The University of London’s Institute of English Studies announces the 
first London Rare Books School (LRBS), a series of four-day, intensive 
courses on a variety of book-related subjects. The courses will be taught 
by internationally-known scholars associated with the Institute’s Centre 
for Manuscript and Print Studies, using the unrivalled library and museum 
resources of London, including the British Library, the British Museum, 
the Victoria and Albert Museum, the University of London Research Library 
Services, and many more. All courses will stress the materiality of the 
book so you can expect to have close encounters with remarkable books from 
some of the world's greatest collections.

Each class will be restricted to no more twelve students in order to 
ensure that everyone has plenty of opportunity to talk to the teachers and 
to get very close to the books.

In its first year the LRBS will be running in just one week: 23-26 July 
2007. The courses (note that the titles themselves are provisional) that 
are currently planned for 2007 are:

1 The Medieval Book (Course Tutor: Professor Michelle Brown)

2 A History of Bookbinding (Course Tutor: Professor Nicholas Pickwoad)

3 A History of Writing 2000BC-2000AD (Various tutors)

4 The Italian Book to 1600 (Course Tutor: Professor Jane Everson)

5 The History of the Printed Book in the West 1455-2000 (Course Tutor: 
Professor John Feather)

One or two courses may be added to this list in the next month or so.

Each course will consist of ten two-hour seminars spread between Monday 
lunchtime and Thursday afternoon. There will be a full evening programme 
with an opening reception and talk, a major book history lecture given by 
a celebrated scholar, and a reception hosted by a major London antiquarian 
bookseller. For those able to stay on to the Friday there will be a guided 
visit to the libraries of Oxford.

We expect to offer postgraduate credit for these courses at the Institute, 
which is one of the ten member-Institutes of the University of London’s 
School of Advanced Study. In order to achieve the award of credit a 
student will have to complete and pass a 5,000 word essay within two 
months of the course (an extra fee to cover marking will be charged).

The fee will be in the region of £500 which will include the provision of 
lunch and coffee and tea through the four days. There may be some 
bursaries available, details will be provided later.

A range of accommodation will be available including cheap student housing 
(on a bed and breakfast basis) close by Senate House where the LRBS will 
have its home; Senate House is next to the British Museum in the heart of 
Bloomsbury.

Application forms will be available in the next month or two but you are 
invited to register your interest in a course or courses now (given the 
likely demand you would be well-advised to list a second choice). Those 
who register now will be the first to receive application forms. You can 
register your interest in LRBS by emailing your name and address (with an 
indication of preferred courses) to: [log in to unmask] Further details 
can be found at http://ies.sas.ac.uk/