SOAR-ing

Before I head north to Virginia, however, I am going to be coordinating the Libraries' tours for SOAR (Student Orientation, Advising and Registration) over the next few weeks. Between now and July 1, we have 24 tour slots scheduled. last years we got swamped by the visitors--at one point, before I found a colleague to help out, I was facing 67 smiling faces in a single group !! Although my voice does carry, we broke it into two smaller batches, and they were still pretty large.

This year we are assuming that two folks will be the minimum for that morning slot, and so should be better prepared. (If you never see another post here, you will know that I was horribly wrong !! )

Summertime in Charlottesville, VA

One of my" big adventures" this summer is going up to the Rare Book School  at U Va in Charlottesville, VA. I will be up there a week, living on "The Lawn" a rustic area of The Grounds. (You can never use the word "campus" to describe the UVA campus, I have learned.)  "Rustic" means, in this case, that bathrooms and bathing facilities are"a ways" from the rooms, although I could be staying near the room Edgar Allan Poe (I call him "Eddie") lived in. Oh, and did I mention, NO air conditioning (although I am sure it will be QUITE COOL in the Special Collection rooms.)

The course I am taking, Publishers’ Bookbindings, 1830-1910 is taught by the recognized expert in this field, Sue Allen, and I should learn a lot about the previous history and broader context of the Amy Sacker covers I have been studying for years.  And a chance to see the materials in U Va's Alderman Library should be a great treat, too.  And apparently there are "a few" interesting bookstores near campus as well !!