Allan J. Stypeck is the President of Second Story Books, Inc., the Washington, D.C. area’s largest used-and-rare bookstore. “Best Used Bookstore”, Washingtonian Magazine, Oct. 2000, “One of 10 Best Used Bookstores in the U.S”, USA Today, 2003. Second Story Books, Inc. has two locations: 2000 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 and 12160 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD 20852.

Graduated in 1972 from the American University School of Government and International Service in Washington, D.C. with a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Political Science.

Senior Member of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) accredited in Books and Manuscripts; member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), the American Booksellers Association (ABA), the Universal Autograph Collector’s Club (UACC), the International Autograph Collector’s Club (IACC) and The Manuscript Society.

Instructor at seminars on book collecting for the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Florida; taught an accredited course on appraising at George Washington University, Wash, DC; lectures on collecting books and assessing their value.

Serves as an expert witness in all judicial court systems, both federal and state.

Mr. Stypeck has prepared over 5,000 appraisals for fair market value, tax, insurance and probate purposes since 1974. He appraises all printed material, including books, manuscripts and stamps, as well as photography, phonograph records, fine art, antiquities, Oriental art and objets d’art.

Mr. Stypeck currently conducts appraisals for the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Park Service, the Senate, House of Representatives, White House, Supreme Court, National Archives, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Corcoran Museum of Art, Folger Shakespeare Library, Georgetown University, George Washington University, the University of Maryland, Catholic University of America, the National Library of Medicine at NIH, as well as colleges, universities, major museums, institutions and corporations throughout North America.

Previous member, Board of Directors, Montgomery County, Maryland Historic Society and the Steering Committee, Friends of the Libraries, American University and Board of Directors, Friends of the Libraries, U. of Maryland. Recipient of one of only eight Pillars awarded by the Historical Society of the District of Columbia.

As co-host, along with Mike Cuthbert, on the popular hour-long radio show, THE BOOK GUYS, Mr. Stypeck can be heard answering callers’ book-related questions every week coast-to-coast on public radio. C-Span 2 frequently broadcasts THE BOOK GUYS on their show About Books. Mr. Stypeck has also appeared on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow.