Book Nooks : A wealth of knowledge isn’t the only value to be found in the county’s many secondhand outlets.

Last year, following the death of a Santa Barbara woman in her 90s, a number of secondhand bookstores bid on her library, amassed during a lifetime’s love of reading. She had several first editions on her shelves, including a copy of “Gone With the Wind” in its original dust jacket. Naturally, these added to the attraction of the sale, and the books went to the highest bidder for almost $4,000.

Six months later, at the Ventura Book Fair held at the county fairgrounds, a first edition of “Gone With the Wind” was one of thousands of volumes displayed by more than 40 secondhand and rare book dealers. “Gone With the Wind” was priced at an eyebrow-raising $2,000. But it wasn’t the most expensive book at the fair that weekend--Raymond Chandler’s “The High Window” was priced at $3,500. However, that very Sunday, the New York Times reported a first edition “Gone With the Wind” selling for $3,000.

There’s gold on those dusty shelves.

Even if you’re not tracking down first editions, searching for secondhand books can be a bona fide treasure hunt. Perhaps you’re hoping to come across a copy of a book that was a favorite when you were a child. Or you’d like to find a collection of Pauline Kael’s essays for your daughter in film school. What about those Josephine Tey mysteries you gave away in college, not realizing what a hold they would have on you all these years?

Whether you enter a secondhand bookstore to free-associate over the titles or to search for a specific and elusive book, most of the pleasure will be in the hunting itself. Where else are you going to find a book called “Dogs as I See Them” stacked between a five-volume set of “English Costumes of the Middle Ages” ($275) and an autographed copy of “RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon” ($395)?

There are real economic incentives for buying used books. For those with a passion for romance or a heavy horror habit, already-read books offer a cheaper way to while away the hours. Meanwhile, collectors of fine out-of-print or rare books are finding that prices just keep going up.

Ventura County offers a wide selection of bookstores catering to all manner of readers looking to give an old book a new home. The owners run the gamut from paperback purveyors to antiquarian and rare book dealers, and the stores range from dusty and cluttered to elegant and orderly. So whether you stumble across a 50-cent copy of a well-remembered paperback or a first edition worth thousands of dollars, venture forth. There’s nothing quite like that moment of discovery.

VENTURA

* Second Time Around

391 E. Main St.

643-3154

Open every day 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

The wide range of books in Second Time Around--from cheap paperbacks and old magazines to fine first editions--make it a browser’s paradise. But give yourself plenty of time; the store has more than 100,000 books on hand.

The bookstore has been at the same spacious, somewhat funky location for almost 18 years. Every category of nonfiction book seems to be represented, including books on Judaica and books on black history. The store is particularly strong in the areas of metaphysics, science fiction and biography. It also has some 20th-Century first editions, poetry books and books about Hollywood. And it is one of but a few bookstores that has a section of books on women, which is located opposite the shelves of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. Great numbers of old magazines--Life, National Geographic and Scientific American, among others--can be found here. The store also has aisles of romances, and the walls are lined with hardcover fiction. It has one of the best selections of paperback children’s books in the area.

As with most secondhand bookstores, the inventory has not been computerized. “Maybe by the year 2500,” joked an employee. So you’re on your own when it comes to search and seizure.

* Calico Cat Bookshop

495 E. Main St.

643-7849

Open Monday-Friday 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 1-4 p.m.

This is a small but choice bookshop: light, clean and quiet. Calico Cat carries mostly hardcover books and seems almost like a new bookstore--the condition of the books is good, and the subject matter is fairly topical. But with almost 18 years tenure, it is actually one of the oldest secondhand bookstores in the county.

Children’s books at Calico Cat consist of mostly hardcover classics. The categories are both eclectic and interesting. Topics range from navigation and boat-building to UFOs and composers. They don’t sell any romance, horror or Westerns, so the small section of quality paperback novels really stands out. Because the store is small, titles are easy to peruse (although alphabetizing is a little casual), and you get the satisfying sense that you haven’t missed anything. They also have a fair number of first editions.

