my collection policy but I changed it significantly, drawing on the materials I'd learned over the course of the week. I have a copy of it and it's on the desk beside the laptop as I type this.
The exercise was to focus, not broadly, on special collections as a whole, but to develop a niche important to your institution. I chose to develop a West Virginia legal collection policy. We were to draw together resources, such as supporting documentation like bibliographic materials, specific items that would be important to the development of the collection, and thoughts about what would and would not be acceptable additions to the collection. It was a well chosen and very interesting exercise. I will apply these techniques to the policy as I develop it here.
Friday arrived, and with it, the last day of class. It's a short class day with a long lunch break. A reception follows the last class period where there is time to say goodbye to all the people we met over the course of the week, exchange business cards, and take our turns mulling over the souvenirs in the RBS gift shop. Nothing like an opportunity to do a little shopping before you go. I came away with an RBS t-shirt for myself and my husband, as well as one of their nifty little pocket measuring tapes. I have a couple of these and I keep one in my desk drawer. They're handy little devices that can be whipped out at a moment's notice to measure a book, a window, an archival box, or anything else. I highly recommended having one of these little babies on hand.
The final class period was spent on another assignment. We were to describe a book from the RBS collections as one would be described by a bookseller. This was a fascinating exercise, as it placed the curator/buyer in the role of the bookseller. When holding a book in your hands to describe, you look for all the same things as you would when examining a rare book, but you look at it from a different perspective.
As an old bookseller told me years ago, "there's a way to describe a book that makes it sound like a war casualty and a way to describe a book to make it sound good to potential buyers. This is what you have to keep in mind as a seller. Book flaws can be described in many ways, and some of them are better than others. When talking about a book that has been exposed to strong sunlight you could say it's faded, or you could say it's "sunned." I think one sounds better than the other, but I'll let you make that decision.
And so, we've shared knowledge and learned a great deal. We've been exposed to new ideas and new perspectives. The easy part, the education, is over. It's time to gather up all our thoughts, return home and apply them!
That will have to wait, dare I say it, until tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Law Book Exchange
We've been fortuate all week to have someone from the Law Book Exchange enrolled in the course. John is the IT person for the LBE. He takes the photos for the website and catalogs, and he makes certain each book is shown to its best advantage. He's taken the time to explain his photographic technique and we've had an opportunity to examine some of his exceptional photographs. He's also very knowledgable about the books he photographs. It's been a pleasure talking with him and learning about his work.
As an added bonus today, Michael von der Linn, the rare book buyer from the Law Book Exchange, was in class today. Michael came down from New Jersey to make himself available for a question and answer exchange. He really allowed us to ask any questions and there were some deep ones asked. He graciously answered them all. It was interesting to learn how he purchases books and the decisions that go into marketing them.
I had an opportunity to tell Michael that we at WVU had just purchased a fascinating scrapbook, dating from 1896, by a WVU law school graduate who became prominent in the state. We were all very pleased with this unique item which documents his legal career. He told me West Virginia items were hard to find and he'd had that book on hand for a couple of years before we purchased it. I assured him that we were happy to find it and add it to our collection.
A lecture tonight in the Rotunda was by a lawyer who collects serial publications, like Dickens books, which were all issued as serials. Very interesting. WVU's downtown rare book room has several Dickens books in serials. It is interesting to see them in this format and know that people had to wait until he wrote the next installment to know what was going to happen next in the story. Would Little Nell live or die? You just had to wait to find out! He shared images of his collection and gave us copies to take home.
Next was a shopping trip to one of the many local bookstores where I couldn't resist purchasing a few items to take home. Then dinner with classmates and back to the library to finish our assignment, describing a book from the Yale collections as if we were planning to list it in a dealer's catalog. This is a good exercise as we begin to see all the work that goes into an accurate description and pricing of items. Tomorrow we'll present our descirptions to the class and then it's onto the next assignment!
Until tomorrow!
As an added bonus today, Michael von der Linn, the rare book buyer from the Law Book Exchange, was in class today. Michael came down from New Jersey to make himself available for a question and answer exchange. He really allowed us to ask any questions and there were some deep ones asked. He graciously answered them all. It was interesting to learn how he purchases books and the decisions that go into marketing them.
I had an opportunity to tell Michael that we at WVU had just purchased a fascinating scrapbook, dating from 1896, by a WVU law school graduate who became prominent in the state. We were all very pleased with this unique item which documents his legal career. He told me West Virginia items were hard to find and he'd had that book on hand for a couple of years before we purchased it. I assured him that we were happy to find it and add it to our collection.
A lecture tonight in the Rotunda was by a lawyer who collects serial publications, like Dickens books, which were all issued as serials. Very interesting. WVU's downtown rare book room has several Dickens books in serials. It is interesting to see them in this format and know that people had to wait until he wrote the next installment to know what was going to happen next in the story. Would Little Nell live or die? You just had to wait to find out! He shared images of his collection and gave us copies to take home.
Next was a shopping trip to one of the many local bookstores where I couldn't resist purchasing a few items to take home. Then dinner with classmates and back to the library to finish our assignment, describing a book from the Yale collections as if we were planning to list it in a dealer's catalog. This is a good exercise as we begin to see all the work that goes into an accurate description and pricing of items. Tomorrow we'll present our descirptions to the class and then it's onto the next assignment!
Until tomorrow!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Day Two: Field Trip
I've just gotten back from a nice dinner in downtown C'ville with a few fellow students. We walked into town since it's only a mile from campus, and enjoyed a lovely evening on the pedestrian mall in the historic downtown. It was great to stretch our legs and enjoy the outdoors. The weather has been remarkable. Last week here it was 102! Today the temperature was 78. Delightful!
Our class went on a field trip this afternoon. We got on a bus and headed over to the new special collections facility at the Morris Law Library. Boy, is it beautiful! So spacious. It's a terrific law library.
The collections we were going to see were upstairs on a table waiting for us. While we didn't get to handle the books we got to see some real gems. The oldest book in the collection was a manuscript from 1481. It was quite beautiful. Treatises, form books, justice of the peace manuals and maritime law were just a few of the books we saw this afternoon. There was a wide variety of binding styles and it was very interesting to examine title pages and frontis piece illustrations. One copy of Coke on Littleton had the fold out plate, which was traditionally placed after the title page, had instead been placed between the frontis and title page. It's placement really stood out to me as I've seen a number of these volumes in the downtown rare book room at WVU. I wasn't the only one who noticed. Others in the class noted the error too.
We have two assignments to do next. One we started on today involved examining a book and describing it as if it were to be added to a dealer's catalog. We'll have to do all the bibliographic research for the book and price it too. I'm looking forward to this exercise. We started describing the book this afternoon. Tomorrow we'll have an opportunity to work with the bibliographies and a librarian will introduce us to many online resources. That will be a great bonus for me as I'll be able to gather a number of resources that I'll use when I return to WVU.
There's another lecture tomorrow night on legal serials. I'm not quite sure what that is, but I'll find out tomorrow!
It's been a long but good day, with so much more to come!
Our class went on a field trip this afternoon. We got on a bus and headed over to the new special collections facility at the Morris Law Library. Boy, is it beautiful! So spacious. It's a terrific law library.
The collections we were going to see were upstairs on a table waiting for us. While we didn't get to handle the books we got to see some real gems. The oldest book in the collection was a manuscript from 1481. It was quite beautiful. Treatises, form books, justice of the peace manuals and maritime law were just a few of the books we saw this afternoon. There was a wide variety of binding styles and it was very interesting to examine title pages and frontis piece illustrations. One copy of Coke on Littleton had the fold out plate, which was traditionally placed after the title page, had instead been placed between the frontis and title page. It's placement really stood out to me as I've seen a number of these volumes in the downtown rare book room at WVU. I wasn't the only one who noticed. Others in the class noted the error too.
We have two assignments to do next. One we started on today involved examining a book and describing it as if it were to be added to a dealer's catalog. We'll have to do all the bibliographic research for the book and price it too. I'm looking forward to this exercise. We started describing the book this afternoon. Tomorrow we'll have an opportunity to work with the bibliographies and a librarian will introduce us to many online resources. That will be a great bonus for me as I'll be able to gather a number of resources that I'll use when I return to WVU.
There's another lecture tomorrow night on legal serials. I'm not quite sure what that is, but I'll find out tomorrow!
It's been a long but good day, with so much more to come!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Rare Book School Day One
There's just nothing like being at Rare Book School! I wish everyone could have the opportunity to experience it at some time in their lives. I am very fortunate to be here for the fourth time. Each time I have taken a course here I have met instructors who are the tops in their field, and students who are talented and eager to learn. Many who have remained friends and colleagues, always eager to lend a hand, always eager to hear how things are going. This time is proving to be no exception.
I'm here to take the Law History course taught by Michael Widener, Rare Book Librarian in the Law Library at Yale. I was not surprised, but still impressed, with the depth of his knowledge today. His experience runs deep and I have already learned so much in the first day.
