BEST OF: Rare Book School, A Week Among Bright Bookish Minds

In years past, aspiring book dealers learned the trade by apprenticing with experienced ones. Today, with so few “bricks and mortar” antiquarian book shops in business, those entering the field must seek out other ways to master this complex and challenging profession. In terms of formal educational opportunities, many dealers look to the highly acclaimed Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar as a means of learning the nuts and bolts of the rare book marketplace. If you find yourself looking for an historical perspective of the rare book world or an academic approach to specific areas of the field, Rare Book School (RBS) is unquestionably a good choice.

RBS, headquartered at the University of Virginia (U.Va.), is a non-profit organization offering non-credit courses on “bookish and bibliographic” subjects. All RBS faculty members are recognized experts in the rare book field. The week-long classes are scheduled throughout the summer on the U.Va. campus and at other times of the year in New York, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Affiliated RBS programs are located in Los Angeles and London. The tuition for each RBS course is currently $870.

Students are accepted to RBS courses by application. You must complete a questionnaire detailing your work history and submit a short essay describing your interest in the particular class you would like to take. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis beginning four months prior to the course start date. While the application may be off-putting to some potential attendees, the process unquestionably benefits the program by ensuring that all attendees understand the subject matter and have an articulable interest in the field.

Beyond top-notch educational opportunities, RBS offers book dealers the chance to meet people in the rare book world that they might not otherwise encounter. In addition to dealers, attendees include rare book librarians and collectors from all over the United States and several foreign countries. The chance to meet special collections librarians, whose career paths offer interesting parallels and intersections with rare book dealers, is a particularly valuable opportunity for dealers. Getting to know these librarians is a wonderful way to learn about institutional book collections and what the collections of the future might include.

In operation for 24 years, the program at Rare Book School is well-run and seamlessly organized. The schedule follows the same general format each week. Attendees arrive on Sunday night for a reception and a light supper. The evening is capped by remarks from Terry Belanger, founding director of the Rare Book School. (In 2005, Belanger was named a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow for his work at RBS.)

RBS courses run Monday morning through Friday afternoon. The days are full, with classes beginning at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. In the evenings, students have the opportunity to attend optional events, including guest speaker programs and book-related movies. There also is usually a bookseller night during which local used and rare book shops stay open late especially for RBS students. Friday evening closes with a reception.

Charlottesville is a lovely town with a wide range of accommodations available. While many RBS students chose to stay in local hotels, U.Va. offers RBS students the opportunity to stay on “The Lawn,” part of Thomas Jefferson’s historic Academical Village. While Lawn rooms may seem primitive (no air conditioning or attached bathrooms), they offer abundant charm in the form of hardwood floors, fireplaces, and rocking chairs from which to watch the sun set on the brick colonnade facing Jefferson’s famous Rotunda.

The curriculum at RBS is not for the faint of heart. Each class has a required advance reading list. The course registration materials explicitly state that registrants should consider withdrawing if they find themselves unable to complete the reading before the class. This preparation is a challenging but essential component of the information-packed program. The pace of the classes at RBS is brisk. Instructors hit the ground running and expect the students to do the same. Some of the courses even include evening homework assignments.

While attendees work hard at RBS, the effort is well-rewarded. Beyond being one of the only places in the world where you can take these types of courses, RBS offers valuable opportunities to build relationships with some of the brightest minds in the rare book field.

You can read more about RBS and its offerings at http://www.rarebookschool.org/.

Originally published in the Fall 2007 issue of The Standard.

BEST OF: Overlooked and Undervalued, The Bookseller’s Inventory Database

Most booksellers when evaluating their business assets will consider the cost and potential market value of their inventory, the cost of computer equipment, and maybe even the replacement cost of their reference library, but it seems that the value of their book-selling database is often overlooked.

A database is far more than just a listing of books which you have for sale and the price you are asking for them. If that is all you need, you can simply input listings directly online, and then download these listings.

The true value lies in the information which is not uploaded—the historical information about sold books, the private fields, and also in the other modules (client, invoice, wants, vendors, etc.) which work together with the inventory database.

