Editor: What is your purpose in starting a online book database (i.e., to help online booksellers, to get a database that does what you think a book database should do, because it’s a good business to be in, all of the above, none of the above, or ????). A: In Australia we had Bibliocity.com and this was sold to Alibris and no longer exists, so a large number of Australian Antiquarians asked me to build another to replace them. Editor: Is this a long-term commitment on your part? Where do you see yourself and your database in 3 years? 5 years? A: I have been involved with Information Technology for the Australian Antiquarians for the last 13 years, and see this as another service to the industry in Australia in particular. And as we are the only Australian site we will be here in the long term. Editor: What lister book database inventory programs do you/will you support? A: We support any and all formats, and will write conversion programs for the individual dealers’ data. We also have a free download of a Windows database for dealers to get started with, which can be upgraded to a commercial database including all the features for booksellers to use including Australian GSTax, debtors reports etc. Editor: What are your upload procedures? Deletion procedures? Are “wants” listings available? For sale matches? Are any additions/changes planned? A: Uploads can be accommodated with web browser or ftp – files can be zipped (compressed) or unzipped. We can accept total upload and purge as well as adds and deletes in uploaded files – any adds files check for book id and replaces the record if the same id already exists. Records can also be modified or deleted individually from the dealers’ menu. A purge request will not be honoured until a replacement file is received. Wants can be added or replaced from the dealers using a file upload – the same as the stock uploads – we will set up a conversion program to match the dealers’ format. All the listed online wants are available to registered dealers. We have a staff member who matches the wants to our database and advises the customer who entered the want of the match. We will not advise the dealer as we think that is up to the person if they are still interested in the book. We have on the list of things to do the requirement to have the wants automatically matched to the stock using a robot. But we think that these matches should be scanned by a human as some of the match requirements are difficult. Editor: What customer service (for both sellers and buyers) do you/will you have? A: I am not sure what you mean here so I will take a guess. We get a large number of buyer emails that we answer promptly, some of these emails are passed onto specific dealers who specialize in these areas. e.g. a customer has a selection of childrens’ books that they want to get a price on, I will pass this on to the closest childrens’ specialist for action. If any of our dealers are experiencing problems they can email me and I will try to sort out the problem. Some of the difficult ones are when ISP’s do not provide good fast http upload links and drop connections before uploads are complete. For the dealers we also can look after all their hardware and software including networking, and our engineer regularly travels interstate to set up new dealers with a complete IT package for shop and internet sales. Also for the dealers we can reprogram their own home pages to link to our site (or provide the codes for the links) to allow the dealers to use our search engines and secure ordering facilities, and we will add wrappers to these pages which make the pages look like the dealer has these facilities. i.e., there is no reference to Books & Collectibles. We also build these homepages from scratch for the dealers for as little as $200 AUD on their own ISP or domain hoster. Editor: Will you/do you have any quality (i.e., descriptions, shipping, and/or customer service) standards for your listers? If so, what will be/are the consequences of violating those standards? A: Yes, we publish these requirements on our Join Us page, and only have had problems with dealers being slow to get back to customers with details of when books have been shipped, etc. In all these cases I have been able to contact the dealer and they have been quick to respond to the customer. But I suppose if the dealer was not interested in selling books I would remove them from the site. Editor: What are your technical arrangements (in non-technical language, please) to ensure reliability of service? Future growth? Additional services? A: We use Linux and Apache, so do not suffer from the Microsoft problems. Our computers are backed up to tape regularly and thankfully, we have not had to go to this backup yet. We also use raid arrays which can automatically insert another hard drive should one of these fail, without any downtime. Future growth will require more distribution of the database over more computers and our LAN. The system has been designed without any limits that we know of. We are currently programming several additional services – one of these is a collectibles database, for the Australian antique and collectible dealers. Editor: Will you/do you have the capability of taking credit card info for orders? If so, what can you tell us about the safety procedures you have or will have in place to ensure the security of such info? A: We have a secure server and Thawte Certificates for processing credit card information. Our customers can leave their card details on a secure server, and the dealer receives the order with a link to the cc details. They can then logon with id and password and retrieve the details over the secure server and then delete this info. So at any time there are only a few cc details stored in an encrypted database, which can only be accessed over a secure link with id and password. Editor: Do you ever plan to process credit card orders through your database (rather than simply passing on the info to the lister) and, if so, will the lister or buyer bear the processing cost, and how long will it take to get payment to the lister? A: We have looked at this but our banks charge too much for our dealers to be enthusiastic about the service, so we have left this option on the backburner for now. But we can process credit card transactions for our dealers who do not have merchant facilities, we just pass on the bank charges to the dealer for these services, and it appears as Books & Collectibles on the customer’s bank statements. Editor: Do you have any plans for programs associated with your database which would involve anything other than direct contact between seller and buyer? A: We are about to launch a system where our retail new bookstores here in Australia can order direct from our site with their markup already shown on the search results and within a wrapper that indicates that the bookstore has their own internet out of print/rare book site. Here they will order directly from the dealer, collect the payment from their customer, and then we will bill them for all their purchases monthly and disburse the payments to the appropriate rare book dealer according to their sales. This way the new bookshops can have their own margins and make one payment monthly, and the rare book dealers will have hopefully more sales through these retail outlets, receiving a cheque monthly for their sales. Editor: Do you have or do you plan to have an “all word search” capability? A: We currently have an all word search capability, but are about to change the way this works as the size of the tables are getting unwieldy. Editor: What search capabilities does your database have now? What is planned for the future? A: You can currently search any or all of the following: Author – Title – Publisher – Subject – Any Word You can then request any or all: First edition – dust jacket – signed – hard cover – No ex-library You can order these by: Author – Title – Price ascending or descending Also you can select dealers from one specific country. We are planning to change the way some of these searches are done – to improve performance. And we are introducing wild card searches and exclusive searches. e.g., show all Lindsay but not Norman Lindsay. Editor: On what will you base your listing fees? What fees do you have now or plan to have? A: After a two month free initial period the fees are (in Australian Dollars): For less than 2,000 listed items $25.00 per month or $250.00 per year. For more than 2,000 listed items but less than 10,000 items $40.00 per month or $400.00 per year. For more than 10,000 listed items but less than 40,000 items $50.00 per month or $500.00 per year. For more than 40,000 listed items by negotiation. We will also charge a percentage of a dealers’ sales through the site instead of a monthly fee, if a dealer is not selling enough to cover the cost of the rental. Editor: Do you plan to have or now have your database searched by Addall or Bookfinder or any other mega-search site? A: We approached these search engines and asked our dealers if they thought the additional cost was warranted ($AUD1 = 50cents US). And most of our dealers have stock listed with other sites that are searched and saw no benefit, except for advertising Books & Collectibles. So, to keep our fees as low as possible, we are not searched by these sites and are spending our marketing dollar by promoting our site in our region of the Asia Pacific. Editor: How do you plan to advertise your database (both to draw listers and buyers)? A: We supply free custom made bookmarks advertising Books & Collectibles on one side and our dealer on the other, to any dealer who requests them. We advertise in trade journals in our region. We attend bookfairs in our region with our computers and show people how to order from our site over the internet. We direct market to known book buyers, and institutional buyers. Editor: What background or experience do you or other people involved with your database have that relates to the online book or online book database business? A: The principals have degrees in Computing Science, Engineering and Marketing and have been servicing the Antiquarian and Book Trade in IT for the last 12 years in Australia. Editor: Do you or are you planning to have professional management, bookseller management, or???? A: We have a managing director with a Masters of Business Administration and do not feel the need to bring in outside management. Editor: What markets (geographical and/or demographic) are you aiming at? A: We have been concentrating on dealers in our region of Asia Pacific but not excluding any. And we are finding that 50% of our sales are within Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Region. Asia, in particular, we think is a growing region that will expand with the Internet in the region. Editor: What services/features does your database have that you feel sets you apart and/or will ensure the success ofyour database? A: We are responsive to the needs of our dealers and customers, with particular emphasis on those in our region. Editor: Please tell us anything you’d like about yourself or your database, and thank you for participating. A: This is a minor part of our IT business but it is growing by 10% to 20% per month and we look set for a good second year.

