It’s that time of year again. The time of year when those of you who harbor dreams, hopes, aspirations, and possibilities of becoming an antiquarian bookseller should consider attending The Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar. I attended the seminar four years ago, in 2007, and here are a handful of the posts I wrote about my experiences there.
Check the links below to see why I think the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar is such a worthwhile educational experience.
10 Good Reasons Why You Should Consider Attending the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar
How I Benefited from Attending the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar.
I’m not the only one who thinks the seminar is worthwhile. Book Think Editor Craig Stark interviews the Seminar’s faculty and alumni to see what all the fuss is about.
Here’s the information about the 2011 Seminar:
THE COLORADO ANTIQUARIAN BOOK SEMINAR
August 7-12, 2011
Colorado College, Colorado Springs
Please visit here for this year’s program highlights and schedule.
Booksellers, curators, librarians, and collectors: if you have an employee, colleague, or friend who could use a very educational one-week getaway, the seminar is the perfect opportunity to learn the basics of the bookselling world (both as a buyer and a seller) and avoid years of trial-and-error. Included in the schedule are the following:
All pragmatic aspects of modern-day bookselling
Proper collation and cataloging
Evaluating and pricing books
Buying and selling at auction
Building a customer base
Operating an open shop
Printing and binding syles, types of illustration
Buying and selling collections and archives
Consignment
Book Fairs
Book scouting
Use of reference materials
Use of databases and online resources
The cost of the seminar is just a little over $1000 (far less than any seminar of its kind costs these days), and earlybird signups receive a discount.
This year’s faculty includes:
Keynote Speaker Katherine Kyes Leab, publisher of American Book Prices Current.
Specialty dealer Nina Musinsky of Musinsky Rare Books in New York City, specializing in early Western European printed books and manuscripts.
Terry Belanger, 2005 MacArthur Fellow, and founder of Rare Book School, University of Virginia.
Featured faculty members Dan Gregory, internet specialist from Between the Covers Rare Books; and Dan De Simone, Curator, Lessing Rosenwald Collection, Library of Congress.
Faculty members Lorne Bair, Winchester, VA; Kevin Johnson, Royal Books, Baltimore, MD; David Prendergast, Stickfigure Books, Invereness, IL; Rob Rulon-Miller, St. Paul, MN; and, Steven Smith, Associate Dean for Collections and Services for the Texas A&M University Libraries.
This year eleven scholarships are being offered to the seminar, by Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA), AbeBooks, Alibris, Barnes & Noble, Biblio.com, Bibliopolis, Foreseeing Solutions, the Independent Online Booksellers’ Association (IOBA), and the Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (RMABA). Complete details are available at the Seminar website.
Please direct questions about any seminar information to:
Kathy Lindeman, Local Coordinator
Colorado Springs: (719) 473-6634
or E-mail to: KathyL@bookseminars.com
Some historical information:
Thirty-three years ago, Jake Chernofsky (Editor of AB Bookman’s Weekly) and others established a week-long seminar in Denver aimed at providing education for persons interested in entering the used / OP / academic / rare book trade. Under various administrative configurations, the Seminar, long well-known and highly respected in the rare book community, has continued to fulfill this function to this day. Given the enormous changes in the antiquarian book world since 1978, the curriculum has changed accordingly,
with increasing emphasis on the realities of bookselling in the electronic age. Over the years more than 2200 students have graduated from the Seminar, many of whom have gone on to become prominent members of the bookselling community.
Please take a look at the Seminar’s web site and help publicize its existence wherever you can, especially to those who are unlikely to be current subscribers to the bibliographical bulletin boards or who are otherwise unlikely to be connected to the American old book scene. The Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar performs an essential service to bibliographical pedagogy, and it deserves our collective support.
Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar website
See you in the stacks!