We use BookMinder, which is a template based on FileMaker Pro, one of the few programs for both Macs and Windows. The point of this informal commentary is not to advocate any specific program, but to toss out some thoughts that might help booksellers to expand the usefulness and value of whatever database they do use. If you think that you, as a bookseller, cannot afford to spend $200-$300 or so on a decent database, and that a “free” one is good enough, maybe the following will help you reconsider that decision.

The first and most obvious value comes from the cumulative weight of entering books into a single database for years (we have slightly over 16,000 listings online now, with over 34,000 entries in our inventory database). While I have written most of the entries (at a rate of not quite ten books per day for ten years), we have hired others to do data entry at various times, and the usual payment was $1 per book. It doesn’t take a lot of math to see that at $1 per listing, we now have $34,000 “invested” in the database.

However, it goes much deeper than that: by retaining information on sold books, we begin to gain a solid understanding of the prices at which copies will sell and how long it might take them to sell. Obviously, this is valuable for uncommon books, where prices are on a steadily upward trajectory (and where sometimes there are no copies currently offered for sale online), but it can also be useful for a lot of “bread-and-butter” books.

Since the time it takes to write a new description is a significant factor in the cost of selling a book (especially for one that is inexpensive), our buying decisions are often skewed by whether or not a book is “in the database.” Sometimes this has unexpected results. For example, every first printing of a certain title which we were able to acquire sold reasonably quickly in the $30-$40 range. One day, we spotted a nice book club edition for sale, bought it, quickly modified the database listing, and almost as quickly sold it. Knowing which books will sell only in first editions (or only as signed copies), which books will sell easily in any hardcover edition, and which books will even sell as paperbacks can be very helpful—especially since the less expensive versions are usually a lot easier to find.

Each record in our inventory has a “private notes” field which is not uploaded. The size of this field is essentially unlimited, and so are the types of information which I might include there. The actual name of this field in our database is “quote to/notes” but that is only one use for it. In addition to whether or not we quoted the book to a client (and if the client purchased or declined it, and why, if we know why), I might note the number of comparable listings online at the time we catalogued it and the price range (sometimes this info gets updated), any pricing changes we might have made, where we got the book signed if it is a signed copy, points that are not included in the actual description, and much more.

For example, we just sold a signed copy of Westlake’s Castle in the Air. The private notes included the comments that when we first catalogued this in July 1996 there were only three hc 1sts on ABE, the book was mistakenly marked as sold, was signed in Los Angeles in 2004, and when it was reinstated online in late 2004 there were 28 hc 1sts on ABE. Abbreviated, this type of information takes almost no time to enter.

Among the other private fields are those where we enter the price paid, and the vendor from whom we purchased the book. (In addition to the obvious bookstore names where we regularly buy books, we also create vendor ids for buying trips out of town. This will provide easily accessible documentation on how many books we bought on that trip, how much we spent, and how much profit we made from those purchases.) We use another field to create printed catalogues, and this field consists only of two character codes. For example, if I wanted to do a list of mysteries by women set in California or one for Florida children’s books, all I have to do is search in this field for “wo my ca” or “fl ch” respectively. There are probably 100 different codes which we use, and most of them are self-evident.

We have other fields which are only used for uploading to specific sites. For example, we enter Amazon’s condition codes in one field. We can also enter three different prices for a book. If we were doing a lot of eBay auctions, we might create an eBay title field. The possibilities are unlimited.

So far, we have just been dealing with specific books, but one of the benefits of “researching” books or authors on the internet is the ease with which the information can be captured. If I find an interesting article on an author or an illustrator or a book, I will copy this into a separate record (I use the subject name “author and book info” for these records) along with the author’s name, and maybe the url of the website where I found the information. These records can be as specific as the points of a single title, or the tracking of the prices of all copies being offered for sale over a period of years, or a complete bibliography of an author. Again, to give a specific example, I was cataloguing a book recently, and the illustrator who did the frontispiece had an extremely interesting career himself, so I created a record for him. When and if we come across something else with his work in it, we have the information needed to place it in context.

The inventory portion of our business database is only part of the database. We also store our client records and our invoices, which provide complete information on books sold, including discounts, if any, sales tax collected, shipping charged, and the source of the sale. But even this small part is much more than just a listing of books we have for sale. It is a living, growing, ever-expanding, focused reference work—a combination of “book prices realized,” bibliographies and points of issue. It becomes worth far more than the few hundred dollars we actually invested in the program and in upgrades or the $34,000 we might have paid for raw data entry. It becomes the single most valuable and virtually irreplaceable asset in our business.