Editor: What is your purpose in starting an online book database (i.e., to help online booksellers, to get a database that does what you think a book database should do, because it’s a good business to be in, all of the above, none of the above, or ????). A: Usedbookcentral’s goal is to fill the void that was created when Bibliofind (God rest its soul) was absorbed into Amazon. We wish to continue what was a very popular format, a simple and secure platform to connect the book buyer and bookseller together. Keep It Simple, Secure. Editor: Is this a long-term commitment on your part? Where do you see yourself and your database in three years? 5 years? A: Yes, this is a long term commitment. We will create a strong bookselling community that wishes to have more control over their listings and transactions. We are here for the long commitment. We know that it will take time to establish ourselves in the market. In five years Usedbookcentral hopes to be number 2 or 3 for preferred bookselling databases. Editor: What lister book database inventory programs do you/will you support? A: Usedbookcentral is proud to say that it can accept all files generated by known database inventory programs available in the field (i.e., Homebase, Bookmate, File Manager and etc.). In addition, we can support any file generated in a delimitated format. We write a bridge program for each and every dealer to ensure that their listings are imported correctly. Editor: What are your upload procedures? Deletion procedures? Are “wants” listings available? For sale matches? Are any additions/changes planned? A: Our procedures are easy, simply log into the site and navigate to the upload page. Once there, one will see the browse box to capture the file and the submit button. Choose what the file was created for; to be added, deleted or purged and replaced, then hit the submit button. Usedbookcentral is currently revamping the wishlist (wants) feature to make it a bit more effective. It will be available to both the dealer and buyer. The dealer will be able to upload their file for their wishlist. Editor: What customer service (for both sellers and buyers) do you/will you have? A: For both buyer and seller, Usedbookcentral offers an 800 number and personal service. All email is addressed and taken care of in a timely manner. Editor: Will you/do you have any quality (i.e., descriptions, shipping, and/or customer service) standards for your listers? If so, what will be/are the consequences of violating those standards? A: Usedbookcentral has very few standards that our listers need to follow, except that we expect reputable and fair business practices and will not hesitate to close an account that does not practice this. Editor: What are your technical arrangements (in non-technical language, please) to ensure reliability of service? Future growth? Additional services? A: Usedbookcentral uses state of the art equipment and will continually upgrade as necessary, which it has done three times since being launched last May. We currently use very powerful database software that allows for quick and efficient searches. We have recently added a new server in anticipation of increased traffic and usage. With a new server, Usedbookcentral will be able to expand to 10 million titles and 1,000 dealers without any noticeable decrease in performance. Editor: Will you/do you have the capability of taking credit card info for orders? If so, what can you tell us about the safety procedures you have or will have in place to ensure the security of such info? A: Yes, Usedbookcentral does have 128 bit encryption for the security of the information. All of our order and account numbers are randomly generated as to increase security measures. Editor: Do you ever plan to process credit card orders through your database (rather than simply passing on the info to the lister) and, if so, will the lister or buyer bear the processing cost, and how long will it take to get payment to the lister? A: We do not have any plans for this at this time. Editor: Do you have any plans for programs associated with your database which would involve anything other than direct contact between seller and buyer? A: No. Usedbookcentral was founded on the major premise of NOT inserting itself in any way between the buyer and the seller. Editor: Do you have or do you plan to have an “all word search” capability? A: Yes, Usedbookcentral is proud of our all field search capabilities. When a buyer enters in a word into the keyword field and clicks on the search button, the system searches through all the fields of the record, including title, ISBN, author, description, binding and any other field supplied by the seller. Editor: What search capabilities does your database have now? What is planned for the future? A: Usedbookcentral has separate search fields for; Author, Title, Price, Edition, and Signed, and is working on a filter for binding at this time. We also have a dealer search box that can be transplanted onto a dealer’s web page for searches of their inventory only. Editor: On what will you base your listing fees? What fees do you have now or plan to have? A: We have a flat listing fee with no commission. This is the fee schedule being used by Usedbookcentral: Less than 2,000 Records, With Online Database Management (Restricted uploads after initial) $65.00 for six months or $100.00 for a year up to 25,000 $52.50 for initial three Months, then $17.50 a month 25,001 to 50,000 $75.00 for initial three Months, then $25.00 a month 50,001 to 100,000 $112.50 for initial three Months, then $37.50 a month Editor: Do you plan to have or now have your database searched by Addall or Bookfinder or any other mega-search site? A: Yes, Usedbookcentral does subscribe to Bookfinder currently and has considered Addall, but have not chosen them due to their fee policy and schedule. Editor: How do you plan to advertise your database (both to draw listers and buyers)? A: Usedbookcentral is using a more grass roots marketing approach. We list with all the search engines and are choosing select direct market periodicals to advertise in. Editor: What background or experience do you or other people involved with your database have that relates to the online book or online book database business? A: Two of the principals own and operate a 4,000 sq. ft. retail bookstore, which has a direct Internet business and uploads to several major online platforms. They have been selling online for seven years and have been booksellers for more than eleven years. They have been on many services and have an excellent grasp of what booksellers are looking for in a service. The other two principals have been in programming, database, and web systems for more than fifteen years. Editor: Do you or are you planning to have professional management, bookseller management, or???? A: Usedbookcentral currently has a professional management staff. All of the principals have management experience in either the bookselling business or online business. Editor: What markets (geographical and/or demographic) are you aiming at? A: People who read, love and use books in this great world of ours. We have an active currency converter that converts any foreign currency to a U.S. dollar equivalent. Editor: What services/features does your database have that you feel sets you apart and/or will ensure the success of your database? A: Keep It Simple, Secure. Usedbookcentral is here to connect the book buyer and the bookseller, then step out of the way. We’re most proud of our all field (keyword) search system, and of our ability to grow and modify the system to accommodate the listers and buyers. Editor: Please tell us anything you’d like about yourself or your database, and thank you for participating. A: We’d like to thank IOBA for the opportunity to explain who and what Usedbookcentral is.

A: BiblioDirect.com is being developed by Bibliophile Books, Inc. as a site for booksellers by booksellers. We intend to create a site that will attract quality booksellers: the best dealers have the best books, and that combination will attract the best customers. BiblioDirect.com is designed to facilitate the transaction between the buyer and the seller without getting in the middle. We will charge a monthly fee to the dealer, but after that we just get the buyer and the seller together and continue to advertise our site. All transactions are made at the dealer’s price and under the dealer’s terms with no mark-ups, additional shipping fees, or commissions. We don’t think anyone has yet gotten it right. Some databases want to interpose themselves between the seller and buyer. We will not. Some want a piece of each transaction. We do not. Some do not seem to see advertising and public relations as critical. We do. Some do not want to police their sellers to insure fair, professional dealings with unquestioned returns. We will. We want to create a database that we want to sell through. We shall. Editor: Is this a long-term commitment on your part? Where do you see yourself and your database in three years? 5 years? A: It goes without saying that we are developing BiblioDirect.com for the long-term. We are booksellers and have been for a long time. We expect to die with our boots on. Editor: What lister book database inventory programs do you/will you support? A: All inventory programs will be supported on BiblioDirect.com Editor: What are your upload procedures? Deletion procedures? Are “wants” listings available? For sale matches? Are any additions/changes planned? A: Our web-based upload procedures are being designed to be as easy as possible with the least chance of error. Obviously, our program will allow frequent updates with both additions and deletions of records; however, book dealers will also have the ability to edit or delete records on-line. We will encourage potential customers to create want lists. Even more importantly, we want the potential customer to be able to leave a very specific want (for example, Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, first state in DJ, signed) so that only the most appropriate match will be made so that potential customer will not have to wade through pages of matches that bear no resemblance to what he or she is actually looking for. Editor: What customer service (for both sellers and buyers) do you/will you have? A: For sellers, you can expect a knowledgeable friendly BiblioDirect.com voice at the other end of the telephone (or as a recipient of an e-mail) and someone who understands the book business, book terms, frustrations with customers, etc. We’ve been there. We’re also open to suggestions and ideas, and plan to have an easy way you can make suggestions for improvements or tell us, Gee, I wish you could. For really technical questions, we might put you in touch with one of our programmers. These programmers were chosen not only for their technical expertise (and in that area they are very, very gifted), but also for their ability to use the English language. Of the three of us involved in BiblioDirect.com, Roger is the least proficient with the computer. (No, that’s not fair. Roger is hopeless.) Our test with the programmers was to see if they could explain a technical term in such a way that even Roger could understand it. The best customer service we can give the buyer is an assurance that the BiblioDirect.com book dealer holds to professional standards, describes his/her books accurately, and follows through with the sale in a timely manner and then packages the book carefully for shipment. BiblioDirect.com will also provide a means for private, voluntary feedback between buyer and seller as well as a complaint/dispute resolution service. Editor: Will you/do you have any quality (i.e., descriptions, shipping, and/or customer service) standards for your listers? If so, what will be/are the consequences of violating those standards? A: We are proud that we sell books for a living; we constantly strive to be the best book sellers we can be. We will expect no less from the dealers who list their books with BiblioDirect.com. The standards we set for the BiblioDirect.com dealers will be common-sense and basic to a quality retailer. Should we find it necessary to look at any problems with a BiblioDirect.com dealer, it will be done quietly and privately. We will work closely with that dealer to encourage them to improve and to become more professional in their approach to book selling. After repeated conversations, if we cannot assure ourselves that a particular dealer is willing to improve, their listings will be suspended from BiblioDirect.com. By the same token, we will look for the same quality in the buyers. To give some assurance to the dealers, we will maintain a system whereby any dealer can inform BiblioDirect.com privately of a particular person whose books are lost in the mail, or who returns a book after it has been slapped on a photocopy machine and then expects a full refund. If we see a pattern developing, we will contact the customer on behalf of our dealers. Editor: What are your technical arrangements (in non-technical language, please) to ensure reliability of service? Future growth? Additional services? A: We have purchased the best servers, router, and back-up systems currently available with dedicated Internet access. They will be maintained by an amazingly talented engineer. When the time comes for upgrades, we are ready, willing, and able to make those changes, and in fact many are already planned for the future. Editor: Will you/do you have the capability of taking credit card info for orders? If so, what can you tell us about the safety procedures you have or will have in place to ensure the security of