Book collecting

Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and a person who collects books is often called a bibliophile but can also be known as an bibliolater, meaning being overly devoted to books, or a bookman which is another term for a person who has a love of books.

Book collecting can be easy and inexpensive: there are millions of new and used books which are available in brick and mortar bookstores as well as online bookstores. Large book sellers include AbeBooks, Alibris, Amazon, and Biblio.com, and there are independent booksellers that can be found online by searching key words such as: books, books for sale, bookseller, bookstore, rare books, collectibles, etc.

Books traditionally were only printed on paper and then pages were bound together; however, in the past decade or so, books are also available in audio format through websites such as Audible, Google Audiobooks, Librivox, Kobo Audiobooks, and Downpour. Users of these sites can purchase a large library of books that they can access at any time using a phone, tablet, or computer. Just like hard copy books, audio books can be accumulated over many years.^[1]

Wealthy book collectors pursue rarities such as the Gutenberg Bible and Shakespeare's First Folio, books which are both famous and extremely valuable. Collectors of lesser means may collect works by a favorite author, first editions of modern authors, or books of a certain genre. Book prices generally depend on the demand for a given edition which is based on factors such as the number of copies available, the book's condition, and if they were signed by the author (and/or editor or illustrator, if applicable) or by a famous previous owner.^[2] For example, a first edition “And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street” can reach the price of $12,000 in the best condition. Some collectors join associations such as The Fine Press Book Association, which is aimed at collectors of modern fine printing. The Private Libraries Association also covers modern fine printing, but is much more general in its outlook.