"Finally, if the book in question has no history, at least as far as we're able to determine (recognizing that extremely few books have absolutely no market history), then questions on importance to society and an estimate of desirability are in order.

"If we've arrived at this juncture, then the market segment interested in the purchase of the item is perhaps quite narrow or the book is quite rare. But either way, with an item not currently available, one is still able to establish the value by making a professional judgment given all that has been just described.

Zoschak's next class is tentatively set for May 2011. The exact date will be announced through bookseller listservs.

About Vic Zoschak
Zoschak came to bookselling after a long career in the Coast Guard. In the mid-1980s he became an avid book collector with a specialty in the works of Charles Dickens. He started his rare book business 1989 with his Dickens stock as his base inventory, then teetered between a second career in bookselling or teaching English. Bookselling won out, and the rest, as they say, is history.

He specializes in "anything in English" from a 1535 edition of Homer to contemporary Science Fiction. He's open "by chance or by appointment" at his shop in Alameda. "When your average book price starts at $125 you don't want to focus on walk-in traffic." Active in a variety of bookselling professional groups, he is a board member of the ABAA and also a member of ILAB and IOBA.

Zoschak is a fan of Peter Howard, the well known Berkeley, California, bookseller, who has had a large influence on him. One other lesson he learned from Howard has been to 'pay it forward'.

"Peter has done me a wealth of courtesies over the years, for which he rarely asked for 'payback'. As such, I try to do the same. When a young bookseller inquires of me about 'payback' for a professional courtesy, I say, thinking of Peter's example, 'Pay it forward.'"

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AE contributor Susan Halas can be reached at halas@hawaii.rr.com

She notes that a number of free handouts written by Vic Zoschak are available. They include: a basic reference book list, glossary, further reading, and an essay on evaluating a books for commercial value. If you would like to receive a copy of this material as pdfs send her an email with the word HAND-OUTS in the subject line.