Copenhagen 1991
NEWSLETTER 45
Translated into English by NM from the French version of the Newsletter.
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Colleagues,
The 31st ILAB Congress in September 1992 will gather more than 400 delegates from 17 countries. Delegates from 271 bookshops will attend the General Meeting, which is certainly a record.
The innovation of this Congress will be the Friendship Programme proposed by the German Association which has brought to life a very ancient Dutch project which wasn’t implemented then because of the lack of votes. I am very happy to see our German Colleagues pick up this idea and lay the foundations of what will become a noble tradition. Allowing young dealers to attend a congress, isn’t there the most efficient way of showing solidarity, and one of the justifications of the League?
To keep our reputation of a professional organisation we will need, from time to time, to update our rules and customs.
The presidents of all the associations will soon receive proposals to amend these texts. After the Japanese association, a Korean association has just joined the League, and a Chinese project is under study! We will have to adapt to the fact that in a near future we will have to deal with peoples whose traditions, tastes, and thought are different from the Western ones. The weight of an international organisation is measured by the quality of relations that its members have with their neighbours. The world has become a small one, and we are all near neighbours.
We will also have the opportunity to discuss the consequences of the new communication methods. The prices of national markets have nearly all aligned themselves on the prices seen at international fairs. This state of affairs leaves hardly any margin for sales on commission and is probably a bad thing for book fairs. The international market could well become the field of new challenges to our professional know-how. If someone wishes to write an essay on the subject, let him get in touch with me.
During the next congress, we will also have the opportunity of talking about our Prize for Bibliography, of the future edition of the directory, as well as the new edition of the multi-language dictionary. We will also mention the possibility of the publication in instalments of a dictionary in many languages of the abbreviations used in our trade.
I hope that this future congress of the ILAB will promote a large dialogue between the dealers, so that our trade may know a proud and fruitful future.
Anton Gerits
President
MEETING OF THE ILAB COMMITTEE
Friday 30 August, 1991 - 10 am to 12 :30 pm
Domus Technica Board Room, Copenhagen
1. Apologies
All Committee members are present except Mr. Louis Loeb-Laroque, excused.
The Presidents of Honour, Mr. John Lawson, Dr. Frieder Kocher-Benzing and Pas President Mr. Hans Bagger are present. Mr. Bob de Graaf is excused.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the Committee Meeting held in London on 13th March 1991
Approved.
3. President’s Report
See the minutes of the Presidents’ Meeting
4. Treasurer’s Report
Mr. Weinstein showed a Statement of receipts and disbursements from 1st February to 31 July 1991, and explained the different points. The result is satisfactory. Thanks to the advertisements in the Newlsetter, and the Book Fair Levy, ILAB’s income has considerably increased. Mr. Weinstein hopes that ILAB’s funds will continue to grow, as it is going to be receiving shortly more funds from the sales of the Directory.
5. Newsletter Report
The promised English version of the history of the Swiss association has not yet been received. Which is why the editor will not be able to publish any article on the history of national associations in the next issue. This problem will have to be discussed at the presidents’ meeting. Each president should nominate one of its members to write the history of its association. Dr. Vittorio Soave mentions that the history of the ALAI is in preparation.
6. Directory
Mr. Brumme presents an account of the sales. He regrets that only a few associations have committed themselves to promote the sale of the directory. Thus, some of the big associations have not even bought one copy for each of their members. The suggestions put forward to promote this publication are the same as the ones made during the committee meeting in London. However, the good will has to be turned into concrete action, otherwise Mr. Brumme will not handle the next edition. The sales up to now amount to about 20,000 DM, and the relevant commission will soon be sent to the League.
7. Dictionary
See the Minutes of the Presidents’ Meeting.
8. ILAB Archives
The talks between Mr. Gerits and the Library of the University of Amsterdam have produced good results. The Library is willing to keep the League’s archives. It also agrees to the restrict their access to people who have a written permission from the Committee. A the rooms at the University where the archives will be stored are not yet available, Mr. Gerits says that he is willing to keep the archives until then.
The President thanks Mr. Gerits, as it is essential to have all the archives in one place.
