Answers to Go

San Marcos Public Library

625 E. Hopkins St.

512-393-8200

Q. I would like to collect rare or collectible books. Do you have any advice or information you can give me about this “hobby?”

Much of how you A. collect depends on what type of books you are collecting. The possibilities (and joys) are endless. My best advice is to collect what you are passionate about — don’t do it just as an investment for the money. I collect children’s geography textbooks from the turn of the century. They are affordable because they were produced in the thousands, but there is a challenge in collecting them because they are hard to find. They were not often kept beyond their use in the classroom. However, their rarity does not automatically make them collectible.

How do you determine if something is worth collecting and a good price? Condition, condition, condition. The price of a book is, in large part, determined by condition. There are other factors like inscriptions (autographs) and rarity, but every antiquarian book seller, whether online or in person, considers condition when pricing books. The book industry has been around so long that there are very specific guidelines for determining condition and describing the condition of books. Because there are so many articles and books written about condition, here is a short glossary of condition terms from the website https://toughnickel. com/self-employment/describe_used_books:

Mint: When a book has just been flawlessly printed and flawlessly bound and has not yet been handled, it is in mint or pristine condition. This is a very rare occurrence.

Very Fine or As New: The book can readily pass as being brand new.

Fine: If it were shelved in a new books store, it would still pass as a new book, but it is in less brand-new condition than a very fine/as new book.

Very Good (VG) or Near Fine: Describes a used book that is almost but not quite in fine condition.

Good: Describes a used book that is complete, sound, and clean, with moderate signs of wear.

Fair: This describes a used book with serious physical condition flaws but still complete and holding together.

Poor: Describes a book that is falling apart. Pages and portions of pages may be missing.

The dust jacket is customarily described separately, as in, "Fine in fine dj". Never described a book as anything better than very good if it lacks the dust jacket.

Else: This is used to make clear that a book has a fault but that the book is predominantly in better condition than the fault suggests.

Collector's Condition: A book in collector's condition is in at least fine condition — or at worst is at the high end of very good.

Reader's copy: When seen in a catalog, reader's copy implies that one should buy that copy to read, not to collect, because it is somewhat worn or has flaws.

Binding copy: Refers to a book whose cover and binding are in poor condition or lacking but whose pages are intact - a candidate for rebinding.

While there are many books for sale on the internet, on many different websites, I have found that one of the best and most comprehensive websites — especially for comparison purposes, is Bookfinder. com. This website collects the information from hundreds of book sellers around the globe and presents it together. This type of website is called an “aggregator.” It allows you to comparison shop. Websites like eBay and Amazon can also be useful, but if you use a website that does allow you to compare prices — be wary. As the saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

For more information about collecting books check out these books from the library:

“A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books,” by Nicholas Basbanes. “Rare Books Uncovered:

“Rare Books Uncovered: True stories of Fantastic Finds in Unlikely Places,” by Rebecca Rego Barry

“Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Passion,” by Leona Rostenberg.

Suzanne Sanders is the new columnist for the library. She is the Community Services Manager for the San Marcos Public Library and came from the Austin Public Library in 2015 after having served there as a librarian for over 20 years. She gratefully accepts your questions for this column.