The Grolier Club of New York is providing a busy month of bibliophilic activities this January, using both traditional and non-traditional approaches to ensure the Club’s commitment to book scholarship.  Read about what’s planned and if interested contact them.

 

The Grolier Club

47 East 60^th Street

New York, New York 20022

(212) 838-6690

www.grolierclub.org

 

Virtual Bibliography Week 
January 25-30, 2021

 

Preliminary Schedule of Events

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY WEEK happens each year at the end of January when the principal national organizations devoted to book scholarship and the book arts have their annual meetings. Other groups plan interesting events, too, since the attention of so many bibliophiles is focused on these few days. Some events (not noted here) are open to members only, but mostly you are encouraged to show up everywhere: get a sense of what is going on in the book world, hear some interesting papers, and schmooze with colleagues.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bibliography Week in 2021 will necessarily look quite different from past years. There will be few if any physical gatherings. Reflecting the fact that the Grolier Club, the Bibliographical Society of America, the American Printing History Association and other participating bookish groups have spent most of this past year energetically developing online digital programming for their members and colleagues, the events being organized for Bibliography Week 2021, while rivaling in number and quality those of any past year, will nearly all be virtual, offered via Zoom or other online conference services. What follows is a preliminary list of confirmed events. Signup links, speakers, topics and other details will be added as organizers provide them; and I expect the roster of events to grow as we get closer to Bibliography Week 2021. 

I look forward to seeing many of you at Bibliography Week events in January 2021, but in the meantime, stay safe! 

Eric Holzenberg
Director
The Grolier Club of New York
47 East 60th Street
New York, NY 10022
ejh@grolierclub.org

 

MONDAY, JANUARY 25 

• 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Sponsored by the Grolier Club. A Q&A session with the filmmaker of the hour-long documentary The Book Makers. Filmmaker James Kennard on "The Book is Dead, Long Live the Book," in connection with the documentary "The Book Makers." This acclaimed hour-long film profiles the diverse people - artisans, authors, collectors, historians - who have dedicated their lives to answering the question "what should books become in the digital age?" From modest workshops to the Internet Archive's vast digital holdings, the film spins a tale of the book's enduring vitality. Stars of the show include up-and-comers as well as names familiar to Grolierites, including Peter Koch and Russell Maret, all reinventing the artistry and craft of bookmaking. Grolier members and guests have been granted special access to the documentary on the Vimeo website. Registrants are encouraged to watch the film at their leisure between now and Monday evening, January 25. Participants will be sent the video link and password upon registration. At 7 pm that evening, registrants invited to attend an exclusive Q&A session via Zoom with filmmaker James Kennard, introduced by Grolier Club member David Solo. Grolier Club members should reserve for the Q&A session online through the Grolier Club website; non-members should register via Eventbrite. A Zoom link will be sent to all registrants on the day of the event.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26

• 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Sponsored by the Grolier Club. A panel discussion featuring scholars in the field of American periodicals, on the themes of the current Grolier Club exhibition "Magazines and the American Experience," curated by Steven Lomazow. Grolier Club members should register through the Grolier Club; non-members should register through Eventbrite.
  
• 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Sponsored by the Columbia Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Columbia Bibliography Week Lecture. Felicia Rice, on "Moving Parts Press, Rising from the Ashes." Signup information and other details TBA. 
 
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27

• From 10:00 am. Sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America. Virtual Booksellers’ Showcase. This special mini-antiquarian book fair, sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, will be open continuously from 10:00 am on Wednesday January 27 until 7 pm on Thursday January 28. N.B.: If you plan to visit this showcase, and would like participating dealers to keep your interests in mind, please contact ABAA Executive Director Susan Benne. 

• 2:30 pm-3:30 pm. Sponsored by the Grolier Club: Grolier Club Bibliography Week Lecture. Curator Steven Lomazow on the themes of the Grolier Club exhibition, "Magazines and the American Experience."   

• 5:30 pm-7:00 pm. Sponsored by the Grolier Club: Exhibition tour. Curator Douglas Monasebian on his exhibition "The History of Plastic Surgery: Much More Than Skin Deep."

• 7:00 pm-8:15 pm (4:00 pm-5:15 pm PST). Sponsored by The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in partnership with the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and the Library Foundation of Los Angeles: Bibliography Week Huntington Library Program. "Collecting Continuums: What Now." Join Huntington Library curators and members of the trade, library, and collecting communities for a panel discussion on individual and institutional collecting today. Moderated by Claudia Funke and Erin Chase—curators of the Huntington exhibition "What Now: Collecting for the Library in the 21st Century"—the conversation will address the significance of collecting today, in this unprecedented period, and include perspectives from the Huntington, radiating out to those of greater Los Angeles and beyond. Registration instructions and other details can be found here. 


THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

• Until 7:00 pm. Sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America. Virtual Booksellers’ Showcase. This special mini-antiquarian book fair, sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America will be open continuously from 10:00 am on Wednesday January 27 until 7:00 pm on Thursday January 28. N.B.: If you plan to visit this showcase, and would like participating dealers to keep your interests in mind, please contact ABAA Executive Director Susan Benne. 

• [Timing TBA]. The Grolier Club annual meeting. Members only. Details TBA.
 
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 

• 2:00 pm-6:00 pm. The annual meeting of the Bibliographical Society of America. To register, and for more information on this and other Bibliography Week events sponsored by the Society, visit the BSA website.   

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30

• 11:00 am-12:00 pm. Sponsored by the New York Academy of Medicine. Bibliography Week Lecture. Stephen Schmidt, speaking via Zoom, on "Manuscript Cookbooks and their Audience." Signup information and other details available here.  

• 2:00-4:00 pm. The annual meeting of the American Printing History Association. Registration and other details TBA. Visit the APHA website for updates.