CILIPS Professional Development Fund Report – London Rare Books School by Danielle Fox
Category: Blog, Professional Development Fund Reports
London Rare Books School: Provenance in books: recognising, reading and interpreting
Written by Danielle Fox, Archive & Library Assistant (New College)
Heritage Collections, University of Edinburgh, 17 April, 2025
With the generous help of the CILIPS Professional Development Fund, I was able to attend a short course offered by the London Rare Books School aimed at providing tools to investigate, identify, and interpret provenance evidence in books. This course was titled Provenance in books: recognising, reading and interpreting and included instruction on dating bookplates, deciphering palaeographic inscriptions, and understanding clues given by the bindings to identify previous owners.
In my current role as an Archive and Library Assistant, I am often asked to help readers interpret provenance information found in our collections. Understanding the various notes, bookplates, and scribblings in a volume can sometimes be confusing but is also essential to better a better understanding of a book’s context. This course was a fantastic way to pull together the various skills I have been developing in my role and gave me the tools needed to more confidently interact with the information I find. Additionally, it helped me focus on building skills that I had identified through work on my CILIP Chartership portfolio as areas for growth, such as cataloguing and resource description, curation, and partnership development.
The course was taught by David Pearson and took place in the Taylor Library at Shrewsbury School, Shrewsbury. I previously contributed entries on Scottish book owners in David Pearson’s database, Book Owners Online, and was keen to learn more about book provenance research directly from him.
The week was a fantastic success and felt a little like summer camp. Meeting new people gave me insight into how different institutions and people from different parts of the sector use and record provenance information. The course started by discussing how there has been a shift in the approach to book history over the last few decades, with a stronger focus on how books were used and what impact they had on society. Provenance evidence is important because it gives us clues about a book’s influence and possibly a look into the mind of the reader. We spent the week looking at what evidence could be gathered from inscriptions, bookplates and book labels, armorials and bindings.
One of the highlights from the week was having access to the Taylor Library, which is a well- preserved historic school library established in the 16th century. The staff were generous with both their time and collections, and pulled out examples to illustrate various points from our sessions. The library has had very little intervention over the past centuries, so many of the books remain in their original condition with plenty of ownership evidence intact. The week wrapped up with each attendee selecting a book from the collection for analysis and sharing
their findings.
All in all, this course has given me the tools I need to investigate, identify, and interpret provenance evidence in the collections I work with daily. Additionally, I feel better equipped to apply the research methods I have learned so that I can contribute meaningfully to the field of book history and provenance research in the future.
Danielle was able to attend the London Rare Books School with the support of the CILIPS Professional Development Fund, which aims to provide financial assistance to members wishing to undertake professional development activities related to enhancing skills in the information profession. This can include in person and online conferences, events, courses, seminars or webinars organised by CILIPS, CILIP or other bodies in the UK or overseas. To learn more and apply for the next round of funding then please click here.