   #copyright

Book

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Literature types

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   A book is a collection of paper, parchment or other material with a
   piece of text written on them, bound together along one edge, usually
   within covers. Each side of a sheet is called a page and a single sheet
   within a book may be called a leaf. A book is also a literary work or a
   main division of such a work. A book produced in electronic format is
   known as an e-book.

   In library and information science, a book is called a monograph to
   distinguish it from serial publications such as magazines, journals or
   newspapers.

   Publishers may produce low-cost, pre-publication copies known as
   galleys or 'bound proofs' for promotional purposes, such as generating
   reviews in advance of publication. Galleys are usually made as cheaply
   as possible, since they are not intended for sale.

   A lover of books is usually referred to as a bibliophile, a
   bibliophilist, or a philobiblist, or, more informally, a bookworm.

   A book may be studied by students in the form of a book report. It may
   also be covered by a professional writer as a book review to introduce
   a new book. Some belong to a book club.

History of books

   Sumerian language cuneiform script clay tablet, 2400-2200 BC.
   Enlarge
   Sumerian language cuneiform script clay tablet, 2400-2200 BC.

Antiquity

   The oral account ( word of mouth, tradition, hearsay) is the oldest
   carrier of messages and stories. When writing systems were invented in
   ancient civilizations, nearly everything that could be written
   upon—stone, clay, tree bark, metal sheets—was used for writing.
   Alphabetic writing emerged in Egypt around 1800 BC and at first the
   words were not separated from each other (scripta continua) and there
   was no punctuation. The text could be written from right to left, from
   left to right or even so that alternate lines must be read in opposite
   directions ( boustrophedon).

Scroll

   Egyptian papyrus showing the god Osiris and the weighing of the heart.
   Enlarge
   Egyptian papyrus showing the god Osiris and the weighing of the heart.

   In Ancient Egypt, papyrus (a form of paper made from the stems of the
   papyrus plant) was used for writing maybe as early as from First
   Dynasty, but first evidence is from the account books of King
   Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty (about 2400 BC). Papyrus sheets
   were glued together to form a scroll. This custom gained widespread
   popularity in the Hellenistic and Roman world, although we have
   evidence that tree bark (Latin liber, from there also library) and
   other materials were also used. According to Herodotus (History 5:58)
   the Phoenicians brought writing and also papyrus to Greece around tenth
   or ninth century BC and so the Greek word for papyrus as writing
   material (biblion) and book (biblos) come from the Phoenician port town
   Byblos through which most of the papyrus was exported to Greece.

Codex

   Woman holding a book (or wax tablets) in the form of the codex. Wall
   painting from Pompeii, before 79 AD.
   Enlarge
   Woman holding a book (or wax tablets) in the form of the codex. Wall
   painting from Pompeii, before 79 AD.

   In schools, in accounting and for taking notes wax tablets were the
   normal writing material. Wax tablets had the advantage of being
   reusable: the wax could be melted and a new text carved into the wax.
   The custom of binding several wax tablets together (Roman pugillares)
   is a possible precursor for modern books (i.e. codex). Also the
   etymology of the word codex (block of wood) suggest that it may have
   developed from wooden wax tablets.

   As witnessed by the findings in Pompeii papyrus scrolls were still
   dominant in the first century AD. At the end of the century we have the
   first written mention of the codex as a form of book from Martial in
   his Apophoreta CLXXXIV, where he praises its compactness. In the pagan
   Hellenistic world however, the codex never gained much popularity and
   only within the Christian community was it popularized and gained
   widespread use. This gradual change happened during the third and
   fourth centuries and the reasons for adopting the codex form of the
   book are several: the codex format is more economical as both sides of
   the writing material can be used, it is easy to conceal, portable and
   searchable. It is also possible that the Christian authors
   distinguished their writings on purpose from the pagan texts which were
   written normally in the form of scrolls.

   In the 7th century Isidore of Seville explains the relation between
   codex, book and scroll in his Etymologiae (VI.13) as this:

          A codex is composed of many books; a book is of one scroll. It
          is called codex by way of metaphor from the trunks (codex) of
          trees or vines, as if it were a wooden stock, because it
          contains in itself a multitude of books, as it were of branches.

Middle Ages

Manuscripts

   Folio 14 recto of the 5th century Vergilius Romanus contains an author
   portrait of Virgil. Note the bookcase (capsa), reading stand and the
   text written without word spacing in rustic capitals.
   Enlarge
   Folio 14 recto of the 5th century Vergilius Romanus contains an author
   portrait of Virgil. Note the bookcase (capsa), reading stand and the
   text written without word spacing in rustic capitals.

   The fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D. saw the decline
   of the culture of ancient Rome. Due to lack of contacts with Egypt the
   papyrus became difficult to obtain and parchment (what had been used
   for writing already for centuries) started to be the main writing
   material.

