Call for Proposals: Tools of the Trade at the 2027 BSA Annual Meeting
In person, New York City
Friday 29 January 2027
Call for Proposals: Bibliographical Mysteries ↑
The Events Planning Committee of the Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) invites our community of archivists, bookmakers and sellers, collectors, conservators, curators, educators, librarians, scholars, students, and researchers to submit proposals centered on the tools and methodologies of bibliographical work. The sessions will take place during the morning of the BSA’s 2027 annual meeting in New York City on Friday 29 January 2027 and will be open to all registered participants of Bibliography Week.
How do you go about your bibliographical study and work? What are the tools you rely on or reject? How do they enable or hinder collaboration and/or diverse perspectives? Are they physical tools or digital; intellectual or metaphorical/conceptual? What are the tools of your dreams, the ones you wish we could build? In this year’s morning panels, we imagine meditations on good lighting and the powers of magnification; the bone folder as a conservator or bookmaker’s best friend; the strengths and limitations of focused collections and databases of paper, watermarks, type, bindings; detailed spreadsheets that have tamed and proven what was once wild conjecture; the pleasures and frustrations of library and archival discovery; collation formulas and calculators; historical auction and dealer catalogs; various digital helpmates, etc.
Examples of categories of proposed sessions include (but are not limited to!):
Showcasing a tool that you have used
Showcasing a tool that you have created
Leading a workshop to introduce members to a tool
Presenting on research that relies on the use of specific tools
Presenting on tools that you have taught with
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.
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. Panel proposals ought to work within 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 (see detailed instructions at the bottom of this page).
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: 28 September 2026, 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time ↑
Those submitting successful proposals will be notified by 16 October 2026.
Member Instructions for Accessing the Form ↑
Go to the Member Login page on the BSA website
Once logged in, select the top link on the right hand navigation menu “Access Member Benefits”
From the Benefits page, go to the third item on the list, “Submit a Proposal for Morning Sessions at the 2026 Annual Meeting”
Click the “Submit Your Proposal” button at the bottom of the section to view, fill out, and submit the form