Rare Book School establishes Directors Scholarship Fund

Terry Belanger, founding Director of Rare Book School
<URL:http://www.rarebookschool.org>, as well as University Professor
and Honorary Curator of Special Collections at the University of
Virginia, will be stepping down from these positions in the latter
half of 2009 to ensure a strong transition in the executive
leadership of RBS. Though UVa and the RBS Board of Directors have
not yet announced the name of Belanger's successor, the search is in
its final stages, and we expect to be able to do so within the next
few weeks.

For over three decades, Belanger (fondly known by his colleagues and
students as TB) has relentlessly championed those interested in
studying and preserving rare books and printing history. In 1972, he
established at Columbia University the Book Arts Press, a
bibliographical laboratory whose purpose was to support and train
librarians, book dealers, and other students who wished to work with
rare books by putting them into direct, guided contact with printed
materials of pedagogical value. In 1983, he instituted Rare Book
interdisciplinary needs of librarians, curators, academics, book
dealers, collectors, and others working with rare books and printing
artifacts. The school quickly attracted a most distinguished
national and international faculty, as well as a large number of
students who since have made lasting contributions to their fields.

The program moved to the University of Virginia in 1992, where it
continues to thrive. In 2005, TB was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship
for his work in "making the world a more secure place for the
irreplaceable legacy of the book." TB has been tremendously generous
with this award; over the last four years, he has given $316,000 in
cash to RBS from MacArthur and personal funds to help meet the
school's NEH Challenge Grant for a $1 million dollar endowment and
to support courses at RBS. (RBS's total annual tuition income covers
less than half of the direct cost of running the school.)

Through his hard work and generosity, TB has paved the way for the
school's continued success. The staff and faculty at RBS look
forward to welcoming RBS's next director, as well as continuing to
offer first-rate instruction for the many communities that have come
to depend on specialized courses like those offered at RBS.

Last month, seventeen long-time friends and associates of RBS sent
letters to those in the rare book community who have been especially
influenced by RBS and/or Belanger's work; the letters asked for
contributions for a Directors Scholarship Fund--money to be spent on
scholarships for students attending RBS in the next two to three
years. The money that RBS is receiving for the fund not only
recognizes TB's retirement as RBS director, but also serves to
welcome the school's next director. Considering the current
difficult economic environment, libraries and other institutions are
finding it increasingly difficult to provide funds to educate their
staff through professional development programs like those offered
by RBS. The Directors Scholarship Fund will help ensure continued
access to the specialized training that is necessary for the
custodianship and study of printing history.

We hope that the Directors Scholarship Fund will provide the
resources necessary to continue the school's important scholarship
program, and we invite you to visit our website to learn more about
its development or to make a contribution:

    <URL:http://www.rarebookschool.org/belanger/>

The full-time RBS staff:

    Danielle Culpepper
    Barbara Heritage
    Ryan L. Roth

Ryan L. Roth
Program Director, Rare Book School
114 Alderman Library
PO Box 400103
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22904-4103
434-924-8851


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:2
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 28, 2009
                        Message Id: cdl-23-2-003
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