such info? A: Yes, we will have the capability for a customer to provide his/her credit card information in a secure manner. That information, however, will only be provided to the book dealer by logging onto the BiblioDirect.com site. A number of security measures have been taken to make sure that the customer will feel more comfortable leaving credit card information on the BiblioDirect.com site than giving their credit card to a waiter in a restaurant. Editor: Do you ever plan to process credit card orders through your database (rather than simply passing on the info to the lister) and, if so, will the lister or buyer bear the processing cost, and how long will it take to get payment to the lister? Answer: No. Editor: Do you have any plans for programs associated with your database which would involve anything other than direct contact between seller and buyer? A: No. One of the major purposes of developing BiblioDirect.com is to maintain and encourage contact between the buyer and the seller. Editor: Do you have or do you plan to have an “all word search” capability? A: A definite yes. Editor: What search capabilities does your database have now? What is planned for the future? A: The BiblioDirect.com user will have an option of a basic search or an advanced search. Since the advanced search has been designed by professional bookdealers, it should improve upon current capabilities at other sites. Editor: On what will you base your listing fees? What fees do you have now or plan to have? A: 1- 1,000 records — $25.00 per month; 1,001 4,999 records — $30.00 per month; 5,000 9,999 records — $35.00 per month; 10,000+ records — $40.00 per month. Editor: Do you plan to have or now have your database searched by Addall or Bookfinder or any other mega-search site? A: Yes, we have plans for the BiblioDirect.com database to be included with mega-search sites. Editor: How do you plan to advertise your database (both to draw listers and buyers)? A: Frankly, we’re not going to tell you where we will be advertising, and we doubt many of you will ever see our most of our ads because they will be directed to the potential buyerbut we will be out there trolling. We believe that targeted advertising to book buyers where they may be found and marketing Internet bookselling on the Internet are two principles of successful advertising. BiblioDirect.com will be advertising on a variety of on-line sites (such as Google); however, we hope we are creating a site with enough interesting features that both book dealers and book buyers will be encouraged to tell a friend about the site. A large share of our budget is devoted to advertising and public relations. Editor: What background or experience do you or other people involved with your database have that relates to the online book or online book database business? A: Lynn DeWeese-Parkinson is known to all as the Grand Poobah of the Bibliophile mailing list, but he is also an accomplished bookseller who deals exclusively in Latin America, the Caribbean, bullfighting and baseball books. He began in the book business in 1961, took time out for a law practice and returned to bookselling 15 years ago. Roger and Jan O’Connor preside over the chaos that is Mostly Books. Both were college teachers; Roger long ago succumbed to his love for books, while Jan carved out a career in media/public relations, working for a time at NBC, several radio stations, and a state arts agency. Jan is also a former member of the Kansas Humanities Council and has been active in civic organizations. Both Lynn and the O’Connors have been selling books online since the advent of online bookselling. Editor: Do you or are you planning to have professional management, bookseller management, or???? A: With BiblioDirect.com’s commitment to booksellers, our management will always be vested with bookdealers. Editor: What markets (geographical and/or demographic) are you aiming at? A: BiblioDirect.com will be marketing the world of books to the world, and we will be marketing the expertise of our dealers. Editor: What services/features does your database have that you feel sets you apart and/or will ensure the success of your database? A: Log onto http://www.BiblioDirect.com on March 17th (the tentative launch date) and see what sets BiblioDirect.com apart

I generally try to avoid saying anything nice about Los Angeles, but every so often the ole town will elicit a begrudging compliment from my lips. The weekend of February 1st – 3rd was one such occasion. For an all-to-brief weekend, Los Angeles became the center of the rare book universe, hosting the 35th California International Antiquarian Book Fair. As it did two years ago, the fair occupied the entire bottom floor of the Los Angeles Airport Marriott, and featured some 250 dealers from every corner of the globe. All the dealers in attendance were members of the prestigious ABAA and, as might be expected, the books on display represented some of the finest and rarest titles available, books that many of us might only see in a dealer’s or auctioneer’s catalog. By the time I arrived some 45 minutes into the day’s festivities, the place was already bustling with activity; browsers flitting from booth to booth, customers lovingly leafing through their impending purchases, dealers chatting with each other and catching up on the latest news and gossip. As is my usual practice at book fairs, I made an initial circle of the exhibition floor, soaking up the general ambience, luxuriating in the presence of so many beautiful and important examples of the printed word. Two years ago, my initial lap around the perimeter revealed an abundance of Harry Potter material prominently displayed (and accordingly priced). This year, however, I immediately noticed that the pint-sized warlock had been supplanted to a large degree by Frodo, Gandalf and the rest of Tolkien’s beloved band of adventurers. The buzz created by the The Lord of the Rings movie has apparently increased the demand for quality Tolkien items; I spied a fine first edition of The Hobbit priced at $150,000. Having completed my initial perambulations, I made a beeline for the nearest booth, and immediately started to drool. My area of specialization is the American Revolution, and at the booth of Joseph J. Felcone, I spotted two beautiful items. One was a lovely first edition of British Lt. Colonel Banastre (The Butcher of the Carolinas) Tarleton’s A History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781, in the Southern Provinces of North America. Unfortunately, with an asking price of $5000, my wallet was light by about $4990, and I had to pass. Felcones booth also had a wonderful 1777 broadside announcing Sir William Howes new strict regulations on traffic into the port of occupied New York. As I was peering through the glass, another browser bowed down to take a look. It wasn’t until I stood up and glanced at my similarly-intrigued neighbor that I realized he was actor Ricky Jay (most recently seen playing opposite Gene Hackman in David Mamet’s The Heist. Just another L.A. moment to add to my repertoire. Having only attended book fairs as a browser, I was curious about the perspective from the other side of the display case. Along one wall of the exhibition room, I recognized the name of a dealer from whom I recently purchased a book, so I thought I’d introduce myself and get some impressions on book fairs from a dealer’s point of view. Eric Waschke of The Wayfarers Bookshop has attended up to 30 book fairs in one year, although this year, he plans on attending around 15. Book fairs are an important facet of Wayfarer’s business and, along with mail order sales to regular customers, make up the majority of the shop’s business (by contrast, online purchases account for less than 10% of sales). Waschke has found that the quality of material offered for sale is a key aspect of book fair success; the better the material, the better the sales. And, as the quality of his stock has steadily improved, he’s also found that He’s able to focus on larger book fairs, eliminating the need to travel as much as in the past. I also stopped to chat with Nicholas Potter, a bookseller from Santa Fe, New Mexico. For Nicholas, book fairs play a less prominent but nonetheless important role. He travels to only 2 or 3 fairs a year (usually the large New York and California ABAA fairs). Potter runs an open shop in Santa Fe, and fairs in the larger cities offer him an opportunity to plug into the areas’ larger economies, and to find ready buyers for more expensive items that may not sell as quickly (or at all) in a smaller city. Potter tries to bring select stock in a variety of subjects to book fairs; he knows many dealers prefer to focus on a specialty subject (case in point, one dealer at the fair specialized in items by or related to Winston Churchill), but Potter finds that titles in a variety of subjects usually attract a wider variety of buyers and result in greater sales. Potter notes that he usually doesn’t buy much for resale at book fairs; even New Mexico material that might sell well at home is generally priced at levels which wouldn’t allow profitable resale back in Santa Fe. After leaving Potter’s booth, I paused to snap a few pictures. In my viewfinder, I noticed a small crowd clustered around a particular booth. I should have known from the warm smiles and laughter that I had stumbled onto the booth of Pat and Allen Ahearn, owners of Quill and Brush and fellow IOBA members. I had traded a couple of emails with Pat before, and I was glad to have the opportunity to meet her in person. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting the Ahearns, theyre a wonderfully gracious and engaging pair who obviously love each other and the business of bookselling. I asked Pat what she valued most about attending book fairs, and without any hesitation, she cited the opportunity for personal, face-to-face contact with customers and fellow dealers. Many booksellers are spending more and more time behind their computer terminals, in relative isolation and anonymity. Pat feels that book fairs provide an ideal opportunity for book dealers to socialize and network (a phenomena I’d had plenty of opportunity to observe as I wandered around the fair). Another IOBA member exhibiting at the fair, Vic Zoschak from Tavistock Books, echoed Pat’s observations. While recognizing the economic impetus for attending book fairs, Vic also stressed the importance of the networking and socializing opportunities book fairs provide, particularly with customers. As Vic put it, it’s important to take the opportunity to personalize your relationship with a customer; it may not only help you make the current sale, but numerous future sales as well. Indeed, during our chat, Vic excused himself several times to converse with several familiar customers, and it was obvious they appreciated the recognition and personal attention. After talking with Vic, I spent a couple more hours wandering around the stalls, poking through dealers’ book offerings and a rather eclectic mix of ephemera; the strangest item I saw was a $3750 set of 60 artificial glass eyes manufactured in France in the 1860s. Being a firm believer in an ordered, balanced universe, I’m certain that somewhere in the world, an exhibitor at an ophthalmology convention was displaying a first edition Hemingway and drawing similarly curious stares. When I finally departed the fair, my pockets were laden with dealer catalogs, and my arms were encumbered by my single purchase, a lovely Heritage Press set of Biddle’s Lewis and Clark journals (Gen. Howe’s broadside will just have to wait until next time). All in all, it was an extremely enjoyable, rewarding and educational day.

Firsts magazine, a print publication founded twelve years ago, describes itself as “The Book Collector’s Magazine.” What more natural place for the Independent Online Booksellers’ Association to advertise? Len Lanfranco, outgoing IOBA Public Relations Committee chair, made an advantageous deal with Firsts for a whole year’s advertising. The first ad, designed by incoming Board Member at Large Maria Bustillos, appeared in the February issue of Firsts. In future months, IOBA will develop advertisements for IOBA new programs benefiting both dealers and collectors, starting with the new IOBA search feature, which is set to be up and running by the beginning of March. Using this feature, book buyers will be able to filter their ABE search results for books on offer from IOBA dealers only. Members will receive an email announcement when the service is available. “Maria has been a joy to work with,” said Lanfranco. “She stepped up when we needed help and did an outstanding job. We’re lucky she’ll continue with the project. Greg Williams, a new committee member, offered many fresh ideas and excellent critiquing. The 6,000 discerning and knowledgeable readership of Firsts offers IOBA the chance to reach a large number of potential member booksellers, as well as a group of eager collectors who will benefit from access to IOBA’s great booksellers, from our high professional standards and the increasing educational opportunities that IOBA has to offer. IOBA members who wish to subscribe to Firsts may do so at: http://www.firsts.com ($40 per year). Lanfranco expressed thanks to Firsts and said IOBA looks forward “to our continuing relationship with the wonderful Kathryn and Robin Smiley of Firsts, who have been a sheer delight to work with.” Please participate in IOBA’s advertising effort by sending advertising ideas to Len Lanfranco (columbia@pagefour.com) who will be helping to develop IOBA’s advertising strategies. We’re also looking for a few more committee members.

