Rare Book Cataloging and Descriptive Bibliography: Spring 2016

Instructor:

J. Fernando Peña

School:

Long Island University

Semester:

Spring 2016

Description:

The purpose of this course is to expose students to the fundamentals of descriptive bibliography and to teach them to prepare detailed descriptions of printed books using these methods as well as library cataloging rules established by Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) (DCRM(B)). Lectures, videos, and rare books in the Grolier Club’s collection will be used to illustrate the physical characteristics of printed books (e.g., paper, typography, illustration processes, and binding); presswork and other production processes (e.g., composition, typesetting, and imposition); and the life of the book after its production, especially provenance evidence from inscriptions, bookplates, and other unique marks. Emphasis will be placed on developing a technical vocabulary to describe the physical aspects of printed books.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to create detailed catalog descriptions of printed books and other special collections material according to descriptive bibliographical principles and DCRM(B) standards. Students will also gain a good grounding in the theory and methods of descriptive bibliography, learn how it informs and differs from rare book cataloging, and evaluate current cataloging practices and online retrieval systems on the basis of their treatment of printed books and other special collections material.

Required Textbook:

Carter, John. 2006. ABC for Book Collectors, 8th ed. Download.
Library of Congress. 2011. Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books). Download.
Gaskell, Philip. 1995. A New Introduction to Bibliography.

Link to Syllabus:

http://palmerblog.liu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/709-Rare-Book-Cataloging-and-Desc.-Bib.-Pena-Spring-2016.pdf

Art Librarianship: Summer 2016

Instructor:

Stephen J. Bury

School:

Palmer School

Semester:

Summer 2016

Description:

Students will be introduced to all aspects of art librarianship, with an emphasis on reference and collection development issues. Field trips will supplement in-class lectures, exercises, and hands-on practice with print sources and databases for art, architecture, and design research.

This course will look at the art information world from the perspective of four types of users – the artist, dealer, art historian and museum or gallery curator. We will visit an auction house, an art foundation archive, art history library, and a museum library. There will also be a focus on four corresponding categories of material – the artist’s book, auction catalogue, catalogue raisonné and exhibition catalogue. We will see how these have changed over time and are changing (or not) in our increasingly digital world. We will look at the roles of art information specialists and librarians in different types of institutions and examine the question of whether or not art librarianship is a discrete sub-discipline

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://palmerblog.liu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/612-Art-Librarianship-Bury-Summer-2016.pdf

Great Collections of New York: Fall 2016

Instructor:

Vincent M. Livoti

School:

Long Island University

Semester:

Fall 2016

Description:

This course introduces students to issues surrounding the curation of special collections in architecturally or historically significant physical spaces in New York City. It does so through guided visits to repositories representing a range of historical types of libraries. During the course of these visits, students will see spectacular examples from major collections, become aware of the contexts of these collections, and develop an understanding of the “sense of place” associated with each collection. Their own observations will be enriched by the explanations of curators about opportunities and limitations of these special settings in regard to collection care, preservation, and services.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://palmerblog.liu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/LIS-519-FA16-NYU-Livoti.pdf

Special Collections: Fall 2014

Instructor:

Douglas McElrath

School:

iSchool at Maryland

Semester:

Fall 2014

Description:

This course will explore key issues in managing library-based special collections. From traditional book and paper formats to digital media, special collections in libraries and other cultural institutions are essential source materials that preserve important bodies of information and promote scholarship. Curators of special collections employ a variety of techniques and approaches to identify, acquire, preserve, describe, and make accessible these materials. While the various formats and types of materials in special collections have some unique characteristics, this class will explore commonalities. Finally, special collections curators are facing new challenges due to emerging technologies and changing perceptions about the purpose and value of collections. We will discuss some of these issues and explore how special collections curatorship in the 21st century is evolving.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://ischool.umd.edu/sites/default/files/syllabi/syllabus-2014-2_0.pdf

Rare Books: Summer 2012

Instructor:

Philip B. Eppard

School:

University at Albany

Semester:

Summer 2012

Description:

Introduction to the handling and development of rare book collecting; conservation and preservation; terminology and principles of bibliographic description; the antiquarian book trade; the history of rare book collection; important collections.

Required Textbook:

Carter, J., Barker, N. 2004. ABC for Book Collectors.

