The USTC has entered into an agreement with publishers Brill to provide the editorial direction for a re-launched Book History Online (BHO).

BHO is the online version of the Annual Bibliography of the History of the Book (ABHB), the leading international bibliography in the field of book and library history. It records all publications of scholarly value, written from an historical point of view. This may include monographs, articles and reviews, dealing with the history of the printed book, its arts, crafts, techniques and equipment, its economic, social and cultural environment involved in its production, distribution, preservation and description. More specifically, BHO contains information on the history of printing and publishing, papermaking, bookbinding, book illustration, type-design and type-founding book collecting, libraries and scholars.

The ABHB was published as annual volumes between 1970 and 1998, and now comprises some 27,000 records. In 2011 publishers Brill of Leiden took over responsibility for the resource from the previous hosts, the Royal Library in The Hague. The USTC has now entered into a four year agreement to staff the management of the project, co-ordinating the gathering of data with international partners. USTC Director Andrew Pettegree, who will join the management board of BHO, welcomed the new agreement: ‘For St Andrews this offers the opportunity to be at the heart of a resource which can be an invaluable tool for all bibliographers and historians of the book. We look forward to working with Brill to make this a comprehensive up-to-date and accessible resource.’