HELPBOOKSDATABASE

The ILAB books database holds a large collection of fine books, maps prints and autographs, made available by ILAB booksellers from all over the world. The ILAB website provides several ways for you to find and browse these items. These features are described in detail below.

Using the quick-search

Most pages on the ILAB website provides a simple search form in the left column titled FIND A BOOK. To find a book, simply enter an author and/or a title and press the search button. When searching for books by a particular author, it is advisory to search by the last name of the author only, as many descriptions only state the author's last name. When searching for a title you do not have to enter the exact title, because the search results will show all titles which contain all the entered words. So you can just enter some of the words that appear in the title, regardless of the order in which you enter them. So searching for "Lord Rings" will produce the same search results as when searching for "Rings Lord". Please note that "partial word search" is not supported, so the search term "biblio" will not find the term "bibliography".

Using the advanced book search form

The advanced book search form provides many search options for you to find the books you are looking for. As well as being able to search by author and title, you can enter search terms for description and keywords. Terms entered in the "keyword" field searches all the textual fields, such as author, title and description. The rules for these search terms are the same as for using the quick-search form described above.
The ILAB books database gets updated frequently, with new titles being added every day. To limit a search to show only recent additions, use the options provided next to "Newly added".
The books are offered by ILAB booksellers from all over the world. To limit a search to only show titles offered by booksellers in a particular country, select a country next to "Search in country".
If you are looking for a particular copy of a book, you can limit the search by entering detailed criteria such as "publishing date", "first editions only", "signed", "with dust wrappers", "hardcover" and "paperback".
You can further limit the search results by specifying whether the type of item you are searching for is a "book", a "map or print" or an "autograph".
You can order the search results using the options provided next to "Sort results by". By default the amount of search results is 25 items per page, but you can increase this by selecting an option next to "Results per page".
Once you have entered all search criteria, press the search button at the bottom of the the search form. It is advised to enter only a small amount of criteria in your first search. If you find that the amount of results is too much to browse through, return to the search form and add more criteria until you obtain a search result that is small enough to browse through.

Browsing through the search results

The search results shows all titles in the ILAB database that match your search criteria. These search criteria are shown at the top of the page. If you want to refine these criteria, press the refine search criteria link. At the top of the search result page you will see how many titles that are found that match your search criteria. In many cases the search results are spread across many pages. You can browse through all search result pages by pressing the 'page numbers' at the top or bottom of the page.
Each item shown in the search result will show the author, the title, a description, its price and by which bookseller the item is offered by. Some items show a small image (a thumbnail), which is a small version of either a scan or a photograph of the actual item. To view the full-size image, click the thumbnail image.

Browsing catalogues by subject

As an alternative to using the search form to find books, you can browse the ILAB books database by subject through the catalogues pages. The catalogues page shows all on-line catalogues offered by ILAB booksellers. Each catalogue is presented in a similar layout as a search result obtained using the search form. Please note that not all books are listed in the catalogues section.

Ordering books using the shopping cart

The shopping cart is integrated into the ILAB website in such a way that you can select items you wish to order from the search results, the on-line catalogues, and from the highlights. To add an item to your shopping cart, press the in shopping cart button beneath the item. If you wish to order multiple items from the same page, click each corresponding check box next to select this item and press the add selected items to shopping cart button at the top or bottom of the page. When you add an item to your shopping cart, the shopping cart page will appear showing all the selected items. You can access your shopping cart at any time by pressing the shopping cart symbol at the very top of any page. To remove an item from your shopping cart, press the remove button beneath the corresponding item.
Once you have selected the items you wish to order, press the proceed to checkout button to advance to the secure order form. Here you can enter your contact information and provide your method of payment. Please note that when ordering books from several booksellers in a single order that you will be asked to specify your method of payment for each bookseller. Once you have filled in the order form, press the submit order(s) button at the bottom of the page. The order will then be sent to the bookseller(s). Please make sure you have read the conditions of sale of the bookseller(s). Each bookseller may specify their own conditions, such as the methods and costs of shipping.

Sending an inquiry

You can order books using the shopping cart, but you might have some inquiries about an item before doing so. To send an inquiry to a bookseller about an item, press the inquire button beneath the corresponding item. The inquire form is a simple form where you can enter your contact information and your inquiry. This information along with the description of the book is sent by e-mail to the bookseller.