Don’t stop here

Other prizes

We’re not the only game in town, so don’t limit your submission to just us. Some college and university libraries host their own book collecting contests. Even if your school doesn’t, you’re still welcome to enter the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest.

And if you’re a woman 30 or younger, don’t miss the Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize.

Being social

If you like collecting, and if you like other people, see if there’s a bibliophiles’ group in your area. The Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies maintains a list of some 30 such groups around the country.

Make it a career

Curious about turning your hobby into a career? Becoming a special collections librarian, archivist, or bookseller might be for you.

The American Library Association’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) maintains a Careers FAQ guide chock-full of useful resources for the aspiring librarian. It offers scholarships for its annual conference and runs a Mentoring Program for interested members.

The Society of American Archivists has a similar careers FAQ page, plus its own conference scholarships and mentoring program.

Maybe bookselling? Reach out to your favorite bookseller(s) to learn more about the trade. Antiquarian Book Seminars offers the Diverse Voices Fellowship for those interested in formal training for the book trade. If you’re already a bookseller—even just part-time—the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA) offers scholarships to some of the educational opportunities listed below.

Finally, if you’re considering any of these careers, you might enjoy connecting with peers at We Here.

Keep learning

Rare Book School and California Rare Book School offer classes on a wide range of topics for all skill levels. The aforementioned Antiquarian Book Seminars (US), as well as the York Antiquarian Book Seminar (UK), have long provided multi-day introductions to the rare and second-hand book world, especially helpful for aspiring booksellers. A variety of scholarships are available for all of these, some of them reserved for members of historically underrepresented communities.

There’s no end to the educational programming out there. The Bibliographical Society of America offers a free annual symposium, maintains a YouTube channel streaming an impressive breadth of programming, and awards numerous fellowships for those taking a deep scholarly dive. The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) also offers scholarships for its annual conference.