Well, at least I think so. The Ann Arbor Antiquarian Booksellers Association was proud to sponsor the 25th Annual Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair, in conjunction with the Clements Library, on Sunday May 18th, 2003. Held in the beautiful wood-paneled Ballroom of the University of Michigan Student Union, the book fair was attended by about 40 dealers from around the Midwest. It’s a long day and a short book fair; the fair opened to the public at 11 am and closed at 4pm. There were just under 500 customers. Dealers lined up early outside the Union to wait their turn at the loading dock, which is located right next to the giant trash bins for the Union. A lovely aroma to inhale as you unload your van. Hmm… doesn’t sound very classy to me, you might be thinking to yourself, ah… but that is on the way to the ballroom. The efficient unloading crew made quick work of it and the stop near the dumpster was brief, albeit fragrant. Dealers were treated to catered breakfast buffet of fruit and danishes, and bagels and muffins. Then, after a brief repast, the book fair was opened by the booming voice of John Harriman, a Clements Librarian, who heralded the dealers and customers alike with his great voice (a favorite part of the bookfair for me) saying “Ladies and Gentleman, The 25th Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair is now open!” It’s the coolest moment of the fair, if you ask me. The exciting thing about this book fair is that right when it starts, the Clements Library is having a sale also right inside the door of the book fair- the book fair partially raises money for the Clements Library and so even though the fair has opened, many dealers can be found in front of the Clement’s tables making stacks of books and rare paper items to purchase. While this fair is much more of a ‘mellow’ book fair than many in the Midwest, it still has a much to offer. One couple who came from Pennsylvania to attend the book fair were very pleased with their purchases and happy to have made the 250-mile trip. Book fair manager Jay Platt had met the couple at the Akron book fair and encouraged them to attend the Ann Arbor fair. They planned to make a day of it and walk to some of the bookstores in the downtown area, as well. After a wonderful luncheon of cold cuts and pasta salad in the dealer room, it was time to go back to our booths and wait for the end of the show and for John Harriman to proclaim, “Ladies and Gentleman, The Book Fair is now closed. Thank you and have a good day.” Now, that’s class. Aimee England volume1book@dmci.net

There are two areas of focus when you’ve made that plunge into the life of bookseller; one is “How do I source my stock” and the other is “How can I determine how much of that stock I will sell”. The first area, “How do I source my stock” is the focus for this article, because without having a grasp on what will sell, there is NO way to determine how much of that will actually sell! But before we get to that point, I’d like to start off by imploring you to buy research materials. You don’t have to spend a fortune to do so, but spend a little bit! BuyBook Collecting – A Comprehensive Guide and Collected Books – The Guide To Values by Allen and Patricia Ahern; ABC For Book-Collectors by John Carter; Old copies of “Firsts” magazine; the list goes on! Don’t worry about having the latest and greatest version; the timeless information inside the book is what’s really worthwhile, and whatever is time-sensitive (such as pricing and whatnot) can usually be extrapolated to fit today’s time. While you are focused on doing this research, join some book discussion groups for both collectors and sellers. These are invaluable, as they provide you with a wide range of perspectives. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their help. GOOGLE! I cannot stress this enough, this is the most comprehensive search engine around and before you decide to ask ANY question, make sure you’ve searched Google first! Now that we have those points out of the way, we’ll concentrate on the matter at hand. What should you look for when sourcing stock? First is stock quality. For this part, I will not focus on authors, or mass market paperbacks. The only focus is regarding the physical shape of a book. As booksellers, when we search for books, we carry with us certain criteria that define what it is we want to buy. For some of us it is a specific author or a publishing company, some focus on specifically hardcovers and some on paperbacks. We all have something we look for and base our purchases on. But the problem is that some of us focus too much on this and not enough on whether the book has been attacked by the previous owner’s rottweiler! Condition, more than almost any other factor, will take a $10,000 book and crush it into something that’s not worth 1/10th of 1%. Try to stay away from books that look as though they’ve been put through a meat grinder, or those that look like they’ve not only been read in the bathtub, but have also joined the owner alongside IN the bath. Here are a few tips to keep your eye out for: Missing or loose pages. You can figure this one out quickly and easily by just flipping through the book. Often, in these cases, you’ll make more money by tossing the book aside than trying to list it. Unless it is a very special find such as a first edition/first printing of The Wizard of Oz, chances are the book is worthless. Books without dust jackets. Having a first edition hardcover of a desirable book with a dust jacket is great, but you lose that dust jacket and you can usually kiss a large portion of the proceeds goodbye. Generally the value for a collector is in the “entire package,” and they’ll pass by a book without a jacket. However, a $80 or $90 book in a full jacket can still be worth $10 – $20 without IF the book is in pristine condition, so judge on a per item basis. Book club editions. Although it is difficult to judge sometimes the difference between a trade and book club edition, learn! Learn the tell-tale signs (blind stamps on back cover, cheaper paper, no numbering/lettering on the copyright page, etc.) and keep a wary eye open for that Steinbeck first edition that you think could be horribly valuable and turns out to be nothing but junk. Ex-Library books. Now, I’ve had luck selling