Link to Syllabus:

http://www.albany.edu/informationstudies/files/IST655_Eppard_Summer2012.pdf

Rare Book Librarianship: Fall 2014

Instructor:

Lynn Ann Davis

School:

University of Hawaii

Semester:

Fall 2014

Description:

Rare book librarianship is an object-based discipline and relies upon keen observational skills, as well as historical knowledge. By carefully examining physical aspects of a book (paper, typography-printer, illustration, binding, provenance, etc.) you can understand aspects of its history in addition to the text. The UHM Library’s Rare Book collection will be the primary class resource for examining aspects of the printed book in the West from the 15th century through the 20th century. The fundamentals of defining and developing rare book collection policy will be considered as well as creating a place for rare book collections in today’s landscape of knowledge and information literacy.

Required Textbook:

Galbraith, S. K., Smith, G. D. 2012. Rare Book Librarianship: An Introduction and Guide.

Link to Syllabus:

http://www.hawaii.edu/lis/content/syllabi/693_Davis_RareBooks_f2014.doc

Pacific Islands Information Resources: Summer 2012

Instructor:

Stuart Dawrs

School:

University of Hawaii

Semester:

Summer 2012

Description:

Introduces students to Pacific Islands resources with an emphasis on reference works, databases and web sites. We examine area focus and subject bibliographies, handbooks,directories, indexes, statistical sources and serials. Through lectures and guest speakers we cover special topics: current issues in the contemporary Pacific, regional organizations, island biography, publishing, acquisitions sources, library development in the Pacific setting, science sources, the nature of archival research, Pacific Islands film,indigenous literature, and others. On a practical level, this course is designed to build proficiency in the use of Pacific Islands research materials in general and the Pacific Collection at Hamilton Library in particular; at the same time, it is meant to enhance students’ understanding of the profession as practiced by academic librarians in a special collections setting.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://www.hawaii.edu/lis/content/syllabi/688_dawrs-kleiber_SS12.pdf

Survey of Digitization: Fall 2014

Instructor:

Tanya E. Clement

School:

University of Texas at Austin

Semester:

Fall 2014

Description:

Introduction to the issues and trends in digitization initiatives and management, including project planning and management, asset delivery and management systems, interoperability and the importance of standards, copyright and other legal issues, metadata basics, digital preservation, and specific digitization processes for documents, images, sound, and video. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/images/webform/SoDFall2014Syllabus.pdf

Descriptive Traditions In Cultural Heritage Institutions: Fall 2014

Instructor:

Melanie Feinberg

School:

University of Texas at Austin

Semester:

Fall 2014

Description:

This course comprises a critical, comparative examination of the concept of description and its institutionalization, in the form of metadata standards, rules, and formats, in three primary contexts: libraries, archives, and museums. We will investigate the conceptual foundations and goals of description in each context and the structures (guidelines, technologies) that have been developed to facilitate institutional goals.

We will also explore emerging challenges to traditional models of description, focusing on potential convergence of descriptive efforts in digital environments. We will examine initiatives to create integrative infrastructures across cultural heritage environments, and we will ponder the incorporation of “data” in cultural heritage collections as well as “documents.” We will also think about the nature of description (that is, metadata) and the status of traditional distinctions between description and its object (that is, between metadata and data, or metadata and document).

The course will not emphasize the practice of creating descriptive metadata in any current environment (that is, you will not learn how to create library catalog records or archival finding aids according to existing content and technical standards). Instead, the course will focus on understanding and interrogating the conceptual foundations of existing standards and guidelines for such descriptions. We will emphasize rigorous and spirited analysis of these descriptive paradigms and their continued utility in a rapidly changing information landscape.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/images/webform/INF%20384M%20syllabus%20fall%202014.pdf

Managing Ephemera in Libraries, Archives, and Museums: Summer 2013

Instructor:

Henry Raine

School:

Long Island University

Semester:

Summer 2013

Description:

The course will provide an overview of ephemera collections and their management in libraries and archives. It will consist of half-day lectures, exercises, and discussions, and half-day tours of ephemera collections at institutions around New York City. In-class topics will include understanding and identifying different types of ephemera, the history of ephemera in relation to print culture and the history of printing and publishing practices, the relationship of ephemera to other materials in library and archival collections, the collecting and acquisition of contemporary and historical ephemera, the cataloging, processing, and housing of ephemera collections, how to provide access to ephemera in a library or archives reading room, security issues, the potential uses and research value of ephemera collections, and the ephemera of the future. Field trips will include visits to the Grolier Club, the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Tamiment Library, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the New-York Historical Society. The course will be supplemented by readings from archivists and librarians, historians of printing, and other scholars who use ephemera in their research.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://palmerblog.liu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/LIS-901-003-Ephemera-syllabus-2013.pdf