I'll mention just a couple of take away points that I'll apply when I get back to WVU's Law Library. First off, I'll be taking a second look at our Dublin imprints. While cataloging some of our rare book texts I had noticed there were a few Dublin imprints, most from the publishing house of James Moore. I've learned today that most Dublin imprints are pirated editions. Shortly after the books were published in Britain they were spirited away and printed with copies appearing under a Dublin imprint within the first year of British publication. I now have a list of bibliographies that will help me to determine if our Dublin imprints are pirated or actual editions. Very exciting!
There was some talk today about Charles Viner. Viner's Abridgments, some 24 volumes of them, are a classic and standard work. There is a set in the RBR. I learned today that Viner grew so irritated with London publishers that he self published his work. Then the King tried to ban it but the work prevailed. The work was so successful that Viner was able to establish the Vinerian chair at Oxford, held by none other than Blackstone, of Blackstone's Commentaries. It's a small legal world!
We also talked about the very large volumes that comprise the Statues of the Realm today. We have a full set of these volumes in the circulating stacks in the Law Library. I learned today that they should be moved to the RBR. I'd like to check usage statistics for these volumes, as they are in excellent condition, before I move them. And I'll need to take space into consideration too, but they're definitely tops on my list of books to consider for transfer to the RBR.
To top things off, tonight's lecture was by John Robinson Block on his collection of law books. He's been in our class all day, adding comments about his collection and sharing his vast knowledge of law books. His lecture tonight was delightful but the best part was that he brought part of his collection for the entire school to see. To my surrpise he brought four volumes of early West Virginia books dealing with the succession of the state, a broadside by Waitman T. Willey and a wonderful manuscript bound in homemade woven cloth. That was truly a delight to see.
I have pages and pages of notes, starred, underlined and highlighted! There's going to be so many things to do, so many books to explore, and bibliographies to collect when I get home - and it's only Day One!
I'm here to take the Law History course taught by Michael Widener, Rare Book Librarian in the Law Library at Yale. I was not surprised, but still impressed, with the depth of his knowledge today. His experience runs deep and I have already learned so much in the first day.
I'll mention just a couple of take away points that I'll apply when I get back to WVU's Law Library. First off, I'll be taking a second look at our Dublin imprints. While cataloging some of our rare book texts I had noticed there were a few Dublin imprints, most from the publishing house of James Moore. I've learned today that most Dublin imprints are pirated editions. Shortly after the books were published in Britain they were spirited away and printed with copies appearing under a Dublin imprint within the first year of British publication. I now have a list of bibliographies that will help me to determine if our Dublin imprints are pirated or actual editions. Very exciting!
There was some talk today about Charles Viner. Viner's Abridgments, some 24 volumes of them, are a classic and standard work. There is a set in the RBR. I learned today that Viner grew so irritated with London publishers that he self published his work. Then the King tried to ban it but the work prevailed. The work was so successful that Viner was able to establish the Vinerian chair at Oxford, held by none other than Blackstone, of Blackstone's Commentaries. It's a small legal world!
We also talked about the very large volumes that comprise the Statues of the Realm today. We have a full set of these volumes in the circulating stacks in the Law Library. I learned today that they should be moved to the RBR. I'd like to check usage statistics for these volumes, as they are in excellent condition, before I move them. And I'll need to take space into consideration too, but they're definitely tops on my list of books to consider for transfer to the RBR.
To top things off, tonight's lecture was by John Robinson Block on his collection of law books. He's been in our class all day, adding comments about his collection and sharing his vast knowledge of law books. His lecture tonight was delightful but the best part was that he brought part of his collection for the entire school to see. To my surrpise he brought four volumes of early West Virginia books dealing with the succession of the state, a broadside by Waitman T. Willey and a wonderful manuscript bound in homemade woven cloth. That was truly a delight to see.
I have pages and pages of notes, starred, underlined and highlighted! There's going to be so many things to do, so many books to explore, and bibliographies to collect when I get home - and it's only Day One!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The thread that runs through it
Peter Stein's article, "Justinian's Compilation: Classical Legacy and Legal Source, was a very enjoyable and engaging read. Informationally rich and well written, I found myself eagerly reading about the texts that comprise Justinian's master compilation.
As I read, it seemed I kept following a thread running through the paragraphs. A thread of separation, yet also one of unification. I picked up this thread on page 7. After the glossators of the twelfth century there came the commentators of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Chief among the commentators, who set their task as one of extracting law from the morass the glossators sought to illuminate, was Bartolus. Just as Bartolus is boiling down Justinian's concepts and generalizing the texts to make them easier to comprehend I pick up the first skein of my thread.
Stein brings this to my attention with an illustration on the conflict of law. As Stein says,"Bartolus generalizes from these texts and infers from them that the duties imposed by a contract are determined by the law of the place (italics, mine) where the contract was made, but failure to comply with the terms of a contract is to be judged by the law of the place where it should have been performed. So, we have a larger concept of law as standardized for all peoples with the empire, but that law is subject to the law of the place where the contract was made, the activity to be performed, and the conflict occurred.
After the commentators, the humanists arrived on the scene. Here too, a group of scholars part the curtain that veils the text of the law and then bring it into the open for all to see. Stein quotes Zasii Epistolae,II as describing the humanists as tearing away the commentary "like a giant creeper," and I envision Kudzu here, in order to make clear the path to the text itself. As a result, by examining the texts and discovering inaccuracies that perpetuated over time, the humanists showed that reading legal texts was akin to extracting the rule that made sense, rather than accepting the text as gospel.
As this thread weaves through the text of Stein's article it brings us further along the development of humanistic thought and into their attempt to balance the world of Justinian with that of the France of their day. In their scholarly struggles the humanists found that this was a concept they could not reconcile. In finding that the law of Justinian's day was not applicable to that of their own time, the humanists found their conflict of place. The local, if you will, once again supersedes the law of empire.
Finally we come to the end of our thread with Donellus's commentaries on the Civil Law. Taking threads from both the commentators and the humanists, Donellus's tack was to break down the larger whole into the parts, moving from a macro to a micro approach. In this too, we seem to follow the thread of moving from Roman to local, or from large and all encompassing to small and specific.
When viewing the article from this perspective it appears that each group, the glossators, the commentators, the humanists, each took an approach to a major document and brought insight that could be shared and passed to the next generation of scholars. It's a fascinating look at a text from the ancient world as it travels through the centuries. As Stein concludes, in order for Roman Law to survive as a field of study in law schools today it must not be presented in a vacuum but integrated into the society of its day. We are in the process of doing just that at WVU. We're bringing in histories of West Virginia, a state with a tumultuous past, in order to set the context for the study of state law. It's a good idea.
As I read, it seemed I kept following a thread running through the paragraphs. A thread of separation, yet also one of unification. I picked up this thread on page 7. After the glossators of the twelfth century there came the commentators of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Chief among the commentators, who set their task as one of extracting law from the morass the glossators sought to illuminate, was Bartolus. Just as Bartolus is boiling down Justinian's concepts and generalizing the texts to make them easier to comprehend I pick up the first skein of my thread.
Stein brings this to my attention with an illustration on the conflict of law. As Stein says,"Bartolus generalizes from these texts and infers from them that the duties imposed by a contract are determined by the law of the place (italics, mine) where the contract was made, but failure to comply with the terms of a contract is to be judged by the law of the place where it should have been performed. So, we have a larger concept of law as standardized for all peoples with the empire, but that law is subject to the law of the place where the contract was made, the activity to be performed, and the conflict occurred.
After the commentators, the humanists arrived on the scene. Here too, a group of scholars part the curtain that veils the text of the law and then bring it into the open for all to see. Stein quotes Zasii Epistolae,II as describing the humanists as tearing away the commentary "like a giant creeper," and I envision Kudzu here, in order to make clear the path to the text itself. As a result, by examining the texts and discovering inaccuracies that perpetuated over time, the humanists showed that reading legal texts was akin to extracting the rule that made sense, rather than accepting the text as gospel.
As this thread weaves through the text of Stein's article it brings us further along the development of humanistic thought and into their attempt to balance the world of Justinian with that of the France of their day. In their scholarly struggles the humanists found that this was a concept they could not reconcile. In finding that the law of Justinian's day was not applicable to that of their own time, the humanists found their conflict of place. The local, if you will, once again supersedes the law of empire.
Finally we come to the end of our thread with Donellus's commentaries on the Civil Law. Taking threads from both the commentators and the humanists, Donellus's tack was to break down the larger whole into the parts, moving from a macro to a micro approach. In this too, we seem to follow the thread of moving from Roman to local, or from large and all encompassing to small and specific.
When viewing the article from this perspective it appears that each group, the glossators, the commentators, the humanists, each took an approach to a major document and brought insight that could be shared and passed to the next generation of scholars. It's a fascinating look at a text from the ancient world as it travels through the centuries. As Stein concludes, in order for Roman Law to survive as a field of study in law schools today it must not be presented in a vacuum but integrated into the society of its day. We are in the process of doing just that at WVU. We're bringing in histories of West Virginia, a state with a tumultuous past, in order to set the context for the study of state law. It's a good idea.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Updating and upgrading
After a lengthy and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend I returned to my legal literature studies. The onset of Rare Book School grows ever closer, now merely a few days away rather than my previous timekeeping of a few weeks.
