- At a fellow-book lover’s house – One of the easiest places where you can find that elusive title. If a friend/neighbor/colleague or any other acquaintance happens to share your love for books, invite yourself over to their place, and request for permission to go through their personal collections. If you indeed find the book you are after, borrow it for a few days.
- At the public libraries – Public libraries typically have a wide collection of both fictional as well as nonfiction books. As such, it would not be surprising if the library in your town/city has a copy of the book(s) that are no longer available in the markets. Take out a day to scour through the catalogs of all the noted public libraries in your locality. You might just find the book you are after!
- At second-hand book stores – Yet another good place to look for ‘out-of-print’ books is the used book stores, which are present in practically every city. You will need to have the time and patience to jot down the addresses of all such book stores in your neighborhood, before starting to visit them. If you are a South African resident, you will find many such used book stores, which have large collections of both story books and textbooks in South Africa.
- At the office of the publishing house – If you are aware of the name of the publishing house which had brought out the book you are looking for, that might prove advantageous. Get in touch with the publisher, via phone or email – and ask whether they happen to retain a copy of the book in question. If possible, pay a visit to the publisher’s office, to interact with the staff there in a better manner. They might even be able to refer you other places where you can find the book.
- At online book stores – This is precisely where technology can come to the aid of those who are on the hunt for rare books. Find out the details about the leading online book shops, and look through their catalogs carefully. Make sure that you are using the correct book title and author name in your searches. You can even place ‘requests’ on these reading websites, and be notified as and when the concerned book becomes available. One of the biggest advantages of these online book shops is that – the electronic copies of the old books are kept in fine, readable condition, unlike their physical counterparts, which can become dilapidated.
Author’s Bio: Rickey is the owner of a renowned book publishing agency. His book previews and reading tips also enjoy widespread popularity among readers. In here, he lists out 5 places where a reader is most likely to find rare and valuable books.