Rare Book School

09/18/2026

Thanks to all who joined us on Thursday to celebrate the opening of our 𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 exhibition! We loved seeing everyone’s creativity!

𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 will be on view in the RBS gallery on the second floor of UVA’s Shannon Library through 13 November. Learn more about the exhibition at rarebookschool.org/exhibitions/objects-of-poetry

09/17/2026

Do you work at a U.S.-based SLAC or university under 7K students? Check out Rare Book School's 𝗠. 𝗖. 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀!

Designed for faculty, librarians, and curators at U.S. liberal arts colleges and small universities, the two-year Lang Fellowship transforms how instructors teach, equipping them with bibliographically informed methods that bring original historical documents into the classroom. Details at rarebookschool.org/scholarships-fellowships/mc-lang-fellowship.

Lang Fellowship applications are due by Sunday, 𝟲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 2026.

Applications are also open for all RBS-awarded scholarships. Applications for the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography (SoFCB) Junior Fellows Program will open on 5 October.

Explore our full list of funding opportunities at rarebookschool.org/scholarships-fellowships.

09/17/2026

TODAY!

Join us Thursday, 17 September, for special events hosted in conjunction with our 𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 exhibition, on view through 13 November on the second floor of UVA’s Shannon Library.

𝟯:𝟯𝟬 𝘁𝗼 𝟲:𝟬𝟬 𝗽.𝗺. — Drop-in poetry lounge with arts and crafts

𝟰:𝟬𝟬 𝘁𝗼 𝟰:𝟰𝟱 𝗽.𝗺. — Exhibition tour with the curators

𝟱:𝟬𝟬 𝘁𝗼 𝟲:𝟯𝟬 𝗽.𝗺. — Mocktail bar, puzzles & trivia with prizes

Free and open to the public. For further details, see https://rarebookschool.org/events/2026/09/objects-of-poetry-opening/

09/15/2026

Join us THURSDAY, 17 Sept., for the official opening of our 𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 exhibition!

09/10/2026

RBS alumna Sarah Wharton recently wrote in Harvard Law School (HLS) Library's 𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘴 about taking RBS's 2026 Oxford-based course Researching Medieval Manuscripts: From Cataloging to Cultural History (M-60) with David Rundle.

Wharton, who is Access Services Coordinator & Curatorial Associate for her library's Historical & Special Collections, describes the course as a career highlight. “It is a rare treat to take time out from a busy schedule to sit with, study, appreciate and learn from remarkable, and in this case, entirely unique materials," Wharton writes. Read more about her RBS experience at the link below.

https://hls.harvard.edu/amicus-libris/hls-librarian-explores-medieval-manuscripts-at-oxford-universitys-bodleian-libraries

Rare Book School is currently accepting applications for scholarships and our Lang Fellowship to support students attending RBS courses in 2027. Details at rarebookschool.org/scholarships-fellowships

In July, during one of England’s many heatwaves this summer, I attended “Researching Medieval Manuscripts: From Cataloging to Cultural History” at Rare Book School at Oxford University. Founded in 1983, Rare Book School (RBS) has been based at the University of Virginia since 1992 and offers...

09/08/2026

On this, the 60th anniversary of International Literacy Day, RBS joins UNESCO in celebrating “literacy for people, the planet and prosperity" by sharing a selection of children’s books on display in our current exhibition, 𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺. Which is your favorite?

Pictured:

𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘰-𝘗𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘺-𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘺. Illustrated by Harrison Weir. New York: Barton and Co., circa 1858.

𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘈𝘉𝘊. New York, Chicago, and Akron, Ohio: Saalfield Publishing Co., [1909]. Gift of Brenda and Charles Larsen.

𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴. Illustrated by A. E. Kennedy. New York: Sam Gabriel Sons and Co., [1911].

Randolph Caldecott. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵. New York: McLoughlin Brothers, circa 1880. Gift of Kristen Regina.

* * * * *

Join us on 𝟭𝟳 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 for the opening celebration of 𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺! Details at rarebookschool.org/public-programs.

09/03/2026

Are you in search of support to attend Rare Book School? You’re in luck! RBS is now accepting applications for the following:

—𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗕𝗦-𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 for both first-time and returning RBS students. See the Scholarships page on our website for descriptions of the various scholarships available. Scholarship applications are due by Sunday, 𝟭 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 2026.

—𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠. 𝗖. 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. Designed for faculty, librarians, and curators at U.S. liberal arts colleges and small universities, the two-year Lang Fellowship transforms how instructors teach, equipping them with bibliographically informed methods that bring original historical documents into the classroom. Lang Fellowship applications are due by Sunday, 𝟲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 2026.

Explore our full list of funding opportunities at rarebookschool.org/scholarships-fellowships.

Applications for the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography (SoFCB) Junior Fellows Program will open in early October.

08/28/2026

Do you like waiting until the last minute? Well, the last minute is here! Applications for our fall 2026 online courses will be closing soon, but there is still time to get an application in for one of the courses below before they start in mid-September:

𝗛-𝟭𝟴𝟬𝘃 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝟮𝟱𝟬𝘁𝗵
𝘛𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘺 Tara Bynum
𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩: 12 hours
𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴/𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴: 16 September – 21 October (Wednesdays 6–8 p.m. ET)

𝗟-𝟭𝟯𝟬𝘃 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
𝘛𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘺 Nancy Y. McGovern & Kari R. Smith
𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩: 12 hours
𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴/𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴:
—Asynchronous learning 8 September through 12 October
—First synchronous meeting during the week of 12 October
—Regular synchronous meetings 19 October – 4 November (Mondays and Wednesdays 6–8 p.m. ET)

Apply today! For more information, including how to apply, visit rarebookschool.org/courses.

08/19/2026

RBS will be at the Boston Book Fair again this November. We look forward to seeing many of you there!

Circle these dates for the ABAA's 48th Boston Book Fair / Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, the annual fall gathering for book lovers and collectors, in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay.

November 6-8, 2026
Hynes Convention Center
Boston, MA

This three-day event features fine and rare materials from around the globe, including manuscripts, modern first editions, childrens' books, ephemera, maps and autographs, as well as antiquarian books on a vast array of topics.

Daily & weekend tickets are available here: https://tinyurl.com/BIABF2026Tix

Whether you're a seasoned collector, curator, or just starting out, this event is a must-visit for booklovers of all kinds. Discover unique pieces of history and priceless treasures. See you there!

08/19/2026