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Book Search Engines on the Web: Use for Map-related Materials
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INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this discussion is to allow better use of existing online sites for out-of-print book searches, specifically to facilitate the search for maps and related items. More and more old and antiquarian map related material is being listed on these sites, not just to be found on purely map related pages. These search engines are of variable quality and utility, and some familiarity with their use will be of value to novice and experienced collectors, scholars, librarians, and others shopping and browsing the marketplace. One issue for all the aggregate sites is the quality of images: high resolution files are a problem. Individual map dealer sites often have better images, or at least one can email the dealer and request a higher quality image.
In my opinion, the most useful of these independent search engines* are:
1. Advanced Book Exchange (ABE) - They have the biggest selection, largest group of multinational independent booksellers, but they have been moving away from an older model that focused on maintaining contacts between buyers and individual dealers. Some of the personal touch, or possibility thereof, has been squelched by the owners of the site. Their sale to Amazon.com has been completed, with assertions that site function will not initially change. They have a system which allows low resolution images to be linked to inventory listings, but this is of limited utility for individual maps. They are expanding to multilingual sites, initially in French and German, with added secured ordering capabilities. There has been a problem with the explosion of a lot of cheap, used books, generally not of interest to the serious collector. On the other hand, they have refitted their search engine, which now includes an "any other word" function in the keyword field, so that finding material is no longer dependent on a dealer's keyword entry in a separate field. The default search is still for the cheapest copy, but you can set price ranges, and if looking for more valuable items you can reverse the pricing priority. Another addition has been the Rare Book Room, launched in Sept. 2004. The initial segment was on maps and atlases, but there hasn't been much in the cartographic realm since. There is also an associated directory of dealers who are more focused on rare, collectible books, and who also list on ABE. The search facility of the Rare Book Room was adjusted to allow the most expensive copies to appear first, but they still end up listing a lot of very cheap material, not really germane to their stated purpose. They do have some of the most sophisticated search capabilities around.
One other point is noted, pertaining to pricing. Because of ABE's percentage fees charged to booksellers, some of their books are actually cheaper on other sites, where fees are not charged. This has been most noticeable for several dealers also listing on ILAB (see below), where the book charge is actually less, presumably due to this fee disparity.
2. Biblio.com - This has been growing rapidly, and is now the third largest of the independent bookseller sites. It has maintained its focus on the relationship between individual buyers and sellers, with a fairly sophisticated search engine. They may eventually replace ABE books as the best place for buyer/dealer contact, if they continue to grow, and ABE continues to downplay the ability to contact the individual bookdealers.
3. Bibliophile.net - A smaller site, administratively located in Zurich, Switzerland, with mulitlingual capabilities. Their image display capabilities are better than ABE books. In addition to providing a search engine for old maps and books, they also have a good bit of information pertaining the book arts, online library catalogues and more. They have the technical capabilities to host dealers sites (via their own hosting company ammonet), with construction of fairly sophisticated custom search engines (developers of the IAMA site mentioned below). Although a bit more expensive than some no-frills hosting options, their familiarity with problems faced by online booksellers, coupled with site development capabilities, more than compensates for the cost. (These latter considerations apply more to dealers than collectors.)
4. Antiqbook (NAN) - This site is configured to search in a choice of English, Dutch, French or German.
They are smaller than ABE, but still multinational. This is a nice site, well-run, with secured ordering for all offerings.
5. International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB)- Their book search function is due to close in the near future, and may merge within one of the larger meta-search engines.
6. ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America) and BIBLIOPOLY- These sites boast more sophisticated and experienced dealers (partly true). The trade-off is that there are smaller selections and possibly greater expense. They have a greater concentration of uncommon material, usually with more elaborate descriptions than on the less specialized sites; virtually all of these dealers list on one or more of the above sites. ABAA currently has its website managed by Bibliopolis. ABAA membership is restricted to USA dealers; Bibliopoly is smaller, multinational, and does list some established mapdealers. These latter two really are independent search sites, and not just linked to the ILAB, as is the case with ABAA. Bibliopoly boasts search capabilities in five languages. Its inventory is currently relatively small, and it seems to have generally stagnated.
7. ChooseBooks.com - This is a large site, with over 10 million titles. It is very fast, with a nice search engine (a few quirks noted). It is predominantly European, particularly stocked by German dealers, though it is beginning to change. ZVAB has merged with ChooseBooks, as they attempt to expand into American markets. As with so many other independent search engines, most of the dealers here are also found on the ABE or ILAB sites.
