Bibliography Week 2024
From January 23–27, 2023 the Bibliographical Society of America will celebrate Bibliography Week with a series of events designed to demonstrate bibliographical practice and its relevance to interdisciplinary scholarship in the humanities and allied professions.
Join us for events in-person in New York City and online. After successful trials in 2023, we are excited to see many of you at some of the new events hosted last year: then orientation to Bibliography Week for first-time attendees and veterans alike; a virtual meetup for BIPOC, disabled, LGBTQ+, and Spanish-speaking bibliographers; a live (and livestreamed!) panel at the Center for Book Arts; and a fully hybrid Annual Meeting and New Scholars Program.
Registration
Registration is required for all BSA events, unless noted otherwise. The BSA Office is hard at work building registration pages for the various events coming up in January: links will be posted here as soon as they are available. To receive a notification, subscribe to the BSA newsletter.
Covid Safety
The BSA takes community health and safety seriously. Since the Society does not have its own gathering space for bibliographers, we organize events with other organizations and therefore must abide by individual hosts’ Covid policies. You can read about our hosts Covid safety policies at the links below.
In alignment with governmental guidelines, masking is strongly encouraged but not required at in-person BSA events during Bibliography Week.
Professional Conduct
Creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive community of bibliographical researchers that encourages participation by all those interested in bibliographical studies is a fundamental value of the BSA. We expect members to treat others with respect and trust and to conduct research with integrity – for example, citing sources and recognizing the contributions of others.
As a learned society, the BSA expects appropriate professional conduct of its members and participants when they convene at Annual Meetings and events sponsored or co-sponsored throughout the year and as they exchange scholarly research in BSA publications.
All Bibliography Week events are covered by the BSA’s Events Code of Conduct.
Become a Sponsor!
Become a sponsor of a BSA Bibliography Week Event and introduce yourself and your business to our broad audience of collectors, curators, scholars, and students!
As a BSA Annual Meeting or Bibliography Week Event Sponsor, your business will be featured prominently on registration pages and in the sponsor garden on BibliographyWeek.org (check out last year’s sponsors at the link!). Sponsorship opportunities start at $250: there are options available for every budget.
Prologue to Bibliography Week
New Scholars Program: Individual Talk Screenings & Q&A Sessions | ONLINE
Join the 2024 New Scholars and members of the New Scholars Committee for dedicated pre-program screenings and dedicated question-and-answer (Q&A) sessions for each scholar. The 2023 New Scholars and presentation schedule will be announced in early December. Check back for details and links to register!
Monday, January 22
January 22, 2024, 4pm Eastern – Bibliography Week Orientation | ONLINE | Register
What is Bibliography Week, anyway? Join BSA members Charlotte Priddle and William P. Stoneman and Executive Director Erin McGuirl for an overview of this mainstay in the book world, taking place at the end of January each year. During this Zoom meeting, hosts will provide an overview of the program and help attendees prepare for a week of bibliographical events in New York City. We’ll cover the week’s events (virtual, hybrid, and in-person only) and NYC travel basics like weather and local transportation and leave plenty of time for your questions.
Tuesday, January 23
BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Disabled, & Spanish-speaking Bibliographers: Bibliography Week Meet-Up | Tuesday, January 23 at 5:30pm Eastern | ONLINE | Register
This event provides an opportunity to connect with people like you who are interested in bibliography. Check this page again soon for details about the hosts of this year’s event.
This will be a Zoom meeting, with breakout rooms provided for individual groups. Captioning will be provided in the main Zoom room and one breakout room.
This event is open to BSA members and non-members alike. It is intended for members of the Black, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, disability, and Spanish-speaking communities. If you do not identify with one of those groups, don’t worry! There is plenty of space for you to connect with fellow bibliographers at other BSA Bibliography Week events, in person and online. Scroll through the listings above and below, and register to join us for as many events as you like.
Wednesday, January 24
Chinese Book Culture in Art-Historical Context | Wednesday, January 24, 1-2:30pm Eastern | ONLINE | Register
Art historians Ruiying Gao and Amy McNair will introduce and explore two types of books with ancient roots in Chinese culture: materia medica and seal catalogs. Materia medica convey the healing properties of the natural world. Focusing on illustrated manuscripts, Professor Gao will reconstruct the historical roots of Chinese materia medica, which proliferated from the 7th century. Chinese seals have long been prized for their historical and artistic qualities. Professor McNair will address seal catalogues, attested since the 12th century, and their utility to collectors, artists, and patrons. Bibliographer and book historian Devin Fitzgerald will provide remarks following the presentations.
Beyond Educational: Book Arts as Research Method with Breanne Weber, Dylan Lewis, and Kadin Henningsen | Wednesday, January 24, 5:30-7pm Eastern | In person at the Center for Book Arts | Register
Teaching bibliography and book history through making physical books is a current trend at all levels of the educational system. But what impact does making books or other book related objects have on the scholarly record? Or bibliographical practice more generally? This panel will explore how three scholars have used their book arts experience to enhance their scholarship as well as their bibliographical practice in different contexts, from publicly available makerspaces to artist’s books.
The panel will be followed by a reception: bring your friends! Come for the brilliance, stay for the wine and snacks!
