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It is with great pleasure that the Northern California Chapter (NCC) of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) announces the winners of the 2021 George Robert Kane Memorial Scholarship, Nicholas Pillsbury and Cecelia Shaw.

This year, we had two exceptional candidates who were quite similar. Both were highly recommended, both are currently working as booksellers, and both want to continue in the librarian/special collection field. Because the scholarships combined were less than we normally expend due to the courses being online, we decided to offer both of them a scholarship as they were both so deserving.

Nicholas is currently working at Bad Animal Books, a combination bookstore / wine bar / restaurant in Santa Cruz, CA, and is handling all of the rare books online. His experience as a librarian and his M.L.I.S. education has been helpful in the business and he exemplifies the store brand very well. He wants to work as a bookseller for a few more years before possibly working in archives or special collections. Nicholas would like to attend Cal Rare Book School.

Cecelia is currently working at Bolerium Books in San Francisco, CA. She is a relatively new employee and is hard working and well-liked by all. She is very interested in the bookselling trade and wants to work at Bolerium for a few years before continuing her academic pursuits. Cecelia used to be a librarian and is fresh out of college, UC Berkeley. She loves the book store and going on sales calls and collects books herself with her interests slightly overlapping the specialties at Bolerium. She has a positive attitude and has some interest in activism. Cecelia would like to attend CABS Minnesota online this year.

In memory of long-time member George Robert Kane (Oct. 6, 1913–Nov. 28, 2009), the Northern California Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America annually promotes professionalism and education relevant to the antiquarian book trade for a worthy person currently working in or actively pursuing a career in the book trade. Congratulations Nicholas and Cecelia!

--Kim Herrick (The Book Lair), NCC secretary

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