9. Some other sites to watch - TomFolio.com, Biblion ,
10. International Antiquarian Mapsellers Association (IAMA) - This organization is relatively new (formed in June 2002), and is modeled on the ILAB and its affiliates. They have just developed the first-ever online search engine specifically catering to the antiquarian map trade (maps, atlases, cartography, etc.). The listings are confined to member dealers, although the site is intended for general retail use. It is a small site, but it is slowly growing. The search engine capabilities will gradually be expanded over the next months and years, and this is linked to the programming technologies of Bibliophile.
SECURED ORDERING ONLINE: Most of the sites above offer secured online ordering. If the individual site does not offer this, many of the individual dealers will. Other options are always available for those wishing to avoid leaving credit card details with central sites.
(*NOTE: Other sources, not focused on individual dealers, such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Alibris are discussed below)
GENERAL DISCUSSION:
I would generally advise against using the "browse" function on most search engines, particularly as it applies to dealer catalogues. This function is often erratic, and too much inventory can be missed. Also, although several search engines offer the ability to view recently uploaded books, that can be misleading in some circumstances. Some dealers may reload large catalogue segments when they 'update' files, and those items may appear over and over again, as recent listings. This isn't necessarily anyone's fault, but more of a programming issue, one that some sites have handled better than others. One last item, for those search engines offering the ability to restrict dates (i.e. before 1800, etc.). This is often based on having a single date field in an individual entry, which may not be the case for many dealers listings, so significant items may be missed with the application of this function.
ABE is the largest aggregate of independent booksellers online, currently boasting over 60 million listings, from about 12,000 independent booksellers from all over the world. Biblio, as noted, is growing rapidly. Bibliofind, owned by Amazon.com, has disappeared (see above), with total submersion into Amazon. Some dealers sell via the Amazon Z-shops, though the ability to have a personalized relationship with a dealer is distinctly limited. Antiqbook is operated out of The Netherlands, and has links to specific map and print databases that have been in existence for some time, although the size of the site does not rival that of ABE, Biblio, or ILAB. One advantage to most the above listed sites is that you can easily reach independent bookdealers, although that situation is rapidly deteriorating on ABE. That direct contact allows for a much more personalized approach (even a telephone contact for the e-challenged!) something not readily done via out-of-print sites such as Alibris (which absorbed the old Bibliocity site), Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble. Wherever you purchase, be sure there is some method for dispute resolution. Problems are relatively infrequent, and most established dealers are reasonable in these situations, but having a central complaint location in the event of a more intractable problem is occasionally useful.
ALL DEALERS DO NOT LIST ON ALL SEARCH ENGINES, so depending on the rarity of the item, or your enthusiasm for comparative pricing, you may need to try more than one. Some of the "meta-search" engines (see below) will scan multiple sites simultaneously, but the results can be variable and quirky, and will not always substitute for going through the major independent book sites individually, especially for more unusual items or better descriptions. Eventually you will find which search-engines work best for you, and where you should look for common versus scarce material. A few boutique sites, such as the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America) and BIBLIOPOLY boast more sophisticated and experienced dealers (some of which can understandably add to pricing), although virtually all of the dealers at these more "exclusive" sites list via those larger independent sites above (ABE, Antiqbook, Biblio). The ABAA, limited to dealers from the USA, currently requires 4 years in the business plus a formal application and initiation process to join, but does not include many dealers from the more expansive International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), which is composed of 20 national organizations (including ABAA) and has its own full-text book search engine (among the best online), accessible in French or English. (As noted above, the ABAA merely links to a subset of the ILAB database as their search engine.) The ILAB site has a keyboard of special alphabetical characters (a nice feature), and can restrict the search to a specific country or dealer. To be fair, some of these more restrictive sites do concentrate expertise in a way that cannot be done on some of the more general search sites, and may be of value in selected circumstances (if you find something interesting you can always look at the more general sites for comparative pricing, plus careful attention to condition). Again, Bibliopoly has search capabilities in five languages. Worldbookdealers seems to have closed. There is quite a bit of information for collectors at the ABAA site, although nothing currently focused on maps themselves. There are experienced, reliable dealers who may not belong to the more restrictive organizations.
There are other sources for out-of-print books on the web, some better known to consumers due to extensive advertising campaigns. Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble boast out-of-print searches, but they do this by using listings available through those independent sites listed above, and adding surcharges of 10-30% (less with more expensive items). Alibris is marketed as an independent site, especially geared to libraries, but most of their out-of-print offerings are still gleaned from participating independent booksellers from the sites above. Although they have ceased adding surcharges, some dealers hike their prices prior to listing on Alibris, due to the 20% commission charged to dealers on each sale. they have a smaller selection of major antiquarian and map related material than many of the larger independent sites.
ABE has some specialized programs geared toward libraries and specific international markets, but several of these have recently been dropped, including BibliOz and their agreement with Amazon. This doesn't affect searches off the primary ABE site. ABE is also developing specialized marketing programs, tapping volunteers from their large assortment of independent dealers, in foreign locations such as UK, France, Germany, Japan and Australia.