The IOBA seminar on identifying first editions was held at Vic Zoschak’s shop in Alameda last fall. It was free of charge to IOBA members and to any interested folks in the area who could attend. A lucky few turned up for the midmorning to early afternoon workshop. We each introduced ourselves, delivering more-or-less book-related thumbnail histories. Primary discussion, of course, pertained to the announced topic, but we wandered down many side paths, too, including digital cameras, costs-of-goods, forgeries, and so on. Vic led our group very well, in particular demonstrating the need for specialized reference works in order to accurately describe the more arcane items one wishes to sell. The survey guides such as McBride and the Ahearn Book Collecting 2002 do not supply more than an outline, if that, in many cases, and to do a scarce book justice, sleuthing through some costly, limited print run bibliographies is vital. First editions of any era can have variants that may be significant and be more (or less) valuable, for a number of reasons. Chris Volk, with partner Shep Iiams, attended the seminar, and definitely has the whole book club edition situation totally sussed. We were regaled with the rules for divots, dots, blindstamps, priced and unpriced jackets–which companies had which policies when…. Bob Erwin brought a book or two he was puzzled about, or just wished to demonstrate the ambiguity of in terms of printing. Vic showed several examples from his stock. We were all treated by Vic to a splendid luncheon at a nearby Japanese restaurant and then we “talked shop” back at his shop awhile, before going our separate ways. He certainly has a trove of fascinating printed material, some of it fragile and expensive, of course, but he was open for biz on the main drag of a fairly typical town, and courteous and attentive to the folk who ambled up during our brainstorming. I’m looking forward to participating in more of these functions, as all sorts of book collecting and selling issues get knocked around, and I acquired very helpful knowledge from this one. Not to mention the camaraderie engendered in encounters in “meatspace”, as the estimable Dusty Humphries refers to it. Jim Pollock Most of the booksellers attending this workshop were already familiar with identifying modern first editions and so the heart the workshop was an introduction to some of the most important Americana and other specialized reference books. I think it is worth repeating Vic Zoschak’s comments, which Bob Erwin already mentioned, that reference books serve two functions: first of all, they will give you the essential information which you need to identify WHAT you have: is this a first edition? how do you identify a first edition? what were the differences between the different editions? etc., but even more importantly, reference books tell you WHY a particular book is important. Every bookseller should have a goal of constantly improving and expanding his or her own personal library. Although the internet is a valuable source of information, it is not a substitute for a carefully selected reference library. (Just as an aside, a library such as this can also be an excellent investment!) The following are just very brief comments about the books presented at the workshop. The two most basic and important general Americana reference books are usually named in catalogue listings as simply ‘Sabin’ or ‘Howes’. ‘Sabin’ is “A Dictionary of Books Relating to America, from its Discovery to the Present Time” by Joseph Sabin. Originally published between 1868 and 1936 in 29 volumes, this was reprinted in a 2 volume, mini-print set.. It includes over 100,000 entries of books and pamphlets printed in the Western Hemisphere and work about America printed elsewhere. ‘Howes’ refers to “U.S.IANA 1650 – 1950” by Wright Howes, which was published in many editions – it is described as a selective bibliography which includes over 11,000 uncommon and significant books relating to the continental portion of the United States. While less comprehensive than Sabin, its’ focus on the most important books, including giving information about reprints and an indication of scarcity, makes it perhaps even more useful for a bookseller. Other useful and important Americana reference works discussed (and actually looked at) in the workshop included: Wagner & Camp on the opening of the American West (Henry R. Wagner and Charles L. Camp. THE PLAINS & THE ROCKIES. A Critical Bibliography of Exploration, Adventure and Travel in the American West. 1800-1865 the 4th edition is generally considered the best) Storm, Colton – Compiler. A CATALOGUE OF THE EVERETT D. GRAFF COLLECTION OF WESTERN AMERICANA. Chicago: 1968. Chad J. Flake (A MORMON BIBLIOGRAPHY 1830-1930: Books, Pamphlets, Periodicals, and Broadsides Relating to the First Century of Mormonism – plus a later supplement Larry by Draper and Flake). While this reference is rather expensive and difficult to obtain right now, a new edition should be coming out soon. Robert E. Cowan (many books on California history – with perhaps the most significant “A Bibliography of the history of California and the Pacific West 1510-1906” ). Ramon Adams on gunfighters and cowboys (“Six-guns and Saddle Leather; a Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets on Western Outlaws and Gunmen” and “Rampaging Herd : A Bibliography of Books & Pamphlets on Men & Events in the Cattle Industry”. Francis P. Farquhar (“Yosemite The Big Trees and the High Sierra – A Selective Bibliography”), and L. W. Currey (who in addition to producing the definitive bibliography of science fiction, also co-authored one of the significant bibliographies on Yosemite: “Bibliography of Yosemite, the Central and the Southern High Sierra, and the Big Trees 1839-1900”). Children’s reference books, references for medical books, and those relating to pre-1920 literature were the other main areas covered in terms of reference books. However, the often wide-ranging discussion included information on identifying the first printings of older books (including the fact that the US did not recognize English copyrights until the 20th century and so when one sees a copyright in older US editions of works first published in England, often the copyright is for the illustrations or other material which might be unique to the US edition), and the traditional method of identifying the date a book was printed when cataloging books (if the date is on the title page, this appears in the catalogue entry as 1890, if on the copyright page, it will have parentheses around it (1890) and if the date does not appear in the book, but is known to the bibliographer or cataloguer it will have brackets around it [1890].). Another issue which was touched on briefly was that of dustjackets – and the fact that far too often the assumption is made (and incorrectly stated in catalogue entries) that a book from the late 19th century or the early 20th century was issued without a dustjacket, when in fact the opposite is true – they were issued with dustjackets, but few of them have survived. While written comments on a workshop like this might be able to include some of the factual information which was presented, what is lost is the ability to actually look at the books, to discuss them first-hand, and also the fact that those who attended each brought a different perspective and knowledge to the workshop. These factors are a large part of what makes attending a workshop like this so valuable – and they are the reason why I hope that the IOBA (either alone, or working with other regional booksellers associations) will be sponsoring many more in the future. Christine Volk & Shep Iiams I had the pleasure of hosting the first-ever IOBA educational seminar this last December at my shop in Alameda CA. 5 IOBA members, plus myself, gathered around one of my display cases for a few hours and discussed the challenges & problems inherent in first edition identification, with emphasis on the use of [actual] reference books in this task. The other participants’ synopses of the day more than adequately summarize the specifics of what was covered, and Chris relates in some detail those books I deemed important enough to haul out and give reality to the reference citations perhaps only previously seen in descriptions on AddAll: Sabin, Wagner-Camp, Wing, NCBEL, the BAL, Wright, et al. So let me use my remaining few lines of allowed print to explain my advocacy and philosophy for reference book use. Chris’ quote of my beginning seminar comments is a good place to begin–reference books can not only tell you WHAT you have, but also WHY it is important. The two aspects of book cataloguing have different functions but when used in conjunction with each other, they can contribute significantly to one’s success as a professional bookseller. WHAT you have is important only if you’re involved in the First Edition game and a participant in the collectible book market, for most will agree that it is in this context that one’s reputation as a bookseller will suffer if the WHAT is [repeatedly] not identified correctly. Since most of IOBA members are sellers of [at least some] first editions and couple this with the fact that I am of the opinion that one’s reputation is especially critical to one’s success in these days of global e-commerce, my advocacy for the use of the appropriate reference(s) may be easily understood. At this juncture, a comment or two on the use of the ‘net is warranted–that the ‘net has given access to lots of information is not in dispute. But I am of the firm opinion that it is not the ‘end all, be all’ with respect to book identification. It is another tool that is to be used, and the information garnered compared and contrasted with other facts that are known–information used without knowledge and context can be more damning than no information at all. Witness the fellow who cribbed another bookseller’s book description, citation and all. When the customer asked for an explanation and copy of the cited reference to accompany the book being purchased, the seller hadn’t a clue and experienced a bit of embarrassment when he was forced to admit that not only could he not supply a copy of ‘Gullans & Espey 303’, but that he didn’t know exactly what it was. One can just imagine that buyer’s thoughts on this particular ‘professional’ bookseller. Perhaps a worthy corollary to WHAT it is, is WHAT it is not–that is, if you don’t know, I strongly suggest you don’t guess. Just ask yourself whether it’s worth the egg on your face if you’re wrong. Many buyers of first editions are very knowledgeable in their subject area, and often will know more than the generalist bookseller. ‘Guesses’ will quickly be returned should they be in error, and the premium in price sought by calling it a ‘first’ rarely compensates for the damaged reputation when it is discovered the bookseller really didn’t know. So the WHAT is covered;the companion question is “WHY is it important? The answer to this question can sell the book being catalogued. Consider another 18th C. theology text…ho-hum, but if it be known that Ben Franklin worked in the print shop for this edition, well–wouldn’t that be a nice bit to use in the description*? So reference works can be of significant help in this regard, and perhaps one of my most used sets of general reference to answer this question is the ‘Oxford Companion’ series. They’re wonderful for providing a context with respect to an author and his/her works. Also very useful are the Dictionary of American Biography (DAB) and Dictionary of National Biography (DNB – British personalities). Even though weighted towards ‘dead white males’, the references have a wealth of information on significant personalities through the past centuries. I could go on and on, as there are many, many others that can be listed, but I think you get the idea. So in summary, you’ve no doubt gathered that I am of the strong opinion that the use of reference books has a prominent and critical role in professional bookselling. I just hope I’ve convinced you to share that opinion. See you at the next seminar. Vic Zoschak * Can anybody identify this book? Vic Zoschak provided a meeting place for the first seminar. Tavistock Books was centrally located for the Northern