To the extent that texts of talks become available, with the permission of the speaker, we'll provide electronic access and links to the speaker and or club as they wish. Thirty people may hear a talk in San Francisco and in time another 150 read it on line. As collecting becomes more specialized such talks will become important tools for the new collector and an enduring accomplishment for the person giving the talk.

And while this approach to open access is forward looking it also envisions that past discussions that are available in text will also be linked as the opportunity arises. Each year there are almost three hundred such talks across North America, almost all of which represent significant preparation in concert with decades of experience that too often is heard by only a few. In this way we hope to capture these efforts and to make them accessible to the interested as they become aware of their availability. The internet may be strengthening individual collecting. The clubs can turn it into their advantage. In truth most such lectures and discussions are unique, even timeless. They should not be lost.

For those clubs and organizations that have or someday will have the capability to film presentations we will provide video links.

Here is a list of some, certainly not all, of the clubs whose focus is the book as object. These are the book Collecting Societies that are members of or affiliated with FABS, the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies:

The Alcuin Society
John King
604 538-7092
antbook@dccnet.com

The Aldus Society
Ronald L. Ravneberg
614 457-1153
aldussociety@aol.com

The Ampersand Club
Robert Rulon-Miller
800 441-0076
rulon@rulon.com

The Baltimore Bibliophiles
Binnie Syril Braunstein
410 486-6178
bsbgc@aol.com

The John Russell Bartlett Society
Pamela A. Rakowski
64 Cathedral Avenue
Providence, RI 02908
401 751-5581
prakowski@provlib.org

The Bixby Club
John Neal Hoover
University of Missouri
Jefferson Memorial Library
St. Louis Mercantile Library
Room 265
8001 Natural Bridge Road
St. Louis, MO 63121
314 516-7245
jhoover@umsl.edu
The Manuscript Society
An international organization of persons & institutions
Anthony J. Mourek
mourek_manuscript@msn.com

Miniature Book Society
Mark Palkovic, President
Editor, Music Library Association Index and Bibliography Series
417 Blegen Library, P.O. Box 210152
2602 McMicken Circle
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0152
513 556-1964 palkovma@ucmail.uc.edu