Volume 7, Number 2, Supplement
Education & Training
May 1983

E/T News

Two-Year Course of Study at Book Pathology Institute

The following information was provided by Cynthia Rockwell and Monica Garcia of ICCROM and published in the April issue of CAN:

The Istituto Centrale di Patologia del Libro was founded on 4 June 1938. It was created in order to study books in their physical context, to examine their deterioration problems and analyze the causes and origins of damage, to prevent further deterioration, and guarantee good future conservation.

The Institute is situated on grounds that previously belonged to the Botanical Institute of Rome University. It is composed of two buildings: in the oldest are located the administration, museum, library, and documentation center which has around 45,000 microfilms of manuscripts from Italian libraries. In the second building there are the laboratories of environment and health, conservation, restoration and carpentry, technology and physics, and biology and chemistry.

A two-year course in conservation and restoration of library materials is also held in one part of this building. Lessons are held November through June on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm (attendance is compulsory). During the second year, students are allowed to work in the laboratories on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Four places are reserved for foreign students. Admission requirements are a good knowledge of Italian and an official presentation from the applicant's local government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The next biennial course will start in November 1983 and applications should be sent before 30 June 1983.

The course consists primarily of practical work, but it also has theoretical classes on subjects such as bibliography, history and technology of library materials, chemistry, biology, physics, photography, environmental problems for book conservation, restoration techniques (mainly paper and parchment), bookbinding, and wood restoration.

The Institute also offers the possibility of short term internships for students who wish to work in the various laboratories. The address: Istituto Centrale di Patologia del Libro, via Milano 76, 00184 Rome, Italy.

Two-Year Book Arts Program in Bay Area

Beginning Fall 1963, Mills College in Oakland, California will offer a two-year graduate program in the book arts. The organizers anticipate that it will appeal both to potential book artists/craftspersons and to persons preparing for careers in related fields such as rare book librarianship, book conservation, or the antiquarian book trade.

It will combine coursework, an internship, and a final exhibition, leading to the M.A. degree in Book Arts. In the first year, all students will acquire a foundation of knowledge and practical skill in printing, hand bookbinding, the history of the book, the history and theory of typography, and the history of printmaking. In a two- semester Graduate Seminar, they will study in depth the history and future of the Book Arts through readings, dialog, and scholarly papers. Visiting lecturers will be invited to lead discussions in their particular fields of interest.

The second year is devoted to internships, advanced coursework, portfolio-building or thesis-writing, and the Graduate Exhibition. Internships will be arranged according to the interests and career goals of the students; book artists will be placed with professional printers or binders, while those interested in the historical and bibliographical aspects of the book will intern with libraries or antiquarian book dealers. The Graduate Exhibition will be a combined effort on the part of all students; book artists will exhibit their work, while other students will curate the exhibition and write the catalog.

Instructors: Betty Lou Chaika, bookbinding; Kathy Walkup, printing and typography. For more information, call or write Allan Wendt, Director of Graduate Studies, Mills College, Oakland, CA 94613 (415) 430-3309.

Camberwell Phases Out Bookbinding

Camberwell School of Art and Crafts in London has dropped its binding training course. Now the only binding listed in its catalog is one evening class in hand bookbinding. Selected elements of the old year-long course are said to have been incorporated into both the Diploma and the Higher Diploma courses in Paper Conservation.