Owner Richard Cromack said his strongest categories are cookbooks, technical books, first editions and literary classics. He also specializes in sets, anywhere from two to 102 volumes. The people who walk into his store, he said, most frequently ask for art, cooking and poetry books. “I think there’s a renaissance in poetry at the moment.”

* Book Mall of Ventura

424 E. Main St.

641-BOOK

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Browsing at the Book Mall, a book dealers cooperative, is like venturing into the small libraries of 30 dedicated book collectors. It can be somewhat frustrating if all you want is to look at cookbooks and you have to search them out in a dozen locations around the store.

But there are definite advantages to the Book Mall. It provides a permanent location for some dealers who couldn’t otherwise afford to pay rent. For others who have shops of their own, it gives a higher profile to their businesses. Dealers at the Book Mall come from as far away as Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Altadena.

The various dealers have distinct preferences. One sells mostly hardback mysteries, while another specializes in World War II. You can even find a dealer who sells “ephemera”--paper-related goods like old postcards and stereopticon cards. While some carry exquisite children’s books, others have collected books on Western America, sports books or original pulps.

One dealer, Frank Oz, sells nothing but Oz books, which, according to manager Diane Neveu, is one of the largest collections of L. Frank Baum’s children’s classics anywhere.

The books here are clean, cared for and coveted. Because the shop is well-aware of the value of books, you may find a copy of a novel you have always wanted to read at twice--not half--the publisher’s price. Recently, a signed first edition of Sue Grafton’s “G Is for Gumshoe” was selling for $50.

Although the shop specializes mostly in collectible books and first editions, Neveu said, “we do have a couple of bins of $2 books for people who just want to read.”

* The Book Rack

142 N. Ashwood Ave.

658-1380

Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Some people are not interested in discovering that Aunt Mildred’s books, given to the Salvation Army 20 years ago, might be worth several thousand dollars today. They just want their fix of five novels a week, and they appreciate a cheaper way of getting it. Paperback exchanges provide this, offering thousands of titles to readers with tastes as popular as they get.

Located near Ventura College, next to a baseball-card shop, The Book Rack specializes in these paperbacks, selling them for half their cover price and buying them back again for credit at one-fourth of their price.

This is a light, clean, airy book den, with nice green carpeting and bright orange bookshelves. The titles are especially easy to read because most of the books have been stacked horizontally.

The shop offers a substantial number of science-fiction titles and a category called “men’s adventure.” It also has spy/war/police books galore, paperback novels for children, and romances that won’t quit. Hundreds and hundreds of gold-encrusted, elaborately scripted titles conjure up images of women sitting in their bathrobes typing away at their kitchen tables in the middle of the night. They also suggest hours of bliss for those who can’t get enough of them.

OJAI

* Bart’s Corner

302 W. Matilija St.

646-3755

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

How can you resist a bookstore with a huge oak tree growing out of the courtyard? This has got to be one of the all-time favorite haunts of book lovers anywhere.

It’s famous for the fact that the owners leave books on shelves on the sidewalk, asking only that after-hours browsers toss the money through a slot in the gate.

What is appealing about Bart’s, besides its enormous selection, is the variety of rooms in which the books are housed. The bookstore, which was once a home, even has a bathroom with a bathtub.

The cookbooks are in the kitchen, naturally. A room called “the galley” contains art and history books, including categories like “history of music” and “art forgery and theft.” Even with the luxury of space here, the operators work hard at organizing the books and keeping them in good alphabetical order.

Owner Gary Schlicter said his strongest category is occult and metaphysical books. Bart’s also has one of the best fiction selections in the county.

The store was founded in 1964, when Richard Bartindale bought the property and started building shelves all around the house. Four owners later, endless rows of fiction books wind their way outside around the perimeter. When asked what they do when it rains, one employee said: “We have sheets of plastic we pull down. There are leaks, though, and the wind causes problems, but we hang in there.”

