Call for Proposals: Bibliographic Mysteries at the 2026 BSA Annual Meeting
In person, New York City
Friday 23 January 2026
10:00–11:30 am
Call for Proposals: Bibliographic Mysteries
The Events Planning Sub-Committee of the Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) invites our community of bookmakers and sellers, collectors, conservators, curators, educators, librarians, scholars, and students to submit proposals for a session centered on bibliographical mysteries, both those we have been able to solve and those that remain enigmatic. The session will take place during BSA’s 2026 Annual Meeting in New York City on Friday 23 January 2026 and will be open to all registered participants of Bibliography Week.
Books and bookish texts always ask questions of their readers that extend beyond the contents of the texts themselves. The fundamental 5Ws of information gathering—the who, what, where, when, and why—are questions germane to those engaged in bibliographical scholarship, whether a bookseller writing a catalog entry, a cataloguer improving a note field, or a collector engaged in provenance research. But often we are stymied by a lack of or inscrutable evidence. What bibliographical mysteries have you come across and been especially intrigued by? Share your successes and failures, cold cases, breakthroughs, speculative practices, novel uses of technology, collaborative momentum, and other stories of bibliographical pursuits.
Proposals that include interactive, hands-on, and/or pedagogical activities and demonstrations that engage and inspire Bibliography Week participants are always of interest. We encourage proposers to make creative use of the allotted time (see below) and to consider incorporating mixed learning modalities—visual, auditory, and tactile—into their session. Our session audiences will be happy to contribute their own expertise and knowledge to help solve any ongoing bibliographical mysteries.
We welcome proposals from individuals as well as those working together to create a panel or group session. Individual proposals ought to work with a 20-minute time frame to allow for introductions, moderation, and Q&A. Session proposals ought to work with a 80-minute time frame, factoring in introductions, moderation, and Q&A.
As in all BSA-sponsored events, proposers are encouraged to center the material text—that is, handwritten, printed, or other textual artifacts, broadly conceived—as historical evidence and to suggest how their work advances the theory and practice of descriptive, historical, and/or critical bibliography.
How to submit a proposal:
Proposers must be active members of the BSA. Please log in to the website to submit your proposal
Include the following:
a title;
a description of the presentation (250 words maximum for individuals, 750 words maximum for sessions);
a description of technological and materials support you require; and
a brief bio for each person involved in the proposal.
Deadline for proposals: 23 September 2025, 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time
Those submitting successful proposals will be notified by 15 October 2025.