4:38 PM - Terry Pratchett’s stunning news announced earlier this week

Terry Practchett announced earlier this week on his DiscWorld illustrator's site that he has been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onsest Alzheimer's.

And he reminds all of us that, "I still aten't dead, even today."

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4:17 PM - Amazon the winning bidder for one of 7 handmade books by J.K. Rowling

Amazon buys one of only seven handmade copies in existence of J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard at Sotherby's London auction. The proceeds from the £1,950,000 purchase price will be donated to The Children's Voice campaign.

Read more about it and view pictures of the actual book at:
Auction for J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard

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4:30 PM - Movie Recommendation for "Stone Reader"
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

I checked out the DVD of "Stone Reader" from my local library over the Thanksgiving holiday and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Mark Moskowitz (the film maker) chronicles his journey of trying to find Dow Mossman, the author of  the book, "The Stones of Summer" published in 1972.

A very well told story with interviews and discussions with several authors, editors and critics, with a surprising ending.

Anyone interested in literature would enjoy this movie and added interviews.

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6:17 AM - Museums, Libraries, and Archives Invited to Apply for Free Connecting to Collections Bookshelf

 The Institute of Museum and Library Services ( http://imls.gov/ ), in cooperation with the American Association of State and Local  History ( http://www.aaslh.org/), is offering two thousand free  copies of the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of  books, DVDs, online resources, and an annotated bibliography that are essential for the care of collections.

 The IMLS Bookshelf focuses on collections typically found in art or history museums and in libraries' special collections, with an added selection of texts for zoos, aquaria, public gardens, and nature centers. It will address such topics as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues.

 Priority will be given to smaller institutions, but large museums and libraries with special collections are also eligible to apply. Federally operated institutions, for-profit institutions, and libraries that do not hold special collections are not  eligible to receive the bookshelf.

 The bookshelf will be awarded free in two application periods:

 September 1 to November 15, 2007; and March 1 to April 15, 2008.

 Instructions, qualifications, and the content of the IMLS Bookshelf, along with the online application, can be found at the  AASLH Web site.

 RFP Link: 

 http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10009214/aaslh

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11:14 AM - 90 Scholarships available for Rare Book School at the Univ. of VA

One of the faculty members at the Antiquarian Book Seminar last week in Colorado Springs was Terry Belanger founder of the Rare Book School in 1983, now at the University of VA.

He encouraged us to apply and to spread the word that they have 90 scholarships to give out this fall which can be used for courses in the next 2 years.  DEADLINE TO APPLY IS AUGUST 31ST.

Some additional information:

Most courses are aimed at someone who knows nothing. The only requirement is ignorance of the subject. 

Applications need to be turned in 3 months before course date.

Class size is small with only 10-12 people in class. 

For more information go to: Rare Book School

Scholarship Application & Procedures

Read Course Evaluations for more information about the courses and instructors.

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10:37 AM - Annual Antiquarian Book Seminar held in Colorado Springs

I've just returned from attending the Antiquarian Book Seminar held in Colorado Springs last week.  It was the most intense, money well spent, educational, generous sharing of knowledge and experience, event that I have ever attended

The "seminarians" ranged from book sellers, dealers, Friends of Library, collectors, vendors, librarians and many more.

The faculty was a "who's who" of Professionals who were there to share and teach us the basics from writing a book description to proper etiquette at a book fair.

Starting at 8:30 am and going until 9 or 10 pm every day, the days are full and time is well organized and maximized for the optimal learning experience.  This "Bookselling boot camp" is not for the faint of heart, it is for those who are ready and willing to learn from successful professionals in an open, supportive, "we want you to succeed", hands-on environment, interspersed with humor and fun. Starting at 8:30 am and going until 9 or 10 pm every day, the days are full and time is well organized and maximized for the optimal learning experience. 

More information is available at: http://www.bookseminars.com/

There are a few scholarships available and if you want to take your business, hobby, or personal knowledge of rare and antiquarian books to the next level, this week will be the best investment of your time and money.

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6:23 AM - Findings in the pages of used books

I'm starting a collection of items found in the used books that I acquire.

Here are a few of my findings so far:

Bone Density Report for a 71 year old Female

Airline Boarding Pass (used)

New unused Greeting Card with envelope

Bookmarks from bookstores from:

Borders, Cincinnati, OH

Borders - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Borders - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Fields Book Store, San Francisco, CA

Joseph-Beth Booksellers, OH/KY (2)

The Pilgrim's Way Bookstore, Carmel, CA

The Round Table: A Better Book Store, Memphis, TN

Newpaper Article:

Dayton Daily News and Journal Herald, Wed. April 22, 1987 article by Lolita M. Rhodes, 'Remember,' writer says at CSU reviewing Maya Angelou's hour performance of poetry, song and common sense.

Grade School class photograph from the early 1940's

And of course misc. bits of paper used as booksmarks.

How about you,  what interesting findings have you come across in used books or library books?

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9:39 PM - Beauty For Commerce: Publisher's Bindings 1830-1910
Category: Blogging

Another great resource on publishers bindings is the exhibit by The University of Rochester, River Campus Libraries, Rare Books and Special Collections, Beauty For Commerce: Publisher's Bindings 1830-1910

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?page=3352

Enjoy,

Jill

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8:51 AM - Publishers' Bindings Online, 1815-1930: The Art of Books (PBO) digital resource.
Category: Blogging

Are you aware of the cultural and historical significance of the decorative bindings of the books in your collection? If not, there is a new digital resource available for you to use.

The University of Alabama, University Libraries, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, received an IMLS National Leadership grant to create the digital resource, Publishers' Bindings Online, 1815-1930: The Art of Books (PBO) in September 2003.

This digital resource is now available at: http://bindings.lib.ua.edu/about.html

The fully-populated PBO database now contains 4526 books and includes 10,570 images!  

Research Tools Created by the BPO project include:

Glossary of Publishers' Bindings-Related Terms

Master Bibliographies of Print and Online Resources

Binding Designers: Biographies and Examples

Controlled Vocabulary for Subject Headings

Gallery of Book-Cloth Grain Patterns

Publishers Across the Land

Publishers' Bindings by Decade

Publishers' Bindings Galleries

UW-Madison's Scandinavian-American Publisher Holdings, 1840-1920

I highly recommend this valueable resource.

Jill

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