OXNARD

* Books N’ Stuff

1505 S. Oxnard Blvd.

486-7880

Open Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Books N’ Stuff is one of the biggest bookstores in the county. Owner Pat MacQueen said she had 30,000 books when she opened in 1988, but she may have more than 50,000 today. The store is easy to spot--just look for the bright pink Volkswagen bus parked in front, filled with books.

If you’re the kind of person who gets excited by stacks of unsorted books on the floor, this is the place for you. The Stuff in the name apparently refers to the couple of hand-decorated T-shirts hanging above one of the bookshelves.

Many hardback novels are in good condition but not necessarily in alphabetical order. What this store lacks in organization it makes up for in quantity and variety. It’s one of the few stores with a lot of mass-market fiction and nonfiction. Sections include travel, cookbooks, gardening, computers, criminology, sociology, biographies, true-life stories and metaphysical books.

The store deals in older, out-of-print paperbacks and has shelves of old Westerns and war novels. Romance leads the pack, however, and not just the modern, bare-bosom variety, but vintage stories, as well, with words like lusty and daring on the cover.

While prices seem to vary, they are quite reasonable. On a recent visit, a special was declared on the spot: $1 for all paperbacks. A small selection of collectibles behind the counter includes some classic pulp fiction.

* Channel Islands Books and Antiques

Ventura Road and Channel Islands Boulevard

486-7880

Open Tuesday-Saturday 10:30-6 p.m.

The window display of this small shop contains an alluring clutter of books, old flyers and faded newspapers, reminiscent of the bedroom of a certain type of book lover. Owner Bill O’Sullivan moved to this area from Malibu five years ago. He claims to have had 10,000 books in his possession. He didn’t have enough room at the house, so he opened a bookstore. By his own admission, both his hours and days of operation are flexible.

The small, somewhat cramped bookstore also serves as a local salon, with people dropping in to discuss the state of the world rather than browse for books.

Cookbooks have been shoved into a corner on a shelf near the floor--definitely not a priority. If the store has a specialty, it is books on the military--both history and fiction.

Fiction tends toward thrillers by authors such as Robert Ludlum and Lawrence Sanders, as well as the occasional bestseller from about five years ago. Most of the contemporary books have been placed in the window behind stacks of books yet to be shelved.

SANTA PAULA

* The Book Collector

973 E. Main St.

525-4366

Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday by appointment or chance.

If you were sentenced to spend the rest of your life in a bookstore, this might be the one you’d choose. A visit to The Book Collector manages to both soothe and excite the senses. Well-organized and beautifully lit, it is spacious, clean and serene. Classical music plays unobtrusively in the background.

It’s obvious that this shop is run by someone who loves books, and the owners, Peter and Bente Morgenof say their books represent a selection more than an accumulation. The inventory includes the unusual, the rare and the collectible.

The Morgenofs have lovely old children’s books, and a good collection of art books, books on astronomy and on California and the West. Local history books are very popular, they say. They also have a generous selection of plays and books on travel and history. The fiction they carry is mostly hardback, and much of it is contemporary.

Several times a year, Peter Morgenof teaches an extension class at Ventura College on book collecting--what makes certain books collectible and why some may be old but not valuable. (The next class will be held in September.) Bente Morgenof makes and sells marbleized papers, and the store sometimes offers bookbinding demonstrations. Like many other dealers who buy and sell first editions, they also offer an appraisal service and do book searches.

* Books Etc.

301 Ojai Road

525-2030

Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Books Etc. is a paperback exchange: a place where people who are addicted to escapist reading can bring in their books for credit. Most of the 25,000 to 30,000 paperbacks are sold for half the list price, although there are some packaged specials of four books for $1.98. You can get credit for one-fourth of the price of the books you bring in.

The building is unremarkable, the carpeting is best ignored, and there’s virtually no decor. The shop has a small selection of candy, gifts and balloons. It also offer a UPS shipping service and rents post office boxes--perfect excuses to stop by for an armload of books.