some ex-library books for a nice price, however I’ll tell you right now that I’ve bought a LOT more than I could ever have sold. For the most part, collectors want unmarred editions. They don’t want something with stamps all over it, and strapping tape stains on the endpapers, etc. Again, unless the book is in otherwise impeccable condition, and at an unbelievable price – you would be better off passing. Note that illustrated children’s books that are Ex-Libraries are far more valuable than books that are not illustrated. “Old” books that are priced like antiques and are worth less than the cost of paper they were printed on. I am guilty of looking at certain old books and thinking “Wow, I bet that one is worth a mint!” only to find out that it’s listed for less than what I paid for it. Any new bookseller will make this mistake, it’s easy to do. You have to be very careful on what you purchase, and how much you spend on it. Remember, just because a book is from the early 1900’s doesn’t mean it wasn’t mass-produced and stuffed down the throat of every book buyer alive. Again, BE WARY! Smell. Smell that book! That “old book smell” you think is so great might actually be mold! The last thing you want is to bring a book into your inventory that stinks of or has mold. I’ve had new books get infested with mold after just a few days of associating with these culprits. It’s not an easy culprit to get rid of, either. If you want to rid the item of the smell (note – NOT kill the stuff) you may want to contact Madame J. Godsey via her website for the wonderful Book Deodorizer (http://www.bookdeodorizer.com/). Again, note that this doesn’t kill the mold or mildew, not much does. For more information on how to kill these little buggers, see http://www.acaeum.com/Library/Mold%20Mildew.html, a great article on the subject. Second is stock pricing, and is almost as important as stock quality. If you pay $10 for a book and can only sell it for $15 – you have to ask yourself if you’ve really made money, or lost it on that book. Don’t get suckered in by those people who take a book that is 100 years old and put a price tag of $20 on it. Often people at sales do this because they think “Well, it’s old – I bet it’s worth SOMETHING!” Trust me, often it is worth nothing. If I could count the number of books that I overpaid for when I started out that were “old and valuable looking”… well, I’d just rather not do that. Third is demand for the book. This one is very difficult to teach, and often just comes along with experience. When you first start out, I’m sure you’ll see a copy of a book that you think is going to be the “cats meow” and worth $200 – you’ll pay $20 for it and get home only to realize there are 348 other copies of the book listed online for $6.99. You have to look at what you’re trying to sell, and there HAS to be a demand for those customers to purchase YOUR book over and above those of the other 348 book dealers. What makes YOU special? Why is YOUR book worth “more”? Just remember the tried and tested marking mantra: Recognize the need Tune into the benefit Focus on the features for the benefit Why customers should trust the benefit or features The close! Need, Benefit, Feature, Testimonial, AND THE CLOSE! Remember, if you don’t ask them to buy, they won’t! If you follow what I’ve stated above, you’ll have a much better chance at actually succeeding in this chancy, cut-throat business. Next article will focus on how you can use this technique to base “the numbers” Until then – Good book hunting!! Nick Papageorge info@vitaltitles.com http://www.vitaltitles.com

The Midwest Bookhunters Spring Book and Paper show was held May, 3rd and 4th at the Joseph J. Gentile Center at Loyola University in Chicago. This spring’s show was the first two-day Midwest Bookhunter’s show held in Chicago, and it proved to be a success. Many attendees who came on opening night were back on the second day to enjoy the book fair a second time. There were approximately 600 customers attending this book fair. While this was one of the Bookhunter’s smaller shows–with only 42 dealers participating, the books certainly packed a punch and dealers offered some stellar tomes. There were dealers exhibiting from as far away as Rochester, NY and Willow Springs, MO. Everything from paper collectibles to fine bindings were displayed for sale. Pete Baugman of Frogtown Books (Toledo, OH) offered a fine selection of woodcuts suitable for framing by a famous artist of the 1930s. An amazing collection. Larry Van de Carr of Booklegger’s Used Books brought his usually beautiful selection of fine bindings and collectible illustrated books. Maggie Page of Page Books, (Hillsboro, OH) offered two framed sets of Thornton Burgess illustrated cards that came in bread packaging, many years ago. A unique way to get those creative characters popular with the kiddies of the time. One of the highlights of this fair was the return to the Midwest of Jim Richards of Duck Creek Books, who had moved to Florida several years ago but has recently relocated to St. Clairsville, OH. Jim offered a fine selection of framed autographs and photos–one of the excellent pieces he had on display was a black and white movie still from To Kill A Mockingbird, signed by Gregory Peck. Chicago Photographer Algamitas Kezys was on hand to offering copies of his book, Chicago by Kezys, and prints of his wonderful urban photographs. A former Jesuit, he proved interesting to talk to about this travels in his native Lithuania. The Joseph Gentile Center is an excellent space for a book fair, with easy loading and good lighting. There is room for at least twice as many dealers to exhibit at this fair. Something attendees and sellers would both like to see. Parking in the campus structure was free for both days, and public transportation was just a short walk way. Nearby restaurants provided much needed book fair fuel for sellers and customers, alike. The Midwest Bookhunters sponsor three book fairs a year: The Spring Book Fair at Loyola, The Twin Cities Book Fair at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in July, and the Fall Book Fair at DePaul University in Chicago, to be held Sunday, October 19, 2003 at the Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield, Chicago, IL. Call 708-418-5620 for more information.

