For partners
Books whose text is not on the internet
BookHunter finds printed books whose text cannot be found online, anywhere. Hunters all over the world check every book before they buy it. We supply these books as scans or as printed copies — to AI developers, data companies, libraries, archives and researchers — and we are open to cooperation.
- Checked before purchase
Every book is searched for in library catalogues, digital libraries and on the web. We buy only books whose text was found nowhere.
- Every language
Our hunters work in many countries and find books in languages with little text on the internet.
- Described and assessed
Every book comes with its bibliographic data and an estimate of its copyright status.
What we offer
Scans, printed books, or both
Choose the form that suits you: the text of a book as a scan, the printed copy itself sent to you, or both.
Scanned books
The whole book, page by page: every page cut out, straightened and evenly lit, delivered as a PDF with a sheet of its bibliographic data.
Printed copies
The physical book itself — the very copy that was checked and scanned — sent to you by post.
Bibliographic data
Title, authors, publisher, place and year, language, volume and series of every book, as a table.
Copyright status
For every book, an estimate of whether its text is in the public domain in the EU and in the US. It is a hint, not legal advice.
Your subjects, your languages
Open to cooperation on special subjects and languages
Do you need texts of a particular kind? We work with partners on subjects, languages, periods, regions and kinds of books — for example:
- Technical literature: manuals, handbooks, specialist books
- Reference works, dictionaries, encyclopaedias and textbooks
- Science, medicine, engineering and agriculture
- Local and regional history, memoirs and diaries
- Novels, stories and poems by forgotten or little-known authors
- Translations printed once and never reprinted
- Books in languages with little text on the internet
Something else? Tell us what you need.
Search on request
We find the books you need
Not only what we already have: describe what you are looking for, and our network of hunters will search for unique books and reference works on your subjects.
You tell us what you need
Subjects, languages, periods, kinds of books and how many — and whether you want scans, printed copies or both.
Our hunters search
Hunters in the right countries look for such books in second-hand bookshops, at flea markets, at library sales and in private collections.
Every find is checked
Before a book is bought, the app checks whether its text is already online. Only books whose text was found nowhere are bought.
You receive the books
Scans, printed copies or both, each book with its bibliographic data and an estimate of its copyright status.
Examples
Some of the books our hunters have found
A few examples of books our hunters have found and our checks recommend buying: their text was found in none of the sources we search. The data are given as printed in the books.
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Each example shows the latest result of our checks. A text that our sources do not have may still be online somewhere else: the check is a strong sign, not proof.
Questions
Questions and answers
How do you know that a text is not on the internet?
Before a book is bought, the app identifies its edition from photos of its pages and searches library catalogues, digital libraries, full-text collections and the web for its title, its authors and phrases from its text. A text that none of these sources has may still exist somewhere we do not search: the check is a strong sign, not proof.
In what form do you deliver?
Scans as PDF files, one PDF page for each page of the book, with a sheet of bibliographic data; printed books by post; the bibliographic data of all books as a table. Tell us what suits you.
What about copyright?
For every book we estimate whether its text is in the public domain in the EU and in the US, from the dates of its authors and of its publication. Texts in the public domain are the easiest to use; for other texts the rights must be cleared first. Our estimate is a hint, not legal advice.
Which languages and countries?
Any. Our hunters work in many countries, and books in languages with little text on the internet are especially welcome.
Can we get the books shown here?
Write to us: we will tell you which books we can supply and in what form.
Let's work together
Tell us what you are looking for: subjects, languages, periods, how many books, scans or printed copies. We will reply with what we can offer.
Our e-mail address: info@bookhunterdata.com