9. Elections
See the Minutes of the Presidents’ Meeting
10. Prize for Bibliography
Dr. Frieder Kocher-Benzing makes the Jury’s decision known to hand out the Prize to the work by Anthony Hobson:
Humanists and Bookbinders. The Origins and Diffusion of the Humanistic Bookbinding 145- 1559 with a Census of Historiated Plaquette and Medallion Bindings of the Renaissance. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
The following two authors receive an honorable mention:
Arnaldo Ganda - Niccolo Gorgonzola Editore et Libraria in Milano (1496-1536). Firenze, Leo S. Olschki.
Peter H. Meurer - Atlantes Colonienses. Die Kölne Schule der Atlaskartographie 1570 - 1610. Bad Neustadt a.d. Saale, Dietrich Pfahler.
The Prize will be personally handed to Mr. Anthony Hobson during the Gala dinner of the Presidents’ Meeting, on 31st August 1991. The Prize of this year is still of 2500$, but will grow to 10,000$, thanks to the proposals made during the Tokyo Congress.
The proposal made in London, during the Committee Meeting, was criticised by Dr. Kocher-Benzing, who was not present at that time. He finds that the rule set up by the Committee during the London meeting is too rigid and does not take into account the many members who are willing to contribute to the fund, in order to enhance the Prize, but with lower amounts than the ones proposed.
After a general discussion on the subject, the following proposal is made: any ILAB member wishing to contribute to the enhancement of the Prize will be able to do so with an amount, whatever its size. The names of the donors will be printed in the Newsletter, in alphabetical order, without differentiation.
Then, Mr. Gerits suggests to change the name of the Prize. He explains that, as the Triennial Prize is awarded every three years, again and again it coincided with a presidents’ meeting instead of a congress, where a larger audience can give the prize more publicity. This is why he suggests to fix a date for the handing out of the Prize during a Congress, as the Prize is an expression of the whole League’s activity. Furthermore, during a congress, the event might have more chances of being reported in the Press. Therefore, Mr. Gerits proposes to hand out the Prize, for the last time, in three years - during the 1994 Congress in the Netherlands, and from that year onwards, every two or four years, but always during a congress.
Three members of the Jury, Dr. Frieder Kocher-Benzing, Mr. John Lawson and Mr. Konrad Meuschel, are against a biennial Prize, partly because the costs involved would be too high, and also because experience seems to show that really good works are not published so frequently. All three prefer a four year interval. The Prize should simply be named “ILAB Prize for Bibliography”.
11. Security
The Committee considers that it would be important for each association to have telephone chains advising all its members whenever a book theft occurs. Mr. Weinstein suggests that an ILAB committee member be designated as security coordinator between the national associations and the committee. In this way, each association would know who to contact to make known of an important theft.
Mr. Nitta recommends to use the fax machine to do so, as it would be more advantageous for ILAB due to the long distances between the various associations and the committee. He explains that this method is used in Japan with good results.
12. Any other business
See the minutes of the Presidents’ Meeting.
MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE I.L.A.B. on Friday 30th August 1991, 14 p.m. - 17 p.m. at the Domus Technics, board room, Copenhagen.
1. Present
All members of the committee, except Mr. Louis Loeb-Laroque who was excused. Present were the presidents of honor Mr. John Lawson, Dr. Frieder Kocher-Benzing and past president Mr. Hans Bagger.
Nomination of Scrutineers; Apologies; Voting rights of countries present and proxies
Apologies were received from Mr. Bob de Graaf, and from the presidents of Finland, Belgium and Norway.
The presidents of the following national associations were present:
Australia Paul Joseph Feain
Austria Hans Jörg Krug
Canada Garry Shoquist
Denmark Poul Jan Poulsen
France Alain Nicolas
Germany Christine Pressler
Great Britain David Brass
Italy Pietro Chellini
Japan Mitsuo Nitta
Korea Soon-Ku Yo
Netherlands John A. Vloemans
Sweden Sigbjörn Ryo
Switzerland Alain Moirandat
USA Muir Dawson
There are 3 proxies:
Finland - by Sweden
Belgium - by Mr. Rota
Norway - by Denmark
The presidents recalled the voting rights: Each association had one vote, except France, Germany, Great Britain and USA, each of which had 2 votes.