I talked to a guy who does tech support and he told me that one of the reasons my computer is acting so sluggish is that it is filled with temporary internet files. Also in this file are a lot of things called cookies. I’m pretty sure it’s ok to delete the temporary files that represent web browsing of bygone days but what is a cookie and is it ok to delete it?(them?) Susan Halas Wailuku, Maui A. For simple questions like this, as well as surprisingly complicated ones, AskJeeves, is very good at returning the information you seek. Here is the #3 item returned from the search “What is a cookie?” http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/ You could delete your cookies, but this can be inconvenient. Currently many cookies are very useful — for example, cookies contain the information that allows Amazon.com to tell when you are buying/looking. Deleting the cookie might have no harmful effects, but you might have to log on with your name and password. The temporary files that accumulate minute-by-minute are another manner. Every website you visit will cause you to download and save 5-10-20 files, many are simple icons, labels, illustrations, etc., and they linger around forever. They are perfectly harmless but they take up room. So I think it’s absolutely safe to delete temporary *.jpg and *.gif files. If you tried the AskJeeves search, you will find other shareware products that will help clean out cookies, temporary files, spyware, adware, etc. I recently downloaded SpyBot-S&D (SpyBot Search&Destroy), and used it once, so I don’t have any extensive experience with it. A simple search for SpyBot should tell you much, much more. If you use IE, access Tools/Internet Options/General and you can clear some of the temporary files. You can even examine the LONG list of files in your Temporary Files directory. If you see some cookies from sites that you no longer use, I think it’s safe to delete those. Doug McClure …………………………………………………………………. Q. Can anyone please tell me how to access the OCLC catalog? (anonymous) A. Recently having begun to conduct research for a book and collecting specific items for reselling (and buying from this list), I was “reintroduced” to the concept of a “library” after about 35 years! (One day the inspiration hit me to stop and look around as I was driving by!) I was was dumbfounded to discover that there aren’t card catalogs any more (got a strange look from the librarian when I asked where it was) and was pointed to a PC where I was shown a screen to get to on-line catalogs and on-line databases — including OCLC WORLDCAT — all of which can be accessed from home if you have a LIBRARY CARD, of which I am once again a proud owner! Notice that if you try Steve’s link below, it says “This service is only provided for links from OCLC WorldCat partner pages. Your local library system is most likely a partner! Having once thought that brick-and-mortar libraries where “obsolete,” I’m now “re-educated” and recognize the unique portals they offer for research. Although I do the research from home, I now find myself visiting the library most every week to “touch” books I’m considering purchasing. Although we have a small library, most of what I’m looking for is somewhere in the local system and I generally can get it delivered to my library within 2-3 days. Dick Miller North Andover, MA 01845 ………………………………………………………………… Q. If you’re new at this and can’t afford to buy more than the essentials, but willing to study to learn, which are the most essential and affordable price guides to buy? Judith Broadhurst Santa Cruz, CA A. The Ahearn price guides are essentials, in my mind, but they are not cheap. But keep in mind they are pricing books in perfect condition, and they are a “guide” to values, not definitive. But they also contain an enormous amount of other information that is invaluable. American Book prices CD, also not cheap, also is essential for pricing rare books. Dan Riker Basset Books LLC I second the recommendations made by my neighbor Dan Riker. In addition I would nominate these three specialty guides, all of which at least attempt to help with values: Lee, Thomas. “20th Century First Edition Classic Fiction: a Price and Identification Guide. “Despite its rather clumsy title this little guide is a gem. The pricing info is as good as in any other guide (i.e., a piece of the puzzle of how to price the book in hand), but the real value here is the information on first editions and points of issue. Tom Lee has generously “opened his filing cabinet” and included things like number of copies in the first printing, book and jacket issue points, tricky book club editions, and other such. Obviously it is quite selective as to the authors included, but the latest edition covers 64 of them and 1,000 of their books. At something like $25 it is a real bargain, and perfect for someone like me who does not specialize in modern firsts. Broadfoot, Tom. “Civil War Books: a Priced Checklist with Advice.” (Fourth Edition). An amazingly comprehensive single volume reference. Unlike the Ahearns’ guide mentioned by Dan, the prices for a lot of the books listed here tend to be low–partly because the latest edition (4th) is from 1996. Howes, Wright. “U.S.iana (1650-1950).”