ILAB SYMPOSIUM to be held at Oxford this year

This year ILAB is hosting another symposium examining issues affecting the world of antiquarian books today in Oxford, the great city of books and learning, following the very successful symposium held at the Grolier Club in New York in 2019. It will take place at the Weston Library Lecture Hall at the Bodleian Library on Wednesday, 14 September 2022 from 10am – 5pm.

A diverse and very knowledgeable group of booksellers, collectors, government representatives, librarians and law enforcement officers have agreed to share their views on some of the complex and challenging issues faced by those working with antiquarian books and related rare materials today.

All booksellers, librarians and bibliophiles are welcome to attend this day of discussion. Early booking is advised, as places are limited and tickets are £25. It follows on from the 2022 ILAB Congress, which is now fully booked. Please register your interest with the ILAB Office: secretariat@ilab.org.

This year's focus is on 'Libraries, Booksellers & Collectors: New Ways of Cooperation' and the first session specifically looks at the competition and cooperation between private and institutional collecting.

Many institutional libraries have been able to add a great number of rare books and manuscripts to their collections over the past few decades in particular. At the same time, a number of important historic materials have joined the private collections of influential collectors. Depending on the specific contexts of acquisition, these developments raise a number of questions about the roles of private collectors and institutions – and the interactions between them – in the ecosystem of the wider book world.

Should all historically important materials be accessible to scholars? Is it in the best interests of society if donations to institutional libraries are encouraged by tax incentives? Should unique and historically important books and manuscripts remain in (or return to) their country of origin? How does the competition for the most valuable items at the top of the rare book market shape the present and future of book collecting? How can (or should) private collectors and libraries work together? These and other questions will be discussed by four panellists who bring international perspectives and varied experiences to these themes.

Chaired by Stuart Bennett, ILAB General Secretary and Stuart Bennett Rare Books, US, speakers include Dr. Christopher Fletcher, Keeper of Special Collections, Bodleian Library, UK; Dr. Anke Timmermann FLS, Type & Forme Rare Books & Manuscripts, Grantham, UK; Patrick Olson, Patrick Olson Rare Books, US and Dr. William Zachs, Antiquary.

Another session looks at the changes and challenges that the international movement of antiquarian books in the 2020s have to face. Panellists from around the world will participate in the discussion, including the Head of the Special Collections Department at the Book and Reading Service of the French Ministry of Culture and international art market commentator, analyst and campaigner Ivan Macquisten.

The third session will give a great insight on how to create a safe environment in which to trade, buy and protect antiquarian books and related materials with representatives from the Metropolitan Police London and Cambridge University Library, who have demonstrated how joint efforts by the trade, libraries and law enforcement can lead to the successful recovery of missing books; how it is possible to overcome a perceived stigma when reporting missing material and that collaboration with the international network of ILAB-affiliated booksellers is useful for the dissemination of information.

The symposium ends with the awards ceremony of the 18th Breslauer Prize for Bibliography.