California IOBA members that attended. And, Vic has a extensive collection of reference works. Three areas were discussed under the topic of identifying first editions. The first was Modern First Editions, then American, and finally Early Printed Books. Attendees brought reference materials that they use and others for catalogue subjects (detective fiction, science fiction, etc.) were discussed. Vic showed many of the American & California works that he uses. A point that Vic made was very important. Reference works not only help identify which copies are first editions but also why a book is important. In other words, is it the author’s first book, does it introduce a series character, was it the first book on a particular subject. As always, when you get more than one bookseller in a room, the subjects discussed weren’t always limited to the agenda. The various internet databases, cataloging tips, sources for finding good books, and many other topics were discussed. We had six attendees for the first seminar. I hope that when the word gets around about how valuable these meetings can be the attendance will rise. Bob Erwin I recently attended the IOBA on-line bookselling seminar at Vic Zoschak’s store (Tavistock Books)in Alameda, CA. I was especially impressed with Vic’s scholarly amd enthusiastic approach to identification and pricing of first edition books. He has a bibliographic reference library “to die for,” and the requisite personal eclecticism to go along with it. His specialty is Americana, and his store is stocked with many desirable and hard-to-find items in this genre. He also is a very careful businessman, and most other booksellers would do well to visit his small but fascinating and well-organized facility. Vic is an inspiring example of how one can be honest and ethical, and at the same time successfully operate a used, rare, and out-of-print book business. Although only about 7 persons attended, we had an interesting time discussing many aspects of book connoisseurship, as well as the many opportunities and pitfalls of on-line bookselling. To celebrate this charter meeting, Vic treated all of us to a delicious luncheon at a nearby Japanese restaurant. This was a highly successful start for this type of seminar, and I am looking forward to our next meeting. John Reiland

Q. I have a 1905 copy of BLACK BEAUTY with a nicely illustrated cover. I think I see the initials “DD” intertwined near lover edge. Is this the mark of a book illustrator I should know about? A. The intertwined D’s is the signature of the firm of The Decorative Designers of Henry and Lee Thayer (who also wrote mystery novels). Q. Sometime back, I purchased a wonderful tool. It removes price stickers and other adhesive based labels with the help of a little Goo-Gone or similar product. It is about 6″ long with a red handle and rectangular shaped blade. I’d like to buy several more and have lost ordering information. A. Tool found. Following is a link to the website where they can be ordered directly:http://home.pacbell.net/peelerco/order.html Q. Could someone enlighten me as to the proper term for older illustrations done in brown and white tones. I have seen the term sepia used a lot for this. Is that the correct term? A. Sepia is a color, not a technique. The origins of the word sepia comes from the Greek word for cuttlefish (Soupia) which was the source for a natural ink which faded to brown over time. So “sepia” is used to describe printed materials where the ink is a soft brown, rather than deep black. Q. Is there a simple method of restoring slightly bowed covers (boards) to their original position? A. I find success with my copy press, but encyclopedias work as well. You can try adding a damp paper towel backed with a piece of plastic wrap to the inside cover. Take it out after a few hours and replace with a dry paper towel and new piece of plastic wrap. The moisture will loosen the paste and as it dries the board will bend back into its original shape. Our thanks go to Joyce Godsey, William Cole, June Samaras of Kalamos Books, Sara Armstrong – Books, Pam Brown, Sandy Portella, Terry from Books and Spirt. Hope we haven’t left anyone out. Jean S. McKenna – Books. Chairman Education Committee

This is what he wrote: …you have the book listed as VG/VG. How does this differ from mint? Any tears in the dust cover (sic)? How are the pagesany yellowing? Is the binding tight? Drawing on my reserves of patience I replied, explaining the difference between mint, fine, and very good. In polite tones, I further explained that there were no tears, no yellowing and that the binding was tight. I wondered, as I wrote, why it hadn’t occurred to him that if the book had exhibited any of these faults, I would have noted them. Oh well, let it pass. I then made a very close inspection of the book and decided that the top edge was very lightly discolored and that, because the book had recently been in a plastic sleeve, there were some barely noticeable tape marks (with no acid stains) on the inside of the dj and the front cloth. I told him all this. But I was sticking to my story — it was very good copy. I then suggested that if he was looking for a mint or fine copy this was not the book for him. Furthermore, I wrote (and getting into my stride now),the book was uncommon and that a copy better than the one I had would fetch a much higher price. Take that, Mr Question Man! He replied: I take it that the tape marks are on the inside of the dj and so not visible on the outside of the dj? Has the plastic cover got stuck to the dj? Is the dj creased or not? No, No, and No, I replied, drawing on extra reserves of patience. He then tells me that he is interested in purchasing the book with shipping (he lived in Canada–was he thinking of buying it without shipping? I wondered). Then he wondered if I had any experience in shipping books and would the book be well-packed so that the spine and corners would not get dented. Yes, I replied, I have done this sort of thing before. Fine, says he, I will fax my cc numbers. I waited. Nothing. Then, a few days later, another email. It began : One last question… Now he wants to know how the dj was taped to the book originally? What can he mean? I sat down to create a reply while simultaneously searching for any last remaining reserves of patience. I found a tiny amount – just enough. But then the unexpected – another enquiry for this book! I had been mucking about for days on end with no result and now someone else wanted the book. This is what I did: I emailed the second enquirer and said that the book had been ordered (but not paid for ) by someone else and that he could have the book if the first sale fell through. I waited a few more days for Mr. Question Man to fax his details but nothing came. I emailed the second enquirer and told him he could have the book. He emailed his details straight away. I could hardly wait to get the book packed and sent. Then I emailed “he-of-a-thousand-questions” and told him that as I hadn’t heard from him for a week, the book had been sold to someone else. I wondered what sort of reply I’d get. I was surprised when he said that he was quite happy and didnt mind at all! Did he want the book in the first place? I don’t know. But I do know that if he tries it again, I will happily introduce him to my most recent construction: THE WALL OF UNAVAILABILITY!

Sam: I was on one of my usual Saturday Garage Sale mambos when it suddenly dawned on me how much time, energy and gasoline I had been wasting week after week after week. Suddenly growing tired of the book sale grind, a certain sense of determination to PERMANENTLY discontinue these fruitless ventures overwhelmed me and I stepped on the gas, headed home. Two short blocks later, I passed another garage sale which looked like it had a couple of shelves of books…As I commenced driving past the sale, my mind began to conjure up images of the FABULOUS books I was about to leave behind. I slammed on the brakes! When a wave of rationality finally washed over me, I realized that in all the years I had been doing the garage sale routine I had NEVER found anything really worthwhile and that I was a very sick man needing a 12 step program. Somehow I managed to get home and I began to write the story, in longhand. Editor: Was this one of the lucky ones that just told itself, once you had the idea, or a story you really had to work for? If you really had to work at it, did you have a firm schedule for working, or work as inspiration hit you? Sam: Once I sat down to write it down the whole process became very mystical. I can hardly remember thinking anything over. The story just seemed to flow, and when I invested in a used IBM Selectric, it flowed faster and better. No, there was very little real “work” involved. Writing the story was an absolutely exhilarating experience; formerly achieved only by the constant abuse of controlled substances. It may not have been “stream of consciousness” in the Joycean sense, but at least now I think I know what stream of consciousness means. Editor: Is Camelback Gallery a small publisher, or did you self-publish? Sam: Camelback Gallery is part of my book business. I set it up solely to publish Overbooked when I was told by a New York publisher, who was interested in the book, that if they did it I would make about 15 a copy! Editor: Is Joe Servello a friend? If not, how did you find an illustrator whose work you liked? Sam: Joe Servello had done many excellent covers for a number of books; for William Kotzwinkle and for my friend Dennis Macmillan, the peripatetic publisher currently in Sun City, Arizona. Dennis introduced me to Joe. By the way, I believe Dennis Macmillan still maintains a website of Joe Servello jackets and illustrations including the Jacket for Charles Willeford’s Kiss You Ass Good Bye at http://www.dennismcmillan.com/servello.htm Editor: How much control did you have on the final appearance of the book and dustjacket (unless, of course, you self-published and had total control)? Sam: It was, indeed, self-published and I did most of the design work but when I gave the dustjacket project to Joe Servello he asked to read the manuscript and came up with what I thought was a perfect dj, first shot out of the box. I was just delighted with it. When we went to hardcover following a number of requests, I laid out the blurbs on the back panel of the dj, including the famous Rue Morgue “review.” Editor: If your book was self-published, how did you go about promoting it? If published by a pre-existing publishing company, how did you get together with them, i.e., an agent or “over the transom” submission, and did they promote your book? Sam: I really lucked out with the promotion. When I received the first four or 5 boxes of books from the bindery, I took a couple of hundred to a book fair I was doing in San Diego and hand sold a number of copies to some of the other exhibitors. As luck would have it, the show was pretty slow and lots of folks had nothing to do but sit around their booths reading Overbooked in Arizona. I had orders for over 1500 copies by the time we left on Sunday. Next, about 2 weeks later, a friend called me from San Francisco on a Sunday morning to tell me that Patricia Holt had written a good review of Overbooked in the book review section of the San Francisco Chronicle. The guy who called me was a great practical joker and I was absolutely certain he was joshing but 30 minutes later I heard from another friend up in the Bay Area. Pat Holt’s review led to hundreds of orders from booksellers in almost every state! Sales thereafter were pretty much generated by word of mouth. Also, a number of other pamphlets and magazines including FIRSTS reviewed Overbooked quite favorably. I never, to the best of my recollection, advertised Overbooked anywhere. I did a number of book-signings. All-in-all it was a lot of fun. Editor: Have you written or published other books? Do you have plans for another book in the future? Sam: No, I’ve never written any other books. I have completed a couple of short stories and I may complete enough to publish a short story collection. Editor: I know one of the areas you specialize in is Modern Library books. Was this difficult (I’ve tried using the standard reference book in this area and find it confusing)? Do you find lots of people now collecting these books? Can you tell us some of their history? Sam: Henry Toledano up in San Francisco published the first Modern Library Guide in 1993 creating the best format he could at that time for a small reference guide. Because of space limitations, users were forced to thumb through several places in the book to get complete information on any one entry, a cumbersome and sometimes confusing process. In the last few years, Modern Library collecting has evolved considerably with more emphasis on first editions and correct matching dust jackets. My understanding is that Sharon Biederman, a knowledgeable collector and dealer in Maryland will prepare the next edition of the Price Guide. Knowing Sharon as I do, I’m certain she will not only add some significant information but will simplify the overall experience of using the guide for reference. Many Modern Library collectors, such as I, first began using Modern Libraries in high school and on through college. They have a certain nostalgic value as well as being super little books which originally sold for 65 to 95 and which have held up beautifully over the years. Furthermore, some of the jacket art has become collectible. Many people are not aware that the Modern Library, while primarily a reprint house actually published much important work on its own. Forester’s African Queen did not appear in complete form in America until Random House published it as a Modern Library book. Styron’s Long March, published as a Modern Library paperback, was the true first edition. Many authors did special prefaces and introductions for the ML editions. