Tracking down treasured tomes

Here's what Chris Hagen, used book specialist at Powell's Books has to say:

MEMORABLE BUYS: A working copy of a Marx Brothers film ("I think it was 'Duck Soup.' ") and a transcript of the Nuremberg Trials (brought in by the stenographer).

LOTSA BOOKS, LOTSA BUCKS: Hagen says that Powell's buys more than 5,000 used books a day and pays out "thousands of dollars" as a company every day.

BOOKS TO AVOID: There are quite a number of books not worth much to bookstores. Anything with dated information like travel guides from last decade, old business books, and study guides are dead weight. "There is almost no market for encyclopedia sets. The Internet killed that business," says Hagen. "And it's important to remember that a great number of out-of-print books are out of print for very good reasons."

BOOK SCOUTS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT: Some dealers come in four days a week, some once a week. Hagan says there are "easily a couple of hundred scouts" in the Portland area. When the weather gets nicer (yard sale weather!), the buying season gets really busy.

POPULAR SEARCH ENGINES USED FOR PRICING: Hagan uses web sites like ABE Books (www.abebooks.com) and Ad All (www.used.addall.com) when determining the worth of a book.

BOOK SCOUTS IN FICTION: John Dunning writes the beloved Cliff Janeway "Bookman" mystery series. The series started in 1992 and now, appropriately enough, one first edition of the first book, "Booked To Die," is going for $3,500 online.

The Associated Press