Frequently Asked Questions

Where Can I Find Books to Put Online?

Here are some places you can find copies:

• Libraries
  • Often a library will have a copy of the book you'd like to transcribe. You can check it out from there; just make sure to take good care of it and return it on time. If your local library doesn't have a copy of the book you want, you may be able to get it from another library through inter-library loan.
  • Also keep an eye out for library book sales. Often you can find many older, hard-to-find books there, often very cheaply. They can be fruitful places to find books to rescue and put online. Most libraries have at least one per year, and some have them more frequently.
• Mass digitization sites
  • If the book you're interested was published before 1923, it's increasingly likely that a mass digitization project has scanned page images of it. The best-known large mass digitization sites are listed on my archives and indexes page. Their copies, though, might not be provided to all countries, and their page images might not be as easy to read and use as a good transcription. They can still be very useful as the basis of a transcription, however.
• Local bookstores
  • Along with the chains, be sure to check local independent, and used and rare bookstores-- they often have books that you won't find in the big chains, especially if the book's been out of print for a while. Many of them can special-order a book for you as well, or do an out-of-print book search for you.
• Private sales
  • Sometimes personal book collections are sold off, in estate sales, or when someone's moving or otherwise needs to reduce their book collection. (For some of us, our book collections can threaten to take over our house if they're not culled every now and then.) Such sales are often hard to discover, and the quality of what's available can vary greatly. But some people enjoy this sort of hunt. You can find out about many of these sales by watching your local classifieds and bulletin boards. You'll also probably enjoy library book sales (mentioned above).
• Online booksellers
  • See this page for some links to book catalogs and retailers. If you're looking for something that's rare or out of print, you may find this list at AcqWeb useful for finding a used bookseller with the book, and buying it from them. (The big online chains can also find used books for you, but you typically get a book more cheaply, with less delay, and with a better idea of the condition of the book you're getting, if you skip the middleman.) My current favorite places to look are Powell's for new and popular used books, and the ABE and Bookfinder indexes for the harder-to-find out-of-print books. (I have no financial interest in any of those stores or sites, and do not intend to expand this short list of examples. More booksellers can be found in the directories linked from this page.) You may find other favorites of your own in your own explorations.
• Other stores or sales
  • Other places to buy books include church/hospital/other charity rummage sales, charity stores (e.g. Salvation Army, Goodwill), or general antique shopes of dealers at community antique fairs.
• Decorative Props
  • Gary Young notes that bars, restaurants, and even furniture stores sometimes use old books as props. "It takes a bit a chutzpah to ask the bartender how much he wants for a book that is glued to a shelf in the beverage room, but I have done it."
• Other people
  • Maybe someone you know already has the book you want to transcribe. They may be willing to lend or give it you, if you explain what you're doing, and return it in good condition if they want it back. (Gary Young suggests asking whether your grandparents might have some old treasures in their attic, basement, or garage.)

Many thanks to Gary Young for contributing much of the material and ideas for this section.

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Edited by John Mark Ockerbloom (onlinebooks@pobox.upenn.edu)
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