Q – What is viaLibri and how does it work?
A – viaLibri searches for old and rare books / prints / maps / manuscripts that are offered for sale on 35 different multi-dealer websites and over 100 individual dealer websites. Together these sites aggregate the inventory of over 20,000 antiquarian booksellers worldwide.
A search form appears by default on the home page. This allows you to search by the name of the author and/or the title of the book you are looking for. This also searches within the full text of the descriptions given by the booksellers whose websites we search. Additional search criteria are available when using the advanced search form, which can be reached by using the link next to the red Search button located at the bottom of the form. To search for a book you must enter something into at least one of the Author, Title, Publisher or Keywords fields. When multiple terms are specified within a single field, or across multiple fields, only books that match all the specified criteria will be found.
For a more detailed explanation please see: https://www.vialibri.net/content/search-help
Q – I have found a book on viaLibri that I want to buy but I don’t see a shopping cart. How do I make a purchase on your site?
A – If you wish to buy something that you have found on our site you will need to contact the listing bookseller directly. You cannot buy it from us. You need to look for the words “Buy From.” in the lower left corner of the book description. Next to it you will see button/s with the price and the name of the booksellers who have it for sale. Clicking on these buttons will take you to the booksellers who can sell it to you.
Q – I have a book I would like to sell. Are you interested in buying it from me?
A – viaLibri does not buy or sell books. If you have a valuable book you would like to sell you should try to identify a specialist bookseller with experience buying and selling books similar to yours. You should be able to identify other copies or similar items by searching on viaLibri. If you find booksellers who are offering multiple books of the same kind as yours then they may also be interested in buying yours.
Advice: The most knowledgeable and reliable rare book sellers are usually members of trade associations in their home country. You can identify those groups and their members by visiting the website of ILAB (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers): www.ilab.org
Individual antiquarian booksellers with open book stores may also be able to help even if they are not specialised in the type of book you have to sell.
Q- I only want to search for books which are for sale in a specific country and would prefer to see the prices shown in my own currency (e.g. pounds sterling). How can I do this?
A – In the advanced search form (as shown in the image below), there are ‘drop down’ selection boxes to enable you to refine your search criteria in several ways. Here you will see the options ‘currency’ and ‘seller’s location’. Simply choosing the combination that works best for you will produce a list of books for sale that matches your selections.
Q- I’m looking for a certain book. Can you search for a copy of this book for me?
A – Sorry, we do not offer a personalised search facility. Therefore, we cannot help you find a book that does not show up in the results you see when you search on our site. We also cannot help you to purchase one that does. Questions of this nature should be addressed to individual booksellers who appear in the results list.
However, once registered on our site, you can create a ‘want‘ – which registers your interest in a book that does not currently appear in results when you search.
Our Libribot technology checks the internet daily for the appearance of new listings of books for sale. When fresh listings are found Libribot matches them against the recorded ‘wants’ of viaLibri subscribers and registered users. Easy!
Q – How do I create a ‘want list’ and add a ‘want’ to the list?
A – There are two ways to add a want to your want list on viaLibri:
1 – First you will need to be a registered user or subscriber. Then you can click on the Wants link (in the menu at the top of most pages). On the right side you will see a red button that reads “Add Want.” Clicking on that will open a search form which you can use to enter the details of the item you are looking for. Only essential elements are needed.
Once your want has been entered into the form you must click on the red Add button near the bottom of the page. This will save your want to your list.
OR:
2 – Perform a standard search. Near the bottom of the search results page you will find a button labelled “Add as Want.” If you click on this it will take you to an Add Want form where the previous search values have already been entered. After updating the form you can click on the red Add button near the bottom of the page. This will save your want to your list.
Your want is now ready to be searched by Libribot, or manually on the ‘wants manager’ page.