On a whim I returned to review the preliminary reading list last week. It as a good thing too, as the reading list had been completely updated and renovated. Gone were the works previously residing on the list that had seemed old and outdated, like Gordon's survey article reviewed here last week. In their place was a revitalized list with highly accessible and contemporary readings and websites.
I have taken time to examine quite a number of the websites and enjoyed quite a few of them too. Of particular note is Dying Speeches & Bloody Murders: Crime Broadsides Collected by the Harvard Law School Library. Perusing this site proved to be both entertaining and gruesome. A heinous collection of "bloody murders" and the admonishments of the "last words" of those who had lately been brought to justice can be found and examined with a great degree of accuracy, thanks to the enlarging options that allow the viewer to really delve into the text at hand. An intriguing feature of these "last words," filled with regrets and cautionary reminders for the living, are often set in verse. I dare say that these are the product of the broadside's author rather than the condemned, but I could be wrong. We'd have to ask one of the 100,000 people who attended the hanging of Henry Fauntleroy to verify.
From examining this site I learned that I own a couple of 19th century crime pamphlets. I will look at them again with renewed interest. I've gone through much of our readings with one had wielding a fine tooth comb and the other on the keyboard searching for titles listed in footnotes and bibliographies in our readings. The Annuals of Murder: A Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets on American Murders from Colonial Times to 1900 now sits on my desk. After briefly paging through it this book looks to be a most interesting bibliography. I'll look forward to looking up my own pamphlets as well as any the WVU Law School might have in their collection.
As someone who has spent most her professional and scholarly career examining publishers' bookbindings, I was delighted to look at Boston College's site, Exhibit Highlights from the Daniel R. Coquilette Rare Book Room, of an exhibit on Books and Their Covers: Decorative Bindings, Beautiful Books. I have seen some beautifully decorated bindings for law books, but in my experience they are far and few between so I was delighted to visit this exhibition from last spring. The application of gold, vellun, marbled papers, or the acids used to create the attractive patterning known as tree calf, for the tree like structure formed on the leather by the acid wash, can make any book truly beautiful.
The Flowering of Civil Law: Early Italian City Statues in the Yale Law Library is a blog I had already bookmarked as a destination. There are two out of four volumes of Justinian's Codex here at WVU. The Codex and the Novellis are both missing their title pages. I am having a great deal of difficulty deciphering any printing history for these volumes and I had discovered this site when searching the Codex on the web. It seems I will need to photograph some pages and post them to Flickr in order to invite others, such as the good folks on the rare book listserv ExLibris, to weigh in.
A substantial site, Freedom of the Seas, 1609: Grotius and the Emergence of International Law, provides a comprehensive view of the development of International Law. The site is peppered with a fine array of images. I particularly enjoyed looking at a copy of the first edition of John Selden's Mare Clausum and the map of the "British sea."
These sites provide interesting glimpses into many individual and fascinating aspects of law. I'll look forward to delving into other websites on the list as time permits.
On a whim I returned to review the preliminary reading list last week. It as a good thing too, as the reading list had been completely updated and renovated. Gone were the works previously residing on the list that had seemed old and outdated, like Gordon's survey article reviewed here last week. In their place was a revitalized list with highly accessible and contemporary readings and websites.
I have taken time to examine quite a number of the websites and enjoyed quite a few of them too. Of particular note is Dying Speeches & Bloody Murders: Crime Broadsides Collected by the Harvard Law School Library. Perusing this site proved to be both entertaining and gruesome. A heinous collection of "bloody murders" and the admonishments of the "last words" of those who had lately been brought to justice can be found and examined with a great degree of accuracy, thanks to the enlarging options that allow the viewer to really delve into the text at hand. An intriguing feature of these "last words," filled with regrets and cautionary reminders for the living, are often set in verse. I dare say that these are the product of the broadside's author rather than the condemned, but I could be wrong. We'd have to ask one of the 100,000 people who attended the hanging of Henry Fauntleroy to verify.
From examining this site I learned that I own a couple of 19th century crime pamphlets. I will look at them again with renewed interest. I've gone through much of our readings with one had wielding a fine tooth comb and the other on the keyboard searching for titles listed in footnotes and bibliographies in our readings. The Annuals of Murder: A Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets on American Murders from Colonial Times to 1900 now sits on my desk. After briefly paging through it this book looks to be a most interesting bibliography. I'll look forward to looking up my own pamphlets as well as any the WVU Law School might have in their collection.
As someone who has spent most her professional and scholarly career examining publishers' bookbindings, I was delighted to look at Boston College's site, Exhibit Highlights from the Daniel R. Coquilette Rare Book Room, of an exhibit on Books and Their Covers: Decorative Bindings, Beautiful Books. I have seen some beautifully decorated bindings for law books, but in my experience they are far and few between so I was delighted to visit this exhibition from last spring. The application of gold, vellun, marbled papers, or the acids used to create the attractive patterning known as tree calf, for the tree like structure formed on the leather by the acid wash, can make any book truly beautiful.
The Flowering of Civil Law: Early Italian City Statues in the Yale Law Library is a blog I had already bookmarked as a destination. There are two out of four volumes of Justinian's Codex here at WVU. The Codex and the Novellis are both missing their title pages. I am having a great deal of difficulty deciphering any printing history for these volumes and I had discovered this site when searching the Codex on the web. It seems I will need to photograph some pages and post them to Flickr in order to invite others, such as the good folks on the rare book listserv ExLibris, to weigh in.
A substantial site, Freedom of the Seas, 1609: Grotius and the Emergence of International Law, provides a comprehensive view of the development of International Law. The site is peppered with a fine array of images. I particularly enjoyed looking at a copy of the first edition of John Selden's Mare Clausum and the map of the "British sea."
These sites provide interesting glimpses into many individual and fascinating aspects of law. I'll look forward to delving into other websites on the list as time permits.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A Different World
The weekend is over and Monday is behind us as well. Most of yesterday was spent very pleasantly in the law school's rare book room. The archival boxes arrived last week and I spent the day placing a recent donation, the papers of an eminent legal scholar, in the new blue/gray boxes with their shiny metal edges.
While I worked, surrounded by the environment of the rare book room, my thoughts turned to the Gordon study, "A Portrait of Research in Legal History," one of the titles on our reading list. I must admit, given the amount of time that has passed and the rapid development of the internet and its impact on our daily lives, I struggle with the releveancy of a study that took place in 1985 with a 1994 publication date. When you consider the change the internet has brought to scholarship and research methods since that time, the Gordon article looks antiquated, a historical piece on research trends in the nascent period of the internet.
Maybe it's not fair to look critically at this study given the changes in the academic environment since 1985, but, like it or not, times have changed dramatically and research methods are no loonger the same as they were then. So, I will play devil's advocate and discuss some of the problems I see with this article.
Gordon's article looks at responses from historians who participated in the Historical Documents Study in 1985. The HDS, noting increased usage of respositories, institutions and museums, designed this study to examine the researcher and their research methods in order to gain a better understanding of who the researchers were and the methods used to perform research.
Gordon makes several interesting comments that I would like to explore further. For example, " . . . among members of the Organization of American Historians, nearly three-quarters of whom teach at academic institutions, only half recognized their primary library as a major research institution." While there are some statistical tables in the article there is nothing to support these comments. Given that the academic community, then as now, is composed of a vast array of community colleges, public and private colleges and universities with differing levels of academic standing I feel that it is quite impressive that 50 percent of those polled consider their libray to be a major research library. If we had statistics to examine, we might be able to point to a high rate of survey respondents from land grant universities or Carnegie One institutions. We might be able to see that those institutions make up a larger portion of the study respondents. Or, we may be able to determine something completely different that led to this conclusion.
In the next paragraph Gordon states that "only five percent of them (respondents) indicated use of presidential libraries." Isn't this simply a relation to locale? Presidential libraries do not dominate the academic landscape and a figure such as this doesn't take into consideration a scholar's research interests. Excluding airline travel, I would venture to guess that most scholars do not live within traveling distance of a presidential library. I would also guess that in the broad spectrum of academic research, may topics do not require the use of presidential ibray holdings.
Perhaps the biggest issue I have with this study stems from this paragraph: There are historians active today whose formal education predates the start of national guides to unpublished sources forty years ago, for example. The explosion of related finding aids and computerized newtworks for sources since that time has challenged successive waves of historians to augment their skills after leaving school. Changing interests also push individuals beyond limits taken for granted when they first studied their craft."
Indeed they do. While many of the respondents will have retired now, there remain many who are still researching and teaching. Though their careers were grounded in an earlier time, these respondents learned new skills and became adept in a changing academic enviroment. We all love a tool that will provide the desired information faster than before. As I've learned from other of our readings, the glosses on Justinian's Codex, the dictionary, the index, the table of contents, print versions of national guides, and all those finding aids and computerized networks do just that. Help us get our hands on the data we need and want faster.
