"To run a search" vs "to search"

The phrasing run a search didn't really take off until the last couple of decades...

...which accords with my belief that it's primarily a computer-oriented expression related to run a program. There are few references before the 60s, when computers started to be used by businesses - and for the first couple of decades after that, almost all references explicitly mention computers.

So in answer to OP's question, it's probably undesirable to run a search of non-electronic data - superfluous and potentially misleading.

I agree there is a difference. Run a search is used almost entirely in the context of electronic data. However, in the absence of any additional indication that your search actually was conducted in such a context, I think the edit was understandable. I’m also interested by the use of across several books. Is that any different from in several books?

As Barrie England rightly pointed out, in the absence of other strong indicators that the search was essentially online, the editor must naturally have felt that the sentence incorrectly uses run, and to avoid giving an impression that the search was online, modified suitably.

I do not see any controversy other than a misunderstanding between the author and the editor.

As the author of the OP, it may have been possible for you to reverse the change immediately and post a comment, though I do not know if there is any thing technical preventing you from doing so.