UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies on July 31 launched the California Rare Book School, a continuing-education program that provides training for students and professionals in the field of rare books and manuscripts.

The school, housed in the UCLA Department of Information Studies, offers five intensive, hands-on weeklong courses on the history of books and printing, rare book librarianship, and related subjects, including descriptive bibliography, illustration, cataloging and the history of the book in the American West.

In some courses, students will have the opportunity to take field trips to some of the Los Angeles area's important special collections, such as those housed at the Getty Center; the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens; and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian.

"We are honored to house the new California Rare Book School at the Department of Information Studies at UCLA," said Beverly P. Lynch, UCLA professor of information studies and founding director of the new school. "This development comes at a time of renewed interest in special collections, coupled with a growing need for training in the field of rare books and manuscripts."

Classes are limited to 15 students, and anyone can apply to enroll in the school. This year's attendees include curators, rare-book librarians, academics, antiquarian booksellers, book conservators and binders, book collectors, and students. The California Rare Book School is the only continuing-education program currently operating in the western United States that offers specific rare book and manuscript education and training.

One of 11 professional schools at UCLA, the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies consists of two academic departments: the department of education and the department of information studies. The Graduate School of Education was founded in 1939, and the School of Library Service was founded in 1958. The two schools merged in 1994.
For additional information about the California Rare Book School, including course descriptions, faculty profiles and application instructions, please visit www.calrbs.org, or contact the administrator at calrbs@gseis.ucla.edu.

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