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Articles - July - 2008 Issue

Biblio Offers Free Inventory Management/Uploading Software <i>BookHound</i>

- by Michael Stillman

The BookHound control panel provides easy access to its various features.

The BookHound control panel provides easy access to its various features.


By Michael Stillman

Biblio.com moved into the field of free inventory management software with the announcement last month that it would be offering the BookHound program, developed by Bibliopolis, at no charge. While undoubtedly Biblio is hopeful that those who take advantage of the free software will post their books on the Biblio site, there are no such requirements. Anyone may download and use the software, for internal recordkeeping or online posting on any sites, with no fees or obligations.

BookHound has been around for ten years and, according to Biblio, is currently used by hundreds of booksellers and stores around the world. However, the arrangement with Biblio now makes the software available without charge. Meanwhile, developer Bibliopolis continues to offer, for a fee, website development, maintenance, web hosting and e-commerce tools for booksellers.

This partnership between Biblio and Bibliopolis provides a similar offering, and perhaps competitive response, to AbeBooks' recent purchase. Abe has long provided free inventory management/bookselling software, HomeBase, slated for an upgrading in the near future. Recently, AbeBooks purchased Chrislands, which provides web hosting and e-commerce for bookselling websites for a fee. Now, Biblio/Bibliopolis offers the same combination of free inventory management, which can be used with any website, and a paid web hosting service.

In a press release, Biblio's President, Allen Singleton, stated they had chosen to make the BookHound software available because "Bookhound is the clear choice in terms of superior quality, flexibility and interoperability for our booksellers." CEO Brendan Sherar expanded on the benefits Biblio hopes to gain from this free offer: "We believe that delivering a high quality, mature product for inventory management will materially contribute to the growth of their [booksellers] businesses, and therefore, to ours as well." Similarly, Bibliopolis expressed the hope that free access to their BookHound software will increase demand for the other products they offer.

In a reverse of the order we normally expect, Biblio first made the program available for Apple customers, those who use Mac OS X. Perhaps the idea was to have it tested first by a limited number of people, or maybe they are among the small, but rabidly devoted and growing number of Mac users. However, the version for Windows XP and Vista is scheduled to be released on July 1.

Rare Book Monthly

  • ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections
    Open for Bidding 2-17 April
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.

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