Finding Out-of-Print Titles on the Internet
Time-consuming searching made simple by Web resources
David Drake

Until recently, searching for out-of-print (OP) books was at best a serendipitous process marked by occasional success and at worst a frustrating exercise in futility leading to countless dead ends.

In every case, an OP search was time-consuming and inefficient, relying on the circulation of want lists among specialized dealers whose response times and prices varied widely. Prospective buyers had no control over the search process and often felt pressured to buy from the first dealer who produced the wanted book; the price might seem too high, but would any other dealer find it at all, much less at a lower cost?

The Internet has changed all this. Libraries or individuals seeking OP titles can now search dealers’ inventories on the Web, receive instant status reports, and compare prices before buying. Want lists still exist, but they are circulated electronically with resultant speed and convenience.

A good starting point for any OP search is BookWire’s Antiquarian Booksellers Index (http://www.bookwire.com/index/antiquarian-booksellers.html), a lengthy list of websites of dealers in rare and OP books. An annotation of each dealer’s specialty is given, and one may click on the dealer’s name to go directly to that website/catalog.

Two of the best sites on the BookWire Index are Advanced Book Exchange (http://www.abebooks.com) and Bibliofind (http://www.bibliofind.com), both of which maintain large searchable combined inventories of rare and OP booksellers worldwide. Searches are quick and free, and both sites allow the searcher to post a personal want list for titles not found on an initial search.

Advanced Book Exchange (ABE) allows searching by any combination of author, title, publisher, and keywords. By default, searches include all booksellers’ inventories in ABE but can be restricted to a single bookseller. "Hits" may be displayed in long or short format.

Bibliofind allows searching by author and/or title keywords. The search screen also includes a link to the Library of Congress catalog that allows the searcher to verify details or compile a bibliography, a handy feature for those uncertain of titles or authorship.

Both ABE and Bibliofind give full information on titles found regarding price, condition, and other details. Having located a book, a prospective buyer can click on the dealer’s name to find terms of sale. A single search will often return the names of several dealers who offer the item for sale. Veteran searchers will find that prices of the same book in similar condition often vary considerably, allowing the purchaser to do comparison shopping.

Titles not found on ABE or Bibliofind may be placed on a personal want list. The prospective buyer will be contacted by e-mail when the book shows up on a member booksellers’ inventory.

For ease of searching and comprehensiveness, ABE and Bibliofind are two of the best sites on the BookWire Index, but even their extensive inventories are only a fraction of those available through the Index. Every booksellers’ website on the Index is worth browsing, and many are literally treasure troves.

In addition to books, a number of dealers include recordings, autographs, and other memorabilia in their catalogs.

Old books found through new technology--it’s an intriguing and effective combination!