   In Western Roman Empire mainly monasteries carried on the latin writing
   tradition, because first Cassiodorus in the monastery of Vivarium
   (established around 540) stressed the importance of copying texts, and
   later also St. Benedict of Nursia, in his Regula Monachorum (completed
   around the middle of the 6th century) promoted reading. The Rule of St.
   Benedict (Ch. XLVIII), which set aside certain times for reading,
   greatly influenced the monastic culture of the Middle Ages, and is one
   of the reasons why the clergy were the predominant readers of books. At
   first the tradition and style of the Roman Empire still dominated and
   only slowly the peculiar medieval book culture emerged.

   Before the invention and adoption of the printing press, almost all
   books were copied by hand, which made books expensive and comparatively
   rare. Smaller monasteries had usually only some dozen books, medium
   sized a couple hundred. By the ninth century larger collections held
   around 500 volumes and even at the end of the Middle Ages the papal
   library in Avignon and Paris library of Sorbonne held only around 2000
   volumes.
   Burgundian scribe (portrait of Jean Miélot, from Miracles de Notre
   Dame), 15th century. The depiction shows the room's furnishings, the
   writer's materials, equipment, and activity.
   Enlarge
   Burgundian scribe (portrait of Jean Miélot, from Miracles de Notre
   Dame), 15th century. The depiction shows the room's furnishings, the
   writer's materials, equipment, and activity.

   The scriptorium of the monastery was usually located over the chapter
   house and artificial light was forbidden in fear that it may damage the
   manuscripts. The bookmaking process was long and laborious. At first
   the parchment had to be prepared, then the unbound pages were planned
   and ruled with a blunt tool or lead, after that the text was written by
   the scribe who usually left blank areas for illustration and
   rubrication. Only after that the book was bound by the bookbinder.

   There were four types of scribes:
    1. Copyists, who dealt with basic production and correspondence
    2. Calligraphers, who dealt in fine book production
    3. Correctors, who collated and compared a finished book with the
       manuscript from which it had been produced
    4. Rubricators, who painted in the red letters; and Illuminators, who
       painted illustrations

   Desk with chained books in the Library of Cesena, Italy.
   Enlarge
   Desk with chained books in the Library of Cesena, Italy.

   Already in antiquity there were known different types of ink, usually
   prepared from soot and gum or later also from gall nuts and iron
   vitriol. This gave writing the typical brownish black colour, but black
   or brown were not the only colours used. There are texts written in red
   or even gold, and of course different colours were used for
   illumination. Sometimes the whole parchment was coloured purple and the
   text was written on it with gold or silver (eg Codex Argenteus). Irish
   monks introduced spacing between words in the seventh century. This
   facilitated reading, as these monks tended to be less familiar with
   Latin. However the use of spaces between words did not become
   commonplace before 12th century. It has been argued, that the use of
   spacing between words shows the transition from semi-vocalized reading
   into silent reading.

   The first books used parchment or vellum (calf skin) for the pages. The
   book covers were made of wood and covered with leather. As dried
   parchment tends to assume the form before processing, the books were
   fitted with clasps or straps. During later Middle Ages, when public
   libraries appeared, books were often chained to a bookshelf or a desk
   to prevent theft. The so called libri catenati were used up to 18th
   century.

   At first books were copied mostly in monasteries, one at a time. With
   the rise of universities in the 13th century, the demand for books
   increased and a new system for copying books appeared. The books were
   divided into unbound leaves (pecia), which were lent out to different
   copyists, so the book production speed was considerably increased. The
   system was maintained by stationers guilds, which were secular, and
   produced both religious and non-religious material.

Block printing and incunables

   A 15th century incunabulum. Notice the blind-tooled cover, corner
   bosses and clasps for holding the book shut.
   Enlarge
   A 15th century incunabulum. Notice the blind-tooled cover, corner
   bosses and clasps for holding the book shut.

   In block printing, a relief image of an entire page was carved out of
   blocks of wood. It could then be inked and used to reproduce many
   copies of that page. This method was used widely throughout East Asia,
   originating in Eygpt and China sometime between the mid-6th and late
   9th centuries as a method of printing on paper and cloth. The oldest
   dated (868 AD) book printed with this method is The Diamond Sutra.

   This method (called also xylography) arrived to Europe in the early
   14th century. Books, as well as playing cards and religious pictures,
   began to be produced by such method. Creating an entire book, however,
   was a painstaking process, requiring a hand-carved block for each page.
   Also, the wood blocks were not durable and could easily wear out or
   crack.