Nomination of Scrutineers
Dr. Frieder Kocher-Benzing and Mr. John Lawson were nominated scrutineers.
2. Approval of Minutes of the Presidents' Meeting and the General Assembly in Tokyo, October 1990
These minutes were approved by the meeting.
3. President's Report
At the beginning of his speech the president invited the meeting to stand in memory of colleagues who had died during the year, including Mrs. Elizabeth Woodburn, a former member of the League committee, Mr. Raymond Clavreuil of Paris and Mr. F. T. Bowyer, a former president of the ABA.
Then the president welcomes Mr. Yo, the president of the Korean association, whose membership of the League would be ratified during this meeting as the 18th national association to belong. Before beginning his general report, the president mentioned the problem of over-pricing at Book Fairs. He referred to a blatant and flagrant example of over-pricing which occurred at the Book Fair in Tokyo last October. One visiting dealer displayed at the Fair an easily recognizable book which he had recently listed in a catalogue issued from his normal business address in Europe. Thinking the Book Fair price high, the librarian of an important institutional library in Japan checked the dealer's regular catalogue and found that the price had been increased by several hundred percent, supposedly "for the Japanese market". The librarian was shocked and lodged a formal complaint with our Japanese hosts. The matter did not end there and there was unfortunate publicity in a newspaper in the dealer's own country. Actions like this one do great harm to the League. The good name of the antiquarian book trade as a whole must not be sullied by the irresponsible behavior of a small minority. That is why the committee would not tolerate it. The president asked the president of the association to which that dealer belongs to investigate this case and report back. The "Ethical Guide Lines" were worked out by the committee in London with the purpose of avoiding such actions and faults.
The presidents had not seen until now the "Ethical Guide Lines" and that is why it had been decided, that they would be not formally presented for approval until the congress in Cologne in 1992.
The president spoke also about the newly founded Spanish association, "Associacion Iberica de Librerias Antiquarias" which had approached the ABA. Until now the Spanish antiquarian booksellers have belonged either to ABA or to SLAM. The president asked the presidents of these 2 associations to get informations about status and other details in connection with the new Spanish association. It would be desirable that such an important country as Spain would establish its own national association and become member of the League.
The president then related what the outgoing committee has achieved during its 3 years of office.
- The publication of a new directory, which was printed in a better and more up-to-date manner and which was cheaper.
- The introduction of a Book Fair levy which set the League on a path to stronger finances without raising subscriptions.
- In order to uphold the ethical standards of the League a warranty had been introduced at Book Fairs sponsored by the League or held under its aegis. Formal, public statements on thefts from libraries had been made and there had been also interventions in the notorious matter of the forged Texas documents.
- The new dictionary had taken several large steps forward, but it still needed more work, possibly taking in the Korean language as well. Revised entries and new entries in all the appropriate languages had now been assembled. It remained for them to be collated and printed.
- The Newsletter had returned to a regular publication schedule. It was, besides the directory, an important informational publication of the League, because it had not only the function of a journal of record, but due to several informations about rectified addresses of firms and other changes, it contains a lot of interesting and important informative facts.
- Arrangements had been put in hand dramatically to increase the value of the Bibliographical Prize.
The president finished his report by pointing out that the committee had taken every opportunity of increasing awareness of the League and of making its badge known throughout the book collecting world as a symbol of integrity and expertise.
4. Treasurer's Report
See the minutes of the committee meeting.
Dr. Christine Pressler asked about the low amount of the book fair income which was mentioned in the "Statement of Cash Receipts and Disbursements". She mentioned that the German association had paid immediately large sums for the book fairs in Cologne and Stuttgart, so that the total ought to be much higher.
Dr. Soave also reminded of the payments made for the fair in Milan, and Mr. Vloemans mentioned the sums which the Netherlands' association had paid for the book fair in Amsterdam.
Mr. Weinstein replied that the bank was very slow in sending the statements and his report merely reflected the situation in the date shown.
The president asked that this situation be checked and advised the new treasurer to move the bank account.
