By Julie Carleton

The topic of this TCP article will be on the Auction Keyword and Auction Match functions of the MatchMaker software. I will discuss how to create Keyword Lists and how to interpret the Auction Keyword and Auction Match screens.

The MatchMaker Software now offers two convenient functions that are related to upcoming, current and recent auction listings. Auction Matches uses selected records from the ÆD as a basis to search for matches in upcoming auctions. Auction Keyword Matches uses an alternative approach – self-selected keywords - to identify potentially interesting material that may not yet be in the ÆD. Particularly with the keywords function, you have a way to “index” books and ephemeral materials that are being bought and sold at auction. In these ways books of interest at auction will rarely escape your notice. You’ll still read the auction catalogues but no longer regret the ones you don’t have time to read carefully. After all there are 44 auction houses regularly conducting book sales and any number of other firms that occasionally sell important books. The Auction Matches and Auction Keyword Matches can be found at the bottom of the control panel of the MatchMaker Software page.

When opening up the Auction Matches page, you will see a listing of auctions that have a match against your “Wants List”. The results are organized by the earliest to most recent auctions. The auction lots that appear with a clear background have not yet been sold. Once the auction has taken place we enter the realized price and change the color of the item background to orange to alert you that the sale has been completed and the item priced. If you scroll down the page further, you will find lots for current and future auctions. Matches for each auction include a hyperlink to the auction house's web site, the name and date of auction, and a listing of all lots that retrieved a match from the wants list. For those two wish to bid, or have bid successfully, we make it easy to contact the auction house to make arrangements.

If you click on a lot number, a screen for that lot will pop up with the following information: Auction Name, Sale Number, Auction House, Lot, Title, Author, Year Published, Description, Lot Note, Estimated Price, Total Price, References, Provenance and Want Title Matched. This screen is much like the details window that you will find in the Auctions Calendar page, only now you don't have to sift through thousands of lots to find your perfect matches. The Want Title Matched field refers to the title in the wants list that particular lot has matched words with.

The Auction Keyword Matches function is similar but generic. Rather than match specific titles it compares selected terms which you believe may identify material of personal interest. If you collect Hudson, New York imprints you’ll find all such items appearing at auction simply by using the single keyword Hudson. But you’ll also find books on Henry Hudson, the Hudson River and Hudson, Ohio.