I am not simply indicting those sites that resort to price mark-ups, as they need to have a way to pay for their operations, but the consumer is not always aware of the source of the books and the extent of the price-hike.
SPECIFIC SEARCH TIPS*: Not all online listings are in English, and it is advisable to omit specialized accent marks from your searches, as this can cause difficulties with many of the larger sites which are mostly English based, although the ILAB, Antiqbook and Bibliopoly sites do offer some multilingual search capabilities. The day may come when languages can be quickly translated back and forth, but it is not here yet. You should distinguish between searching for a specific book and listing "wants" on a specific search site. With the latter, a service offered at most of the above sites (except Antiqbook), you should be very careful and precise with title and author, unless you want to be overwhelmed with a blizzard of excess information and lists. Searching for a specific item is a different matter. You want to start with a few words (perhaps a cartographer, specific map or region), always with careful attention to spelling. If you get too specific or mis-spell, you will miss listings. You can refine the search parameters later, using available criteria such as dates, price, keywords, and other tricks (see the search tips at each individual site, where available). Regarding the vagaries of electronic glitches which can create access difficulty, that can happen anywhere, anytime, and on any site. A number of these search engines have capabilities to order listings based on price, individual dealer, country of origin, and more. With regard to "first edition" restrictions, you may miss inventory listed by dealers who do not use programs with individual line entries for those details. Similar problems may occur when attempting to sort by publication dates.
*Use of quotation marks ("..."): Several sites allow you to enclose a phrase (such as "hunting map") in quotation marks, limiting the search to the specific phrase, rather than just the 2 separate words anywhere in the search field. Detailed discussion as to specific types of searches, such as boolean, are beyond the scope of this page.
*Specific search tips:These are available on several sites mentioned herein.
META-SEARCH ENGINES: These sites, as mentioned above, search across a range of the independent or other aggregate sites, often listing the cheapest volumes first. Some of these engines have fluctuating (and undisclosed?) relationships with various booksale sites previously mentioned (Barnes & Noble, Alibris, Amazon.com, etc.), for the purpose of listing the preferred inventories closer to the top. I would not consider this an attempt to deceive, as much as understandable marketing arrangements. Specific items may still be missed, and you must still pay careful attention to the way your searches are configured. The indexing systems of Bookfinder and AddAll can be quirky at times. Some of the larger sites for this sort of general query include:
1. AddAll
2. BookFinder.com Note: This is now owned by AbeBooks.
3. viaLibri Note: This is a newer and very quick metasearch option. It has some multilingual capabilities for translating individual book descriptions (after initial retrieval). There are a number of other utilities at this site, which is likely gaining in popularity. They have a rather extensive "hints and caveats" page for suggestions in using their search engine.
4. Booksold
There are other sites of these sorts, but those above are among the best known. They allow you to search for yourself, as opposed to other sites where you submit a specific title of a book to be bought (or sold), while they search for you and add their own percentage (and their own energy or lack thereof). The latter type of site may be useful if you need special assistance or do not have the time to explore on your own.
CONCLUDING REMARKS: Like much of the online world, these book (and map)search sites and their individual capabilities will be in a state of flux for the foreseeable future. There will be inevitable fallout, as these sites begin to consolidate positions. In general, I prefer the larger independent sites, for reasons including pricing (they do not add surcharges), selection, search configuration and personalized service with individual booksellers. As a start, an individual look at the ABE and ILAB sites (or one of the metasearch engines, such as viaLibri, once the ILAB database closes) will cover most of the available antiquarian offerings in these systems. ILAB focuses much more on establishing individual dealer contact, something ABE lost (a mistake, in my opinion). The IAMA site, though small, has some advantage in its focus on the antiquarian map related material. Some people are likely to use the larger name-brand sites, like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Alibris, due to their perceived ease of use and broader commercial familiarity. Some of this is a result of the strength of their advertising campaigns. Still, in fairness, the Amazon site can be particularly useful in the search for some relatively new or inexpensive reference works. The meta-search engines certainly have their uses (with viaLibri perhaps the best of these), but again, results can be variable for a number of technical reasons. Take some time and develop some facility with these modes of book and map searching. It will be rewarded. Consider it the digital analogue of "roaming the stacks" of the old-fashioned, if unfortunately endangered, independent book shop. I would hope that, over the next few years, some of these independent bookseller and mapseller sites become 'institutions' in their own right, adding stability to the internet scene.
Prepared by THE PRIME MERIDIAN: ANTIQUE MAPS & BOOKS®
Copyright © 2000-2010 by Joel Kovarsky (All Rights Reserved)
Last Modified: 5 January 2010
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