Overview

California Rare Book School students receive intensive instruction over five consecutive days in specialized topics with experts in the field. Classes meet for four 90-minute sessions daily with a 1-hour lunch break and two 30-minute breaks. Most of the courses are held on the UCLA campus, and we have held classes in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Italy, and Mexico, as well as online. Course size is typically limited to 12 students.

Several courses include field trips to the many important collections in Southern California. Previous field trips have included visits to:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
Autry National Center
Bonhams & Butterfields Auction House
Braun Research Library
California Curio Co.
Claremont Colleges
Dawson’s Book Shop / Michael Dawson Gallery
Gary Strong Residence
Getty Research Institute
The Huntington Library
International Print History Museum
Michael Sharpe Rare Books & Sharpe Residence
Michael R. Thompson Rare Books
Mission San Fernando
Southwest Museum of the American Indian
UCLA Arts Library
UCLA Biomedical Library
UCLA Film & Television Archive
UCLA Film & Television Laboratory
UCLA Library, Conservation Lab
UCLA Library, Special Collections
UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

Members of the staff in these institutions provide essential support for the instruction. They work closely with the faculty in advance of the visits to identify materials important for instruction, to make the materials available for student use, and to contribute their knowledge of the collections during the visit.