Northern Ohio Bibliophilic Society

Northern Ohio Bibliophilic Society held its 31^st Book and Paper Fair March 29 and 30, 2013, at the John S. Knight Center in Akron with 36 dealers and a crowd of almost 800 eager buyers. This year’s fair featured the Cleveland Altered Books Group which set up for the entire fair, answering questions and making art as fairgoers watched. Also on the agenda this year was a  talk by long-time seller Jim Best,  the Bookman of Kent, who discussed the worth of old books, collecting, and dispersing collections. A second talk by another long-time NOBS seller, Paul Bauer of Archer’s Books, rounded out the two-day fair. Bauer drew on his knowledge and experience of selling books about botany to put together a quirky, anecdotal and fun talk about plants that changed the world—coffee, tea, chocolate and opium.

NOBS has also expanded its online presence with both its website and a very active Facebook page. Plans are in the works too for a special annual meeting this year to commemorate the 30^thanniversary of NOBS as a bibliophilic society. It’s too soon to announce the what, where, or when, but ideas are bouncing  around, including one for a new keepsake publication.

This year’s monthly NOBS forums have been exceptionally interesting, especially a popular presentation by Kylie Logan, author of a mystery entitled  To Kill For A Button (Berkley). While Kylie  spoke about how to write a mystery, Maxine Richmond talked about button collecting and why anyone WOULD kill for a button! Upcoming topics include hand-powered printing presses and science fiction.