Bibliopoly

This help page is divided into the following sections:

1. Using the search form
2. Using the category options menu
3. Viewing your search results
4. Modifying your search
5. Ordering, or enquiring about, a book
6. Reference sites of interest

Section 1 contains links to another help page with detailed information on individual features of the search form.

1: Using the search form

[Please click on the underlined links in this section for detailed information on individual features.]

The search facility of Bibliopoly comprises a search form on the left-hand side, and a category menu on the right (for an explanation of the functioning of the category menu see section 2 below). The form offers the following seven search fields:

• Author
• Title
• Imprint details
• Year of publication
• Language
• Description
• Category

To perform a search, enter your criteria in the appropriate fields, and click on "search" at the bottom of the form. You may use just one field to search for one specific attribute, or you may use any combination of the search fields. You can, for example, perform a search to find all the seventeenth-century French poetry on the database:

Author:
Title:
Imprint details:
Year of publication: 1601 to 1700
Language: French
Description:
Category: Poetry

You may also choose a currency in which to see approximate price conversions, and limit your search to books within a certain price range. You may also limit your search to recent uploads, and choose a display format.

Click here to return to the top of the help page.

2: Using the category options menu

To perform a search involving the category field, you should make a selection from the category menu. At first the menu offers a list of broad categories (the "main category menu"). When you click on a category, any of its child categories will be shown, select the categories that interests you. You must ether select "Search in all available categories" which means all books in Bibliopoly will be searched or select at least one category from the categories list..

Remember that selecting a category does not in itself initiate a search.

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3: Viewing your search results

After you have clicked on the "search" button, the results of your search appear on the right-hand side of the screen. The search form on the left is still functional, so you can modify your search criteria and search again (see section 4 below).

Clicking on the "view book" button alongside a book will take you to a full description of that book, and give contact details of its bookseller. At the bottom of this page is a button which returns you to your search results, and a button which will take you to an order/enquiry form (see section 5 for information about how to order or enquire about a book).

Click here to return to the top of the help page.

4: Modifying your search

If you wish to modify your search you may do so by going back the search form by clicking on the "Advance Search" button on the top of the search result page. You search critera are remembered so you can modify any existing criteria when going back to the advanced search form. You may wish to reset the form by clicking on the "reset form" button, all your search criteria will be deleted and form will be reset.

Click here to return to the top of the help page.

5: Ordering, or enquiring about, a book

When you arrive at the order/enquiry form through the process described in section 3 above, you are presented with a form in which you may enter your details and the nature of your interest in the book in question.

When you click on "send form" at the bottom of the form, Bibliopoly sends a message to the bookseller, giving details of the book in which you have expressed an interest, your details, and your message. It is expected that the bookseller will respond by getting into touch with you (Bibliopoly does not offer on-line commercial facilities).

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6: Reference sites of interest

Valuable subscription services for those interested in antiquarian books are provided by www.cerl.org (CERL is the acronym of the Consortium of European Research Libraries), an organization holding a bibliographical database of pre-1850 printed books in major European libraries, by Rarebooks.fr, a database of antiquarian bibliographies, by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and by RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network), both databases of primarily North American libraries.

The links provided above are to the home pages of these services. Registered subscribers with passwords etc. will be accommodated at respectively Eureka, Rarebooks.fr, OCLC, and Eureka.