The Book Club of California, founded in 1912, is a non-profit organization of book lovers and collectors who have a special interest in Pacific Coast history, literature, and fine printing. Its chief aims are to further the interests of book collectors and scholars and to promote an understanding and appreciation of fine books.

The Club is limited to 1,000 members, excluding Student members with proof of student status. When vacancies exist, membership is open to all who are in sympathy with its aims and whose applications are approved by the Board of Directors. Membership involves no responsibilities beyond the payment of the annual dues.

All members receive the Quarterly News-Letter and, excepting Student members, the current Keepsake. All members have the privilege, but not the obligation, of buying Club publications, which are limited, as a rule, to one copy per member. All members may purchase extra copies of Keepsakes or News-Letters, when available. Non-members may buy Club publications that are still in print and more than one year past the publication date or at a premium price, as determined by the Board of Directors. Membership dues (less $10 for Student members and $17.50 in the other membership categories) and donations, including books, are deductible in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code.

The Club rooms are located just one block from Union Square, in the heart of downtown San Francisco, at 312 Sutter Street, Suite 510, and are open on Monday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Included in A Short History is information regarding weekly open houses and regular receptions, openings, and other book-oriented gatherings held at the Club, as well as a continuous program of exhibitions, open to the public, showcasing fine printing, book and ephemera collecting in all fields, and the history and arts of the book. The rooms house the Albert Sperisen Library of The Book Club of California, a reference library, which includes a broad spectrum of material numbering some twenty-five hundred volumes.

The current scheduled public program and exhibition are listed on their respective Web pages. The Book Club of California has established a program of grants to assist individuals who are residents of California in research, writing, and other projects in the fields of Western American history and the book arts. This is described under Grants & Awards. Grants are based on the scholarly or aesthetic merit of the individual proposals.

The Oscar Lewis Awards are made for significant contributions to Western history and to fine printing and to the book arts. Nomination submittals are limited to members of The Book Club of California. Reminders are posted under Oscar Lewis Awards.

Call during business hours in the United States at 1-800-869-7656, or from San Francisco or outside the United States at [415] 781-7532. The facsimile [FAX] number is [415] 781-7537.

Questions? Please do not hesitate to ask.