5. Newsletter Editor's Report
Mr. Gerits informed the meeting about the publication of the last Newsletter, no. 44. He regretted that there had been no further contributions to the histories of the national associations. Mr. Moirandat expressed his regret about the fact that the English translation of the history of the Swiss association could not yet be finished, and besides this, he was not even able to point to a date when it could be presented. Mr. Gerits asked him to aim for a quick translation, saying that it could also be possible to print an abridged form of it. The Newsletter would like to publish the histories of the national associations in chronological order, by the year of their foundation. That is why Mr. Hans Bagger suggested that in the next edition of the Newsletter there should be printed the dates of the foundation of each national association, so that in this way, the presidents and members of the associations would be reminded of the order in which they have to present their history.
6. Directory
In order to increase the distribution of the Directory, Mr. Nitta proposed the following:
- the new ILAB directory should be promoted and distributed through the members of each national association in their catalogue
- the editor of the Newsletter should be informed without fail by the secretary of the national associations, about all changes which occurred in the association of addresses of members, about resignations and other important facts, so that this information could be collected and reported.
These proposals were approved unanimously by the presidents.
7. Dictionary
Mr. Lawson reported the actual situation of the dictionary. He regretted that the plan to hand over the dictionary to the French bookseller Luc Monod failed to come to pass, as had other possibilities which had been discussed.
Although the various national manuscripts were in, the final editing required a long time. Without the assistance of paid collaborators and a professional publisher, the publication of the dictionary would be delayed for a longer period of time.
The new committee would have the duty to solve these two problems, because the dictionary, like the directory, was very important and it was desirable that at last, one should be able to look forward to its publication.
8. ILAB Archive
See the minutes of the committee meeting.
Mr. John Lawson proposed to nominate a member working in Amsterdam who should act as a liaison between the curator of the University Library and the committee. He proposed Mr. Gerits for this function. Mr. Gerits agreed to take over this work.
9. Book Fair Guidelines
The presidents accepted with unanimity the "Guide Lines for the conduct of international antiquarian book fairs", mentioned in the minutes of the committee meeting in London, at point 7.
10. Bibliographical Prize
The proposal presented by Mr. Gerits to change the name of the Bibliographical Prize and to confer it always after 4 years instead of 3 years was found reasonable by all the presidents, who accepted the proposals with unanimity.
11. Ratification of the membership of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of Korea
The provisional membership of the Association of Korea, granted by the committee meeting in London, was now ratified by the presidents' meeting, so the Korean Association would be the 18th member of the League. Mr. Yo, representing the new Korean association, was cordially greeted by the president and ny all those present at the meeting.
12. Security
See the minutes of the committee meeting.
13. Elections
Mr. Rota thanked the outgoing members of the committee for their help and advice throughout the last 3 years. They had all been working for the good of the League.
The following nominations for the new committee had been received:
Anton Gerits for President
Michael Reiss for Vice-President
Poul Poulsen for Treasurer
Helen Kahn for General Secretary
Committee Members Raymond Kilgarriff
Gerard Oberlé
Bernard Rosenthal
This new committee was then elected unanimously, and the newly elected members were greeted with applause.
Mr. Rota congratulated the new committee, especially the new president, Mr. Anton Gerits. He finished his speech by saying the following: "Anton is a man who cares passionately about the League and its good name. I know his vision of its future, and count myself fortunate - as I count the League fortunate - to be able to place the direction of the ILAB for the next 3 years into such capable and dedicated hands."
14. Nomination of Mr. Hans Bagger as a President of Honour
Mr. Rota, asked by the new president to continue the presidents' meeting up to its end, spoke of Hans Bagger, who had been active in the League committee since 1972. In 1975 he became treasurer, and he had this post for 10 years. Then, in 1982 he became vice-president as well, and in 1985 he took over as president until 1988.
During his 16 years of service to the League he accomplished much, not least seeing through the publication of the first computerised directory. As president he led by example. His quiet, thoughtful way brought solutions to many seemingly intractable problems. At all times he put the League first - and his own affairs a long way second. "For me - And I am sure many others - he personified the spirit of the League," Mr. Rota concluded.
Mr. Hans Bagger was unanimously elected President of honor, a decision which was greeted by all the participants of the meeting with loud applause.
