THE BOOK ARTS PRESS INC

RARE BOOK SCHOOL ANNUALLY OFFERS APPROXIMATELY 40 WEEK-LONG COURSES IN THE STUDY, CARE, AND USES OF MANUSCRIPTS, PRINTED, AND BORN-DIGITAL MATERIALS. RBS OFFERED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2022 A FULL ROSTER OF COURSES BOTH ONLINE AND IIN-PERSON. IN FISCAL YEAR 2025, MORE THAN 560 STUDENTS TOOK 43 COURSES OFFERED ONLINE OR IN PERSON IN CHARLOTTESVILLE OR AT A PARTNER INSTITUTION, ENGAGING IN COURSE DISCUSSIONS, LECTURES, AND RECEPTIONS ACROSS A DIGITAL PLATFORM. IN A TYPICAL YEAR, LIBRARIANS, SCHOLARS, CONSERVATORS, BOOK DEALERS, STUDENTS, COLLECTORS, AND EDUCATORS STUDIED TOPICS THAT RANGED FROM MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS TO BOOKBINDING TO BORN-DIGITAL MATERIALS AND TEXTUAL ENCORDING. RARE BOOK SCHOOL ALSO PROVIDES AN ONGOING SERIES OF WIDELY ADVERTISED, FREE PUBLIC LECTURES (BOTH DURING SCHOOL SESSIONS AND AT OTHER TIMES DURING THE YEAR) ON A WIDE VARIETY OF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AND BOOK-HISTORICAL TOPICS. TO DATE, THE SCHOOL HAS PRESENTED APPROXIMATELY 685 LECTURES, MANY OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING ON ITUNES OR OTHER PODCAST APPS (BY SEARCHING FOR "RARE BOOK SCHOOL"). BEGINNING IN 2025, THESE LECTURES WERE MADE AVAILALBE VIA LIVESTREAM.

RARE BOOK SCHOOL (RBS) OWNS A TEACHING COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 100,000 ITEMS ACQUIRED FOR THE PURPOSE OF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INSTRUCTION. THE COLLECTION IS DESIGNED AS A TEACHING LABORATORY, NOT AS A LIBRARY. A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF THE SCHOOL'S HOLDINGS WERE PURCHASED FOR LESS THAN $75 PER ITEM, OR WERE RECEIVED AS GIFTS (E.G., AS DUPLICATE OR DISCARDED BOOKS FROM LIBRARIES; AS DONATIONS FROM ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS; AS CONTRIBUTIONS FROM FORMER STUDENTS; &C.).WHAT SETS RARE BOOK SCHOOL APART FROM OTHER PROGRAMS OF ITS KIND IS THE SCHOOL'S STRONG FOCUS ON BOOKS AS PHYSICAL OBJECTS. RBS COURSES CONVEY METHODS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORIES OF MATERIAL TEXTSTHEIR PRODUCTION, MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTION, AND RECEPTIONTHROUGH INTENSIVE, HANDS-ON INSTRUCTION WITH ORIGINAL ARTIFACTS INDIVIDUALLY INTERPRETED FOR PEDAGOGICAL USE.