   The Chinese inventor Pi Sheng made movable type of earthenware circa
   1045, but we have no surviving examples of his printing. Metal movable
   type was invented in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (around 1230), but
   was not widely used, one reason being the enormous Chinese character
   set. Around 1450, in what is commonly regarded as an independent
   invention, Johannes Gutenberg introduced movable type in Europe, along
   with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix and hand mould.
   This invention made books comparatively affordable (although still
   quite expensive for most people) and more widely available. It is
   estimated that in Europe about 1,000 various books were created per
   year before the development of the printing press. These early printed
   books, single sheets and images which are created before the year 1501
   in Europe are known as incunabula, sometimes anglicized to incunables.

Paper

   Though papermaking in Europe begun around 11th century, up until the
   beginning of 16th century vellum and paper were produced congruent to
   one another, vellum being the more expensive and durable option.
   Printers or publishers would often issue the same publication on both
   materials, to cater to more than one market. As was the case with many
   medieval inventions, paper was first made in China, as early as 200
   B.C., and reached Europe through muslim territories. At first made of
   rags, the industrial revolution changed paper-making practices,
   allowing for paper to be made out of wood pulp.

Modern world

   With the rise of printing in the fifteenth century, books were
   published in limited numbers and were quite valuable. The need to
   protect these precious commodities was evident. One of the earliest
   references to the use of bookmarks was in 1584 when the Queen's
   Printer, Christopher Barker, presented Queen Elizabeth I with a fringed
   silk bookmark. Common bookmarks in the eighteenth and nineteenth
   centuries were narrow silk ribbons bound into the book at the top of
   the spine and extended below the lower edge of the page. The first
   detachable bookmarks began appearing in the 1850's and were made from
   silk or embroidered fabrics. Not until the 1880's, did paper and other
   materials become more common.

   Steam-powered printing presses became popular in the early 1800s. These
   machines could print 1,100 sheets per hour, but workers could only set
   2,000 letters per hour.

   Monotype and linotype presses were introduced in the late 19th century.
   They could set more than 6,000 letters per hour and an entire line of
   type at once.

   The centuries after the 15th century were thus spent on improving both
   the printing press and the conditions for freedom of the press through
   the gradual relaxation of restrictive censorship laws. See also
   intellectual property, public domain, copyright. In mid-20th century,
   Europe book production had risen to over 200,000 titles per year.

Structure of books

   Open book
   Enlarge
   Open book

   Depending on a book's purpose or type (e.g. Encyclopedia, Dictionary,
   Textbook, Monograph), its structure varies, but some common structural
   parts of a book usually are:
    1. Book cover (hard or soft, shows title and author of book, sometimes
       with illustration)
    2. Title page (shows title and author, often with small illustration
       or icon)
    3. Metrics page
    4. Dedication (may or may not be included)
    5. Table of contents
    6. Preface
    7. Text of contents of the book
    8. Index

Conservation issues

   In the early-19th century, papers made from pulp (cellulose, wood) were
   introduced because it was cheaper than cloth-based papers ( linen or
   abaca). Pulp based paper made cheap novels, cheap school text books and
   cheap books of all kinds available to the general public. This paved
   the way for huge leaps in the rate of literacy in industrialised
   nations and eased the spread of information during the Second
   Industrial Revolution.

   However, this pulp paper contained acid that causes a sort of slow
   fires that eventually destroys the paper from within. Earlier
   techniques for making paper used limestone rollers which neutralized
   the acid in the pulp. Libraries today have to consider mass
   deacidification of their older collections. Books printed between 1850
   and 1950 are at risk; more recent books are often printed on acid-free
   or alkaline paper.

   The proper care of books takes into account the possibility of chemical
   changes to the cover and text. Books are best stored in reduced
   lighting, definitely out of direct sunlight, at cool temperatures, and
   at moderate humidity. Books, especially heavy ones, need the support of
   surrounding volumes to maintain their shape. It is desirable for that
   reason to group books by size.

Collections of books

   Celsus Library was built in 135 A.D. and could house around 12,000
   scrolls.
   Enlarge
   Celsus Library was built in 135 A.D. and could house around 12,000
   scrolls.

   Private or personal libraries made up of non-fiction and fiction books,
   (as opposed to the state or institutional records kept in archives)
   first appeared in classical Greece. In ancient world the maintaining of
   a library was usually (but not exclusively) the privilege of a wealthy
   individual. These libraries could have been either private or public,
   i.e. for individuals that were interested in using them. The difference
   from a modern public library lies in the fact that they were usually
   not funded from public sources. It is estimated that in the city of
   Rome at the end of the third century there were around 30 public
   libraries, public libraries also existed in other cities of the ancient
   Mediterranean region (e.g. Library of Alexandria). Later, in the Middle
   Ages, monasteries and universities had also libraries that could be
   accessible to general public. Typically not the whole collection was
   available to public, the books could not be borrowed and often were
   chained to reading stands to prevent theft.