15. Future Congresses and Presidents' Meetings: dates, places and discussion topics
Before the list of the future congresses and presidents' meetings was presented, the presidents of the following national associations issued invitations for the following meetings:
Mr Paul Feain, Australia, for a presidents' meeting in Australia in 1997.
Dr. Hans-Jörg Krug, Austria, for a Congress in Vienna in 1998.
Mr. Pietro Chellini, Italy, for a presidents' meeting in Italy in 1999.
Then the list of the future congresses and presidents' meetings was presented:
1992 Germany Congress
1993 Canada Presidents' Meeting
1994 Netherlands Congress
1995 Belgium Presidents' Meeting
1996 USA Congress
1997 Australia Presidents' Meeting
1998 Austria Congress
1999 Italy Presidents' Meeting
2000 England Congress
Dr. Christine Pressler reported on the plans for the congress in Cologne which will take place in 1992. Official invitations as well as programs of this congress would be sent to all members of the League during the autumn. The costs would be at the same level as those at the congress in Tokyo. Mr. Vloemans asked if every member who wanted to participate in the accompanying fair would be able to do so. Dr. Pressler replied that there would be enough booths for all those who were interested.
16. Any other business
Mr. Weinstein proposed that in future the general secretary should have a permanent office, similar to the office of the ABA or the ABAA. This office would be of importance not only for the League and the national associations, but also for correspondents, editors of directories and many others too. It would be better to have a permanent address than to change it from time to time. It was agreed that this suggestion was desirable, when it proved possible from the financial point of view.
Minutes of the ILAB Committee
27th February 1992, 10 am to 12.30 pm & 28th February 1992 10 am to 2.15 pm
Hotel Pullitzer, Amsterdam
All the committee members, as well as Mr. Anthony Rota, past president, are present. Messrs. Hans Bagger, Bob de Graaf, F. Kocher-Benzing and John Lawson have sent their apologies.
1. Welcome and President’s Report
Mr. Anton Gerits, President, says a few words of welcome. The Dutch association has invited all the committee members to a dinner at the hotel Krasnapolsky on 28th February at 8 pm.
Milan Book Fair: As testified by the correspondence between ILAB President and the Italian association, the matter is now solved. The ALAI has voted to boycott the book fair, and Mr. Oberlé says that the SLAM has supported the boycott. The President accepts the position of the French association, but explains that he has handled the matter directly with the Italian association and that the members of the national associations have to exercise their own judgement. This was confirmed by the Vice-President to Mr. Pregliasco on 17th January 1992.
The President announces that he has received an official invitation by the German Association to the Congress and Book Fair to be held in Köln in September and that the “Friendship Programme” has been well received. He mentions that he wishes to make an official visit to the Korean association in March, and that he will contrive to have talks with some of its members. He adds that the associations are worried about the fact that as of 1992, the EEC countries will have to pay 15% of their gross income on VAT.
2. Handing out Tasks
See item 10.
3. Approval of the minutes of the committee meeting of 30th August 1991
Approved. A vote of thanks is taken in favour of Konrad Meuschel, outgoing secretary.
4. Approval of the minutes of the presidents’ meeting of 30th August 1991
Approved after some discussion.
5. Treasurer’s Report
M. Poul Poulsen, treasurer, presents the half-year statement, for the period running from 1st August 1991 to 31st January 1992. The financial situation of the League is sound and the sum for the Prize of Bibliography is in the bank, provided it is handed out every 4 years.
6. Application for Membership from the Spanish Association
Mr. R. Kilgarriff asks the President to discuss the Spanish Association. It is noted that a majority of its members are either Catalan or live in Madrid. Mr. Rosenthal suggests that the committee accepts the application and the president adds that they should wait for their formal application. Mr. Oberlé speaks favourably of this group. Meanwhile, Mr. Reiss recommends that the president of the Spanish group be invited as an observer at the Köln Congress. This suggestion is unanimously approved, and Mr. Kilgarriff suggests that he be sent documentation about ILAB and its rules, and this suggestion is also unanimously approved. Mr. Rota mentions that we will need to ratify the membership of the Spanish association at the annual general meeting.
7. Possible Application for membership by a Chinese association
Concerning this matter, the President explains that Mr. Nitta has said that the Chinese association wishes to become an ILAB member.
