Bibliopoly helpThis help page is divided into the following sections:
1: Using
the search form 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 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: 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 menuTo 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 select one of these broad categories, your selection will appear in the "category" box of the search form, and will limit any search to books in the category you have specified. At the same time the main category menu is replaced by a secondary menu from which you may if you wish select a narrower category within your selected broad category. In the case of 'Countries and Regions' there is a third tier which enables you to localize your interest to specific regions within Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the USA. Remember that selecting a category does not in itself initiate a search. Click here to return to the top of the help page. 3: Viewing your search resultsAfter 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). If an image of a book is available, the book will be accompanied by a golden square. When clicked on, the golden square opens up a new browser window displaying the image. Simply close this browser window to return to Bibliopoly. Clicking on the red 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 searchIf you wish to modify your search you may do so by altering the criteria as they stand on the search form, and then clicking again on the "search" button at the bottom of the form. In order to alter your selected category, click on the actual word "category" on the search form. This will cause the search results on the right-hand side of the screen to be replaced by the category menu.Click here to return to the top of the help page. 5: Ordering, or enquiring about, a bookWhen 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). Click here to return to the top of the help page. 6: Reference sites of interestValuable 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. |