Chris Volk operates Bookfever along with Shep Iiams and can be contacted at http://www.bookfever.com.

Originally published in the Summer 2006 issue of The Standard.

BEST OF: “What’s this Book Worth?”

“Is it a first?” “What are the points of…?” “I can’t find a price guide for…?” “No copy on the net, and need to know the value of…?” Such are the daily, ubiquitous questions found on the various bookish listservs to which many booksellers & collectors subscribe. Most such queries are asked by novice booksellers, or the o.p./used bookseller who has what is thought to be a [potentially] valuable book. And in fact, upon examination, all these questions have in common this last aspect of the bibliophilic world, for what matters the edition, or issue, or state, if not that fact’s relevance to commercial value? Before answering, recall, gentle reader, we pose this query from the perspective of the bookseller, vice book collector, as this IS an article for the IOBA Standard…and given one rarely sees a question posed regarding “which is the best scholarly text?” or something equally indicative of an interest other than monetary, most, I suspect, would respond to the original query with “very little”.

So, let’s us make the assumption that commercial value is a driving force in the bookseller community, and that most, if not all, booksellers would prefer to not “undersell” a book, where it is understood that “undersell” is defined by the individual, and the definition of which will run the gamut of the individuals doing the defining.

What then confers “commercial value”? The answer, in theory, is easy: nothing more than the forces of Supply & Demand. Determining such for a book not known to you… well, therein lies ‘the rub’, does it not? However this situation need not be too daunting if approached in a systematic manner. One just need evaluate the 4 basic factors that affect the commercial value of a given book: Edition (a Supply & Demand factor), Condition (also a Supply & Demand factor), Availability (a Supply factor) & Desirability (a Demand factor). There are then 3 subsequent factors, all pertaining to the individual bookseller, that will influence the price that bookseller actually establishes for the book to be sold: (1) the amount the bookseller paid for the book, (2) the bookseller’s desired profit margin, and (3) the bookseller’s customer base. Let’s begin by looking at, in greater detail, the first 4 factors…

Edition. In Book Collecting, the “name of the game1“, is ‘First Editions’. Let’s take this as a given, and just accept that book collectors [in most cases] prefer the first edition (which we understand to be the first printing) of a given work. Though one qualifying remark need be made at this juncture…when determining commercial value, one must always look at the book from the perspective of the book collector, e.g., a Rackham collector will want the first printing with his illustrator’s work contained therein, which will not necessarily be the true first printing of the title in question, yet, to continue with this example, the ‘Desirability’ factor of Rackham illustrated books is such to give these works a significant commercial value, perhaps even greater than the true first printing of the title.

So the question now becomes one of determining the edition of the book under consideration…there is no easy answer to this question, as different books from different periods require different approaches. However, this is key — don’t guess! Have some rationale or reference that substantiates your assertion that the book in question is the edition you state. And here is probably a good time to relate that, in my experience, reference books soon pay for themselves, and the old adage of using 10% of one’s annual profits to build a reference library is still valid today, despite the availability of information, and misinformation , on the Net.

For the booksellers reading this essay, this last issue regarding reference books can be approached from another perspective, and can be conversely expressed via the question, “What price your reputation?” Do you wish to be known as someone who “wings it” or as a professional who “knows what they’re about”? Not to say errors won’t be made, we all make them, but in my experience the conservative approach, in the long run, will better serve.

Condition. “Condition” in Book Collecting is analogous to “Location” in Real Estate, i.e., it is everything. Book collectors are little different than collectors of other material goods — they, more often than not, wish their collected pieces to be as close to “original” condition as possible. Simply put, the better the condition of a given book, the higher the commercial value. And remember, it is NOT a straight-line relationship…e.g., there are significantly fewer Fine/Fine 1st edition copies of GONE WITH THE WIND than there are VG/VG copies; as such, the Fine/Fine copies command a premium, and consequently are worth significantly more.

And at this point, we should probably mention dust jackets…they first appeared on the scene in the 19th C. but until the mid 20th C. they were viewed as ancillary to the book, and were usually discarded. Hence dust jackets from the late 19th C. or early 20th C. are quite scarce, and this factor is recognized by market forces in the values assigned these uncommon pieces…e.g., an early 20th C. A. C. Doyle title usually sells for $3000 or so — a few years back one was auctioned with dust jacket (1 of 2 known as I recall). It pulled down over $100,000.00.