.Definitely an essential reference for Americana. Its concise bibliographic details are of far more use than its outdated pricing information, however. There are many other “essential” references, depending on your specialties–particularly bibliographies as opposed to price guides. Rock Back Creek Books No single simple answer. It depends on what area you focus on, what specialties you want to emphasize. If you deal in Americana, you really need a copy of Wright Howes’ USiana. If you focus on Western Americana you need (in addition to Howes) Wagner/Camp/Becker: The Plains and the Rockies. If you emphasize cowboys or outlaws, you need Ramon Adams’ Six Guns and Saddle Leather. Then there are other guides for medicine, for science & technology, for natural history, and on and on…….. Trussel’s website has a good list of references at http://www.trussel.com/f_books.htm Try Littera Scripta at http://www.litterascripta.com/Refworks/index.shtml These are useful. C.O.Patterson ……………………………………………………………….. Q. After searching ABE, Addall and Bookfinder, what, if any, data bases are left unsearched? Wasn’t there a search engine for independent book web sites? How many, if any of these will Google search? Thanks for any and all assistance. Madlyn Center Aisle Books A. Madlyn (and others): BookRanch Fetchbooks Myownbookshop Tomfolio “the one that doesn’t belong” — bookranch — a dealer site as opposed to general search. I can only attribute that to good marketing and a dry wit! Dick Miller North Andover, MA A. Google is great for book searches. I got two queries off it yesterday that were both pretty vague, on the order of “I’m looking for information about Jose Maria Perez Martinez [a made up name] and found out from Google you have a book that mentions him. Please let me know if it is available.” Well, he wasn’t someone I remembered & I couldn’t figure out quickly what the book was, so I went to Google and did a search for Jose +Lynn +all the rest of his name +book. A link popped up that took me right to the catalogue on my home page where for some unknown reason I mentioned a reference to him in the comments on a book for sale. I was very impressed. Google knows my inventory better than I do! I use Google for book searches all the time. It works best if you toss in a +book into the search. As near as I can tell it searches every page there is out there, or so close I’m never going to know the difference. This has, I think, some implications for databases. I haven’t quite figured those out yet, but, in my guise as president of one, it worries me. As a bookstore owner I sometimes wish I had the courage to drop them all for a couple of months to see if Google would pick up the slack. Dick Miller’s comment, “It’s odd, but I use Google more than any other tool on my computer, but seldom use it to search for books!” leads me to think that I better not try the experiment. Lynn DeWeese-Parkinson Forest Grove, OR Thanks to all of our contributors, especially Lynn, who is owner of Bibliophile, a great venue for booksellers, collectors, and booklovers, and the source for our Q & A material. ……………………………………………………………….. Jean S. McKenna, Editor Chairman Education Committee

The smell of the North Texas plains is the dusty scent of dried grass, mesquite bushes and ancient live oaks towering over red brick courthouses of the county seats. Archer City, however, also offers the complex, rich odor of aging paper and musty bindings peculiar to used bookstores. Five buildings in this oasis south of Wichita Falls house a myriad of offerings from two businesses, Booked Up and Three Dogs Bookstore. Famed author, collectible book dealer, and local son, Larry McMurtry, returned to his hometown and inspiration for his book, The Last Picture Show, to open a branch of his successful Washington D.C. antiquarian book business, Booked Up. He invited the Wichita Falls firm of Three Dog Books to join him in Archer City as he worked towards a vision of an authentic American book town. For a weekend in August, Book Seminars International will be joining hundreds of thousands of used and out-of-print books to be found in this prairie town. David Gregor will present his daylong multi-media programs, Book Collecting for Fun & Profit and Strategic Bookselling Workshop on August 23rd and 24th. Over a recent lunch, I quizzed the 17-year bookselling veteran about his own enterprises. TF: Why Archer City Texas? DG: It is the premier book town in America and it’s in a region that has a strong literary heritage. Many people know about McMurtry’s book town and I thought the programs would be an added advantage for book people to travel there. Scouting through five buildings, you really have to work at not finding something you or your shop needs. TF: But August in Texas? DG: (laughing) Well the venue [site of the original Last Picture Show] is air conditioned, but this was the best time to fit in with my class offerings which include extensive traveling across the country and my duties as co-producer of the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair. TF: Why have you developed these programs? DG: Because there is a growing body of book enthusiasts who want a basic education on collecting and library-building that is not offered any place else in the world. I developed the bookseller program as a crash course in business