Andre Norton Forum

Open Letter To Jerrie

Dear Jerrie,

I am not the cause, I am the effect.

I also haunt library book sales. [There was that 50 cent copy of Stand to Horse(Cloth Tape, No spine, but text intact) that needed a good home, and that copy of Yankee Privateer (First Edition, no Dust Jacket, but not X-Library) that is my reading copy.

I go to as many of the Science Fiction conventions as I can, I never know what will turn up. I have the "Book Stores in the North East", and the more local "CT Book dealers" (pamphlet), and on a sunny day, have excuses to drive. I do phone first. Once I have called one dealer, I try to find the others in the area (sometimes finding a Balet studio where once there was a book store, other times, just a locked building.) A couple of my finds have turned into constant visits. There's one place that keeps a shelf of Norton paperbacks.

Unfortunately I no longer have room to put artwork on Walls that have tall book cases. I've had to store some Art away in folders.

As for organizing my Books; Well they are not VERY organized. Most of the firsts are over there, except for the ones that didn't fit, so they are in that case. Then there's the UK and book club editions - they are in the Den, as are the paper backs, but some of the overflow had to go upstairs and the Pre-publication Proof copies are in the first case, with the audio tapesand stuff that didn't fit in the drawer under the book case in the living room. The two cases of anthologies have overflowed, and currently there's a pile on top. Now should I move the book clubs into some open shelving & expand the anthologies to where the book clubs were..........

Luckily I've had access to a computer for many years.....That's my job. When I started, I just put the books into a word processing package file, and now that I have access to a good package ("Home Librarian", If you want information, I'll send E-mail address of the vendor) I have to many books to re-enter.

I do have two lists; One that has all of the information, on all of the editions, information on what I own, what is signed; I have a second list that contains a page of what I'm looking for, and several pages listing the titles that I have.[As well as a complicated shorthand code for what editions I own ex: H1J-S+UK-HJ+BJ+Pp+P-1-s+UKP++] Occasionally I still but a copy that I already own. Usually I just sigh, and let this Web know about it.