Why We’re Entering the Golden Age of Books: Reason No. 4

Hard-to-Find No More

Most of us have a hard time remembering what life was like before cell phones—not to mention before air conditioning and the polio vaccine. And thus we will likely soon forget a feature of life that was once as common as LPs, ashtrays and payphones. It was referred to as “hard-to-find books.”

Allow me to take you back in time to, say, misty 1990. In that tender year, if you suddenly became aware of a marvelous book that, though out of print, you had to have, that moment of beckoning sunrise was immediately followed by a cold, overcast sky: how on earth to get it?

You might try your library, where, if your book wasn’t that old, the librarian could likely find record of a copy in some sister library. Your library could put in a request through inter-library loan, and if the book wasn’t checked out, you might be able to pick it up.

In a few weeks.

Maybe.

If you wanted to own a copy, you would stop by your local used-books dealer. It would be unlikely that he’d have it, but if he were a bona fide bookseller, he’d try to track down a copy. He might ask you for a deposit first. Then he’d call a few places he knew.

If that didn’t work, he could place a small want ad in AB Bookman’s Weekly, a hefty trade publication printed on newsprint and mailed to antiquarian book dealers across the land. There, in their back offices, bespectacled booksellers would play a quiet game of concentration, comparing the tiny want ad for your book with their memory of what they had on their shelves. A match would elicit a postcard, which could lead to a phone call or letter to you, quoting condition and price.

Then, assuming you still remembered that you had asked for this book in the first place, and still had the yen for it, you’d write a check and wait a while longer. The process could make watching grass grow seem fast.

Flash forward to today. Upon learning of an out-of-print book, no matter how old, you type a few words into your computer and there, appearing as if by magic, will be a color image of the book—actually, several copies. They will likely be cheap, too, and the one you select can be on your doorstep tomorrow.

The difference between then and now is not merely quantitative but qualitative. It makes possible a different kind of well-read life. Today, an inquiring reader can benefit from fast feedback loops—virtuous cycles of seeking, finding, reading, and seeking more.

Developed a sudden interest in Gabriela Mistral? Or how about antebellum apiculture? Is it coelacanths and their influence on modern evolutionary theory? In days you can collect a library on these and millions more topics that formerly may have taken years—but more likely than not, simply didn’t happen.

This air-conditioning for the mind was made possible by a uniform method of listing books in databases, and then linking those databases to the Web. It’s another reason why we’re entering the Golden Age of Books.

Robert Hittel is a rare-books dealer and appraiser here in South Florida. For many years he also ran a well-known and much-loved bookstore devoted to used books. He remembers what it was like before computers, and how quickly the World Wide Web changed the book world.

“Before the Web, if there were 10 copies across the country of a book you wanted, you could spend years finding one,” said Rob. “Today, you see all 10 books on your computer in a matter of seconds.”

“The mystery and serendipity are gone,” Rob said. “In the old days, when people browsing in my store discovered a used book that they were even moderately interested in, they knew they had better buy it, since it might be gone on their next visit and they might never come across another copy. Today, there’s no such urgency. You can always find it later online if you want.

“It’s definitely better for readers because there’s more available and it’s cheaper,” Rob said. “It’s pretty much the end of hard-to-find books.”

Marty Manley helped erase the expression “hard-to-find” from books. Together with antiquarian bookman Richard Weatherford, he founded a major online source for out-of-print books called Alibris. 

“Before we started, book dealers set prices since they had a scarce commodity,” Marty said. “But as books went online, the market became efficient and true supply-and-demand took over. At one point, book prices were falling by twenty-five percent per quarter.”

Marty, who sold Alibris in 2006 and left the company last year, recalls life prior to large- scale online selling. “A used-books dealer might get $10 for a copy of Bridges of Madison County in a store, but once more and more seller inventories came online, it was obvious that there were far too many copies. Today you can find Bridges free in book bins across the country.”

Although some books were more in demand than in supply, “in the main, the supply of out-of-print books exceeded demand, which really hurt used-book stores but was good news for customers,” Marty said

“When we began Alibris in 1998, we used the tagline, ‘Books you thought you’d never find.’ It worked back then. Soon, however, it was obsolete.”

Visiting the home page of www.Alibris.com in 2008 shows a different tagline. It reads: “You’ll find it at Alibris! Over 60 million used, new, and out-of-print books!”

If books are medicine, we all used to live in remote mountain villages; whereas today, we all live next door to the well-stocked drugstore.

Does this boon for readers mean that bricks-and-mortar stores that sell used books will go away?

“The Web is not great for browsing,” Marty pointed out. He and his wife will make a date night of browsing new and used bookstores near their home in San Francisco. “Even to this day, I prefer browsing in a store versus online.”

In Florida, you can still find Robert Hittel Used Books on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale (it helps that Rob owns the building). But Rob has expanded his appraisal work beyond rare books to include antiques and estate items. Customers still come in to browse the bookshelves, just not as many.

For the time being at least, we still have the best of both worlds in the Golden Age: bricks-and-mortar destinations for browsing used books, and online destinations that make every book easy to find.

Do you agree? I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether we’re entering the Golden Age of Books. Just click on the Comments link below. (If you’re reading this as an email, click here and you'll connect to Comments).

Comments

[Claire]

Steve, I do believe we have the best of both worlds right now. I love going to bookstores (new and used) and browsing the aisles. I also like being able to find special titles on line. Still, I wonder about those who loved the pursuit; the thrill of the chase and the great pleasure at tracking down a used book, before the internet. Some might argue the trade-off was disappointing. Yet in many ways this ability to almost instantly find information on a variety of topics, as well as a variety of books, has enriched us - provided we don't get mired down in all of the information we receive from the search.