Availability. Supply of a given work is primarily a function of initial print run, and other subsequent factors such as initial popularity, time in existence, etc., etc. ‘Availability’ can be sub-divided by condition & edition — e.g., if your client is seeking a Fine copy of a given book, the ‘Availability’ pool will be smaller than if a VG copy is acceptable. Edition can also affect this factor when Issues & States come into play…let’s consider Dickens’ OLIVER TWIST which has a famous issue point with respect to the title page — the first issue has the Dickens pseudonym ‘Boz’ on the title page. When Dickens saw this, he requested an author name change be made by the publisher, so the Second issue states ‘Charles Dickens’ on the title page… both are First Editions, but which one will your customer prefer? If Issue is not an issue, then the ‘Availability’ pool of First Editions is larger. Either way, the rule of thumb is that the 1st issue item will command a higher price, both for reasons of primacy and availability.

Desirability. This is simply answering the question of ‘who cares, and why?’, and is probably the most influential factor in determining a given book’s value. The determination is relatively easy for some books (e.g., Hemingway’s THE SUN ALSO RISES), & more difficult for others (D’Anvers CRAFTSMAN)…but if you can’t ascertain any market whatsoever for the book under consideration, then rarity is strictly academic, and the book has little-to-no commercial value. Conversely, a book such as the NUREMBERG CHRONICLE that has recognized great historical significance with high demand and relatively low availability will command a significant price (5 figures for this particular book).

Summary. So then, how does one arrive at a price? A methodology I employ is a series of questions & answers… First, what do I have? After determining the two factors that answer this question (e.g., edition & condition), I note whether or not it has any special attributes, such as ownership signatures (author or otherwise) or publication specialty (e.g., ARC). NB: Research signatures in books! I have more than once made a significant sum because the bookseller from whom I bought a book did not take the time to look at, much less research, the signature/inscription in a book.

Next comes an idea of availability…Are copies currently available (e.g., AddAll.com), and in what quantities? If yes, how does my copy compare to those currently on the market? Where do I want to position my copy with respect to the others available? Who’s at the high end…what are the copies like at the low end? Etc., etc.

If no copies are currently on the market, then a determination of track record is in order…here one can look at old bookseller catalogues, price guides, and auction records. If found, then one need to do no more than extrapolate to current conditions.

Finally, if the book held has no history, at least as far as we’re able to determine (recognizing that extremely few books have absolutely *no* market history), then questions on importance to society & an estimate of desirability are in order…chances are if we’ve arrived at this juncture, then the market segment interested in the purchase of the item is perhaps quite narrow or the book is quite rare…but either way, with an item not currently available, one is still able to establish the price…simply make a value judgment on what is held, think of a price, and mark it on the flyleaf.

Lastly, we need acknowledge individualistic factors in ‘marking that price on the flyleaf’…what was paid for the book? Booksellers cannot sell at a loss, and expect a long business life! Which presupposes that the book was bought at a price that allows for markup does it not! Second, how much profit margin is desired? Is the price to be set at the absolute top of the market? Somewhere in between? And what customer does the bookseller have for the book…for example, does a bookseller known for reading-copy mysteries have credibility with a buyer of Aldine imprints for that 1513 Cicero that came in a box of books? Probably not. So, all these factors warrant consideration by a bookseller looking to establish a price for a book. But, as you might imagine, there is no ‘pat’ answer, and each individual must decide their respective position on each book.

In conclusion, & speaking solely from a personal philosophy, I don’t worry too much about ‘making a mistake’, i.e., underpricing. For, if I follow the above methodology, chances are I’ll be “close”, and I’ll certainly make my profit margin on the price I’ve established…and unpriced books do no more than take up space. Which, afterall, is in-and-of itself a cost…not to mention — there are always more books, and space is something I’ll definitely need for that next batch that walks in the door.

1For the most part — as with most rules-of-thumb, there are exceptions, with many coming in the Americana genre, where the addition of maps, etc. in later editions may challenge the first printing of a title in desirability and, consequently, commercial value.

Originally published in the September 2001 issue of The Standard.