News & Updates
Registrations for the 5th ILAB Symposium in Berlin are now open
Following successful symposia in New York (2019), Oxford (2022), Paris (2024), and Melbourne (2025), the 5th ILAB Symposium in Berlin is presented by the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), the Verband Deutscher Antiquare (VDA), and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
Bringing together leading voices from the rare book trade, special collections, and academia, the 2026 symposium will explore a number of pressing questions facing the field today:
- What contributions have antiquarian booksellers made to libraries and the building of collections?
- How can communication and cooperation between libraries and the trade be strengthened?
- How should institutions and booksellers engage with sensitive historical material and responsible cataloguing practices?
- How can collections be better protected against theft, forgery, and illicit circulation?
The symposium will also celebrate a recent major gift to the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin: Alexander von Humboldt’s personal Catalog der Bücher.
In addition, the 19th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography, the world’s most prestigious award in the field of bibliography and book history, will be presented during the event.
Registration
Participation is free of charge, but registration is essential.
Please register via: secretariat@ilab.org
Programme
Thursday, 17 September 2026
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Unter den Linden
Humboldt-Saal
14:00 – 18:00
Welcome by
Prof. Dr. Achim Bonte, Director General Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Mats Petersson, Centralantikvariatet Stockholm & Vice President of ILAB (President-elect)
Dr. Markus Brandis, Bassenge Auctions & President Verband Deutscher Antiquare
Moderator: Mario Giupponi, Studio Benacense, Italy and Past President, International League of Antiquarian Booksellers
Session 1
Inside Humboldt’s Library: The Rediscovery of Alexander von Humboldt’s “Catalog der Bücher”
In 2025, the Berlin State Library received an important addition to its Humboldt collections through the donation of Alexander von Humboldt’s personal Catalog der Bücher.
The lecture will briefly introduce the object before turning to Humboldt’s own engagement with and support of travellers and explorers. Humboldt was devoted not only to his own research, but also to fostering and advancing the work of others.
Dr. Tobias Kraft, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Peter Altmaier, Chairman of the Friends of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin e. V.; former Federal Minister and former Head of the German Federal Chancellery.
Session 2
KEYNOTE
Building Collections: Libraries and the Rare Book Trade in Cooperation
The relationship between libraries, collectors, and the antiquarian book trade has shaped public and research collections for centuries.
Beyond commercial activity, booksellers and collectors have played an essential role as discoverers of material, mediators of knowledge, and longstanding partners to libraries, archives, and scholarship. Drawing on perspectives from both the library and bookselling worlds, the discussion will explore how these relationships have evolved over time and why continued dialogue remains essential today.
Prof. Dr. Everardus (Eef) Overgaauw, Former Head of the Manuscripts Department at the Berlin State Library and Honorary Professor of Medieval Palaeography and Codicology at Freie Universität Berlin.
Followed by panel discussion with
Dr. Markus Brandis, Bassenge Auktionen & President Verband Deutscher Antiquare
Emma Walshe (Peter Harrington, UK & Library Liaison at the Antiquarian Booksellers Association UK and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers)
Session 3
Award Ceremony: The 19th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography
Since 1965, the ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography has honoured outstanding original contributions to bibliography and book history.
The prize is presented by the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers with the generous support of the B. H. Breslauer Foundation.
Daniel DeSimone, De Simone Company, Washington and ILAB Breslauer Prize Secretary;
Dr. Bettina Wagner, Director State Library Bamberg and ILAB Breslauer Prize Jury
Prize winner(s) (tbc)
Friday, 18 September 2026
Berlin State Library – Potsdamer Straße
Otto-Braun-Saal
10:00 – 13:00
Session 1
Knowledge, Notes, Networks: How Antiquarians Help Shape Collections
Beginning with an introduction to the history of the antiquarian book trade in Berlin, the presentation will explore the close relationship between booksellers, collectors, and academic libraries through historical photographs and visual material.
Particular attention will be given to the role antiquarian booksellers have played in preserving not only rare books, but also bibliographical knowledge and research context. A central example will be the card index archive of Wilfried Bökenkamp (1897–1987), antiquarian bookseller, collector, and former assistant to Karl Hobrecker.
Dr. Sebastian Schmideler, State Library Berlin, Director of the Children's and Young People's Literature Department
Session 2
Difficult Histories: Colonial Legacies, Sensitive Material, and Responsible Cataloguing
How should booksellers, librarians, and researchers approach historical material shaped by colonialism, racism, antisemitism, or other difficult contexts?
This session explores evolving approaches to provenance, contextualisation, sensitive language, and ethical cataloguing practices in both institutional and commercial settings. Bringing together different professional perspectives, the discussion aims to encourage open dialogue on how greater care, transparency, and scholarly integrity can strengthen the work of both libraries and the trade.
Lars Müller, Project Coordinator, Koloniale Kontexte (Colonial Contexts), a Working Group funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG);
Melanie Pehlivan, Deputy Head, Oriental Department, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin;
Matthias Harbeck, Head, Specialised Information Service for Social and Cultural Anthropology, Humboldt University Library Berlin;
Harald Hultquist, Harald Hultqvist Rare Books, Specialist in Africana and Slavery, Stockholm
Session 3
Fake Books, Real Damage – How Can We Respond to Book Theft?
In 2022 and 2023, valuable Russian-language books were stolen from libraries across Europe and replaced with sophisticated handmade facsimiles capable of deceiving even major institutions in Warsaw, Paris, and Geneva. The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin itself lost five Russian books as part of the thefts, which became the subject of a major Europol investigation resulting in convictions in 2025.
The session examines strategies libraries and other collection-holding institutions can use to protect themselves against theft, fraud, and the circulation of illicit material.
The symposium concludes with ILAB Security Chair Scott DeWolfe presenting the ILAB Missing Books Register and discussing the importance of transparency, reporting structures, and international cooperation between libraries, booksellers, and law enforcement in protecting cultural heritage collections.
Olaf Hamann, Head of Eastern Europe Department, State Library Berlin;
Scott DeWolfe, De Wolfe & Wood Booksellers and ILAB Security Chair;
Maria Gericke, Chief Inspector, Berlin Police – Art Crime Unit
Followed in the afternoon by the opening of the international rare book fair