[Bobbie Jeanne Kennedy]

The thing I love most about old books and the internet is they are now available online "in toto". I am no longer able to make the trip to the bookstore easily and even less able to literally pick up the weight of a loooooong story. But, God bless them, there are some people who love specific books so much that they have laboriously typed the entire book onto a website so that the information never gets lost, forgotten, nor burnt like a book could have. The most obvious example being the zillion and a half different versions of the Bible.

[Jerry Eyer]

Yes...I agree with your comments. I used to spend hours in dirty, smelly, unorganized used book stores. Today I simply search online when I want to find that old book....or the new one. When you know what you want it is easy. But if you want to brouse.....I still go to the dirty, smelly, unorganized used book store.
je

[Judy Talkington]

Is Texas the only place that has the "Half Price Books" phenomenon? Half Price Books is a chain of used book stores that started in Austin and is now state-wide. They will buy your unwanted books, magazines, music and videos and computer software. Like the high-end new bookstores, there is a coffee bar and plenty of comfortable places to sit and read. I always spend more than I make selling my items, however. The selection is astounding. It is one of my grandchildren's favorite destinations. Of course, I am also a dedicated Alibris and ABE customer as well.

[Glenn]

I take great pride in the ownership of books and although I am very comfortable with my computing, it could never replace the relationship I have with books. I like the electronic medium for those books I cannot find but I will always want to be able to see a book on my bookshelf...

I visit all bookstores, old and new... I only wish the independent book sellers were in a stronger position. I do not like anything as important as a bookstore to be limited to Barnes and Noble or Borders....

[Mary-Ellen Jones]

There is absolutely nothing to compare with a used book store - the look, the smell, the feel of old books, the people you can meet and talk with. It is now quicker to find a book online and this might be very important at times. Unfortunately, the element that is eliminated by the speed of online searches is the fascination of the search.

[Robyn in Canada]

Nothing can compare to the sight, the touch, the smell, or the emotion a book can elicit.

[Charlotte Brooks]

Dear Steve,

I have to agree with Marty. There's nothing like browsing in a used book store. I always found something I never knew existed. The one here closed its doors several years ago and I still miss it.

There was a great one I discovered by chance in Champaign/Urbana, Illinois--a large old house with every room literally filled floor to ceiling with books. The day I discovered it, I was killing time waiting for my daughter to finish her cello practice for the Illinois Youth Symphony. I lost track of time & was extremely late picking her up, much to the dismay of her teacher.

The problem I find with on-line book sales is that you can't "browse." It's fine if you already know what you want but what about all those, as yet unknown to me, gems.
Plus, I still like to see it, feel it and peek inside.

I love your Well-Read Life postings. Thank you for letting all of us have our say also.

Charlotte Brooks
Bedminster, NJ

[Ruth Fisk]

I definitely fall into the hands-on book browsing group- have read daily since first grade, and honed my skills decades later in City Lights bookstore in San Francisco (plus many others that existed in the 90s) Our idea of Sunday brunch always involves our nearby Barnes & Noble. Where else (than in books) can you get so much enjoyment at any time of the day and night, regardless of where you are?

[Ivy]

I'm not so sure. Yes, it's easy to find out of print books, but if there aren't many copies left, the price can be prohibitive.

Search for The Principles of Knitting. It was published in 1989 and never reissued despite endless promises from the publisher (the most recent stating a publication date of fall 2009). It is possible to get a copy--for $200 and up. That's a lot for one book.

Once e-books become the norm, books will never go out of print. We're not far from a time when we can pick up anything we want to read in seconds, any time, any where, no matter how long ago the book was published. I've already had the experience of needing a reference on Norse Mythology, immediately, at a time I couldn't get to a library or bookstore, and having it minutes later. That's golden.

[JoAnne]

While I too enjoy the instant gratification of finding old books and just about anything else on line, I do miss that incredible feeling of elation I got when I happened across a book I had been searching for. Sadly I no longer spend hours digging through used book stores.

[Carlos]

Steve;
As I enter my "silver years", I've notice that this former "seldom reader" has developed a thirst for reading. I seem to be able to identify more books that I want to read, should have read or just plained missed. I do remember enjoying at times browsing through "used book stores" in New York, Istanbule and lately with my son during visits to Melbourne Australia.

The internet has made it easier for me to quickly acquire some books and introduce me to other books that I might be interested in reading (acquiring). I still have some of my college text books that I still refer to for work and "old time memories".

Thanks Steve for your "blogs"

[Wayne Wilson]

Wow - your description of locating books prior to the internet brought back a lot of memories ! I do like being able to find an out of print book quickly, and have even located some of my childhood favorites. Like almost everyone else, I still love the atmosphere of an old book dealer or used book store. Sadly, they seem to be disappearing with the advent of the internet.

[Richard]

Yes, Books will never go , even if internet offers them for free, many stores like this one http://bluerectangle.com work on both versions online and off line through their stores, people cam buy and sell their used books online on internet where they offer free shipping, or you can go to any of their stores and sell you book

[Rick]

You know how sights, sounds and especially smells can bring old memories to mind? Well, one of the first things I like to do when getting a book to read, whether it be old, new, or borrowed, is to open it up in the middle and stick my nose in and take a big whiff. I'm sure this may sound strange but it takes me back to elementary school when, in English class, every student got a weekly publication called the "Weekly Reader". It was just about 8 to 10 pages long with different short stories and what not, but it also had this really strong "paper" smell to it. I even joined my first Book Club through that publication. Yes, I think books are here to stay even with computers and the internet. Computers may be much faster today than they used to be, but I can pick up a book and be reading it quicker than I can turn on(boot up) my laptop, find a book file, double-click to open it,(if of course the battery is charged).
Thanks Steve for these articles on "The Golden Age of Books".
Your Friend, Rick