The Bibliographical Society of America

What The Bibliographical Society of America does

The Bibliographical Society of America (BSA), founded in 1904 and incorporated in 1927, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization and the oldest scholarly society in North America dedicated to the study of books and manuscripts as physical objects. Headquartered in the United States (mailing address P.O. Box 9325, Philadelphia, PA), it operates with a single paid employee — Executive Director Tracy Floreani — alongside an elected Council, committees, and volunteer working groups. Its mission centers on fostering bibliographical study across scholars, librarians, booksellers, collectors, and conservators.

The society's product portfolio comprises the quarterly peer-reviewed journal PBSA (The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America), distributed through the University of Chicago Press; BibSite.org, a free community-curated digital repository of bibliographical resources managed by an Editorial Board; BSA Books, a monograph series in partnership with Oak Knoll Press and Penn State Press; the BSA Fellowship Program and New Scholars Program supporting early-career research; and two flagship annual events — the BSA Annual Meeting and Bibliography Week — held each January in New York City alongside partner organizations such as the Grolier Club and New York Society Library. Editorial leadership for PBSA is provided by Editor Sarah Werner, Associate Editor Jonathan Senchyne, and Managing Editor Dylan Lewis.

Revenue is generated through four streams: annual membership dues (which include PBSA print and electronic access); one-time publication sales via distributor and retail channels; donations and planned giving through the Margaret B. Stillwell Legacy Society; and event registration fees. GTM is community-led and event-driven, with marketing primarily through the bibsocamer.org website, a monthly email newsletter, a YouTube channel of recorded lectures, and in-person events. The customer base spans academia, libraries, the rare book trade, conservation, and education, with no single-customer concentration.

Name

The Bibliographical Society of America

Legal name

The Bibliographical Society of America

Website

https://bibsocamer.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scholarly Society and Academic Membership Organization

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Professional Organizations (813920), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

Keywords

• Scholarly society
• Bibliographical research
• Academic publications
• Research fellowships
• Book history studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues that provide access to member benefits including the PBSA journal in print and electronic formats, member-only content, and participation in society activities.
2. Publications Revenue: BSA publishes books on bibliography sold through retailers and partners including Oak Knoll Press and Pennsylvania State University Press. Also earns revenue from the PBSA journal distributed via University of Chicago Press.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Annual Fund donations, planned giving through the Margaret B. Stillwell Legacy Society, stock gifts, QCD donations, and matching gift programs support the society's operations.
4. Event Registration: Registration fees for Annual Meetings and Bibliography Week events, though many events are included with membership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Bibliographical Society of America is a nonprofit scholarly membership organization that fosters the study of books and textual artifacts through its quarterly peer-reviewed journal PBSA, monographs, a digital repository (BibSite.org), short-term research fellowships, early-career scholar programs, and annual in-person events including its Annual Meeting and Bibliography Week in New York City.

Product overview

The Bibliographical Society of America operates as a membership-based scholarly organization offering a portfolio of programs and publications centered on bibliographical study. The core offerings include PBSA, a quarterly peer-reviewed journal published in partnership with the University of Chicago Press; BibSite.org, a free digital repository for bibliographical resources; and BSA Books, monographs on bibliography and book history published since 1919. Additional programs include the Fellowship Program supporting bibliographical research, the New Scholars Program selecting early-career scholars for annual presentations, the BSA Annual Meeting featuring panels and keynote lectures, and Bibliography Week—a week-long collaborative event series. Members receive access to publications, event registration, and a public member directory. The organization is structured around committees and working groups, including the Publications Committee, Fellowship Committee, BibSite Editorial Board, and PBSA Advisory Board.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PBSA: The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America - the society's quarterly journal focusing on text objects across media, geographies, and periods.
• BibSite

Products and services

• PBSA (The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America) A quarterly peer-reviewed journal focusing on the study of textual artifacts across media, geographies, and periods, publishing original articles, bibliographical notes, reflections, reviews, and review essays. Distributed in partnership with University of Chicago Press.
• BibSite.org A free-to-use digital repository of resources for the study of bibliography, managed by the BibSite Editorial Board which receives, evaluates, and catalogs submissions from the BSA community.
• BSA Books Monographs and scholarly publications on bibliography and book history, distributed through partnering publishers including Pennsylvania State University Press and Oak Knoll Press.
• BSA Fellowship Program Annual short-term fellowships awarded on the basis of merit to support bibliographical research projects examining physical textual artifacts from clay tablets to born-digital materials.
• New Scholars Program A program that selects three early-career scholars annually to present their unpublished research on book history and bibliography at the Society's annual meeting.
• BSA Annual Meeting Annual in-person meeting featuring the New Scholars Program, keynote lecture, and synchronous panel presentations, held in New York City each January.
• Bibliography Week An annual week-long series of bibliographical events and programming organized by BSA in cooperation with peer organizations, held in New York City each January.
• BSA Membership Annual membership program offering access to PBSA in print and electronic formats, member-only content, fellowship applications, event registration, and a public member directory.