Owner Yvonne Adan says that some of her customers read a book a day, and this is the cheapest way she knows for anyone to read and own books. The most popular author in her store? Danielle Steele. “I just keep her stuff in a basket,” Adan said.

Shelves of gaudy historical and serial romances seem to go on endlessly. And there are Westerns, horror novels, thrillers and other mass-market paperbacks. Adan has out-of-print novels too. The background soundtrack consists of a book on tape. Perfect for such a plot-oriented spot.

* Mr. Nichols

910 E. Main St.

525-7804

Open Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Saturday

10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday noon-4 p.m.

Mr. Nichols displays a reassuring sign in the window: “Browsers Welcome.” The store sells primarily new books but carries a smattering of old books as well, mostly classics and books about local history. And the store has little bits of lots of other things such as magazines, gifts, antiques, old prints, orange-crate labels and stationery. The shop even has a photocopier for public use. In case there isn’t enough to look at here, out back is an art gallery, which specializes in photographic exhibitions.

* Rudd’s Christian Supplies

838 E. Main St.

525-1150

Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

This shop in downtown Santa Paula carries only Christian products, including tapes, comics and gifts. For the past three years, it has also sold used religious books. One long wall of the store is filled from floor to ceiling with an impressive amount of fiction, nonfiction, biographies and books about Christian living. Not surprisingly, used Bibles are their biggest seller. A radio tuned to a Christian station proclaims its message while you browse.

MOORPARK

* Thorn Books

624 Moorpark Ave.

529-7610

Open Wednesday-Saturday noon to 6 p.m. or by appointment.

A quick look around this lovely bookstore reveals it to be a place where treasures have already been collected. Thorn Books is filled with beautiful leather-bound books that are displayed on polished wooden shelves in an air-conditioned setting as reverential as a church and as enticing as a jewelry store. From Dante to Dickens, Trollope to Thurber and Stevenson to Steinbeck, the classics are plentiful here. The store also has interesting sections of cookbooks, books about wine and on the history of costume.

Thorn Books gets its name from an Old English printing device used for the th sound. It also alludes to both the Crown of Thorns (from Christianity) and the Gastonbury Thorn (from Arthurian legend). As might be expected, the store contains many books on early British history, including books about King Arthur. This is probably the closest to a true antiquarian bookstore in the county. Besides buying at estates and auctions, the owners travel to England and Scotland for their wares.

CAMARILLO

* Angie’s Used Book Store

323 Mobil Ave., Suite 14

482-5017

Open Tuesday-Friday noon-5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Camarillo’s only used-book store is in a modest shingle-roofed shop, consisting of a big room in the back and a smaller front room, where trading and selling take place. Used paperbacks go for half the cover price, and the store gives credit for 20% of the cover price of books brought in.

It has some shelves of 25-cent books, but the Louis L’Amour books sell for full price. According to the manager, the store has to buy them new, because there aren’t enough used ones available to meet the demand.

Books are stacked in short, horizontal piles, so you won’t strain your neck while perusing several thousand titles. Although the store does an unusually careful job of alphabetizing, you might find such contemporary books as “Lake Wobegon Days” or “Ordinary People” placed in with potboiler romances.

The selections are good, and in each category--such as Silhouette romances or mysteries--there are few enough titles that you don’t feel as if you are wandering through someone else’s addiction. And Angie’s has one of the nicest selections of novels for children of any secondhand bookstore, and it carries some nonfiction books as well.

Getting a Read on Selling Books

Booksellers in Ventura County acquire their books by going to sales and auctions and by traveling to other states or countries. They also willingly buy books from “walk-ins”--people who come to them. Many dealers admit that some of their most exciting purchases have come from people bringing books into their stores.

Telephone first to make sure the owner or buyer is on hand. They will want a description of the kinds of books you are selling as well as their condition. If you have a large number of books, many dealers will come to your home to look at them.

If you want to get an idea of how much--if anything--your books are worth, some dealers carry price guides and books about book collecting. A new magazine, “Firsts,” gives information on how to identify a first edition and what books are collectible. For more information call (818) 791-5299.