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s for Gatsby just to name one. Editor: How did you get into the book fair business? And, do you still exhibit at fairs other than your own? Sam: I’ve really started to slow down in the past couple of years and don’t get to nearly the number of Fairs I used to attend. I miss the Rocky Mountain Fair in Denver and other regional fairs but find myself unable to obtain enough good books to exhibit at fairs beyond those produced by American Book Fairs. Editor: What advice can you give booksellers exhibiting at your book fairs? Sam: I’m really not qualified to advise booksellers about anything except how to get to the snack bar. We have hundreds of very fine exhibitors who need my advice like they need another paperback with water damage. I have noted from personal experience that having GOOD books in higher grades of condition at fair prices usually can guarantee a good show. Editor: Between bookselling and book fairs, which takes more of your time, and which do you prefer? Do you have plans to expand your involvement in either one in a manner that would lessen your involvement in the other? I actually have little to do with the book fairs anymore. They are more than adequately handled by my lovely wife, Denise, who seems better suited to working with booksellers than I. She has far fewer fistfights with the exhibitors. My bookselling is pretty much restricted to internet sales and to booths at the Glendale and Santa Monica Fairs. Editor: Have you found that the internet has had any effect, good or bad, on your book fairs? Sam: Initially there was a drop-off in both exhibitors and at the gate but almost 2 years ago the pendulum seemed to swing back. Many buyers, retail customers and dealers, prefer to see and feel the merchandise they are buying. This is especially true for more expensive items. Also, the fairs lend themselves to “impulse buying” which is pretty much nonexistent online. Furthermore, the contacts one develops at a fair or in a face to face encounter are invaluable. Even interrnet dealers need to buy books once in a while and a bookfair is a chance to visit a hundred or more bookshops in one day! The opportunity is fantastic. A number of pseudo or faux dealers have “set up shop” in their kitchen sinks and sell on the internet. Some are outright scamsters and some are simply ignorant but they all eventually hurt online dealers who are trying to do a good honest job. Editor: What advice would you give to new booksellers? Sam: Start with a lot of money and just stay in business until it’s all gone. No, seriously, the one thing I’ve learned over the past 10 years is how little I really know. I just know that bookselling gets into one’s blood and that’s that. There are probably a million more profitable ventures but real booksellers are unable to stop. Editor: Please tell us about yourself, personally–whatever you’d like us to know about you. Sam: I’ve spent a lifetime of having unlisted phone numbers and hiding out. Even my wife and kids don’t know where I live. I will say that I am pretty happily ensconced here in sunny Arizona with my wife, four dogs and 2 old horses.

Barbara: Of the many projects you have taken on in your life, Bibliophile has been important to many booksellers. Let’s begin there. What is Bibliophile, how many subscribers do you have, and how does one subscribe? Lynn: Bibliophile is an email list for buying and selling books among its members, and discussing issues of interest related to book collecting and the book trade. The list also covers Books Wanted. There are between 1100 and 1200 subscribers. To subscribe, mailto:biblio-request@bibliophilegroup.com; and in the body of the email, simply put the word Subscribe. [Cost of subscription is $30/year.] Barbara: When you first became co-owner of Bibliophile, then owner Shoshona Edwards introduced you as The Grand Pooh-Bah and the name certainly caught on. What is it about this Gilbert and Sullivan character that lends itself to your role now as sole owner of Bibliophile? Lynn: I have no idea why the name The Grand Pooh-Bah popped into my mind but I used to be a Gilbert and Sullivan fan, so something back in my childhood and youth put it up there. The reason I did it, I think, was twofold. One, I was uncomfortable owning anything, I’d owned so little in my life, I didn’t like the name Owner, and was looking for something else. The other is that in watching Shoshona run the list as owner, it seemed as if her main difficulty was not being able to put distance between her role as owner and her personal self. For my own mental state, I wanted to be able to distance myself from my role as owner. The Grand Pooh-Bah allowed me that kind of psychic separation where I wouldn’t take seriously the kind of names I was going to get called. What surprised me was that people liked it. The name really caught on. It’s had legs now for what is it? four and half years. Barbara: You’re also a bookseller. Where besides Bibliophile do you list your books? How do you decide where to list your books? Lynn: At the moment I list on ABE and Antiqbook. That’s all. I’m getting older and life is too short to do business with people you don’t enjoy doing business with. I met Rick Pura and talked to him at ABE when they first started the database (I think my number is something like 112) and I liked him a lot and I liked his family and so I signed up with them. When I got to know Piet of Antiqbook electronically, he seemed like a very sweet, dear, man; I liked him and so I signed up with him. There are several other databases where I just don’t want to work with the people, and so I don’t. There are others where it’s not that; it’s just that two is enough. Cathie, my wife, says it’s a wonder I can smell any more since I so often cut off my nose to spite my face. Barbara: Tell us about your mailing list the whys, wherefores and the how-to’s. Lynn: At this point I think I can thrive, no matter what happens. If all the databases in the world, all the easy ways to sell books, just disappeared tomorrow, I have enough people who are good customers now that I can survive. That was my goal with the mailing list. It’s really that felt necessity for independence from anybody else’s business that’s pushed me. The how-to is just to keep good records. From my first sale I’ve kept every bit of data I could on my customers what they bought, what areas they were interested in, all of their contact information. It goes so far at this point that I know some children’s names, birth dates, whatever. It’s relatively easy in this day and age. That’s the number one thing: Save All Data! I also put customers in groups corresponding to the subject matters that I put catalogues out in, according to what they’ve bought or told me. The first time someone orders something from me they get a fairly extended letter, probably four or five paragraphs, explaining that I’d love to make them aware of new stock in their areas of interest, and asking them if they would please describe those to me so I can serve them better. I’m pretty chatty in my emails so if there’s something about the person I can identify with, I sort of chat folks up, too, especially those who order a book from me. I also ask them for permission to send them both electronic and paper catalogues as new stock comes in. Unless people give me permission, I don’t send them. At this point, working alone, I have about 1500-1600 people who receive regular mailings from me. It’s taken me almost 11 years. I add to the list at a rate of about 150-160 per year. Which doesn’t seem like much. Most days I have, maybe, ten orders and I’m adding someone to my list only every other day. Less than half my customers want to be on the mailing list. Barbara: In doing research for this interview, I discovered thatliterallypages come up in doing a Google search on Lynn deWeese-Parkinson. Do you find a broad internet spread an effective way to market your books? Lynn: Yes, to give a short answer. One of the advantages is in having an absolutely unique name. As far as I know (and I’m sure it’s true) Cathie and I are the only deWeese-Parkinsons ever in the history of the universe. The other part is that I have a lot of interests beyond books. Much of what turns up on a thorough search has nothing to do with books. Barbara: What are your specialties as book collector and seller? Lynn: I have divorced myself from book collecting. I got down to Neruda and I have given to my poet daughter my best things in that collection, sold the rest. As a bookseller, half the books I selland my main interestis toreo, bullfighting. I belong to Torine Bibliophiles of America, which is the only organization I belong to at this point. It’s here that my sales have been most successful. But I deal in all subjects relating to Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Barbara: How did you come to your love of bullfighting and Mexico? How did you get into those specialties? Lynn: I don’t know. As a little kid, I’m not sure what first attracted me whether I was young and saw blood in the sand, or what. I know I saw that. By 9 or 10, I was entranced and gave serious thought, when I was 13 or14, to becoming an apprentice matador but didn’t have the courage to run away. I had also worked picking berries in the state of Washington until I was 18, and had spent several years in the fields. A lot of the field workers were Mexican and I had a lot of Mexican friends. Then a grade school friend’s dad had fought as child with Pancho Villa and used to tell us his storiesvery romantic to me as a 10-year old. But I didn’t think of bullfighting or Mexico relating to a career until I went out on my own as a bookseller. When Maury Neville, the greatest bull fight bookseller everhe was also a publisherretired, I bought the stock that was left. That launched me. I also joined Torine Bibliophiles of America, which was handy because they published a bibliography of books in English. But I didn’t have any real feeling in this area. When Meggan, my 2nd daughter, died in a car accident, the people most helpful and most generous and most kind, and who have done the most to memorialize Meggan, were the Torine Bibliophiles. That touched me a lot and deepened my commitment to the area. I give a 10% discount to Torine members. With the possible exception of baseball no, not even baseball–some of the best literature and art is about bullfightingespecially when looked at from a Spanish, Latin American context from Goya to Picasso in art; and of course Hemingway, Spota from Mexico, who is a brilliant writer; Lorca’s poem At Exactly 5 O’clock in the Afternoon. There is fine literature going back all the way to Crete. The other area I have recently developed an interest inand have been having a terrible time finding material onis Flamenco. Bullfighting and Flamenco are closely associated. They study in great depth the two things that are very important in the world. Bullfighting is a deep examination of death; Flamenco is deep celebration of vitality in life, sex in large part. One of the things Hemingway said was that ‘every true story ends in death and it’s a false story teller who tells you otherwise.’ I am fascinated by death; also the vitality in life. I’m coming to think more and more that they are the only things worth studying. Barbara: On Bibliophile you’ve spoken with great fondness of your bone folder. There are also plastic ones. One bookseller has suggested that fingernails are fine. My father (in a non-book context) used to tell me that thumbnail against flesh of the index finger gave the best fold. Tell us about your tools of the book trade. Lynn: I have four tools I use. I have a very well-worn block of Douglas fir that’s worn down and now rounded on all the corners, used for smoothing things, if something doesn’t want to fold smoothly. I use a fresh business card for opening unopened pages. And I have my thumbnail and finger. I really don’t use the bone folder for anything other than comfort. I keep it on my desk. It feels good and when I’m thinking about something I like to rub it. It’s my Linus blanket. Barbara: You’re known on Bibliophile as a seasoned traveler in search of books. Tell us something about your book buying trips. Lynn: I try, once a year, to get just about everywhere on the west coast, to book stores in every major city from Vancouver, BC to Guatemala City. I wander up and down the coast it’s tax deductible travel of course!and given my specialty, there are never that many books in any one place. I have to cover a wide area. If I go into a bookstore and find four different books on bullfighting, that’s good. Portland is awfully good and Vancouver, BC. Mexico City is terrific, and Guatemala City is very, very good. In Guatemala City, they have the largest book fair in Central America; the entire main plaza in front of the presidential palace is full of booksellers during the fair. I’m still discovering new bookstores. In U.S. cities, and in Vancouver, too, I can look in the yellow pages. They tend to be more hidden in Mexico and Guatemala City. Very few book sellers advertise in the phone book. It’s more a matter of wandering the streets, finding a bookstore, buying some books, and then chatting and finding out where another bookstore is. It’s more exploring than anything else. The nice thing about it is that virtually no one south of the Rio Grande is on the net and so prices tend to be quite good, and materials are available. Barbara: And your recent trip to Barcelona? Lynn: I really got lucky in Barcelona. Every Sunday in Barcelona there is this one market, Mercat Sant Antoni, that’s totally devoted to paper, mostly books and posters. It’s like a full square block book fair every Sunday. On Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, there’s a flea market, Las Glorias, with five to six booksellers. The flea market is very inexpensive. The interesting thing about Barcelona is that it’s not in their culture to have estate sales. A wholesale dealer comes in and makes a lump sum offer to the family for the entire estate, then take all that stuff and wholesales it to the people selling at the flea market. What this means is that you have this large block full of all fresh stuff four times a week. Another interesting thing is that they don’t put extra value on books because they are inscribed or autographed. Nobody cares about them so I was able to pick up some very good inscribed poetry by prize-winning poets at a price I thought was very cheap. There are also booksellers around the university and in old town in Barcelona. Their prices tend to be above what I would consider market, but they have some very old, very nice, material vellum. I’d never been to Europe and the thing that struck me was how old everything is. Barbara: Let’s talk about some more personal history. Tell us about your last name deWeese-Parkinson. What’s the history of that? Lynn: [Laughter] Well, Cathie and I were together a long time before we got married. That was her choice, not mine. I’d asked her to marry me several times and she wasn’t going to have anything to do with it. And then I caught her in a moment of weakness. Actually what had happened is a very romantic story. She had decided to at least live with me and had borrowed my old Volvo to move her stuff to my apartment. I got a phone call that afternoon from a stranger who said, you know, are you, you? and do you have an old Volvo? and I said, Yes. He said, Your girlfriend is in the Kaiser Emergency Ward. She maxed on the bridge and your car’s totalled. I busted over to the hospital emergency ward. She was looking very bad. All she had was a broken nose, but they bleed a lot so there was blood all over. I got this sudden inspiration to ask her to marry me again, and said, This is stupid. Who ever knows what will happen to either of us? We’ve gotta get married. And she agreed. It was very romantic, this man on his knees in the emergency room, with blood all around. Anyway, the agreement was that she wasn’t going to change her name. She was a 60’s liberated woman and if she was going to change her name, I was going to change mine. She was deWeese, I was Parkinson, so we finally decided to hyphenate it. We put the deWeese first just because it sounded better. Then we became involved in things Latin American where everybody has two names, sometimes hyphenated, but the man’s name usually comes before the woman’s so everybody thought it was a very strong woman who had her name come first. It became a funny joke. Barbara: How did you get to the point of becoming a lawyer, and then a bookseller? Lynn: I’d worked my way though college at a bookstore, Richard Abel’s. That was sold and became Blackwell’s North America. I’d begun in ’61 selling used books; then a rock ‘n’ roll band; then law school, when I was 30, practicing for 15 years. At some point, my health demanded I get out of law. I was in a federal criminal, high-pressured, law practice. I had most psychosomatic diseases known to man. At that point it seemed natural to go back into used books. Barbara: Tell us about the lawyer who got static in The New York Times. Lynn: The bulk of my practice was for progressive and radical folks, and organizations. I represented the local Black Panther health clinic when the federal government tried to subpoena their records. I represented the American Indian Movement. I worked 13 years representing AIM and managed to get three mistrials in a row. Most of the static was around AIM. In the state of Washington, I’d represented the Yakima over salmon fishing rights. The static was a case of lawyers being confused with their clientsnot totally unfair in my case because I really did identify with my Native American clients, and respected them. It was interesting because the one prejudice I firmly grew up with as a kid was anti-Indian prejudice in our family. Our family was an old pioneer family in the state of Washington and there was a lot of prejudice I had to get over. I think the reason I’ve identified so strongly with Guatemalans comes out of that, where Indians are in the majority and have no power at all. Barbara: Is there anything else you like about yourself or your life you would like to share with us? Lynn: The main thing in my life, besides scraping a living together in the book business, is supporting Los Romeritos, a shelter in Guatemala City. My daughter Meggan and a friend, Jaime, founded it on the streets in the worst section of Guatemala City. Both Meggan and Jaime had theater backgrounds and they went out on the streets in this very bad section and played theater games with the street kids, the homeless, the orphaned, single mom kids. Afterwards they’d sit down with the kids and have meetings about how the kids could organize themselves to better their lives. There are blocks and blocks of single mother prostitutes working that area undocumented refugee immigrants, no papers, no rights, no legal activity, and they have children. The kids said they needed homes but they couldn’t work that out so they founded a day shelter for the children. Since the mothers aren’t legal immigrants, their children’s births aren’t registered. Without papers showing they were born in Guatemala, they had no way to go to school in a country where you had to have papers to attend. So Meggan and Jaime started a shelter where the kids could be, and they started educating them. They raised money from popular new song artists (sort of popular, progressive, music) during the Guatemalan civil war got the musicians to come into a studio and cut a cassette and from that raised enough money to rent a building for shelter. That was six and a half to seven years ago and it’s still going strong. Today there are eight people employed, who take care of about 40 kids; they have expanded the shelter to a school; they have a women’s health project that concentrates on HIV prevention and education; and they have a family social services project. At one point a woman named Laura Romero became involved in Los Romeritos. Through Laura’s family, Queen Sophia of Spain, who is also the head of the Red Cross in that country, got the Spanish Red Cross to donate a building so they don’t have to pay rent. I’ve become a royalist now. Pretty funny for someone who represented the American Indian Movement. I am quite dedicated, seriously. Barbara: And after that? Lynn: At some point Meggan came back to California. She had job that summer directing and acting in radio soap opera about AIDS/HIV prevention, her first real acting job. On her way there, she ran head-on into a semi in Bakersfield and died. Within a month Laura died in a head-on in Spain. That was four and half year ago. Both the families have taken on Los Romeritos. We just recently had a dinner and raised about $1700. Barbara: You have a special place on your web site about all of this, don’t you, where people can learn the stories in more detail than we can go into here, and contribute to Los Romeritos? Lynn: Yes, at http://www.bibliophilegroup.com/lynnsbookstore .The picture of Meggan is the first thing you see. It explains tax-deductible donations for the general operating expenses that we fund, lights, heat, food, crayons, paper. The biggest sources for contributions have been from the Bibliophile mailing list and the torine bibliophile movement. Kendra, my youngest daughter, is down there now. They need a school bus. In Guatemala, a bus can be a city bus, which would provide a steady income, as well as the kind of bus they need, which can be pulled off city duty to take the kids to the zoo, etc. They are looking for a grant about $15,000 for that unless someone wants to give it on their own! Barbara: Now for the big topic of the day. You are president of Bibliophile Books, Inc., at www.bibliodirect.com, a listing service to be launched in March. How did you first get involved? Lynn: I was not happy with any of the databases available. Some I just don’t like the model I want a database to add to my own customer base, not just sell books. Some seem just not able to generate the business necessary to attract enough dealers to make them viable even though I like the model very much. Had ABE remained what it was when it began I probably wouldn’t have considered this. My own business does not depend much on databases for sales but it does depend on databases to add to and freshen my customer base. Since I didn’t see anyone answering my needs, and I didn’t trust any of the major players in the field to put the needs of booksellers first, I decided to go ahead with this when approached with sufficient capital to take a serious shot. Barbara: How did you get to know the other owners, Roger and Jan O’Connor? Lynn: I only knew them as members of the Bibliophile list. Their main asset in my mind was a motivation similar to my own. I think they are not happy with the direction of our trade and thought together we had a shot at doing