Longest Running Antiquarian Book Seminar Returns
The Antiquarian Book School Foundation has announced the return of the 2026 CABS-Minnesota Antiquarian Book Seminar, the longest running training program for antiquarian booksellers in the United States.
It will be held in person at St Olaf College, in Northfield, Minnesota, with seminar activities running July 26-31.
Since 1977, the Seminar has graduated more than 3,250 students, offering lectures from experienced faculty who bring over 200 years of bookselling knowledge combined. It connects aspiring and experienced booksellers through small group discussions, informal conversations with faculty and colleagues, practical hands-on activities, and workshops.
Every year, an industry leader is invited to share bookselling knowledge through the Seminar's guest Specialty Lecture. This year's keynote talk will focus on the relationship between rare bookselling, archives, and libraries, and will be given by Mary Catherine Kinniburgh of Granary Books who has previously been featured in the Fine Books & Collections 'Bright Young Bookseller' column.
“The antiquarian book market stretches from early printed books to modern first editions, with manuscripts, archives, and all the rest of the paper detritus of culture in between," said Garrett Scott, Seminar Director and Interim Board President of the Antiquarian Book School Foundation. "Our goal, year after year, is to build collegial connections in the rare book trade while teaching the best practices of bookselling. We have been oversubscribed every year since we came to Northfield in 2022, and I can’t wait to get to work with this new cohort.”
Fellow Seminar Faculty member Rebecca Romney, Bookseller and co-Founder of Type Punch Matrix, added: "The Seminar offers a comprehensive introduction to the field that is unmatched in the United States. I know of no better opportunity to receive professional training that's open to all aspiring antiquarian booksellers. Traditionally, the best way to learn has been to apprentice with established booksellers. Yet these opportunities are rare, and the need to train up new generations of antiquarian booksellers is high. The Seminar makes professional-level education available to all, with many scholarship opportunities available, as well as jumpstarting the students' network for future collaboration and mentorship. My own attendance at the Seminar as a student was life changing."