fundamentals for people in the trade and those interested in coming in to it-so as to give them every opportunity to succeed. TF: How do your book seminar programs compare with the Denver Book Seminar? DG: They’re two different, but our students who have taken both say, compatible programs. I understand the Denver weeklong program is primarily aimed at advanced education for the antiquarian bookseller and collection-building librarian. My collecting program is designed as an introduction to the fundamentals of library-building for the fledgling collector, but we see again and again that the in-class exercises for identifying first printings and condition description help buyers and sellers. The Bookseller Workshop is relevant to both beginning and experienced booksellers. It shows blow-by-blow what your options are for your business if you apply the principals and tactics used by all profitable retail operations-regardless of size or product. TF: What do you think is the biggest obstacle to the future of the used bookselling trade? DG: I would say the fragmentary nature of the old school of bookselling. That school is slowly dying away because technology increases competition even though the marketplace has expanded beyond the local and regional customer base of even the general used bookseller. TF: Define “fragmentary nature of the old school”? DG: A lack of cooperative cohesion within the bookselling community and between that community and the population they wish to serve. This situation exists despite professional organizations. There is a small body of professional business people within the trade and a much larger number of hobbyists or owners who refuse to adjust to the changing retail paradigm of the used, rare and out-of-print book business. We are no different from any other retail business today-we all have to make adjustments. My goal for the programs is to provide a direction in transitioning from the old school to the 21st Century marketplace. TF: Do the classes generate a lot of sales for your store, Gregor Books, in Seattle? DG: Not really. I wish it were so. This is a service I choose to provide the book world. I create informed buyers, regardless of their interests. And we all want informed buyers-they better understand both the price of the item and the importance of establishing relationships with reputable dealers. TF: What are your plans for 2004? DG: We are still finalizing our schedule. By September I will know which three cities I will be traveling to for the programs. And of course, people can join me in Seattle for the programs. I do them right at the store, which makes it easy for them to browse the stacks during the breaks! Web links: http://www.BookSeminarsInternational.com http://www.bookedupinc.com http://www.threedogbooks.com http://www.seattlebookfair.com http://www.GregorBooks.com

The 2003 DIY Book Festival reports that its annual gala awards ceremony honoring independent authors and publishers will benefit the Beyond Baroque Literary Center of Venice, California. (DIY = Do It Yourself, of course.) The 35-year old landmark bookstore/performance space/publisher will be celebrated on Thursday, October 2nd at the Derby Nightclub in Hollywood with a special night of spoken word performances, music, exhibits, panels and literary readings by some of Beyond Baroque’s distinguished alumni, all capped by the 2003 DIY Book Festival Awards Ceremony. Tickets for the event are $15 and available by calling the DIY Book Festival at 323-665-8080 or may be purchased online at http://www.diybookfestival.com. Entrants to the DIY Book Festival contest are admitted free to the awards program. The Beyond Baroque Literary Center is a performance and publishing forum in the cultural heart of Southern California. Formed in 1968 by a group of writers with the publication of an avant-garde poetry magazine, the center has grown into a hub for readings, performances, special events, and ongoing educational classes, including its long-running Wednesday Night Poetry Workshop. Among its most important missions is Beyond Books, dedicated to important emerging and overlooked work that is unavailable elsewhere or out of print. Headlining the DIY Book Festival benefit will be performances by X’s John Doe; Pleasant Gehman, author of The Underground Guide To L.A.; Larry Jaffe, International Readings Coordinator for the United Nations Dialogue Among Civilizations Through Poetry program; and Shawna Kenney, author of I Was A Teenage Dominatrix. Other performers will be announced in the coming weeks. Entries for the 2003 DIY Book Festival competition will be accepted through September 25 at http://www.diybookfestival.com. The DIY Book Festival will consider self-published or independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, children’s books, how-to, photography/art, comics, ‘zines, fan fiction and ebooks released after January 1, 2001. All entries must be in English and have been self-published or issued by an independent house that has published less than 50 works since the entry cut-off point. Competition winners receive cash, travel, software and independent book selections. The 2003 DIY Book Festival is sponsored by Soft Skull Press, Final Draft Screenplay Software, Alcasid.com, the DIYReporter.com and JM Northern Media.