something about it. I tend to reveal myself in any context. I think to put forward a little bit more of oneself helps people in any context. It makes my business dealings things between people, and not corporate. I’m just me and I don’t mind folks knowing that. Actually I think I learned this in Guatemala where nobody would think of doing business without inquiring about your family, your health, discussing almost anything. I like to deal with people on that level and people seem to appreciate it. I think this habit led the O’Connors to think that I would be a good person to head up the project. So far I have enjoyed working with them. They seem like real folks who put their customers’ concerns first. Barbara: What’s important to you about Bibliophile Book, Inc.? Lynn: Basically I’m a bookseller and I want things to work well for me. I want absolute ease and simplicity of dealing with the database. I myself have a very old DOS database program that’s ancient but I’m never going to change it. I want it to be simple to upload. That’s what Piet does. When I signed up with Antiqbooks, I asked Piet about it and he said, Send it. If I can’t figure out how to load it I shouldn’t be in this business. I want it to be that simple. You don’t have to follow a model, things don’t have to be difficult, you ought to be able to just blast it up there and have it work. In terms of simplicity, I think Piet’s got it down and we’re basically just copying him, his methods. I also want sales and this is where we’re going to break new ground. We’re going to go in several directions on that one. We are going to be monitoring our sellers. We have a complaint procedure and, as with Bibliophile, if somebody’s a crook, they are going to be excluded. We are going to require very simple, very straightforward return policies and if you want to charge a $50 reshelving fee for a book somebody wants to return that you didn’t describe right, you’re gone. We’re going to push in advertising that you can get quality books from quality booksellers. If people don’t treat their customers right, they’re not going to be on the database. The second thing is we’re going to be a little bit smarter about advertising. From the first draft of our budget on, we put more in advertising than anything else. That’s fairly unique except for Alibris and Amazon. We’re also going to advertise where the book buyers are. I can’t talk too much about this because it would give away trade secrets. I’m thinking things like library journals, which is so obvious I don’t mind leaking it. From the moment I started my business, I thought if you wanted to sell books on the web (and you mentioned this earlier in the interview when you talked about doing a Google search for me and founds lots of hits), the most reasonable place to advertise is on the web. I see a www dot on the back of a bus and think what a waste! I really applaud ABE’s recent move to advertise but it seems to me that 21 North Main proved that NPR is not the greatest place to advertise. It seems to me that you ought to be advertising web businesses on the web, so we’re going to be putting a lot of money into that. Barbara: Any other comments on the new database? Lynn: We’re developing it from scratch. It’s going to be Linux-based, which I think is the trend of the future. I just saw in the paper that somebody big went to Linux, IBM, wasn’t it? It’s so silly that it’s not the trend. The servers are right next door to the phone company. The pipe goes through a common wall so there won’t be any chipmunk problems. [Laughter] Bibliophile Books, Inc. will be the place you can trust to buy books inexpensively. The database is registered in the state of Kansas. I am named president because Kansas doesn’t allow for Grand Pooh-Bahs.

Julie Fauble, who had previously been on the IOBA board and served as Treasurer of IOBA, was elected as president. Anne Poe Lehr in the new Vice President. Christine Volk, the current Secretary and acting Treasurer, was re-elected as Treasurer. Jerry Blaz was re-elected as a Member at Large, and in addition, three new Members at Large were also elected: David Burdette, Maria Bustillos and Alyce Cresap. The board will officially assume their duties on February 15th, but in the meantime, Sally Hollingsworth, the acting President, has been assisting the board with the transition. I would like to express my thanks, and that of all IOBA members, to the outgoing officers and members, Jim Hart, Sally Hollingsworth and Patricia Ahearn, all of whom have served the IOBA since its start, with an incredible amount of energy and dedication and persistence, and who have been such an important part of getting the organization to the point it has reached. Christine Volk, IOBA Secretary President: Julie Fauble IOBA’s official tagline is Promoting Excellence in Online Bookselling. I would like to see that tagline become much more visible over the next year because I think it encompasses the heart of IOBA. It means to me that IOBA is a symbol of trust, integrity and professionalism. Consumers should know that when they see the IOBA mark, they can buy with confidence. For dealers, IOBA membership should be a point of pride, a way to demonstrate that they are professionals committed to excellence and a code of ethics. IOBA should be a place where dealers can turn for information and continuing education, a place to share with fellow dealers and pose questions and find reliable answers. In short, IOBA must be a place where dealers can find the tools for excellence. As I go forward this year, I plan to use the tagline as a touchstone. As issues arise and ideas come forth, I will go back to that tagline and measure my response against the goal of excellence. I look forward to the year ahead, look forward to new ideas, to getting things done, to getting to know more of our members, and to learning more about this world of books that I love. Most of all, I look forward to Promoting Excellence in Online Bookselling. Julie Fauble Vice President: Anne Poe Lehr My introduction to IOBA came while I was perusing the Ahearns’ website. They had an icon for the Independent Online Booksellers Association. Since I had been perturbed by the lack of knowledge and teaching among “instant” booksellers on the web, I called and talked to Pat. Imagine my excitement when I discovered a group dedicated to teaching and ethics. I immediately joined and Julie Fauble, our new president, who was then treasurer, said I could put the IOBA Book Standards on my http://www.poescousin.com site immediately. There they have remained, and I hope customers and booksellers read them. We used to see Standards every week in AB Bookman’s Weekly and I think it helped neophyte and old timers stick to the rules. I want to see IOBA grow into a huge umbrella where booksellers can come home or start out with professional standards. I also want customers to know that buying from a member of IOBA means they will receive a book often better than described. Let’s coalesce around our Standards and Ethics this next year. I am proud to be chosen as your new vice president and humbled by the trust placed in me. Thank you. Anne Poe Lehr Treasurer: Chris Volk My thanks to all those who voted for me as IOBA Treasurer. While I originally agreed to act as an interim treasurer last year, this year I decided to run for the position of Treasurer because I felt that I could make a greater contribution to IOBA in that capacity, since I have a background in finance and accounting. One of the problems with IOBA as a relatively new organization is that the procedures for running the association are still being established, and perhaps the greatest problem last year was the transition from one board to another,a transition made more difficult and less effective because of the unexpected resignations of some board members, and the turnover in committee chair positions. I hope – and expect – that this year will be one of much greater stability; I am really looking forward to working with the new board. Some of the changes and projects started last year will be very beneficial to IOBA: the only real problem is that so many of them were delayed for many months. Specifically as treasurer, one of the things which I did last year was to obtain a debit/visa card for the bank account: this enabled me to simplify and automate payments for many of the regular expenses the association has (website, advertising, insurance.) I would like to continue working on establishing better procedures this year, and also begin work on a manual for the use of the treasurer so that transition to a new treasurer in the future will be a smooth and easy process. Member At Large: David Burdette It is a pleasure to have been elected as Member-at-Large for IOBA. I intend to be one of the voices of the general membership and present to the Board of Directors the desires and concerns of the membership. My interest in IOBA became acute after having made several disappointing book purchases from individual “dealers” on the internet. The books were wrapped poorly, if at all, were not described accurately, or were shipped in an unprofessional manner. I believe that experiences like I had will discourage others from purchasing books from online dealers altogether. Thus, I decided to throw my hat into nomination for the IOBA Board as member-at-large, representing the IOBA membership. It will be one of my goals to encourage professionalism among the membership so that potential buyers will not hesitate to purchase a book listed by an IOBA member. I look forward to the challenge and to working with the membership and the Board of Directors. David Burdette Member At Large: Alyce Cresap It was a pleasure to learn that I have been elected to serve on the IOBA board. I look forward to being of service wherever and however I can, but especially in gaining greater recognition for our organization, recruiting new members, and helping to spread the word throughout the bookselling community about the importance of ethics in on-line bookselling. Alyce Cresap Member At Large: Maria Bustillos I am honored to serve on the new IOBA board with a group of talented, brilliant and progressive colleagues. I believe that next year will find IOBA a strong organization with a unified voice, creating meaningful benefits for its members, and developing and helping to maintain professional standards throughout the online bookselling world. Maria Bustillos Member At Large: Jerry Blaz This is my second term on the board. I helped in an area where I have little talent, on the financial committee, for the most part, but I have to believe that my contribution was a positive one. IOBA is one of the most important developments on the internet for online used and o.p. booksellers. Establishing its merit to both dealers and to consumers is my ultimate goal in accepting this second term on the IOBA board. I hope this goal is shared by my fellow board members, officers and members. We, my wife Rose and I, have been had an open shop since 1975, and I have been on the internet since 1995. Now, in 2002, we find ourselves selling our books in a dynamic environment on the internet. We can see the trends which will increase our costs of doing business while the numbers of dealers finding their way to the internet have turned our pricing system into a Dutch auction. In such an environment, people are tempted to take shortcuts. Inflating condition is one of the easiest, and this will be an area of concern. We will be hard pressed to know which database website is the best, and so I believe that one of the key duties IOBA should set for itself in the coming year is the ascertainment of what is going on in the various database sites by calling on them to present their figures periodically, so we can tell which is the place to display our books. Our ultimate goal in this area should be getting the figures audited. Jerry Blaz

Table of Contents From the Editor First IOBA Workshop The Out-of-Print and Antiquarian Book Market Seminar IOBA Q & A Column Interview with Piet Wesselman, of Antiqbook Maria Bustillos of Popula Max Woosley (Holy War author reveals all (well, some). Ok, a little!) A Short History of Paperbacks Fear and Loathing in a Small Town P.O. Regarding Black Writers & Literature the IOBA/ABE Search