By Abby Tallmer

For this installation of my TCP article, I have decided to explore how and why I can use the “Non- ÆD Wants” function in MatchMaker to add to my cumulative MatchMaker lists.

First of all, I think that some definitions will come in handy. Namely, what are “Non- ÆD Wants”? Put simply, these are wants – preferably in book form – that are not contained within the Æ Database and/or in the Auction Records.

A few questions then arise: why would any record not be contained within the Æ Database and/or Auction Records? There are a variety of answers to this question. The Æ Database – or ÆD for short – contains mostly canonical records culled from myriad dealer’s auction records and bibliographies and the like. The Auction Records , as their name implies, record recent and retrospective auctions in the Americana and related fields. But what if your collection topic is especially obscure, and/or especially modern in its terminology and origin? (Example: my TCP topic -- 19th Century American Women Abolitionists & Activists – is both an obscure and and yet also an increasingly popular modern topic, and it is one that would likely have not been noted in such terms many years ago.) Chances are that older auction records and bibliographies may not capture the entirety of your topic, or if they do they would probably have done it using a nearly unrecognizable vocabulary. These situations might be cause for you to supplement your MatchMaker search by looking for Non- ÆD Wants, which will probably be more current in both topic and origin.

There is yet another legitimate reason for combining “Non- ÆD Wants” with an ÆD MatchMaker search: Suppose that you want to include modern, perhaps out-of-print books into your MatchMaker list because they discuss the import of other books on your list and/or put the other books into a scholarly/historical context?