Colorado Book Seminar (CABS) - Minnesota (July 14 - 20, 2024)

Seminar History 

The Out-of-Print and Antiquarian Book Market seminar began in 1977 as the result of a collaboration between Dean Margaret Goggin of the Graduate School of Librarianship and Information Management at the University of Denver and Jacob L. Chernofsky, editor and publisher of AB Bookmans’ Weekly.

Goggin, who had a keen interest in both the worlds of librarianship and antiquarian bookselling, had been dismayed at how little librarians and book dealers knew of each other’s methods, procedures and problems. She conceived of the seminar as a meeting ground and education tool for both. ...  

Demand for the seminar proved to be great. Because of space limitations and the desire to maintain a high faculty to student ratio, enrollment was limited to 100 persons and there was usually a waiting list. The seminar continued to be held at the University of Denver and was universally known as “the Denver Seminar.” The seminar was such a success in both the library and book dealer worlds that for a short time two seminars a year were held, with the additional seminar held at the University of Florida in Gainsville.

When the University of Denver discontinued its Graduate Library School, the seminar found a temporary home in nearby Golden, CO and then at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, where it was located from 1999 until 2019 and became familiarly known as CABS.  After cancellation during the pandemic year of 2020 and a shift to an online curriculum in the summer of 2021, the seminar returned to in-person instruction in July, 2022 at its new location on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, under a new name that echos the roots of the seminar and celebrates its new home: CABS-Minnesota.

Given the enormous changes to the antiquarian book world since 1978, the curriculum has evolved to meet these radical shifts, with increasing emphasis on the realities of the rare book, ephemera, and archives markets in the Internet age.

Today the Antiquarian Book Seminar Foundation (the parent organization of CABS-Minnesota) is the nonprofit that plans and runs the seminar, offers annual scholarships, and administers the Diverse Voices Fellowship. Nearly 3000 students have graduated from the seminar since its inception and many CABS alums have gone on to become prominent members of the bookselling community. Please consider supporting the mission of the ABSF and CABS-Minnesota, and join us in helping the rare book trade evolve and thrive.

The 47 Annual Antiquarian Book Seminars, 2024 

Now in its 47 year, the Antiquarian Book Seminar provides an opportunity for leading specialists to share their expertise and experience with booksellers, librarians, and collectors in a comprehensive survey of the rare book market, both antiquarian and modern. Basic procedures and problems are discussed both formally and informally through a series of lectures, discussions, demonstrations and practical hands-on workshops with emphasis on the internet, computers and internet book selling, as well as traditional methods.

The Antiquarian Book Seminar is designed for people of all levels of experience, from beginners to those with years of experience who want to hone their skills in this rapidly changing field. Those who have taken the course before will note that all lectures have been updated, new faculty added and additional computer and software demonstrations included. If you seek to meet the challenges of book selling in the 21st century, the Antiquarian Book Seminar will provide an intensive opportunity to meet and network with others of like interest.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Finding Books and Related Material
• Evaluation and Pricing
• Reference Tools for the Book Trade
• Writing Effective Book Descriptions
• Working with Ephemera
• Buying and Selling Online
• Buying and Selling at Auction
• Buying and Selling Archives and Collections
• Setting Up and Using a Bookseller Database
• Marketing and Building a Customer Base
• Creating Your Own Website
• Creating a Catalog
• Operating a Profitable Open Shop
• Selling Books to Libraries
• Selling Books on Consignment
• Fakes, Forgeries, Fraud and Theft

Note:  These events are listed by IOBA as a courtesy to book buyers and sellers.  Every effort is made to post accurate information, but the most reliable information will be found at the link to the promoters website:  CABS-Minnesota Seminar at St. Olaf College, Northfield Minnesota (bookseminars.com)