My own undergraduate degree, a double major in history and religion, was earned in an age when papers were typed on a typewriter and there was one phone per hall in the dorm. Twenty-five years later I went on to earn my masters' degree in library science online through the distance program at a major research institution recognized as one of the top twenty schools for library science in the nation. I was never able to go the library physically, but thanks to the online library service I never had to leave the confines of my home, let alone get up from my desk, to have all my research needs met. This old dog was able to learn a few new tricks over time and succeed. What may have appeared frightening or challenging to Gordon or the respondents then, can be seen now as what it was, a learning curve for a period in transition.
Ideally, it would be of great benefit to see an updated version of this study. I'm sure there is something out on the World Wide Web that takes into consideration researchers and their methods in this internet driven age. Today, nearly every library supports blogs, podcasts, twitter feeds, and facebook pages. Examining deep web usage, subscription databases, library resources, and free tools like Google Scholar, Google Books, and the Internet Archive can yield statistics for instruments that readily place many scholarly avenues at a researcher's fingertips without having to travel beyond their armchair to locate resources that were once limnited. It's a different world. Let's examine it.
While I worked, surrounded by the environment of the rare book room, my thoughts turned to the Gordon study, "A Portrait of Research in Legal History," one of the titles on our reading list. I must admit, given the amount of time that has passed and the rapid development of the internet and its impact on our daily lives, I struggle with the releveancy of a study that took place in 1985 with a 1994 publication date. When you consider the change the internet has brought to scholarship and research methods since that time, the Gordon article looks antiquated, a historical piece on research trends in the nascent period of the internet.
Maybe it's not fair to look critically at this study given the changes in the academic environment since 1985, but, like it or not, times have changed dramatically and research methods are no loonger the same as they were then. So, I will play devil's advocate and discuss some of the problems I see with this article.
Gordon's article looks at responses from historians who participated in the Historical Documents Study in 1985. The HDS, noting increased usage of respositories, institutions and museums, designed this study to examine the researcher and their research methods in order to gain a better understanding of who the researchers were and the methods used to perform research.
Gordon makes several interesting comments that I would like to explore further. For example, " . . . among members of the Organization of American Historians, nearly three-quarters of whom teach at academic institutions, only half recognized their primary library as a major research institution." While there are some statistical tables in the article there is nothing to support these comments. Given that the academic community, then as now, is composed of a vast array of community colleges, public and private colleges and universities with differing levels of academic standing I feel that it is quite impressive that 50 percent of those polled consider their libray to be a major research library. If we had statistics to examine, we might be able to point to a high rate of survey respondents from land grant universities or Carnegie One institutions. We might be able to see that those institutions make up a larger portion of the study respondents. Or, we may be able to determine something completely different that led to this conclusion.
In the next paragraph Gordon states that "only five percent of them (respondents) indicated use of presidential libraries." Isn't this simply a relation to locale? Presidential libraries do not dominate the academic landscape and a figure such as this doesn't take into consideration a scholar's research interests. Excluding airline travel, I would venture to guess that most scholars do not live within traveling distance of a presidential library. I would also guess that in the broad spectrum of academic research, may topics do not require the use of presidential ibray holdings.
Perhaps the biggest issue I have with this study stems from this paragraph: There are historians active today whose formal education predates the start of national guides to unpublished sources forty years ago, for example. The explosion of related finding aids and computerized newtworks for sources since that time has challenged successive waves of historians to augment their skills after leaving school. Changing interests also push individuals beyond limits taken for granted when they first studied their craft."
Indeed they do. While many of the respondents will have retired now, there remain many who are still researching and teaching. Though their careers were grounded in an earlier time, these respondents learned new skills and became adept in a changing academic enviroment. We all love a tool that will provide the desired information faster than before. As I've learned from other of our readings, the glosses on Justinian's Codex, the dictionary, the index, the table of contents, print versions of national guides, and all those finding aids and computerized networks do just that. Help us get our hands on the data we need and want faster.
My own undergraduate degree, a double major in history and religion, was earned in an age when papers were typed on a typewriter and there was one phone per hall in the dorm. Twenty-five years later I went on to earn my masters' degree in library science online through the distance program at a major research institution recognized as one of the top twenty schools for library science in the nation. I was never able to go the library physically, but thanks to the online library service I never had to leave the confines of my home, let alone get up from my desk, to have all my research needs met. This old dog was able to learn a few new tricks over time and succeed. What may have appeared frightening or challenging to Gordon or the respondents then, can be seen now as what it was, a learning curve for a period in transition.
Ideally, it would be of great benefit to see an updated version of this study. I'm sure there is something out on the World Wide Web that takes into consideration researchers and their methods in this internet driven age. Today, nearly every library supports blogs, podcasts, twitter feeds, and facebook pages. Examining deep web usage, subscription databases, library resources, and free tools like Google Scholar, Google Books, and the Internet Archive can yield statistics for instruments that readily place many scholarly avenues at a researcher's fingertips without having to travel beyond their armchair to locate resources that were once limnited. It's a different world. Let's examine it.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Books of the Common Law
Today I spent the morning in the reference section of WVU's downtown library reading J.H. Barker's article, "The Books of the Common Law," in the Cambridge History of the Book, vol. III. This was a very well written and enjoyable article. Barker adeptly described the English approach to law and legal studies and the significant difference from the emphasis on roman law that predominated the rest of Europe in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.
Having read several articles on the reading list, and approaching this course without a background in law, I was appreciative of the fact that Barker took time to explain terms that other authors assumed their readers would know. As a case in point, Barker's description of the Inns of Court was very helpful to me and made the article that much more enjoyable through a greater understanding of topical terminology.
The history of legal language, the use of law French, Latin and finally English for documents that would circulate among common readers was of great interest. Each language served a particular community of scholars who was versed in the intricacies and meaning of terms, implying a close knit community working within a set structure of language and law.
Even without a law background, I am quite familiar with Littleton. I have examined several copies and editions of Littleton, and Coke, and I can firmly picture the frontispiece portrait of Littleton in my mind, having seen it several times. A year or so ago I spent some time on EEBO examining differences in editions to determine which fit the imperfect copy in the rare book room missing it's title page. It was an interesting excursion to view the variety of editions and the differences in the printings. From that examination alone it was quite to clear to me that Littleton and Coke were standard texts.
I found the exploration of the development of the use of citations in English law of great interest. Barker notes an absence of citations as a peculiarity of English law before the middle of the sixteenth century. He also noted the lack of law books kept in court or referred to in court. Without a library or reference to books there would be no need for the practice of citations that developed after printing became a viable enterprise.
Indeed, the emphasis was on learned countenance, on the community of scholars who understood the law from lectures, not on books. As Barker says "There was a professional tradition that the law should be stated in a way which appealed to the right reasoning of a legally trained audience or readership; a proposition was therefore backed up not by strings of citations but by examples which showed its correctness."
I found Barker's discussion on the slow development of law libraries to the Inns of Court fascinating. There is something so compellingly romantic about books, reading about them chained like medieval maidens to their stocks, or like the dragons that preyed on them, lost to time. As early as 1475, Barker says that one of the Inns, Lincoln's, established a library. Throughout the 16th century these Inns were given books to bolster their holdings. The libraries of the four Inns of Court, beneficiary of prominent donors though they may have been, suffered losses incrementally over time, and none can now be accounted for. Every last book has vanished like the Lost Colony, either into private collections, or one suspects a more likely scenario, stolen by students.
The notation of signatures in books, then as now, and certainly a common feature of books of the nineteenth century where one can often see the linage of a boy's serial passed from generation to generation, were not unique to law books. Thus too, were the books in law libraries of the sixteenth century when changes of ownership were "carefully recorded on flyleaves."
There's so much to talk about in this article, but I fear this post is becoming quite lengthy so I'll jump to the impact of the press on the legal profession in England and call it a day. Step by step, Barker takes us through the origins of the books of common law, from the books of justices and statutes, with their coats of arms of prominent lawyers colorfully painted on the page denoting ownership and status, then to the law book trade, the press, printers and the legal profession, as well as the effect of the printing press to the profession.
All of a sudden, it must have seemed, printed texts were available and they were available in English, the common language. Therefore they could be read by a larger group of people than those schooled in the traditions of law French and Latin. The press brought an end to the production of manuscripts and with that end brought the demise of certain texts and the standardization of others, along with the rise of the use of citations based on these standard texts. Choice too, played a role in the impact of the press. As Barker says, "texts which had originally been rare or unique passed out of use and indiscriminate compilations of work by different hands that disregarded historical accuracy or textual purity, now makes it impossible to separate text as the original manuscripts have been lost." It is now that we see the rise of case law and printed case law.
Wise as to their situation, printers kept in close contact with the profession and located their shops near the Inns of Court, placing their goods within handy reach of their customer base. A ready supply and close proximity do much to counteract the the laborious copying of manuscripts. For good or ill, and mostly a little of both, the printing press and the books it produced were here to stay.
Having read several articles on the reading list, and approaching this course without a background in law, I was appreciative of the fact that Barker took time to explain terms that other authors assumed their readers would know. As a case in point, Barker's description of the Inns of Court was very helpful to me and made the article that much more enjoyable through a greater understanding of topical terminology.
The history of legal language, the use of law French, Latin and finally English for documents that would circulate among common readers was of great interest. Each language served a particular community of scholars who was versed in the intricacies and meaning of terms, implying a close knit community working within a set structure of language and law.