Is your office like a sauna in the summer heat? Would you prefer updating your online database or answering email queries in the open air, perhaps at a nearby park? Thanks to cutting edge technology, IOBA members can, or will soon be able to, ditch their desks to make the most of the summer and work out in the sun or at a shady picnic table in your own backyard. Using a relatively new mobile technology, a team of lecturers and classroom assistants from a London college gathered at London’s famous landmark Leicester Square to demonstrate how easy, and enjoyable, it can be to work in the open air. The technology that makes this possible is called Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity. It allows you to connect to the Internet from your couch at home, a bed in a hotel room or a shady creek bank without wires. How? Wi-Fi is a wireless technology like a cell phone. Computers designed to use Wi-Fi send and receive data indoors and out, anywhere within the range of a base station. And the best thing of all, it’s fast. In fact, it’s several times faster than the fastest cable modem connection. The mobile workforce in Europe is fast growing: the Institute of Employment Services in the UK recently predicted that the number of teleworkers in Europe could reach as many as 27 million by 2010, With more people looking to achieve a better work/life balance, Wi-Fi technology seems to be the way to go. Recent research also reveals that two-thirds of the world’s 1,000 biggest companies are expected to use WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) technology by the end of 2004. Britain is already becoming more mobile. Research conducted amongst UK companies indicated recently that half of the corporations, and over a third of medium-sized companies interviewed, already have WLANs in operation or intend to do so in the next year. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11b or 802.11a to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks. Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, with an 11 Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a) data rate or with products that contain both bands (dual band), so they can provide real-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks used by many IOBA members, including me. Are there drawbacks? Sure there are. Your computer must be configured with a Wi-Fi certified PC Card or similar device (a radio, essentially). You must be in range of a base station, your access point or gateway, which can simply be your home or office computer. Range varies from about 500 feet to more than a mile, depending on your equipment, antennas (built-in or external) and environmental conditions. What is sure to happen, however, is that hotels, motels, resorts, and various public facilities (such as libraries, possibly) will provide gateways that you can access. Is this pie in the sky? No way! Just think back 10 years or so. Who among us would have predicted how the Internet would grow and became a major force in our lives? Or how quickly it would happen? This article is meant just to acquaint you with the term Wi-Fi and a few of the basics it involves. I will follow up with more information on the technology in future articles, and we hope to prevail on others with specialized knowledge of the subject to contribute also.

A comment in a recent IOBA email thread occasions an offer to all- About 1-1/2 years ago, under the auspices of the IOBA, I hosted a ‘reference book familiarity’ seminar/workshop here at my shop–an opportunity for those in attendance to learn about such references* as the BAL, Sabin, Osborne, Field, NCBEL, Wing, &c, &c as well as a day to answer questions about researching & cataloguing rare books. A past issue of the IOBA STANDARD has a column on the day (see: http://www.ioba.org/newsletter/V6/seminar.html). If there is sufficient interest, I’d be happy to do the same sometime soon, probably October, probably a weekend day. Just send me an email expressing interest, and advising when you’d be available [weekday, weekend, general dates (e.g. mid-October)]. * My reference library is closing in on 2000 volumes, & has at least the basic references in most major subject areas. — Tavistock Books vjz@tavbooks.com http://www.tavbooks.com

If the following comments sound pessimistic, they are not intended to be. The book trade will survive the present difficulties but I believe a certain measure of realism is in order. Some three years ago there were about half a dozen book sites on the net. They all operated on the basis of a monthly subscription and dealers were in direct contact with their customers. The exception to this rule was Interloc/Alibris who listed uploaded inventories in their own name and charged the booksellers a commission on any sales. The bookseller never came into contact with the end customer. At this point, two of my favourite sites, Bibliocity and Bibliofind were taken over by two of the major players, causing a chain reaction. Among others, Sue and I, working as Collectable Books, were concerned that the sites where booksellers were in contact with their customers were disappearing. With our son, Andy, we started planning the structure and design of the book site that became http://www.bibliology.com and http://www.bibliology.com/classic. As it turned out, we were not the only ones, since other small, independent sites began emerging around the same time. Nobody could have foreseen the global political and economic changes that were to hit the world during the ensuing two years. Sadly, today we all know 9/11, Worldcom, Enron, Iraq and all the