Employing knowledgeable bibliographers who specialize in the identification of these unique items, including the research of provenance and publication details, the ARC team is prepared to deal with a wide-variety of books and other media which, in the past, were not saleable though traditional online channels.  Dedicated cataloguers provide careful and detailed descriptions and establish competitive price points based upon the current antiquarian market.

Though much of the ARC inventory consists of items with out ISBNs, we are no longer limited to just these items, and are actively seeking, for example: institutional collection deacessions, including special, rare, faculty, or subject-specific collections; complete, current reference sets; as well as many items and media which may not immediately be ostensibly of valuable (please see the ARC FAQ’s for further details).

This is an exciting time for the ARC. We’ve just attended the Antiquarian Book Seminars in Colorado Springs. And, we’re in the process of relocating the ARC operation to a more secure, stable and protected environment within the warehouse. Future plans include the addition of a preservation specialist, additional auction and sales venues, the issue of a catalogue, and more.

Please let us know how the ARC section at BetterWorld.com can assist you in the development of your collection (ARC-at-betterworldbooks-dot-com). For more information, click here. We look forward to serving your antiquarian, rare, and collectable book needs.

The Seminar, begun in 1978, featured experts from every aspect of the booktrade, from internet selling to accounting, from bookmaking and preservation to shipping, and from database management to bibliography and cataloguing. In addition to Rulon-Miller, the faculty included Prof. Terry Belanger, Honorary Curator of Special Collections and Director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia and Daniel De Simone, Curator of the Lessing Collection at the Library of Congress.

Highlights of the week included Old Books and New Technology: The View from Here, the keynote presentation by former labour under-secretary Marty Manley, Chairman and CEO of Alibris. Manley’s presentation focused the week around the promise of books in general for society and the place of booksellers in the social and economic landscape. Also, an interesting workshop on book preservation and conservation was led by Angela Scott of Fine Binding & Custom Design in the District of Columbia . Scott had numerous exempla of raw materials for book making and demonstrated the techniques for binding and covering books.

Future professional development opportunities for ARC include an upcoming visit to the University of Notre Dame Libraries ’ Special Collections Department, Rare Book Room, and Reyniers Preservation Facility.

For more information on Better World’s ARC Department, please contact us at ARC@BetterWorldBooks.com or see our ARC FAQs.