Mr. Rosenthal says that the Chinese economy is not a market economy. It is suggested to wait until the Chinese group consolidates its own association with members owning their own businesses as it seems that it is a central market which is now organising the trade. Mr. Reiss explains that we will soon be facing a similar problem with the Eastern European countries. Mr. Nitta recommends that a small ILAB committee goes to China to study the regime, and this proposal will be analysed.
8. Congress and Book Fair, Köln 1992
Mr. Reiss submits a report which shows that as of this week (after the Stuttgart fair), 220 people have requested stands at the book fair and about 400 people have indicated that they would join the congress. He adds that the German association will give preference to foreign dealers asking for full booths, and that its own members would take, if necessary, half a booth. Mr. Kilgarriff asks questions about VAT in Germany. Mr. Reiss explains that members have to abide by an important rule: when a customer buys a book, he must have the possibility of paying for it and taking it with him. The bookseller must invoice the VAT and hand it over to the German customs upon leaving Germany. After a short discussion, Mr. Reiss explains that the German Book Fair Committee will give more precise details in the detailed instructions which will be handed out to the exhibitors. The president adds that the German committee has foreseen a lot of time for the committee meeting, the presidents’ meeting, and the general meeting.
9. Friendship Programme
Places and a financial support have been made within the Friendship Programme of the Verband der Deutscher Antiquare to three young booksellers each from Great-Britain, the USA and France, to one bookseller from each of the other national associations et to a few other association members who have recently organised book fairs: the amount of 50,000DM was devoted to the programme. Brazil, Canada, Finland, Italy and Norway have not responded to the written invitation. The President asks Mr. Reiss to write a report on the guidelines of the Friendship Programme, so that other associations may understand how it works and can adapt it to their own needs. Mr. Kilgarriff suggests that the committee thanks Mr. Reiss, and this is immediately done. Mr. Reiss replies that he shall pass on those thanks to the German committee.
10. Newsletter
A long discussion follows concerning the format of the newsletter. Mr. Reiss, vice-president and new editor of the newsletter, believes that he will easily work with his printer, at a reasonable cost, but he recommends a few changes, specifically the removal of all advertisements, a quicker publication of the minutes of the meetings and an updated calendar of ILAB book fairs. It is also suggested to publish one bulletin in English and another in French, and let the associations choose which language they want. An animated discussion ensues and it is decided to continue the discussion at the Presidents’ Meeting in September. Then, the discussion centres on the following proposal: Is it preferable for the printer to send out directly the newsletter to all the members, or would some of the larger national associations be able to print out the newsletter thanks to a soft disk and mail it out themselves? This question is also put on the agenda of the presidents’ meeting. It is finally decided that the next issue of the newsletter, n°45, will be printed and distributed before the Köln congress, that it will include the minutes of this meeting and that it will be financed by the League as there will be no income from advertising.
11. Export of books from France
Mr. Oberlé mentions that problems in France may arise because of the new law about to be adopted in France, and if this law were passed, export of rare and antiquarian books would become impossible, creating serious difficulties to the French ILAB affiliates and elsewhere, as well as for the institutions, the collectors and others. He adds that Messrs. Courvoisier and Magis have attended meetings but that, until now, no definite answer has been received concerning the proposed restrictions on the export of so-called patrimony. The ILAB will send a letter of protestation to the Minister in France, as well as a letter of support to the SLAM, which is officially against the proposed legislation. Mr. Oberlé will provide the address where the letter must be sent.
12. Directory
Mr. Reiss reports a recent conversation with Mr. Edmund Brumme, who has agreed, once again, to publish the next issue of the directory, which he will try to bring out on time for the Amsterdam Congress in 1994. Mr. Reiss mentions that the VDA has sponsored the directory and has given one free copy to each of its members as well as to the libraries. The discussion ensues and the committee accepts gratefully Mr. Brumme’s offer and adds it to the agenda of the Köln presidents’ meeting.
