First, if you haven’t read a particular title and you’re only looking to borrow a copy temporarily, then try your library, of course. If your local library does not have what you are looking for then ask if that library can borrow a copy from another library - it's called interlibrary loan, or ILL, and it's perfectly legal. Talk with a librarian about what you want to do and he or she should be able to take it from there. There may be a small fee to cover shipping costs, depending how far the book has to travel to get to you.

Discarded Books

Many libraries periodically purge their holdings in an effort to allow newer materials shelf space while items seldom barrowed are removed and discarded. Is your local library having such a sale? If so, you may find older copies of books available usually for a small donation to the library. Bear in mind these will probably not be pristine copies and may include library markings such as stamps or labels.

Used/Out or print books

If you’re looking for non-library editions, start your collection by visiting local bookstores. Check your phone book or city directory for any rare, used or out-of-print bookstores in your area. One may be able to find terrific jewels in the Bellairs crown in stores such as these. Do realize that popular booksellers will probably only have what is currently “in print” and older titles may only be available as recent paperback reissues. Wherever you go, you can always try to order a specific edition based on the ISBN (International Standard Book Numbering), a 10-digit number that identifies every book (ISBN converted to thirteen digits in 2007). The book pages of Bellairsia feature known 10- and 13-digit ISBNs. For more on ISBN, please visit:

http://www.isbn.org/
http://isbntools.com/

If your area is void of Bellairs' work then you may want to try the Internet as a source. There are many independent booksellers online, each with just as many different categories of books and in various formats. You just have to know where to look and then buy wisely. Meaning, you might need to sit and comb over some places and really compare prices and descriptions before you make a decision. Here are some of the most popular and most-used Internet sites for buying books:

http://www.abebooks.com
http://www.addall.com
http://www.alibris.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
http://www.bookfinder.com/
http://www.bookrescue.com
http://www.booksamillion.com/
http://www.half.com/

Auction-type sites might be decent stops as well:

http://www.ebay.com/

Bid on the entire Bellairs book collection Goth Girl's Closet:

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/gothgirlscloset/

Naturally, please check with each site about purchasing. For those leery of purchasing online, investigate buying policies. While credit cards may seem to be the popular purchasing method, some might accept checks or money orders. If you cannot find anything written on the site, email the support staff and ask.

Have your own tips or tricks to this process? Let us know!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I know if I have a first edition book?

"All of the books are either clearly marked 'first edition' or 'first printing,'" says book collector and Bellairs fan Laura Dean. "A 'first edition' is the first time a book has been offered in that format by the publisher. A 'first printing' is the first printing of the that edition. There may be many 'printings' of a first edition, but the 'first printing' is the most desireable."

Dean contines that she believes all the Bellairs hardcover books are first editions, "though The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn may be the exception. Many books had more than one printing run. All the books either say 'first printing,' 'Fifth printing,' etc, or have number lines on the copyright page. If all numbers are present in the number line, you have a first printing, like this:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

"If you had a number line that looked like this:

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

you would have a 3rd printing of a first edition."

Q: Why is book is missing a corner of the dust-jacket?

Welcome to something commonly called price clipping. "Dust jackets may be clipped by the consumer to remove the price because the book is being given as a gift," explains Dean. "Or by the publisher if they have raised prices but still have many copies to sell with the old prices (they used to put stickers over them, but that didn't work very well). Even still retailers may clip corners because the book is being remaindered (closed out), or in the case of a notification from their corporate office, to change the price up or down. Books generally do not decrease in value for a price clipped jacket. A book with a clipped jacket would be much more desirable than an ex-library copy."

Q: How can I keep my dust-jackets clean?

Well, don't let your brother's grubby hands get anywhere near your Edward Gorey covers in the first place. For the collectors who want a way to protect your collection, try this site:

http://www.brodart.com