Thursday, January 25
5:30pm Eastern – Members & Friends Mixer | In Person @ the New York Society Library | Register
Join us at the New York Society Library for a gathering in the Members’ Room. This is an opportunity to meet your fellow members of both the BSA and the Society Library, learn more about our organizations and the many resources we have to offer to the broad community of book people.
Members of the Grolier Club: many Club members attend both events this evening! Attend in black tie with Executive Director Erin McGuirl, Membership Committee Chair Charlotte Priddle, and other BSA-Grolier members who will carpool to the Metropolitan Club in time for the start of cocktail hour.
Friday, January 26
The 2024 Annual Meeting & New Scholars Program | Convene, 75 Rockefeller Plaza & live online via YouTube | Register
The 2023 Annual Meeting and New Scholars Program will be held in-person and live-streamed to our virtual audience starting at 1pm Eastern with New Scholars’ papers and a group question and answer session. Following a 30-minute break (snacks and beverages will be available at Convene for our in-person audience), the 2024 Annual Meeting will begin at 3pm Eastern. The entire program will be live-streamed for a virtual audience on the BSA YouTube Channel.
Registration
Registration is required for in-person attendance by January 22. All attending the live program in New York must register by January 22, 2024 at 9am Eastern. Seating is limited, so register now.
Virtual attendees need not register but are welcome to do so.
1-2:15pm Eastern – The 2024 New Scholars Program
The Bibliographical Society of America’s New Scholars Program promotes the work of scholars new to bibliography, broadly defined to include the creation, production, publication, distribution, reception, transmission, and subsequent history of all textual artifacts. This includes manuscript, print, and digital media, from clay and stone to laptops and iPads.
3pm Eastern – The 2024 Annual Meeting & Keynote Lecture
Dr. Daniela Bleichmar will give the 2024 Keynote lecture, entitled, “Rethinking the Aztec Past, Rethinking the Codex Mendoza”
This talk will discuss the production, circulation, reproduction, and changing interpretations of a remarkable early-colonial Mexican manuscript known as the Codex Mendoza. Created by Nahua painter-scribes and Spanish interpreters and scribes only a few decades after the Spanish conquest, the manuscript presents one of the richest and most detailed accounts of the Aztec empire from an Indigenous perspective. The codex was sent to Europe and moved from one notable owner to another for about a hundred years, before entering the Bodleian Library at Oxford University in 1659. As the only Mexican Indigenous manuscript that Europeans found legible for more than three hundred years, it became the most studied, used, and reproduced non-European manuscript in early modern Europe, and a central source for the interpretations of Indigenous books and Indigenous societies. Over the centuries, many notable scholars reproduced the manuscript and offered wide-ranging interpretations, rethinking the Aztec past through them. As we continue to rethink this manuscript today, what are the implications for our understanding of Indigenous manuscripts?
The 2024 BSA Annual Meeting Reception
Come raise a glass and celebrate the 2024 New Scholars, newly elected Officers and Council members, and spend some quality time with your friends from the bibliographical community!
Covid safety protocols
- Read about Convene’s Covid standards and safety protocols.
- Masking is encouraged but not required.
- In alignment with our host venue’s policy, we strongly recommend staying up to date on vaccinations at all times. Proof of vaccination will not be required for entry.
Getting to Convene & Accessibility
Convene at 75 Rockefeller Plaza is located between 5th and 6th Avenue, near the B, D, F, M; E; 1; and N, R, W subway lines. The location is wheelchair accessible. For more information about access, including parking recommendations, visit Convene’s website and scroll down to the “Location” Heading.
Local Arrangements in NYC
Coming to New York for Bibliography Week? Hotel rates tend to be very reasonable in late January, the lowest point in the NYC tourist season. If you are uncertain about attending, check hotel cancellation policies: you can book reservations early to secure the best rates and cancel if necessary at no cost.
Executive Director Erin McGuirl suggests the hotels below based on strong online reviews and affordable nightly rates, but not on personal experience.
- Pod 51: 230 E 51st St, between 2nd & 3rd Avenues. Well-located and extremely affordable! ADA accessible rooms are available, but there may be some aspects of the property that are not fully accessible. Check with the property to confirm before booking.
- The Arlo Midtown: 351 West 38th betw. 7th & 8th. For folks that don’t mind the west side this hotel is well reviewed on Expedia. ADA Accessible rooms are available.
- The Blakely: 126 W. 55th betw. 6th & 7th. Booking.com has this at $113/night! Reviews are good overall but it looks like there’s no breakfast in the hotel. Nevertheless, in NYC breakfast and coffee are never far away.
- The Westin Grand Central: This hotel is next door to Grand Central Station. Booking right now at $146/night.
- The Hyatt Grand Central: Same as above. Booking right now at $156/night.
Getting Around
The New York City Subway system is still a modern miracle: get everywhere you need to go for $2.90/ride. You can now pay your fare by tapping your credit card, debit card, or smartphone at the turnstile, or purchase a MetroCard at a kiosk and swipe to ride.
- The MTA website provides up-to-date system information and features a trip planner with an accessibility feature.
- The MyMTA App offers highly accurate system information, including bus, subway, and train (LIRR, MetroNorth) times. Available via Google Play and the Apple App Store.
- Get directions using Google Maps.
Yellow and green taxis remain widely available throughout Manhattan, hail a cab on the street and tell the driver where you’d like to go.
Rideshare Apps Lyft and Uber work well throughout the City.