William P. Collins is a librarian, bibliographer, scholar, and longtime educator whose professional career spans more than four decades in academic libraries, historical collections, and the United States Copyright Office.
He began his library career at Middlebury College Library, serving as Catalog Librarian and later Head Catalog Librarian from 1973 to 1976. He subsequently worked as Catalog Librarian at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (1976–1977) and as Director of the Bahá’í International Library (1977–1990). In 1991, he joined the United States Copyright Office, where he served as Chief of the Cataloging Division until 2000 and then as Program Planning Officer until his retirement in 2016. He has also contributed more than two decades of teaching as a faculty member for community courses at the Wilmette Institute.
Bill holds a B.A. from Middlebury College and two master’s degrees from Syracuse University. His additional studies have taken him to the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Leningrad State University (now Saint Petersburg State University), and the College of Librarianship in Aberystwyth, Wales.
His scholarly interests include bibliography, library and information organization, religious history, and millennial studies. He is the author of Bibliography of English Language Works on the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths, 1844–1985 (1990) and numerous scholarly articles and bibliographic studies. His book Millennialism, the Millerites, and Prophecy in Bahá’í Discourse is forthcoming from Routledge.
Since retiring from the Copyright Office, Bill has remained active in education, scholarship, and community service. His work includes interfaith initiatives such as Ventures in Community, a coalition of faith communities and social service organizations in southeastern Fairfax County, as well as efforts supporting individuals and communities affected by religious or racial harassment, vandalism, and hate crimes.
A selection of articles by William P. Collins
Apocalypse and Millennium: Catastrophe, Progress and the Lesser Peace (2002)
Babi and Baha’i Millennialism, The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism (2011)
The Bahá’í Faith and Mormonism: A Preliminary Survey (1980/81)
The Bahá’í Faith and Mormonism: Further Reflections (1983)
Bahá’í Interpretations of Biblical Time Prophecy (1998/99)
Lev Tolstoi and the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions: A Bibliography (1991)
