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The Société Internationale de Bibliographie Classique (SIBC) was founded by Jules Marouzeau in the early 1920s, under the name Société de Bibliographie Classique. Created for the purpose of supporting the compilation and publication of L’Année Philologique, this learned society modified its name when it took on a decidedly international dimension under the leadership of Juliette Ernst. Since that time, all the countries that participate in the project are represented in the SIBC, while some additional members are chosen for their competence in the discipline. The SIBC is affiliated with the Fédération Internationale des Etudes Classiques (FIEC), whose president is an ex officio member of the SIBC.

The records contained in L'Année Philologique are compiled by the members of several independent editorial offices. The coherence of the whole is ensured by the Editorial Director, elected by the annual meeting for a renewable five-year term and member of the Executive Committee. The Editorial Director (since 2015 Pedro Pablo Fuentes González) ensures the bibliographic quality of the project and its coordination.

SIBC is classified as a non-profit organization under the French law relating to contracts of association (commonly known as the “law of 1901” (although periodically amended since then). The statutes (on file at the Préfecture de Police in Paris) were modified in 1994 to ensure their conformity with current regulations, then in 2014 and in 2018. In particular. the Presidency of the SIBC, a position formerly conferred automatically upon the president of the FIEC, has since 2004 been held by a member elected at the annual meeting of members for a period of five years.

The purpose of the annual meeting is to keep abreast of the activities of the various offices of L’Année Philologique and to identify broad strategic goals; to review finances; and to elect new members. The Bureau, or Executive Committee, which manages day-to-day business, is composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary-General and Treasurer. It is now part of the Comité de Direction of the SIBC. As of February 2023, SIBC has 29 members from 12 countries.

Since the promulgation of the statutes of 1994, the Presidents of SIBC have been Jean Irigoin (1994-1999), Birger Munk Olsen (1999-2004), Jean-Claude Fredouille (2004-2009), Margarethe Billerbeck ( 2009-2012), Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé (2013-2014),  Dee Clayman (2015-2019) and Pierre Chiron (2020-). The President and the Vice President have to be chosen from different countries.

The SIBC has agreements with a number of institutions that support the offices of L’Année Philologique. The American office has the support of the Society for Classical Studies (SCS), the  Swiss office has the support of  the Association suisse pour l'étude de l'Antiquité (ASEA), the Spanish office has the support of the Universidad de Granada and of the Junta de Andalucía. Since 2020, the French office receives a grant from the Fondation de l'Université de Lille. 

Since October 2018, the SIBC has entrusted Brepols Publishers with the publication and distribution of L'Année Philologique in its print and digital versions.