57th Annual California International
Antiquarian Book Fair
February 7-9, 2025
Pasadena Convention Center
The California International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to Pasadena in 2025. This three-day event features fine and rare materials from around the globe, including manuscripts, first editions, illustrated books, ephemera, maps, autographs, and a wide range of antiquarian books. Dates and times: Friday, February 7 – 3 pm to 8 pm; February 8 – 11 am to 7 pm; Sunday, February 9- 11 am to 4 pm. Free admission for students with current valid student ID; for children age 12 and under; and for librarians, curators, and related non-profit cultural institution workers who register in advance with a valid organizational email address (e.g. email@institution.edu or email@institution.org). Otherwise tickets priced: VIP $25 until February 7 and $15 sales end February 8. For further details: www.abaa.org/cabookfair
CWC Observes
California Writers Week
In 2003, the California State Assembly officially declared the third week in October each year as California Writers Week. This was initially proposed by California Writers Club and co-sponsored by our state libraries. Branches observe the occasion this month with, for instance, Coastal Dunes’ “Afternoon of Literary Exploration” on Sunday, October 13, at the Santa Maria Public Library, and East Sierra’s month-long display at the Ridgecrest Branch Library, Kern County. Both branches will use these occasions to launch their new anthologies.
Authors Guild Demand Prior Consent for AI Content
From the Authors Guild newsletter July 30, 2024
“The Authors Guild is deeply concerned by recent licensing deals made by academic, educational, magazine, and newspaper publishers with AI companies without consulting their authors….
“In addition to these publishers, a growing number of newspapers, magazines, and online brands have licensed their content for AI uses, including NewsCorp (owner of The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post), the Associated Press, Reuters, The Atlantic, and Vox Media….
“To our knowledge, none of these publishers reached out to the authors of the books or articles for permission to license the works for AI use, nor have any of them compensated authors….
“Unlike past technological advancements in publishing that mainly related to new publication methods or access, training generative AI with written works represents a fundamentally distinct use. Generative AI applications could devalue writers’ work by capturing their voice and style, potentially leading to unfair competition with the author.”
For details: authorsguild.org
Art & Science Collide with PST/ART
September 2024-February 2025, Southern California
Presented by the Getty, 800-plus artists and 60-plus cultural institutions from Los Angeles to San Diego and Santa Monica to Palm Spring will bring “PST/Art: Art & Science Colllide” to neighborhoods throughout Southern California, weekends September 15, 2024 to February 16, 2025. Cultural and scientific institutions will work together for Southern California’s landmark arts event that ranges from pigeons with backpacks monitoring air pollution and plants swaying to live winds on Mars to ancient wisdom for a future ecology: trees, time, and technology, and to an environmentally sustainable city for seven billion people. (Details: https://pst.art/).