2023 Annual Report
From Our Leadership ↑
Outgoing President Caroline Duroselle-Melish
It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as President of the Bibliographical Society of America. For two years I have worked closely with BSA officers and Council members, but I have also enjoyed getting to know BSA members. In fact, one of the most rewarding parts of this work has been to see the constant and growing support of our membership. I am extremely proud of the successful fundraising campaigns supporting BSA’s annual activities, securing the long-term funding of fellowships and other awards. It has been satisfying to lead the Council in establishing the strategic pillars you will read here, which, with the Equity Action Plan, we hope will guide BSA’s future leaders in setting new priorities for the Society. Last but not least, I am constantly impressed by what the BSA does: the quality of the articles in PBSA, the multitude of interesting events offered to BSA members throughout the year, the range of subjects supported by BSA fellowships, and the fascinating papers given by New Scholars. To all of those who make the BSA’s programs happen, I give my sincere gratitude and many thanks to BSA Executive Director Erin McGuirl for her diligent and intelligent work without which many of these initiatives would not have been possible.
Outgoing Secretary John McQuillen
I have been involved with BSA for over a decade now: as a New Scholar, member of the Publications Committee, and Fellowship awardee, culminating in these last four years as Secretary, wherein I supported the growth of the organization through the Equity Action Plan and Land Acknowledgement. I am honored by BSA’s support of my research, and I hope that my current (and future) work for the Society will allow us to continue to support and promote the wide diversity of bibliographical scholarship.
Outgoing Treasurer G. Scott Clemons
I have had the pleasure and privilege of serving as the Treasurer of the Bibliographical Society of America for close to twenty years, a pleasure and privilege exceeded only by the deep satisfaction of seeing how the Society has grown over these years, and the gratitude for the councilors, officers, and committee members who have nurtured this growth. I am particularly grateful for the transformational change introduced by Erin McGuirl in her role as Executive Director. The Society is unrecognizably better for her leadership.
As a collector and amateur scholar (in the truest sense of the word), I have benefitted enormously from the BSA community of like-minded bibliophiles. The world views bibliography as an individual sport – the lone scholar secreted away in a library, wrestling with an ancient question about an even more ancient text. We know better. Understanding material culture in an increasingly dematerialized world lies at the heart of humanity, and collaboration is the seedbed of discovery. It is precisely the exchange of ideas, insights, hunches, scholarship, discoveries, and enthusiasms that allows us to capitalize the second word of our name. Long may our Society flourish!
BSA Strategic Pillars ↑
Vision
We broaden access to bibliographical community, resources, and scholarship. We expand traditional definitions of scholars and scholarship to include everyone engaged with and interested in bibliographical knowledge, no matter their background or professional identity.
Mission
The BSA supports the study of material texts in traditional and emerging formats, encompassing (for example) graphic, tactile, digital, and other formats and materials.
Goal
We build awareness of bibliographical scholarship and practice and its relevance to research, pedagogy, scholarship, and public humanities discourse.
Connector ↑
The community of BSA members, Fellows, New Scholars, writers, speakers and presenters, and newsletter subscribers is the Society’s greatest strength. The Society serves its broad community when it facilitates connections between individuals and small groups.
We promote research and practice between disciplines and professions.
We adopt policies and procedures that prioritize equity and inclusion in all of our programs as well as in governance.
We recognize the similarities and honor the differences between material texts in historically and globally diverse forms.
We organize events that create a sense of belonging within and responsibility to the field.
We seek collaborative partnerships with organizations that share our vision and values.
BSA by the Numbers ↑
3,000
subscribers to the BSA e-newsletter
1,544
subscribers to the BSA YouTube Channel
1,405
people registered for BSA-hosted events
685
BSA member-subscribers to PBSA
486
institutions subscribing to PBSA in print & online
179
open access resources available in BibSite
Cultivator ↑
We incubate new ideas around research, practice, and pedagogy in the field of bibliography. We foster traditional and innovative research, pedagogical resources, and event formats to engage with diverse audiences.
We embrace an expansive definition of bibliography, focusing on material texts in traditional and emerging formats.
