AE Searches:  New & Improved (but where are they?)

- by Michael Stillman

Triangulated search for auction listings also shows matches from the AE Database and Books for Sale.

Triangulated Search - New!

 

Once you complete your search, you will find something else just above the search results you never saw on the old site. You will see how many results were found in each of the other two databases. The search engine actually searches all three databases at once (hence the name "triangulated search"). If you wish to see what was found in the other databases, it is no longer necessary to go to their search pages and reenter the same search terms there. Just click the "records found" link for the other databases and the results are there waiting for you.

 

Today, those involved in the book field are demanding more, better and faster information. We believe that advances such as triangulated search, which brings data from multiple sources together in one place instantly, will one day soon be considered the standard by serious dealers and collectors. You are getting a glimpse of the future, sort of like watching Gutenberg role his Bibles off the press. That may sound like hyperbole, but I can assure you that if Johannes Gutenberg could see this, he would be utterly amazed.

 

The upcoming auction and Books for Sale databases can be searched by anyone, member or not, logged in or not, free. The AE Database requires being a logged in member at some (any) paid level to access. However, non-members will see how many matches for a search term are found in the AE Database, and short-term memberships are available to try it out.

 

Same Page or New Window? - New!

 

This is a choice that has passionate proponents on both sides (and others who, like Rhett Butler, don't give a damn). When you click on the individual listings, do you prefer the records to come up on the same page or a new window? Bringing them up in new windows can create clutter on your monitor. However, bringing them up on the same page prevents looking at different records side by side. We have solved this dilemma by letting you choose which way you prefer. Every record in each database displayed in the search results has a little square box after it. If you click on the record itself, it will come up on the same page. If you click on the box, it will open in a new window. We believe same-page viewing will be preferred by those with smaller computer screens or who like to view results sequentially. Opening new windows may be preferable to those with larger computer screens or doing research which requires viewing records side by side.