Quantifiable outcome

• Funds hundreds of thousands of dollars in fellowships, awards, and scholarly programs annually

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Schomburg Center for Research in Black CulturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 October 2026Partner for Home to Harlem symposium celebrating Black bibliography and the centennial of Arturo Schomburg's library acquisition. Co-sponsored event with exhibition tour.
• Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Keynote Lecture at the 2026 BSA Bibliography Week Annual Meeting.
• Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of AmericacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFolio sponsor of Bibliography Week 2026, supporting the annual bibliographical event series.
• University of Chicago Press - Journals DivisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublisher and distributor of PBSA journal and back issues. Handles institutional subscriptions.
• Grolier ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBSA co-organizes Bibliography Week with the Grolier Club, which hosts public and member-only events during the week.
• New York Society LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsors annual members mixer and happy hour event with BSA.
• Virginia Fox Stern Center for the History of the Book in the RenaissanceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFolio sponsor of Bibliography Week 2026.
• Society for Textual Scholarship (STS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSession sponsor for Mysterious Publication Histories panel at 2026 Annual Meeting.
• Philip Salmon & Company Rare BooksminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of PBSA brown bag session 'Exploring Exhibitions as Bibliographical Work' at 2026 Annual Meeting.
• Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerQuarto sponsor of Bibliography Week 2026.
• Rare Book SchoolminorGTM or Marketing PartnerQuarto sponsor of Bibliography Week 2026.
• McKittrick Rare BooksminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSession sponsor for Bibliography Week Orientation and general sponsor of Bibliography Week 2026.
• Oak Knoll PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partner for BSA books, making titles available through oakknoll.com.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Society for Textual Scholarship (STS): Interdisciplinary scholarly society focused on textual editing and scholarship, regularly sponsoring panels at BSA's annual meeting. Comparable in scale, membership model, and academic niche.
• The Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia: University-affiliated bibliographical society sharing members and programming overlap with BSA, particularly through the Rare Book School at UVA.
• Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA): Trade association for U.S. antiquarian booksellers that bridges the bibliographical scholarly and trade communities. Folio sponsor of BSA's Bibliography Week and frequently overlapping membership base.

Direct peers

• Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP): International scholarly society focused on book history and publishing history. Overlapping membership and a regular sponsor of BSA's Bibliography Week, serving the same interdisciplinary academic audience.
• Rare Book School (University of Virginia): Provides continuing education on rare book and manuscript studies, overlapping BSA's librarian/curator/collector/collector-dealer audience. Direct sponsor of Bibliography Week 2026 and longstanding field peer.
• Grolier Club: New York-based club devoted to the art of the book, co-organizing Bibliography Week with BSA. Shares the same bibliophile/scholar/bookseller audience and frequently cross-sponsors events.
• The Bibliographical Society (UK): The UK's equivalent scholarly society for the study of bibliography, publishing The Library journal and operating fellowships and meetings. Most directly comparable to BSA in mission, membership model, and publication program.

Broad incumbents

• American Antiquarian Society: A much larger independent research library dedicated to American history and books through 1876. Shares bibliographical research mission and is both a peer institution and a natural partner for BSA fellows.
• Folger Shakespeare Library: Major research library for early modern English materials and a hub for bibliographical research in the Renaissance. Its staff and programs intersect with BSA's scholarly community and is a recurring source of digital collection imagery for BSA.

Regional players

• Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand: Regional counterpart of BSA covering Australia and New Zealand with a parallel membership, journal (Script & Print), and fellowships model. Direct peer in mission but geographically distinct.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BibSocAmer
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@thebibliographicalsocietyo5994
• Facebookfacebook.com/The-Bibliographical-Society-of-America-61565641565916
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bibliographical-society-of-america

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Bibliographical Society of America