Even without a law background, I am quite familiar with Littleton. I have examined several copies and editions of Littleton, and Coke, and I can firmly picture the frontispiece portrait of Littleton in my mind, having seen it several times. A year or so ago I spent some time on EEBO examining differences in editions to determine which fit the imperfect copy in the rare book room missing it's title page. It was an interesting excursion to view the variety of editions and the differences in the printings. From that examination alone it was quite to clear to me that Littleton and Coke were standard texts.
I found the exploration of the development of the use of citations in English law of great interest. Barker notes an absence of citations as a peculiarity of English law before the middle of the sixteenth century. He also noted the lack of law books kept in court or referred to in court. Without a library or reference to books there would be no need for the practice of citations that developed after printing became a viable enterprise.
Indeed, the emphasis was on learned countenance, on the community of scholars who understood the law from lectures, not on books. As Barker says "There was a professional tradition that the law should be stated in a way which appealed to the right reasoning of a legally trained audience or readership; a proposition was therefore backed up not by strings of citations but by examples which showed its correctness."
I found Barker's discussion on the slow development of law libraries to the Inns of Court fascinating. There is something so compellingly romantic about books, reading about them chained like medieval maidens to their stocks, or like the dragons that preyed on them, lost to time. As early as 1475, Barker says that one of the Inns, Lincoln's, established a library. Throughout the 16th century these Inns were given books to bolster their holdings. The libraries of the four Inns of Court, beneficiary of prominent donors though they may have been, suffered losses incrementally over time, and none can now be accounted for. Every last book has vanished like the Lost Colony, either into private collections, or one suspects a more likely scenario, stolen by students.
The notation of signatures in books, then as now, and certainly a common feature of books of the nineteenth century where one can often see the linage of a boy's serial passed from generation to generation, were not unique to law books. Thus too, were the books in law libraries of the sixteenth century when changes of ownership were "carefully recorded on flyleaves."
There's so much to talk about in this article, but I fear this post is becoming quite lengthy so I'll jump to the impact of the press on the legal profession in England and call it a day. Step by step, Barker takes us through the origins of the books of common law, from the books of justices and statutes, with their coats of arms of prominent lawyers colorfully painted on the page denoting ownership and status, then to the law book trade, the press, printers and the legal profession, as well as the effect of the printing press to the profession.
All of a sudden, it must have seemed, printed texts were available and they were available in English, the common language. Therefore they could be read by a larger group of people than those schooled in the traditions of law French and Latin. The press brought an end to the production of manuscripts and with that end brought the demise of certain texts and the standardization of others, along with the rise of the use of citations based on these standard texts. Choice too, played a role in the impact of the press. As Barker says, "texts which had originally been rare or unique passed out of use and indiscriminate compilations of work by different hands that disregarded historical accuracy or textual purity, now makes it impossible to separate text as the original manuscripts have been lost." It is now that we see the rise of case law and printed case law.
Wise as to their situation, printers kept in close contact with the profession and located their shops near the Inns of Court, placing their goods within handy reach of their customer base. A ready supply and close proximity do much to counteract the the laborious copying of manuscripts. For good or ill, and mostly a little of both, the printing press and the books it produced were here to stay.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Catching up
Dear readers,
While it's been some time since I last posted to this blog, I feel the need to strike the keys once again and continue traveling the long and winding road of my special collections journey.
When we last met, I had returned from a course at UVA's Rare Book School on Special Collections Librarianship, taught by Alice Schreyer. Each and every night I posted on the day's activities and now, some two years later, I can say that the class workbook is on my desk as I type. It is quite a handy and useful collection of items. I turn to it as a resource regularly.
To bring us both up to speed, I attended the Special Collections Librarianship course for two reasons. First, as a former bookseller and mid life career changer, my goal to become a special collections librarian would benefit from this course. Second, thanks to the great folks at the University of South Carolina, especially my advisor, Dr. Samantha Hastings, I was able to include the RBS course as part of my plan of study. It was Dr. Hastings who suggested I maintain a blog for the course and I enjoyed the task immensely.
And I meant to keep it up afterwards, but final classes and nearing graduation took over and I abandoned my post, as it were, until now.
What brings me back, you might ask? The answer is simple: I'm returning to Rare Book School this summer. This time I'm attending Mike Widener's course, Law Books: History & Connoisseurship, in my new role as Visiting Staff Librarian at West Virginia University's College of Law. I am currently serving as the Archives and Rare Book Librarian and it is a job I truly love. I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to do what I love and the support to continue my special collections education and further develop skills that will enhance my work.
So, you might be asking yourself, how did I occupy myself between courses at RBS? How have I filled the intervening time? Quite busily I must say. After graduation from USC I worked diligently to keep up my skills while also applying for positions in a very difficult market and I would recommend the following activities to any job searchers: I joined groups that suited my skills and interests, such as the Appalachian Studies Association, the Rare Books and Manuscripts division of ALA, West Virginia Library Association, SHARP, the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, APHA, the American Printing History Association, among others. I attended conferences, I networked with colleagues, and most importantly, I presented original research at each conference I attended. In short, I got my name out, I met people, I worked diligently on a research project and published the results.
The publication, "Portraits of Appalachia: The Identification of Stereotype in Publishers' Book Bindings, 1850 - 1915," was published in the Journal of Appalachian Studies, vol 15, Nos. 1 and 2, Spring and Fall 2009, is part of a long term research project that examines nineteenth century cultural attitudes as displayed on the covers of publishers' bookbindings. This research is based on my work as rare book room staff at WVU's Rare Book Room in the Wise Library at the Downtown campus, an independent study at USC, and the education I received from an earlier Rare Book School course, Publishers' Bookbindings, 1830 - 1910, taught by Sue Allen. The research focuses on the identification of stereotype on the covers of nineteenth century books on Appalachians and the Appalachian region. Other papers are in preparation for submission to journals and I am currently working on a book proposal for this line of research.
But by far the high point after graduation was receiving the call to work for WVU's College of Law as archivist and rare book librarian. As I mentioned earlier, this is a job I love. I have the pleasure of putting my skills to use and developing new ones. My work entails the arranging and describing of the papers of an eminent legal scholar, development of policies and procedures for the rare book room, conservation and preservation activities, research and rare book cataloging. Life is rich.
The next post will take a look at the pre-class readings for the RBS course. I am well along the way in my readings and I've made notes as I've read. I'll share them with you and we can once again, travel this road together.
While it's been some time since I last posted to this blog, I feel the need to strike the keys once again and continue traveling the long and winding road of my special collections journey.
When we last met, I had returned from a course at UVA's Rare Book School on Special Collections Librarianship, taught by Alice Schreyer. Each and every night I posted on the day's activities and now, some two years later, I can say that the class workbook is on my desk as I type. It is quite a handy and useful collection of items. I turn to it as a resource regularly.
To bring us both up to speed, I attended the Special Collections Librarianship course for two reasons. First, as a former bookseller and mid life career changer, my goal to become a special collections librarian would benefit from this course. Second, thanks to the great folks at the University of South Carolina, especially my advisor, Dr. Samantha Hastings, I was able to include the RBS course as part of my plan of study. It was Dr. Hastings who suggested I maintain a blog for the course and I enjoyed the task immensely.
And I meant to keep it up afterwards, but final classes and nearing graduation took over and I abandoned my post, as it were, until now.
What brings me back, you might ask? The answer is simple: I'm returning to Rare Book School this summer. This time I'm attending Mike Widener's course, Law Books: History & Connoisseurship, in my new role as Visiting Staff Librarian at West Virginia University's College of Law. I am currently serving as the Archives and Rare Book Librarian and it is a job I truly love. I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to do what I love and the support to continue my special collections education and further develop skills that will enhance my work.
So, you might be asking yourself, how did I occupy myself between courses at RBS? How have I filled the intervening time? Quite busily I must say. After graduation from USC I worked diligently to keep up my skills while also applying for positions in a very difficult market and I would recommend the following activities to any job searchers: I joined groups that suited my skills and interests, such as the Appalachian Studies Association, the Rare Books and Manuscripts division of ALA, West Virginia Library Association, SHARP, the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, APHA, the American Printing History Association, among others. I attended conferences, I networked with colleagues, and most importantly, I presented original research at each conference I attended. In short, I got my name out, I met people, I worked diligently on a research project and published the results.
The publication, "Portraits of Appalachia: The Identification of Stereotype in Publishers' Book Bindings, 1850 - 1915," was published in the Journal of Appalachian Studies, vol 15, Nos. 1 and 2, Spring and Fall 2009, is part of a long term research project that examines nineteenth century cultural attitudes as displayed on the covers of publishers' bookbindings. This research is based on my work as rare book room staff at WVU's Rare Book Room in the Wise Library at the Downtown campus, an independent study at USC, and the education I received from an earlier Rare Book School course, Publishers' Bookbindings, 1830 - 1910, taught by Sue Allen. The research focuses on the identification of stereotype on the covers of nineteenth century books on Appalachians and the Appalachian region. Other papers are in preparation for submission to journals and I am currently working on a book proposal for this line of research.
