Recently, I had the opportunity of discussing with Tom Sawyer the UIEE data format he developed and a new software he is designing for booksellers, BookWriter Professional. He is co-founder of Alibris and Interloc, and has developed several software packages for booksellers, including BookWriter Web. BookWriter Web is designed to easily create web pages based on a bookseller's inventory.
Tom is working on a soon-to-be-released new software for booksellers called BookWriter Professional, designed to make it easier to list and maintain book inventory on multiple book listing web sites such as ABE, Alibris, Amazon, Biblio, etc. The software will include features such as Inventory Management, Invoicing, Accounting, Composition, Contact Manager, a USPS interface, as well as the ability to check book pricing online and upload to multiple web sites.
How did you get started writing software for booksellers?
I created the original BookMaster software in 1987 for my mother (a bookseller). Dick Weatherford favorably reviewed BookMaster in AB Bookman's Weekly sometime thereafter and I've been at it ever since. We (Dick and I) got together in 1992 and began laying the groundwork for Interloc. I am also co-founder of Alibris (I was Chief Software Engineer from 1993 to 2001).
What are the benefits of the UIEE (which stands for Universal Information Exchange Environment) data format which you developed for booksellers, over other file formats?
The main benefit of UIEE is that it is a self-defining data exchange format that does not suffer from proprietary limitations. A great many things can go wrong in delimited formats, and XML is not universally applicable because the field sets vary and the content structure tends to be a proprietary reflection of the source database. UIEE, on the other hand, addresses the core information required in all book-related database applications in a way that is consistent, predictable, and easy to parse.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Ellis Smith Prints unsigned. 20” by 16”.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: United typothetae of America presidents. Pictures of 37 UTA presidents 46th annual convention United typothetae of America Cincinnati 1932.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec signed Paper Impressionism Art Prints. MayMilton 9 1/2” by 13” Reine de Joie 9 1/2” by 13”.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Aberle’ Ballet editions. 108th triumph, American season spring and summer 1944.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Puss ‘n Boots. 1994 Charles Perrult All four are signed by Andreas Deja
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Specimen book of type faces. Job composition department, Philadelphia gazette publishing company .
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: An exhibit of printed books, Bridwell library.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court By Mark Twain 1889.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 1963 Philadelphia Eagles official program.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 8 - Esquire the magazine for men 1954.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: The American printer, July 1910.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Leaves of grass 1855 by Walt Whitman.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
Sotheby’s: William Golding. Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
Sotheby’s: John Milton. Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD
