Catholic University of America
School of Library and Information Science

CLSC 601: History of the Book
Summer 2005
Instructor: Erik Delfino
delfino@cua.edu
http://faculty.cua.edu/delfino/summer2005/601projects.html
rev. 7/11/05
Class Projects

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No, don't poke yourself in the eye; it's not that bad.  The projects are nothing you can't handle.  They are straightforward and will help expose you to various aspects of our topic.  They are designed to give you experience with things we won’t have time to cover in depth during class.
All the assignments are required, but they won’t all receive a grade, so don't panic.  The graded ones are listed below (*).

25%    Quiz on Unit I
25%    Quiz on Unit II
30%    Harry Potter project
20%    Class participation & assignments


Grading:

 

    All coursework that meets minimum assignment requirements will receive a grade of B or B+. Work of exceptional quality will receive an A- or A. Grades are based on oral and written assignments, the final project, and overall contributions to the class.

    Preferred format for written assignments is electronic (MSWord or WordPerfect; TimesRoman 12point), email attachments are fine.

    If you submit online, assignments are due before class on the due date; if you submit on disk (3.5" floppy Windows format) or print, assignments can be handed in in class.

    A word processor’s spell-check feature is your friend - please use it!

    At the risk of stating the obvious, it is expected that you will do your own work, that you will cite, attribute, and credit sources used and quoted.

    For bibliographies and lists of resources, use any citation format you prefer; just be consistent.

 


Monitoring Listservs

Due: Ongoing


Book history lists


Please subscribe to the following lists. We’ll often consider the messages in these lists in our class discussions.

 

SHARP-L

 

Send message to: listserv@listserv.indiana.edu

Message text: subscribe sharp-l yourfirstname yourlast name

 

This is the listserv of SHARP, the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing, a pre-eminent association in the history of the book field. Their web site is also a superb resource.

Web site: http://www.sharpweb.org

 

EXLIBRIS

Send message to: listproc@library.berkeley.edu

Message text: subscribe exlibris yourfirstname yourlastname

 

This is a main list in “rare book-dom.” It covers the books themselves, bibliography, preservation, antiquarian book selling and collecting, etc. It is more specialized and technical than SHARP-L, but as the semester goes along you will find that you “get” more and more of it.

Archives: http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/exlibris/

 

Optional:

 

BOOK_ARTS-L

Send message to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu

Message text: subscribe Book_Arts-L Yourfirstname Yourlastname

or online at:

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/bookarts/index.shtml#listinst

 

This is a list for those actively engaged in the craft of making fine books - letterpress printing, type founding, papermaking, bookbinding, etc. Although we won’t focus much on modern book arts during class, you may find these discussions (and the associated web site) interesting and helpful.  (This list generates lots of messages.)

*Quiz: Unit I

July 12

      This will be an in-class quiz to identify the various parts of a book by filling in a diagram and short answer definitions. Study guide (PDF). (HTML version)


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*Quiz: Unit II

July 26

      This will be an in-class quiz to identify terms associated with hand-press printing and short answer definitions.  Study guide.


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* Creating Book History: "Harry Potter and the Library of Tomorrow"
Due: Ongoing, and final presentation August 4


On July 16, 2005, the sixth book in the Harry Potter series will be released.  Since this will happen in the middle of our class, we have a unique opportunity to observe book history as it is being made.   Our major project for the class will involve gathering everything we can find about this event: links to web sites, articles, blogs, etc., in every aspect and from every perspective we can - publishing, business, libraries, fans, critics, etc.  More information (PDF)... (HTML version)

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Questions for our guest speakers
Due date: for Prof. Greco - Thu. July 21
Due date: for John Cole - Thu. July 28

Look over the prep material related to the talk by Prof. Al Greco on "The Market for Books in the US" (to be distributed in class), and the talk by John Cole on the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress (review the Center's web page).  Prepare 3 questions for each of the speakers and send these to the instructor via email.   These will be forwarded to the speakers in advance of their presentations.

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Just for Fun: Bookguys (NPR) and Booknotes (C-SPAN2)

Due: Totally optional

      As you can throughout the course, try listening to the “Bookguys” program on National Public Radio (WBJC in Baltimore - 91.5 FM - carries the program at 8:00pm on Saturdays) and if you have (or have access to) cable, watch the “Booknotes” program on C-SPAN2. Try to catch at least one episode “live” if you can. If not, listen/watch some archived programs from their respective web sites, http://www.secondstorybooks.com; http://www.booknotes.org; http://www.booktv.org. (“Bookguys” is produced right here in Washington and co-hosted by the owner of Second Story Books of DC, Bethesda, and Rockville.)

      As you listen/watch think about the purposes of the two shows, their intended audience(s), where the emphasis is (the physical book, the author, the reader, the book trade, etc.)


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