   The beginning of modern public library begins around 15th century when
   individuals started to donate books to towns. The growth of a public
   library system in the United States started in the late 19th century
   and was much helped by donations from Andrew Carnegie. This reflected
   classes in a society: The poor or the middle class had to access most
   books through a public library or by other means while the rich could
   afford to have a private library built in their homes.

   The advent of paperback books in the 20th century led to an explosion
   of popular publishing. Paperback books made owning books affordable for
   many people. Paperback books often included works from genres that had
   previously been published mostly in pulp magazines. As a result of the
   low cost of such books and the spread of bookstores filled with them
   (in addition to the creation of a smaller market of extremely cheap
   used paperbacks) owning a private library ceased to be a status symbol
   for the rich.
   Library bookshelves with bookends and call numbers visible on the
   spines of the books.
   Enlarge
   Library bookshelves with bookends and call numbers visible on the
   spines of the books.

   While a small collection of books, or one to be used by a small number
   of people, can be stored in any way convenient to the owners, including
   a standard bookcase, a large or public collection requires a catalogue
   and some means of consulting it. Often codes or other marks have to be
   added to the books to speed the process of relating them to the
   catalogue and their correct shelf position. Where these identify a
   volume uniquely, they are referred to as "call numbers". In large
   libraries this call number is usually based on a Library classification
   system. The call number is placed inside the book and on the spine of
   the book, normally a short distance before the bottom, in accordance
   with institutional or national standards such as ANSI/ NISO Z39.41 -
   1997. This short (7 pages) standard also establishes the correct way to
   place information (such as the title or the name of the author) on book
   spines and on "shelvable" book-like objects such as containers for
   DVDs, video tapes and software.

   In library and booksellers' catalogues, it is common to include an
   abbreviation such as "Crown 8vo" to indicate the paper size from which
   the book is made.

   When rows of books are lined on a bookshelf, bookends are sometimes
   needed to keep them from slanting.

Keeping track of books

   ISBN number with barcode.
   Enlarge
   ISBN number with barcode.

   One of the earliest and most widely known systems of cataloguing books
   is the Dewey Decimal System. This system has fallen out of use in some
   places, mainly because of a Eurocentric bias and other difficulties
   applying the system to modern libraries. However, it is still used by
   most public libraries in America. Another popular classification system
   is the Library of Congress system, which is more popular in university
   libraries.

   For the entire 20th century most librarians concerned with offering
   proper library services to the public (or a smaller subset such as
   students) worried about keeping track of the books being added yearly
   to the Gutenberg Galaxy. Through a global society called the
   International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (
   IFLA) they devised a series of tools such as the International Standard
   Book Description or ISBD.

   Besides, each book is specified by an International Standard Book
   Number, or ISBN, which is unique to every edition of every book
   produced by participating publishers, world wide. It is managed by the
   ISBN Society. It has four parts. The first part is the country code,
   the second the publisher code, and the third the title code. The last
   part is a checksum or a check digit and can take values from 0–9 and X
   (10). The EAN Barcodes numbers for books are derived from the ISBN by
   prefixing 978, for Bookland and calculating a new check digit.

   Many government publishers, in industrial countries as well as in
   developing countries, do not participate fully in the ISBN system. They
   often produce books which do not have ISBNs. In certain industrialized
   countries large classes of commercial books, such as novels, textbooks
   and other non-fiction books, are nearly always given ISBNs by
   publishers, thus giving the illusion to many customers that the ISBN is
   an international and complete system, with no exceptions.

Transition to digital format

   The term e-book (electronic book) in the broad sense is an amount of
   information like a conventional book, but in digital form. It is made
   available through internet, CD-ROM, etc. In the popular press the term
   e-Book sometimes refers to a device such as the Sony Librie EBR-1000EP,
   which is meant to read the digital form and present it in a human
   readable form.

   Throughout the 20th century, libraries have faced an ever-increasing
   rate of publishing, sometimes called an information explosion. The
   advent of electronic publishing and the Internet means that much new
   information is not printed in paper books, but is made available online
   through a digital library, on CD-ROM, or in the form of e-books.

   On the other hand, though books are nowadays produced using a digital
   version of the content, for most books such a version is not available
   to the public (i.e. neither in the library nor on the Internet), and
   there is no decline in the rate of paper publishing. There is an
   effort, however, to convert books that are in the public domain into a
   digital medium for unlimited redistribution and infinite availability.
   The effort is spearheaded by Project Gutenberg combined with
   Distributed Proofreaders.

   There have also been new developments in the process of publishing
   books. Technologies such as print on demand have made it easier for
   less known authors to make their work available to a larger audience.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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