One of the complications of managing a library is keeping track of variations of the same thing. For example, let's look at the three books pictured above;

• A hardcover edition of The Royal Road to Card Magic, noted as the eighth impression, 1975.
• A copy also listed as the eight impression, 1975, yet clearly a newer printing in a larger size.
• The 1999 Dover reprint of the 1951 edition.

Each unique edition should have a distinct record in our library, but they are organized as being all under the same title. Ideally we could start with the original 1948 edition, then add these as reprints. (although the two hardcovers are, according to the copyright page, the same edition.)

A true reprint means none of the content changes, thus the contents, in our system, would be entered for the original and automaticaly mirrored on the reprints. However, for the sake of our sanity, we only want to create a new record for a reprint in a different format (ie: hardcover to paperback), or from a different publisher. We don't need all eight printings, virtually indistinguishable, distinctly catalogued.

But not all reprints are the same! A revised edition will often copy the original content, then add more chapters. This can be found in Hugard and Braue's Expert Card Technique, whose Third Edition features extra content from Dai Vernon and Dr. Daley. In this case this edition would still be entered under the same title, but the contents would be unique, allowing the entry of these new contributions.

Gotta Catch 'em All!

When you add a book to your library, or other collections, you can choose a specific edition. However, depending on your "collector" personality you may wish to let any edition stand in as a digital representation of the book on your shelf.

Future Plans for Editions

While multiple printings and other format variations are irrelevent for our primary goal of a content-research tool, we do hope to provide more helpful tools for serious collectors including tracking sale prices and market value of editions, which is very specific to individual printings.

For now, as you are entering new titles, or managing your collection don't worry too much about reprints. This stuff can always be cleaned up and reorganized later. If you can enter the format and year (copyright date) we're off to a great start!