But by far the high point after graduation was receiving the call to work for WVU's College of Law as archivist and rare book librarian. As I mentioned earlier, this is a job I love. I have the pleasure of putting my skills to use and developing new ones. My work entails the arranging and describing of the papers of an eminent legal scholar, development of policies and procedures for the rare book room, conservation and preservation activities, research and rare book cataloging. Life is rich.
The next post will take a look at the pre-class readings for the RBS course. I am well along the way in my readings and I've made notes as I've read. I'll share them with you and we can once again, travel this road together.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tying it all together
Today, August 6th, is the final class day for USC's Summer II term. I began the summer session with a preparatory reading list and the expectation of a great week at UVA's Rare Book School. The reading list provided a firm foundation for the comprehensive RBS course on special collections librarianship.
Today I was able to put everything I've learned at Rare Book School into perspective. Arriving at WVU's Rare Book Room this morning I learned from the curator that we were expecting visitors within the hour. Quickly the two of us decided on several books that would meet our groups' interests and highlight some of the strengths of our collections.
Our display covered the breath of the collections. Included were several fine volumes from our extensive Mark Twain collection, a variety of publishers' bindings from the 1870's - 1890's, a bible bound in pigskin and printed in both German and Latin from the 16th century, a 15th century folio missal from a Spanish monastery, assorted volumes from the 19th and 20th centuries featuring fore-edge treatments, a magnificent botanical from the 17th century whose plates are identified in five languages and a couple of 20th century books on local historical events in their original dust jackets.
A dozen septuagenarians and octogenarians, members of a local literary group led by one of the university's English professors arrived shortly for a tour of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection and the Rare Book Room. Their passion for literature and their deep regard for the items on display were evident by the terrific questions they posed about our collections.
Usually our visitors are undergraduate students accompanied by their professors or scholars working on research projects. Today's literary group was an exception to the norm, reminding me of the wide variety of visitors to special collections and the variety of ways we can serve their requests and needs.
The curator and I took turns discussing aspects of the collection, each of us speaking to our strengths and knowledge on specific subjects. Our discussions covered nearly every topic touched on at Rare Book School: collection development, donor relations and gifts, access, outreach and instruction, preservation and conservation.
From my perspective, today's visit proved to be a marvelous way to end the term. Everything discussed at Rare Book School was present and active in a tour tailored to our diverse audience. Our session ended with a note on the importance of special collections as an educational resource for everyone, including one special collections librarian in training.
Today I was able to put everything I've learned at Rare Book School into perspective. Arriving at WVU's Rare Book Room this morning I learned from the curator that we were expecting visitors within the hour. Quickly the two of us decided on several books that would meet our groups' interests and highlight some of the strengths of our collections.
Our display covered the breath of the collections. Included were several fine volumes from our extensive Mark Twain collection, a variety of publishers' bindings from the 1870's - 1890's, a bible bound in pigskin and printed in both German and Latin from the 16th century, a 15th century folio missal from a Spanish monastery, assorted volumes from the 19th and 20th centuries featuring fore-edge treatments, a magnificent botanical from the 17th century whose plates are identified in five languages and a couple of 20th century books on local historical events in their original dust jackets.
A dozen septuagenarians and octogenarians, members of a local literary group led by one of the university's English professors arrived shortly for a tour of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection and the Rare Book Room. Their passion for literature and their deep regard for the items on display were evident by the terrific questions they posed about our collections.
Usually our visitors are undergraduate students accompanied by their professors or scholars working on research projects. Today's literary group was an exception to the norm, reminding me of the wide variety of visitors to special collections and the variety of ways we can serve their requests and needs.
The curator and I took turns discussing aspects of the collection, each of us speaking to our strengths and knowledge on specific subjects. Our discussions covered nearly every topic touched on at Rare Book School: collection development, donor relations and gifts, access, outreach and instruction, preservation and conservation.
From my perspective, today's visit proved to be a marvelous way to end the term. Everything discussed at Rare Book School was present and active in a tour tailored to our diverse audience. Our session ended with a note on the importance of special collections as an educational resource for everyone, including one special collections librarian in training.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
To Summarize
Summer Session II has been an invigorating and exciting term of study. Having the opportunity to incorporate a course at UVA's Rare Book School into an independent study at USC has been of tremendous value to me. It can be difficult, as a distance student with the goal of becoming a rare book/special collections librarian, to fulfill those needs within the general plan of study. Flexibility at the institutional level as well as a desire to meet student needs is of profound importance. I have been the beneficiary of both at USC.
The RBS course on special collections librarianship, taught by Alice Schreyer, focused on several important themes:
The RBS course on special collections librarianship, taught by Alice Schreyer, focused on several important themes:
- Beginning with a definition of the term "special collections" and its use in the institutional context and culture; we consider special collections our cultural heritage community.
- Collection development exercises via book practicums helped us to develop an eye for collection needs and collection strengths.
- Access and public services are subjects of primary importance. These needs can be met through a variety of tools including reference, outreach, and instruction.
- Security as an issue to be considered when setting up exhibitions, public programs, and reading room rules and guidelines.
- Development as an increasing role of the special collections librarian, with a focus on donor relations and grants.
- Processing. Bringing hidden collections to the fore, cataloging materials, and providing metadata.
- Digitization. This is an area that will only increase over time. Libraries are no longer looking for the "special topic" for an exhibit but making digitization of materials an every day occurance for all special collections materials, not just the glitzy ones.
- Preservation and conservation. Definitions of these often interchanged terms and how best to assess and provide for the items under our care to ensure their use by future generations.
- The profession of special collections librarianship. The history, development and future of the profession.
This is a lot of ground to cover in a week's time. The reading list provided a strong background for the subject at hand. The workbook students received in class covers all the week's topics as well as documents and references that will prove to be an important on-the-job resource.
This class has provided each of us with a truly comprehensive look at the role of special collections in institutions and what it means to be special collections librarians.
There's a lot to do. Let's get started!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Best of the Blogs
At the beginning of the summer term I noted that blogging was completely new to me. This blog is my first and I have to say that I've enjoyed blogging immensely. Using the blog as a tool to convey lessons I've learned from the reading material and from my class time at Rare Book School has been, not only a fun approach to my education, but an excellent way to review the day's materials and collect my thoughts into a format that I can use and share with others.
As we're at the end of the semester, I thought I'd take a few moments to share some of my favorite library oriented blogs. The list is in no particular order.
1. Confessions of a Curator: A blog about Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University. http://niurarebooks.blogspot.com/. This blog, written by Lynne Thomas who serves as the Head of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University, is an excellent example of the type of rare book blog I'd like to work on as my next project. I'd love to report on new arrivals and old favorites from the rare book and special collections at WVU.
2. Free Range Librarian: K.G. Schneider’s blog on librarianship, writing, and everything else, since 2003. http://freerangelibrarian.com/. I've enjoyed reading this blog. I first learned of the song about a reference librarian, Addie Will Know, by the indie pop group SNMNMNM. Yes that's right, it's not misspelled. Really cute song. I think you'll like it.
3. The Lipstrick Librarian. http://www.lipsticklibrarian.com/. Fashion is very important to me too! Wearing 3 inch heels while negotiating a tricky book cart with a runaway wheel through the stacks? No problem. I've been there - time and time again. It's worth it. And as the blog says - She's bold, She's sassy, She's helpful! Yes, folks, she's our lipstick librarian!
4. Rare Books Sojourn. http://rbssojourn.blogspot.com/. Turns out another student in my class at Rare Book School was blogging his experiences too. I asked if I could link to the blog so I could share it with you.
5. Confessions of a Book Plate Junkie: http://bookplatejunkie.blogspot.com/. This blog is one of my favorites. I've recently become interested in bookplates. They can tell us so many things about the people who owned the book. Several binding designers also designed bookplates and I've been able to discover plates by two prominent women binding designers from the late 19th century, Margaret Armstrong and Bertha Stuart, in the rare book room collection. I can't wait to find more!
These blogs are enjoyable but they also manage to inform. And that's something we librarian types love, to be well informed on a wide range of subjects. Keep on bloggin'!
As we're at the end of the semester, I thought I'd take a few moments to share some of my favorite library oriented blogs. The list is in no particular order.
1. Confessions of a Curator: A blog about Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University. http://niurarebooks.blogspot.com/. This blog, written by Lynne Thomas who serves as the Head of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University, is an excellent example of the type of rare book blog I'd like to work on as my next project. I'd love to report on new arrivals and old favorites from the rare book and special collections at WVU.
2. Free Range Librarian: K.G. Schneider’s blog on librarianship, writing, and everything else, since 2003. http://freerangelibrarian.com/. I've enjoyed reading this blog. I first learned of the song about a reference librarian, Addie Will Know, by the indie pop group SNMNMNM. Yes that's right, it's not misspelled. Really cute song. I think you'll like it.
3. The Lipstrick Librarian. http://www.lipsticklibrarian.com/. Fashion is very important to me too! Wearing 3 inch heels while negotiating a tricky book cart with a runaway wheel through the stacks? No problem. I've been there - time and time again. It's worth it. And as the blog says - She's bold, She's sassy, She's helpful! Yes, folks, she's our lipstick librarian!
4. Rare Books Sojourn. http://rbssojourn.blogspot.com/. Turns out another student in my class at Rare Book School was blogging his experiences too. I asked if I could link to the blog so I could share it with you.
5. Confessions of a Book Plate Junkie: http://bookplatejunkie.blogspot.com/. This blog is one of my favorites. I've recently become interested in bookplates. They can tell us so many things about the people who owned the book. Several binding designers also designed bookplates and I've been able to discover plates by two prominent women binding designers from the late 19th century, Margaret Armstrong and Bertha Stuart, in the rare book room collection. I can't wait to find more!
These blogs are enjoyable but they also manage to inform. And that's something we librarian types love, to be well informed on a wide range of subjects. Keep on bloggin'!
Friday, August 1, 2008
On the road again
I'm heading out on the road again in a few minutes. This time my destination is Manchester, New Hampshire. I'm attending a family wedding. It will be great to see friends and family again. My husband and I are driving so it should be a great, but very long, road trip. I love the scenic route and I've packed plenty of cds.
Mulling over my post on archives last night I realized I'd failed to mention an important article that is driving archives these days. Greene/Meisner's More Product, Less Process is definitely on my archives reading list. I can download a copy once I return to the library next week. This article will provide a good background for the current archives environment.
This article may also provide a prospective from the archives viewpoint on hidden collections; a hot topic these days no matter which side of the aisle you're on. I'm looking forward to reading it.
I'll be posting again on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Mulling over my post on archives last night I realized I'd failed to mention an important article that is driving archives these days. Greene/Meisner's More Product, Less Process is definitely on my archives reading list. I can download a copy once I return to the library next week. This article will provide a good background for the current archives environment.
This article may also provide a prospective from the archives viewpoint on hidden collections; a hot topic these days no matter which side of the aisle you're on. I'm looking forward to reading it.
I'll be posting again on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
All about Archives
My goal this week was to learn more about archives. I began my quest with the folks in special collections.
An archivist recently joined our staff within the last year. I thought she would make a terrific starting point for my archival quest and I was right! Not only was she pleased that I asked about her job, but she was more than willing to share her work with me.
Currently she's working on the Breece D'J Pancake papers. Pancake was a highly regarded short story writer from West Virginia. His death is largely considered a suicide but others believe it was an accident. She's promised to show me how she processed the collection and created the finding aid.
We talked about some important concepts in the archives world, such as EAD and DACS. She also loaned me a book from her library, Arranging & Describing Archives & Manuscripts by Kathleen D. Roe. She said Roe's book is a good introductory text. It will serve me well as a starting point. I'm looking forward to delving into the book and familiarizing myself with the principles of archival work.
I also learned that there's an archives course offered at WVU through the public history program. That may be an option for me to consider. The special collections archivist taught courses in archives at her previous institution. In short order I've been able to locate some excellent resources for a little archival education right in my own back yard.
I also checked out the SAA site, http://www.archivists.org/, The Society of American Archivist. SAA offers some continuing education woekshops. There's one planned for August 24th at the conference in San Francisco called Understanding Archives: An Introduction to Principles and Practices. I'd love to enroll in that session. Unfortunately the conference is held during the first week of class for USC. I'm sure there'll be other opportunities in the future. But I've got lots of opportunities available to me right now.
Last but certainly not least I can check into course offerings at USC. One of my professors for the fall term is an archivist and she'll be a good resource too. It looks like I'm going to learn a lot about archives!
An archivist recently joined our staff within the last year. I thought she would make a terrific starting point for my archival quest and I was right! Not only was she pleased that I asked about her job, but she was more than willing to share her work with me.
Currently she's working on the Breece D'J Pancake papers. Pancake was a highly regarded short story writer from West Virginia. His death is largely considered a suicide but others believe it was an accident. She's promised to show me how she processed the collection and created the finding aid.
We talked about some important concepts in the archives world, such as EAD and DACS. She also loaned me a book from her library, Arranging & Describing Archives & Manuscripts by Kathleen D. Roe. She said Roe's book is a good introductory text. It will serve me well as a starting point. I'm looking forward to delving into the book and familiarizing myself with the principles of archival work.
I also learned that there's an archives course offered at WVU through the public history program. That may be an option for me to consider. The special collections archivist taught courses in archives at her previous institution. In short order I've been able to locate some excellent resources for a little archival education right in my own back yard.
I also checked out the SAA site, http://www.archivists.org/, The Society of American Archivist. SAA offers some continuing education woekshops. There's one planned for August 24th at the conference in San Francisco called Understanding Archives: An Introduction to Principles and Practices. I'd love to enroll in that session. Unfortunately the conference is held during the first week of class for USC. I'm sure there'll be other opportunities in the future. But I've got lots of opportunities available to me right now.
Last but certainly not least I can check into course offerings at USC. One of my professors for the fall term is an archivist and she'll be a good resource too. It looks like I'm going to learn a lot about archives!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Back to work
After an entire day spent laboring over mountains of laundry and a bit of relaxation tucked into odd moments I was ready to return to work today.
I don't know if I can adequately describe what it feels like to unlock the door to the Rare Book Room, swing it wide and step inside. It's a Dorothy kind of moment for me. Every day I feel like I'm walking into a land of delights. I've often described this feeling as akin to a settler in an undiscovered country - just so much to explore! I had that same feeling when I entered the RBR, as I call it, today.
Now that I'm home and back at work I've gone through my notes and created some short lists of topics I'd like to explore:
I don't know if I can adequately describe what it feels like to unlock the door to the Rare Book Room, swing it wide and step inside. It's a Dorothy kind of moment for me. Every day I feel like I'm walking into a land of delights. I've often described this feeling as akin to a settler in an undiscovered country - just so much to explore! I had that same feeling when I entered the RBR, as I call it, today.
Now that I'm home and back at work I've gone through my notes and created some short lists of topics I'd like to explore:
1. Instructional ideas:
- Invite new faculty to tour special collections and share the rare book pedagogy model developed by an English professor designed to assist faculty and introduce students to primary source materials.
- Host an open house in special collections for new students during orientation. Students are given a tour of the library, so why not include a visit to special collections?
- Initiate a student book collector's contest. I plan to enter the collector's contest at USC. Offering the contest at my institution will foster scholarship, create a new class of future donors and expose students to the world of books.
2. Guidelines:
- Examine the rules currently in place for the reading room and suggest adjustments, if needed.
- Compare security guidelines to those discussed in class. Consider options addressed during class for adoption, if needed.
3. Archives:
- Seek information about archives and archivists.
- Search for ways to gain experience in archives.
4. Join!
- RBMS
- SAA
- ALA
One of the best ways to meet people, keep current on issues and learn more about a field is to join a professional organization. I spoke with several folks during my week at RBS who had joined one or more of these groups and worked on committees. Everyone of them urged me to participate. It's the next step on the way to my professional development.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Donor Relations
Now that I'm home I'd like to take a closer look at Friday's class. We began the day with a discussion about donor relations that focused on copyright issues and the essential document, a deed of gift. Takeaway points include:
- Never take anything on deposit without a deed of gift stating terms of copyright holdings.
- Don't accept anything with permanent restrictions. Restraints of this nature relegate your gift to storage with no further opportunities for use.
- Short restrictions are acceptable. For example, personal letters cannot be published during the author's lifetime due to privacy issues.
- Know what to keep and what to throw away! The deed of gift should cover disposal of items that have no value. Options include returning them to the donor or throwing them away, but you can do neither of these without a well defined deed of gift.
Some details of donor relations amount to pure common sense such as sending the donor a formal thank you note denoting the contents of the gift. After all, that's how mother taught me to write a thank you note. Further acknowledgements may take the form of bookplates, exhibitions, both physical and virtual, as well as publications.
Appraisals are part of the gift process. Several good points were discussed including:
- Librarians cannot appraise the gift, neither can the institution due to conflict of interest issues.
- The IRS form 8283 is used by the appraiser. If a gift is under $5,000 the form is not required.
- Librarians cannot recommend an appraiser but can provide a list of qualified appraisers.
- Contrary to popular belief, the IRS does not prohibit libraries paying for appraisals.
We closed the day with the mystery book exercise. This time there was an additional question: Would the book at hand be added to special collections or would it be returned to the open stacks?
The first time we used the mystery book exercise (see Tuesday, July 22nd post) it was to familarize ourselves with a new way of examing a book. This time the application was to examine the book for suitablility for special collections, providing yet another way to view the book.
It was a great way to end the week. We'll be taking everything we've learned home with us and applying the lessons to our daily activities.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Home again
I think it was Paul Simon who said "Gee, it's great to be back home!" That's pretty much how I feel. It is, indeed, great to be back home.
The week I've spent at Rare Book School has been well worth it. I have a notebook full of ideas to plow through and organize into bits and bites that I'll incorporate into my work in the Rare Book Room at WVU. Our instruct0r, Alice Schreyer, provided each member of the class with a comprehensive workbook covering everything we discussed in class. I'm looking forward to spending more time with it. I'll be taking it to work with me where it will serve as a reference, like the workbooks for the other RBS courses I've taken.