rest, only too well. During the past eighteen months, many American booksellers have stopped attending European bookfairs. Similarly, European Community booksellers are apparently battening down the hatches, telling UK dealers about the poverty created by the Euro. Inseparable from the above causes, it is rumoured that some of the major London booksellers have cut down on buying because they are not selling as much as they used to. Whatever the true reason, the fact remains that the circulation of money in the used and antiquarian book trade has slowed to a relative trickle. Of course, bookfairs and book auctions are but two of the easily visible parts of the book trade. Internet book sales are more difficult to feel and quantify but every independent online bookseller feels the downturn in the number and quality of books sold on the net. All of a sudden, in the book trade, as well as in the global business world, the name of the game has become ‘survival’. If the book-buying public is worried about job security, interest rates, the value of the investment portfolio, the pension plan, the cost of raising children, etc, adding another wonderful book to the collection has become but one part of a postponed wish-list. The pages of Bookfinder Insider, have been full of problems caused by monthly dues to book sites. Bibliology, unfortunately, has also lost a few members who say that in the present circumstances they simply cannot afford the subscription costs. Some have suggested that instead of charging a regular subscription fee, Bibliology should turn itself into a commission-based site. This, of course, would fly in the face of one of the declared principles behind its setup: “Bibliology does not interfere in the relationship between booksellers and their customers. Books are listed on the basis of a monthly subscription, with the benefit of a secure ordering system. There are no further charges or commissions.” We continue to believe in this fundamental principle. Bibliology has always responded to suggestions. When site visitors and subscribers felt uncomfortable with Bibliology’s black background we created a Light version which today is the Default format. We also continue with some added-value services. We offer free cataloguing software to members. Visitors to the site can register their ‘Wants’ – as lists or as individual titles – which are then matched against new uploads. Members can have a personalised Home Page at no additional cost. Some have chosen to use the Bibliology Search panel in their existing web sites, benefiting from the site’s sophisticated search parameters and secure ordering system. Literary Genius Limited, Bibliology’s parent company, can register domain names for Bibliology members for a very modest charge. Visitors to the site can view a growing calendar of book-related Events as well as Links to many useful book-related sites. At last, “Accessibility” has become a universal requirement for internet sites requiring equal rights of access for everyone, irrespective of any disability a user may have. Literary Genius has just completed a project to ensure that all its websites (Bibliology included) comply fully with US Federal standards of accessibility. Why US instead of UK standards? The simple answer is that at present US standards are the most demanding. Have a look at the range of services and facilities offered by other independent sites. These may easily justify the payment of a subscription. Would a commission on sales cost less? Maybe, in the short term, but in the long run, as the independent book sites gain market share, we feel the subscription method will be better value for the bookseller and, indirectly, for the customer. We all know that the same book listed on commission-based sites is often 5% to 20% dearer than on subscription only sites. At latest count there are about thirty book sites on the net, with more planned, offering an ever-growing range of choices to the bookseller. – List your books in the name of the book site, have no contact with the end customer, and pay a commission to the site on orders received. – List your books on the basis of a monthly subscription + a commission on the value of the sales, with direct contact between bookseller and the customer but where the book site may have quoted an unrealistic currency conversion rate and cost of postage. – List your books on the basis of a monthly subscription, with direct contact between bookseller and the customer but where the book site may have quoted an unrealistic currency conversion rate and cost of postage. – List your books on the basis of a monthly subscription, with direct contact between bookseller and the customer, without any interference from the book site. Some of the above book sites are searched by the major sites-of-sites while others prefer to rely on their own “customer through the door” client base. TodayBookfinder searches 40 book sites (including some new-book dealers) while AddAll searches 15 used-book sites. We feel this range of choices is vital to a healthy book-trade. One needs the diversity! We all know what can happen to a small town when a single mall opens up on the perimeter, but the final decision must be yours! I suggest we all have a think about how we would like the second hand book market to look in 3, 5 or 10 years’ time. Should we consider if it is worth taking a leap of faith and supporting one, two or more independent sites? The instant rewards may be quite depressing but the alternative may be to become a stockholder for one of the majors. Or, perhaps we should err on the side of caution and list on one or more of each. Tom Biro Director Bibliology Limited tom@bibliology.com #databases