13. Dictionary
Mr. Oberlé states that he has received all the work achieved by Messrs. Luc Monod and John Lawson, but that it is necessary to find a publisher for this publication, which may be difficult. Mr. Reiss suggests to ask Hauswedell in Germany or Dawson in Great Britain. Mr. Rosenthal suggests Olschki in Florence and Mr. Rota mentions an American publisher. Mr. Rosenthal will get in touch with Olschki; he thinks, as well as Mr. Rota, that it will be possible to receive a sponsorship. Mr. Reiss wishes to know how is the work advancing and Mr. Oberlé replies that with a few exceptions, the work seems to be finished. Mr. Kilgarriff will bring to the Committee the rest which is still with Mr. Lawson, allowing the committee to find out what still needs to be done.
14. Dictionary of Abbreviations
Mr. Rosenthal has compiled a dictionary of abbreviations, in Italian and English, and he suggests that this work be handed out informally. The same format could serve to do French, German and any other versions. Perhaps ILAB could put together a collection of these works.
15. Prize for Bibliography
Mr. Kocher-Benzing will continue to hold his function until 1994, when Mr. Konrad Meuschel will take over. The committee suggests that the books previously submitted in the past be sent to Köln to be exhibited at the book fair. If they are too many, the German committee will make a selection. Mr. Kilgarriff suggests that the price be handed out every two years rather than every four years. Messrs. Rosenthal and Gerits agree and everyone asks if the donations receive can be anonymous. Mr. Poulsen mentions that if we hand out the Prize every four years, the sum of 10,000$ will be enough, without having to find an outside sponsor. A vote is taken, and it is decided to hand out the Prize every four years of an amount of 10,000$. In the future, ILAB will try to obtain larger donations in order to be able to hand it out every 2 years. The list of books entering the Prize will be printed in the Newsletter. Mr. Poulsen shows a facsimile of a very beautiful format for the Prize, approved favourably by the committee members.
16. Permanent address for the League
After some discussion, it is decided to leave matters unchanged.
17. Duration of mandates
The President, Mr. Gerits, remarks that as all mandates run now for three years, the officers can take or leave their posts during a year which does not coincide with a congress. It might perhaps be more practical to transform the duration of the mandates to two or four years, so that all changes happen during congress years. The committee suggests that nothing be changed before the Amsterdam congress and that at that date, two year mandates be instituted. As this proposal will entail a change of rules, it will be added to the agenda of the September presidents’ meeting.
18. Changes of Rules
The President talks about the modifications of the general rules, the guidelines for book fairs, the compendium of import and export, and the code of ethics. He recommends the preparation of a new code of Usages and Customs to be presented at the Presidents’ Meeting in Köln. Mr. Rosenthal mentions that the ABAA has elaborated a very thorough code of ethics. He also mentions the question of dealers acting as agents during auctions and suggests that this also be included in the Code. Mr. Kilgarrif proposes to draft new guidelines for book fairs. Mr. Reiss recommends the preparation of new texts in English and French and suggests to put them to the approval of the Presidents in Köln. The texts which might not be ready on time will be put to the approval of the Presidents at the projected Vancouver meeting of 1993.
Mr. Gerits suggest that the texts will be prepared in English then translated into French. Messrs. Rosenthal and Rota offer their services. Mr. Reiss suggests that the new Import and Export Compendium be only started after 1993.
19. President badges
The committee decides to let the president decide on the matter.
20. Presidents of Honour
The committee mentions how to honour the past presidents. It is decided to leave matters as they now stand.
21. Any other business
Travel expenses: ILAB will reimburse travel expenses at the lowest possible cost (economy).
Mr. Rosental mentions that the 1996 congress will be organised in Los Angeles, the Book fair will take place in San Francisco, and as of 1993, an ABAA book fair will take place in Washington DC, every two years. He also mentions that some American dealers object to the book fair levy of 10% imposed by ILAB and asks if it could be removed. The committee does not agree. Mr. Poulsen declares that ILAB has not received any book fair levy from the ABAA yet.
Mr. Reiss mentions that he has received a letter from the Vice President of the Austrian association, complaining that some dealers pay congress fees in order to be able to exhibit at the book fair, but don’t actually come to the congress or attend the General Meeting. The committee says that it is impossible to control the congress and the book fair, and that the dealers who do not attend the congress are the loosers.
The meeting is closed Friday 28th February at 2.15 pm.