We value process and product equally. New and traditional methods, approaches, and materials advance bibliographical scholarship; BSA recognizes research and development as assets to the field.
We encourage early career bibliographical practitioners through fellowships, publication, mentorship, and events programming.
We eagerly welcome new members into the community and facilitate their sustained engagement with the Society.
The 2023 Dorothy Porter Wesley Fellowship helped me to complete my book, Encyclopédie noire: The Making of Moreau de Saint-Méry’s Intellectual World, now available from the Omohundro Institute/University of North Carolina Press. Thanks to the Porter Fellowship, I was able to secure permissions and high-resolution color scans for many of the 70 images illustrating the 392-page text. The book features a discussion of how U.S., Caribbean and European print culture – created in Moreau’s Philadelphia printshop and via his collaborations with book professionals in Saint-Domingue, France and Italy – was funded by his ownership of enslaved people who provided both labor and intellectual knowledge that made his career as a lawyer and cultural historian possible.
– Sara E. Johnson, Professor of Literature of the Americas at the University of California, San Diego.
Catalyst ↑
We spark growth and change in the field of bibliography. We value nimbleness and elasticity. We invite in people who work with a broad range of textual artifacts and nurture their work, adapting mindfully to the evolving needs of the field and its constituents.
We advance research excellence at the leading edge of the field in a variety of scholarly formats.
We facilitate conversations about the definitions and uses of critical bibliography and bibliographical methods.
We encourage people, especially voices new to the field, to contribute to bibliographical discourse.
The American Antiquarian Society embraces recent developments at PBSA, which align with our Program in the History of the Book in American Culture (PHBAC). The June 2022 issue on Black Bibliography, for instance, features interventions from many PHBAC seminar leaders and participants. We admire the new look of the journal and feel that PBSA is becoming more welcoming and accessible to diverse audiences.
– John J. Garcia, AAS Director of Scholarly Programs and Partnerships; Immediate Past President, Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography, Rare Book School.
Leaders Nurturing the Next Generation ↑
Kinohi Nishikawa, nominee for President
I’m honored to be named incoming President of the BSA. Like many scholars and critics, I wasn’t formally trained in bibliography. I’ve been lucky, though, that BSA members extended me a warm welcome into the organization in my early career. They helped me understand how I’ve been doing bibliography all along with historically understudied yet critically important artifacts and archives. Today I consider my work directly in conversation with bibliographical concerns, and I consult PBSA as the most reliable source of new and interesting writing in my fields. I look forward to continuing to expand BSA’s orbit so that even more early career professionals see our community as one they’d like to be part of.
Megan Peiser, nominee for Vice President
It is a privilege to be a part of BSA as we take up the work of the Equity Action Plan and work to ensure that all of our diverse membership can thrive in this community. In the past two years I have learned more about the intellectually compelling and culturally rich work of bibliography than in many years of work in this field combined. The joy and respect that BSA members bring to our collective labors and camaraderie continue to propel me forward in my service. Yakoke for trusting me thus far in sharing my gifts as part of this journey.
Meghan Constantinou, nominee for Secretary
Since I joined the BSA nearly a decade ago, it has been an important source of intellectual fellowship for me. As a professional rare book librarian whose career has developed outside of traditional academic institutions, BSA has been a welcoming scholarly home. One of our organization’s great strengths is its interdisciplinary community, which invites a diversity of viewpoints and methods all contributing to a greater understanding of textual artifacts. As an incoming BSA leader, I am excited to foster opportunities for the study of material texts across conventional boundaries of discipline and experience.
Patrick Olson, nominee for Treasurer
The home that the BSA provides for bibliographers of all sorts, no matter your profession or affiliation or background, has long been one of its most compelling benefits. Wherever you are and whatever you do, you’re part of a community with shared interests and values. The incoming treasurer’s goal is simple: work with BSA colleagues to ensure this welcoming home for the bibliographically curious has the means to always keep the doors open.
Become a Member ↑
When you join the BSA, you become part of a virtuous cycle within the wider bibliographical community. Members’ dues help the Society sustain its programs: employing a full-time Executive Director, maintaining the digital platforms – like our website, BibSite, newsletter, Zoom, and Kaleidoscope – that make the BSA’s programs accessible, and generally keeping the lights on. In turn, BSA nourishes members’ bibliographical practice through our programs and curated membership benefits.
