It's On! Give to the Annual Fund by October 1 and Double Your Impact

We've said this before, but it bears repeating: bibliography is a bridge, connecting people in various disciplines and professions, working on texts, images, and objects. BSA strives to nurture our diverse and growing community with programs – fellowships, events, open-access resources, and publications – that bring people together and foster collaboration while also advancing individuals' unique goals.

We hear from members over and over again that BSA adds meaning to their working lives through the intellectual community it fosters. Patrick Olson writes, When life nudged me back toward bookselling after a decade in libraries, I felt pretty unmoored professionally. No longer a librarian, and not rooted in the trade, neither field's organizations really felt like home. But the BSA provided common ground, a reassuring and constructive link to both worlds, to say nothing of the much larger bibliographical ecosystem we inhabit. In an age of silos and specialization, it's BSA's commitment to interdisciplinary representation that I value the most. Everyone gathers here – scholars, librarians, booksellers, collectors – because the Society welcomes us all, and supports the work we all love.

We hope that you, too, find inspiration in the BSA community and will lend your support to the Annual Fund. No contribution is too small because every gift to will now be matched dollar-for-dollar by a dedicated group BSA members, up to $22,000. With more than $13,000 raised already, we are more than half-way there! Please, consider making a gift before October 1 to help us meet our goal and earn this critical challenge grant to fund our mission-driven programs.

Keep reading – calls for applications, news from BSA members, & books available for review in PBSA below!

Supplement to the Catalogue of the books belonging to the New-York Society Library. New York: Printed by C.S. Van Winkle, No. 2 Thames-street, 1825. New York Society Library copy, image via City Readers.

New Membership Benefit: Discounted Research Resources (Physical and Digital) from the New York Society Library

The BSA recognizes that independent scholars, precariously employed academics and librarians, and booksellers need research resources and services beyond what most public libraries can offer. Working with the Society Library, we crafted a special option for members of the BSA offering access to electronic resources; Interlibrary Loan services; 10 building visits per year, including access to most member-only spaces; and access to expert reader’s advisory and reference services, all at a cost of $170 per year.

Join a short virtual information session with NYSL staff on July 22, 4pm Eastern! We will record the conversation and post it to the BSA YouTube Channel.

BSA Leadership values your feedback, and hope that you will let us know how we can improve this benefit to make it more accessible and relevant to your research needs. Email the BSA office anytime, bsa@bibsocamer.org.

About the Society Library

The New York Society Library holds a growing collection of nearly 300,000 volumes and remotely-accessible electronic resources with an emphasis on the humanities. Strengths include fiction and literature, biography, U.S. and European history, travel, and New York City history and culture. Members in the NYC area can browse and borrow books from the library's eight open stacks; those farther afield can borrow books by mail for a small fee. As the oldest cultural institution in New York City, the Society Library has been collecting since 1754 and remarkably holds many books in early or otherwise noteworthy editions, many of which continue to circulate. For all those interested in the material history of books, the Library's physical collections are a tremendous resource for research, while also supporting reading for pleasure. The Library's Special Collections and digital offerings are valuable for scholarly research, as well.

Events Online & In-Person This Summer

July 11, 6:15pm PST: Lambeth Palace Library through five centuries, a talk by Giles Mandelbrote at the Book Club of California and online – Registration Required – Co-Sponsored by the BSA & BCC.
In central London, on the banks of the Thames, Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the national library and archive of the Church of England. Founded in 1610, its internationally important collections include medieval illuminated manuscripts from the ninth century onwards and early printed books, as well as extensive archival holdings to the present day. In 2021, the Library re-opened to readers and the public in a purpose-built new library building. This illustrated talk will look at the history of the collections and the people associated with them, while exploring some changing ideas of what a library is for. Register to attend in-person or online.

August 19, 2022, 4pm Eastern – Materialities of Tibetan Buddhist Texts – Online – Registration Required – Sponsored by the BSA and CABS-Minnesota
Within the diverse traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, the power of books—both printed and hand-written—lies not only in their contents, but also in their materiality as objects. While these texts primarily transmit the words of the Buddha(s), the teachings of Buddhist masters, and the commands of Buddhist leaders, they can also function as ritual objects, protective talismans, and instruments of political authority. The three scholars on this panel will share bibliographical studies of Tibetan texts that highlight how text production, circulation, and replication within architectural spaces has been utilized by Tibetan religious and political leaders to assert and solidify their power. Speakers: Rebecca Bloom, Assistant Director of Curatorial Affairs and Interpretation at the Southern Utah Museum of Art at Southern Utah University; Jue Liang, Assistant Professor of Religion, Denison University; and Benjamin Nourse, Assistant Professor of Buddhist Studies, University of Denver.

