Searching for different artists gives a picture of the diversity of the database. I tried the database on artists who have primarily a local following. In addition to auction prices, the CD-ROM includes addresses and phone numbers of all auction houses represented in the database, plus other background and explanatory information. The search software has additional features, such as the ability to backtrack through previous queries, that the experienced user will come to know. Interloc, the one successful service in this field, has signed its 1000th member.
Most members are book dealers, a few are libraries.
At the end of the year, there were 1,234,149 books for sale and 438,712 books wanted in the database. The remarkable thing is that most books wanted were matched with books for sale. These matches did not always result in a sale because of price or other considerations, but at least the opportunity was there. It is possible for a member to log on and find whether a particular book is wanted or for sale, but this is the expensive way. Matching is done overnight.