Whatever your background or expertise, and wherever you are in your bibliographical journey, we invite your unique experience and perspective to our ranks. Become a member today.
BSA’s 65 Officers, Council, and Committee members fuel the Society’s programs, initiatives, governance, fundraising, and so much more. Without them, none of this would be possible. This group (Jeanne-Marie Musto, Elizabeth Denligner, Julie Park, and Paloma Celis Carbajal) represents a small fraction of those who give their time to BSA.
Alice Schreyer, Caroline Duroselle-Melish, and Kyle Triplett at the 2023 BSA Annual Meeting.
Recognizing Our Volunteers & Donors ↑
We are so proud of our growing list of donors. To all of you who made gifts of their time and treasure this year, thank you for supporting the BSA’s mission.
* Indicates a gift to the Dorothy Porter Wesley Endowment Fund.
Committee & Working Group Volunteers
Colleen Barrett
R.B. Bartgis
Jeffrey Barton
A.J. Berkovitz
Dorothy J. Berry
John Bidwell
Barbara Bieck
Tad Boehmer
Mathieu D.S. Bouchard
Shira Belén Buchsbaum
Adriana Cásarez
Ashley Cataldo
Hwisang Cho
G. Scott Clemons
Meghan Constantinou
Megan L. Cook
Mary Crawford
Jamie Cumby
Sarah Cusk
Elizabeth Denlinger
Jeremy Dibbell
Caroline Duroselle-Melish
Eric Ensley
Jesse R. Erickson
María Victoria Fernández
Brigitte Fielder
Emily Friedman
Rodger Friedman
Alan Galey
John J. Garcia
Cynthia Gibson
Thomas Goldwasser
Jose C. Guerrero
Henrietta Paige Hakes
Ann R. Hawkins
E. Haven Hawley
Laura Helton
Rachel Hendrick
Barbara Heritage
Adam G. Hooks
Valerie Hotchkiss
Joseph Howley
Gina Marie Hurley
Leah Johanson
Emily Kader
Alvionne Karpinski
Mary Catherine Kinniburgh
Rhiannon Knol
Evyn Kropf
Mark Samuels Lasner
Zachary Lesser
Dylan Lewis
Karen Limper-Herz
John T. McQuillen
Robert D. Montoya
Leslie Morris
Nina Musinsky
Jeanne-Marie Musto
Andrew T. Nadell
Douglas Nelson
Karla A.M. Nielsen
Kinohi Nishikawa
Heather O’Donnell
Patrick Olson
Teri Osborn
Elizabeth Ott
Kate Ozment
Philip S. Palmer
Julie Park
Ronald Patkus
Todd Pattison
Benjamin Pauley
Erin Paulson
Megan Peiser
Douglas Pfeiffer
Aaron T. Pratt
Charlotte Priddle
Agnieszka Rec
Ryan Roberts
Rebecca Romney
Jacinta R. Saffold
Jaime Groetsema Saifi
Emma M. Sarconi
Alice Schreyer
Jonathan Senchyne
Curtis Small
Kenneth Soehner
David Solo
Derrick R. Spires
William Stoneman
Michael F. Suarez
Shannon Supple
Jasmine Sykes-Kunk
Irene Tichenor
David Vander Meulen
Neil Weijer
Sarah Werner
Nick Wilding
Heather Wolfe
Justin Zaremby
$50 and under
66 Members at the Sustaining Level
Anonymous (10)
Anonymous*
Oscar Arce
Leslie Arthur
J.P. Ascher
Lucretia Baskin
James Bennett
Philip Blocklyn
Ken Carpenter
John Chalmers
William Coffill
Cait Coker
Meghan Constantinou
Patrick Crowley*
Jeremy Dibbell*
Erika Dowell
Martha Driver
Isabel Dulfano
Jesse Erickson
Donald Farren
Brigitte Fielder
Alexandra Franklin*
Thomas Goldwasser
Miles Grier
Emiko Hastings
Laura Helton
Charles Johanningsmeier
David Johnson