September 1, 2022 9am-2:30pm Central: X Encuentro Internacional de Bibliología: Asia en el mundo del libro colonial de Ámerica Latina | Asia in the Colonial Latin American Book world – Online – Registration Required – The BSA is proud to co-sponsor this event with the Latin American Network of Graphic Culture and the Bibliographical Society of America (BSA). Program available online (in Spanish).
New Spain and other colonial Latin American territories served as a bridge between Asia and Europe. While historians have long appreciated the commercial dimensions of Latin American connections with the Asia Pacific, recent scholarship has enriched appreciations of the vital contributions of Asian peoples and cultures to the development of Latin American visual cultures, consumption habits, and views of the world. This workshop aims to build on these scholarly developments by focusing our attention on the bibliographical legacies Asian-Latin American connections. Organized by Dra. Marina Garone Gravier (UNAM) and Dr. Devin Fitzgerald (UCLA). More details forthcoming.

Virtual & In-Person Classes at the Center for Book Arts (CBA)
All BSA Members Have Reciprocal Privileges at CBA

July 11-13, Center for Book Arts: The Art of The Yiddish Book – in person in NYC, $500 (BSA members save 5%)
Working with literary scholar Barbara Mann and book artist Roni Gross, students will draw on the unique resources of two downtown institutions (YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and Center for Book Arts) for an immersive experience in modern Jewish creativity. Using objects and books from this world-renowned collection as inspiration, workshop participants will attend hands-on sessions at YIVO about the emergence and flourishing of modern Yiddish culture, in Eastern Europe and in the United States, and then create a collaborative print at the Center for Book Arts. 

July 13, Center for Book Arts: Suminagashi Marbling – online, pay what you can
Marbling artist and CBA Instructor Sheryl Oppenheim teaches this virtual introductory workshop for adults and youth ages 13+ (with supervision) on the magical Japanese art of Suminagashi. Suminagashi is the oldest known form of marbling—dating back to at least the 12th century— and is totally distinct from marbling practices in Turkey, Iran, and Europe. In Oppenheim’s class, each student will learn to create their very own Suminagashi marbled paper from the comfort of their own home.

July 20, Center for Book Arts: Print Your Vegetables – online, pay what you can
In this two-hour workshop, we will be exploring the possibilities of printing vegetables using relief and monotype printmaking techniques. Students will learn to carve a variety of veggies (mostly root vegetables) into text or images for printing. In addition to all of the fun that comes with cutting and printing your veggies, we will also focus our discussion on positive and negative stamps, creating patterns, and the longevity of vegetable printing.

July 30-31, Center for Book Arts: Introduction to Hardcover (Bookbinding II) in person in NYC, $450 (BSA members save 5%)
In this beginning hardcover bookbinding class, you will learn to make several different hardcover bindings. Students will gain a foundational understanding of hardcover bookbinding including how the structure beneath the cover can affect the final result. Students will develop the skills needed to create a variety of hardcover books that will prepare them for building more complex hardcover designs such as the inboard cloth-bound book. In the process, students will learn about the historical and contemporary uses of the structures learned in the book arts and artist books..

PBSA: Call for Book Reviewers & Books for Review

PBSA welcomes submissions of books for review in the journal! Learn how to submit your book here.

A selection of books are available now for review. Book reviews are typically 1,500 words long and should be completed within four months of receiving the book. All reviews should be in English, regardless of the language of the reviewed publication.

Anyone wishing to write a review must read the guidelines and email Reviews Editor Erin McGuirl at reviews.pbsa@bibsocamer.org to express interest. Please identify the book you wish to review and include a note about your experience and expertise. This will help to match books with well-suited reviewers.

Free Back Issues of PBSA Available, 1965 through 2022
Meaghan J. Brown and Jeremy Dibbell have duplicate back issues of PBSA in their collections that they are offering to our community for the cost of shipping! Peruse their list of issues available and request yours in this simple Google Form.