A system capable of identifying and locking resources (e.g., items, tickets, etc.) may map resources to a bit vector and use bit vectors to efficiently identify and lock the resources. For example, tickets to a concert may be mapped to a bit vector and the system may generate an availability bit vector indicating an availability of the seat locations. Using bit vectors, the system may easily identify available seat locations that satisfy a search request and may select from the available seat locations using an optimization technique. For example, the system may select groups of seats that are next to unavailable seat locations or avoid selling groups of seats that would leave only a single seat available. Thus, the system may avoid fragmentation of ticket sales while improving a latency associated with searching for and reserving seat locations.