Sara Johnson
Deborah J. Leslie
Jeffrey Makala*
Jeffrey Marshall
Russell Martin
Robert Montoya
Leslie Morris
Francisco Nahoe
Douglas Nelson
Corinna Norrick-Ruehl
Heather O’Donnell
Alex Obercian
Patrick Olson
Liz Ott
Todd Pattison
Megan Peiser
Charlotte Priddle
Ryan Roberts
Rebecca Romney
Louis Saraceno
Stephen Schmidt
Marcy Schwartz
Carolyn Smith
Shannon Supple
Marian Toledo
Carolyn Vega
Robert Walls
Germaine Warkentin
John Windle
Alexandra Wingate
Kelly Wisecup
Heather Wolfe
Natalie Young
$51–$250
28 Members at the Leadership Level
Dee Andrews
Anonymous (6)
Anonymous*
Martin Antonetti
Nick Aretakis
Carol Armbruster
Colleen Barrett
Mark Bartlett
Thomss Bird
Erin Blake
Sharon Brown
Douglas Brown*
John Cole
Heather Cole*
Meghan Constantinou*
Elizabeth Denlinger*
Consuelo Dutschke
Stephen Ferguson*
Maria Victoria Fernandez
Brigitte Fielder*
Elizabeth Fisher*
Rodger Friedman*
Emily Friedman*
Claudia Funke
Vincent Golden
Jacqueline Goldsby*
James Gray
Nicole Gray*
Scott Gwara
Henrietta Hakes
Peter Hanff
Laura Helton*
Barbara Heritage*
Suzanne Karr Schmidt
Cheryl Knott*
Jim Kuhn*
John Lancaster*
James Lawton
Don Lindgren
Richard Linenthal
James Marrow
Lisa Maruca
Jeffrey Masten
Erin McGuirl*
Leslie A. Morris*
Jeanne-Marie Musto
Andrew Nadell
Paul Needham
Naomi Nelson*
Patrick Olson*
Elizabeth Ott*
John Overholt*
Benjamin Pauley
Diana Pearson*
James Periconi
Elizabeth Pope*
Judith Raymo*
Sarah Robbins
Michael Ryan
Mark Samuels Lasner
Emma Sarconi*
Justin G. Schiller
Nina Schneider
Gail Schreiner
Alice Schreyer
Susanne Schulz-Falster
Jonathan Senchyne*
Ronald Smeltzer
Robert Smith
Carolyn Smith
Kenneth Soehner
Derrick R. Spires
William Stoneman
Michael Suarez
Morgan Swan
Susan Tane*
Esther Terry*
Mary Augusta Thomas*
Steve Tomashefsky
C.S. Tomashefsky
Heather Topcik
Janet Tyson
Eric White
Michael Winship*
Geneva Kebler Wiskemann*
David Wolf
Michael Zinman
$251–$1000
8 Members at the Advancing Level
Anonymous (2)
Ri. Dyke Benjamin
William Buice*
Caroline Duroselle-Melish
Jacqueline Goldsby
Elizabeth Kelly-Griswold
Meredith McGill*
John McQuillen
Robert H. Miller
Nina Musinsky
Beppy Owen*
Rebecca Romney*
Jacinta Saffold*
Daniel Slive
Margaret Stetz*
William Stoneman
David Swinford
G. Thomas Tanselle
Mark Tomasko
Justin Zaremby
$1000–$10,000
Anonymous
William P. Barlow
T. Kimball Brooker
G. Scott Clemons
Fern & Hersh Cohen*
Bruce & Mary Crawford
Scott Jordan
Ellen Michelson*
George Ong
Nell Painter*
Caroline Schimmel*
Alice Schreyer
Barbara A. Shailor
The Caxton Club
Sarah E. Thomas*
Irene Tichenor
Jacqueline Vossler
$10,000 & above
Anonymous (2)
Anonymous*
Lisa Unger Baskin
Joan M. Friedman
The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
The Peck Stacpoole Foundation
The Pine Tree Foundation of New York
Support the Annual Fund ↑
On October 1, 2023, the BSA started our new fiscal year. By making your annual contribution now, you help to set us on the right track for Bibliography Week and new calendar year.