Rare Books and Manuscripts

The American Printing History Association (APHA) encourages the study of the history of printing and related arts and crafts, including calligraphy, typefounding, typography, papermaking, bookbinding, illustration, and publishing. The organization does this through a wide variety of programs and services, including conferences, publications, and awards. Publishes the semi-annual journal Printing History.

The Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) is the oldest scholarly society in North America dedicated to the study of books and manuscripts as physical objects. It was organized in 1904 and incorporated in 1927 with the principal objectives of promoting bibliographical research and issuing bibliographical publications. These objectives have been and continue to be accomplished through a broad array of activities, including meetings, lectures, and fellowship programs, as well as the publishing of books and the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America (PBSA), North America’s leading bibliographical journal. The Society is open to all those interested in bibliographical problems and projects, and its membership includes bibliographers, librarians, professors, students, booksellers, and collectors worldwide.

Since 1947, the Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia has promoted interest in books and manuscripts, maps, printing, the graphic arts, and bibliography and textual criticism. Publishes bibliographical monographs as well as the journal Studies in Bibliography.

The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). RBMS strives to represent and promote the interests of librarians who work with rare books, manuscripts, and other types of special collections. Publishes the quarterly journal RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage.

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) is North America's oldest and largest national professional association dedicated to the needs and interests of archives and archivists. SAA represents more than 6,200 professional archivists employed by governments, universities, businesses, libraries, and historical organizations nationally. Publishes the semi-annual journal The American Archivist.

SHARP is a global scholarly society dedicated to the appreciation, development, and challenges of the social roles of print and other forms of communication throughout history and into the future. Members’ interests range from manuscripts to ephemera to digital texts, probing how print can promote and exclude, how digital trends both expand and limit the voices that find their way into public awareness, and the role of manuscripts in textual transmission. Publishes the semi-annual journal Book History.