Members of Mystery Readers International (MRI) named 19 nominees for 2003 Macavity Awards. The Macavity Award is named for the “mystery cat” of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats). Each year MRI members nominate and vote for their mystery-related favorites published during the previous calendar year in four categories: Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Critical/Biographical Work, Best Short Story. This year’s nominees are: Best Novel: Nine by Jan Burke (Simon & Schuster) Winter and Night by S.J. Rozan (St. Martin’s Minotaur) Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews (Harper Collins) City of Bones by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown) Jolie Blon’s Bounce by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster) Best First Novel; A Valley To Die For by Radine Trees Nehring (St. Kitts Press) The Blue Edge of Midnight by Jonathon King (Dutton) In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (St. Martin’s Minotaur) The Distance by Eddie Muller (Scribner) Best Critical/Biographical: The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Crime Fiction edited by Mike Ashley (Carroll & Graf) The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir by Eddie Muller (Overlook Press) They Died In Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Forgotten Mystery Novels, edited by Jim Huang (Crum Creek Press) Intent to Sell: Marketing the Genre Novel by Jeff Marks (Deadly Alibi Press) Best Short Story: Boot Scoot by Diana Deverell (AHMM, October 2002) The Adventure of the Rara Avis by Carolyn Wheat (Murder, My Dear Watson, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon Lellenberg & Daniel Stashower; Carrol & Graf) Voice Mail by Janet Dawson (Scam and Eggs, Five Star) An Empire’s Reach by Brendan DuBois (AHMM, Nov 2002) Too Many Cooks by Marcia Talley (Much Ado About Murder, edited by Anne Perry, Berkley Prime Crime) Bible Belt by Toni L.P. Kelner (EQMM, June 2002)

Deanna Ramsay deanna@ramsaybooks.com Editor’s Note: I’ve asked Deanna to provide us with a list of the services she provides since some of us are techno dummies and Deanna is, of course, a bookseller as well as a computer guru and understands our needs extremely well. Web site design: Shopping cart setup searchable MySQL database secure ordering customizable, and can be integrated into your current site design creates separate static html pages for each item in database auction payment page allows multiple payment methods (including PayPal) accepts tab-delimited data uploads (add, delete, or purge) does not currently accept UIEE (though that will be coming soon) discount coupons bestseller list optional thumbnail photo with each listing, links to larger image can be installed on any host which has the necessary features (MySQL, Perl, etc.) Web Hosting: Lots of features at reasonable cost. All my hosting fees are listed here: Hosting Fees Bw Web Setups: I will set up BwWeb templates and INI files which can be sent by email and installed locally. All you would need to do at that point is hit the start button to make the pages, then upload them to your site. $50 per setup. The initial page upload, Google submission, and a simple front page is included. In addition, I can set up Froogle upload files for you, using Bw Web. BwWeb Uploads: Will do weekly uploads of BwWeb pages. $50/month (up to 25,000 records – higher if more). Can also handle regular Froogle uploads if desired. Consulting: Help with search engine optimization, image optimization, html coding, website critiques, and miscellaneous other technical questions. An hour a month is included in any of my hosting packages. Other stuff I do: IOBA Webmaster (including setup of this newsletter) OCTRA Webmaster BooksCanada Mailing List owner Littera Scripta Host of Bibliophile and various other book-related email lists Now and then I try to sell a book And when I’m not working, I’m out riding my horse… #services

Feb. 19-22 in Monterey, CA Early registrants for Left Coast Crime 2004 not only save (cost is $150 vs. $175 after October 20) but also get first consideration for panel slots. The LCC convention for mystery authors and aficionados includes a variety of special events: Opening Reception at the Monterey Aquarium; Noir Film Night with Eddie Muller; Award and Guest of Honor special luncheon; Continental Breakfast daily; Bookbag and free books; the Dealers Book Room (where you can find great books); plus the opportunity to meet fans, writers, editors, agents, publishers in fantastic Monterey, one of the most beautiful sites in America. And, there’s more. There will be several special publications available only to registered participants: Program book; book of original short stories written for LCC by guests of honor Walter Mosley, Sharan Newman, Judy Greber (Gillian Roberts) and Richard Lupoff; Bibliography of attending authors; and pocket program. “This material alone typically is well worth the price of admission to serious mystery fans and collectors,” notes Ken Fermoyle, West Coast editor of The Standard. “The convention also offers a prime opportunity for book signings by a large and varied group of mystery authors. As for booksellers, the event is so popular that booth space typically is booked solid a year in advance, though there may be an outside chance of openings created by cancellations.” To register online or to find out more about Left Coast Crime 2004, go to: http://www.lcc2004.com or write to: Noemi Levine, 2625 Alcatraz Ave #332, Berkeley, CA 94705.