One of the most memorable and impressive exhibits I saw last week was Terry Belanger's interpretation of John Carter's ABC for Book Collectors in 3-D! Carter's text is not illustrated and readers have often wished for pictures to define the descriptions. Rare Book School has done an admirable job creating what they refer to as 3-D Carter by compiling a collection of books to match each description. Just pick out a term from Carter, such as 'gauffered edges" found on page 113, then search a shelf at Rare Book School to find the corresponding book illustrating the term. I was delighted to locate three fine examples of "gauffered edges" on the Carter bookcase.
The week I've spent at Rare Book School has been well worth it. I have a notebook full of ideas to plow through and organize into bits and bites that I'll incorporate into my work in the Rare Book Room at WVU. Our instruct0r, Alice Schreyer, provided each member of the class with a comprehensive workbook covering everything we discussed in class. I'm looking forward to spending more time with it. I'll be taking it to work with me where it will serve as a reference, like the workbooks for the other RBS courses I've taken.
One of the most memorable and impressive exhibits I saw last week was Terry Belanger's interpretation of John Carter's ABC for Book Collectors in 3-D! Carter's text is not illustrated and readers have often wished for pictures to define the descriptions. Rare Book School has done an admirable job creating what they refer to as 3-D Carter by compiling a collection of books to match each description. Just pick out a term from Carter, such as 'gauffered edges" found on page 113, then search a shelf at Rare Book School to find the corresponding book illustrating the term. I was delighted to locate three fine examples of "gauffered edges" on the Carter bookcase.
Gauffred or Gauffred, or Goffered Edges
Gilt (or silvered) edges decorated by the impression of heated tools, usually of the Pointille type.
This is a fine description and serves as a simple explanation of the term but the reader simply has no idea how beautiful gauffered edges can be until an example, or two or three of varying patterns, has been examined. Click here for an example: http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_e.cfm. Viewing an image is great, but seeing examples first hand is the best way to understand terminology and broaden experience. Belanger's Carter in 3-D is an extremely helpful tool. I spent a good deal of time on Wednesday's Study Night examing as many items as I could. Carter in 3-D is a terrific resource.
And yes, it's great to be back home!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Parting is such sweet sorrow . . .
The final reception is in progress downstairs in the RBS Press Room. Terry stands behind wine bottles at the makeshift bar. Students and teachers exchange cards, nibble on fruit and cheese and say their goodbyes. Many are lined up to purchase t-shirts, mugs, books, and tote bags, all bearing the image of the RBS Lion.
The origin of the RBS logo, the Lion Rampant, is from an actual wire paper making mold from the hand press period. I've wondered where it came from and was delighted to have it identified last summer in the Introduction to Descriptive Bibliography course taught by Richard Nobel and David Gantz. This is a terrific course and I highly recommend it. (Read everything before you come, many times!)
In fact, Richard Noble is downstairs now. He's here preparing for Des. Bib., as it's referred to here. He teaches it next week. This week's courses are over but next week's are just beginning. It's a full season here at RBS.
There's still much to talk about from today's class. I'd like to spend some time on RBS's version of Carter's ABC for Book Collectiors in 3-D too. But time is short. I've got to pack and hit the road. I'm traveling this weekend so there'll be a mini-blog vacation. We'll pick up where we left off next week when I return home.
In the meantime . . . parting is such sweet sorrow . . .
The origin of the RBS logo, the Lion Rampant, is from an actual wire paper making mold from the hand press period. I've wondered where it came from and was delighted to have it identified last summer in the Introduction to Descriptive Bibliography course taught by Richard Nobel and David Gantz. This is a terrific course and I highly recommend it. (Read everything before you come, many times!)
In fact, Richard Noble is downstairs now. He's here preparing for Des. Bib., as it's referred to here. He teaches it next week. This week's courses are over but next week's are just beginning. It's a full season here at RBS.
There's still much to talk about from today's class. I'd like to spend some time on RBS's version of Carter's ABC for Book Collectiors in 3-D too. But time is short. I've got to pack and hit the road. I'm traveling this weekend so there'll be a mini-blog vacation. We'll pick up where we left off next week when I return home.
In the meantime . . . parting is such sweet sorrow . . .
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Last call
Thursday night. My last evening at RBS. It's beautiful this evening. Ribbons of crimson clouds stretch across the dusky sky. It's a wonderful night to be outside.
Tonight is Bookseller Night at RBS. Most booksellers, and there are quite a few here, stay open late for RBS students. Downtown is just a mile away and I walked with a friend I met here last year. I guess you could say we're serial RBS students. Both of us are attending for the third time. We had a great time strolling downtown, poping in and out fo shops, seeing classmates everywhere we went. We stopped for dinner at Basil on the way back. I love that place. After a week loaded with carbs it's pure delight to have one of their incredible salads!
I'm taking a few books back home with me. I was pleased to find a bright first edition of Gordon Keith, by Thomas Nelson Page, in the binding designed by Margaret Armstrong. Bindings by Miss Armstrong are the strength of my personal collection. I hope to find all 345 bindings designed by her. I'll add this one to the entry I'm preparing for USC's Student Book Collector's contest next spring.
But enough about that. It's time to return to work and the day's work was exhilierating. The discussion began with donor relations. It can be a tricky business, dealing with donors. Personal collections are just that, personal. A collection is representative of a person's point of view, their own take on what' s important and that can make donor relationships challenging. It was said that the number one reason donors give their collections to institutions is to keep them together, in tact and away from the children. Yes, donors have the most to fear from their own children. After all, it's not their collection and they're more than likely to break it up and sell it. Shivers!
Security was a big issue as well. Discussion centered on several easy solutions to common problems that could enhance security in reading rooms including:
Tonight is Bookseller Night at RBS. Most booksellers, and there are quite a few here, stay open late for RBS students. Downtown is just a mile away and I walked with a friend I met here last year. I guess you could say we're serial RBS students. Both of us are attending for the third time. We had a great time strolling downtown, poping in and out fo shops, seeing classmates everywhere we went. We stopped for dinner at Basil on the way back. I love that place. After a week loaded with carbs it's pure delight to have one of their incredible salads!
I'm taking a few books back home with me. I was pleased to find a bright first edition of Gordon Keith, by Thomas Nelson Page, in the binding designed by Margaret Armstrong. Bindings by Miss Armstrong are the strength of my personal collection. I hope to find all 345 bindings designed by her. I'll add this one to the entry I'm preparing for USC's Student Book Collector's contest next spring.
But enough about that. It's time to return to work and the day's work was exhilierating. The discussion began with donor relations. It can be a tricky business, dealing with donors. Personal collections are just that, personal. A collection is representative of a person's point of view, their own take on what' s important and that can make donor relationships challenging. It was said that the number one reason donors give their collections to institutions is to keep them together, in tact and away from the children. Yes, donors have the most to fear from their own children. After all, it's not their collection and they're more than likely to break it up and sell it. Shivers!
Security was a big issue as well. Discussion centered on several easy solutions to common problems that could enhance security in reading rooms including:
- Registration: Know who's using your collection.
- Keys: Sign in and out, know who has what key and when.
- Item requests: limit the number of items a patron can request.
- Enclosures: Remove all items from boxes to prevent theft.
- Folders: Archival materials should be dispensed one folder at a time.
- Marking: All items must bear marks of ownership.
- Inventory control: Know what you have and you'll know if it's missing.
- Detailed records: Should theft occur, detailed records will help in identification.
The afternoon session was packed with presentations, exercises and a visit to the digitization center. After viewing the digitizing facility I believe all of us came away with what has been referred to among some students as "equipment envy." A 24 foot long flatbed scanner called the Cruse scanner was designed for maps. Two fine Digibook scanners were facing retirement due to incoming upgrades. There was also a terrific digital camera set up and yes, a couple of standard table top flat bed scanners.
With all this equipment the digitizing center is able to produce 3 - 400,000 images a year. It's not all online though. There is a roadblock to their progress and it's called metadata. This is somethiing that they're still working on and conversations about this subject tended toward the revolutionary. According to our host, cataloging will take up the metadata work for scanned images but the detail level of records will be greatly reduced in an effort to get the material online. This is their prediction for the future, all records will be at a minimum level for all materials, print included. It's going to be a different world.
There was also lots of discussion about digital repositories for managing digital images. Fedora is used here at UVA.
The afternoon was all about archives after that. Jackie Dooley at UC Irvine, who teaches a new course this year, Archives for Rare Book Librarians, discussed tools and processing. I found this conversation to be very interesting. I haven't had any experience with archives and was unclear about the means of processing a collection. Jackie did an excellent job explaining the process to non-archivists. I'm moving her class to the top of my RBS class list.
We closed the class day with an exercise. Jackie's class joined ours and we divided into groups of three. We were given three web sites and a specific item to search for at each site. The next step was to rank the sites for ease of use, define the best features in three short sentences and then draw a wireframe representing our design for the interface. Lots of fun and very helpful when considering usability studies for university sites.
Tomorrow's our final class day. Soon we'll head back to our lives, our work and our familiies. But we won't leave empty handed, we'll be taking so much back with us.
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