Synonymous in bookbinding with spine.

Also, a conservation treatment in which an additional layer is applied to a flat item to provide support, usually on the reverse side of a weakened sheet. Also refers to the material added as reinforcement.

Also, to print the reverse side of a sheet that has already been printed on one side. Also spelled back up.

Also, a removable name tag worn by a library employee who works in public services, identifying the wearer to library patrons. A badge may also indicate the individual's position, enabling the patron to distinguish professionally trained librarians from members of the technical staff. Not all libraries encourage employees to wear badges. For reasons of personal safety, some staff members wish to avoid public display of their real name. Badges are also worn at library conferences to identify attendees, by name and institution, to other participants.

Beginning in 16th-century Britain, broadside ballads about contemporary issues and events were printed on a single sheet of paper and sold in the streets to be sung to well-known popular tunes. In the late 18th century, a new literary form developed in which long narrative poems were written in deliberate imitation of earlier popular ballads (example: Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner).

In broadcasting, the width of the band of frequencies or wave lengths assigned (usually by licensing agreement) to a radio or television station for its exclusive use.

Also refers to a newspaper headline of one or two lines, large enough to extend across an entire page or most of a page. Compare with skyline.

In medieval illuminated manuscripts, a decorative motif in the form of an unfurled strip of cloth bearing text (usually an emblem, motto, slogan, etc.) appearing in a miniature or in a border. Click here to see them used in a 14th-century Biblia Pauperum (British Library, King's 5), here to see an example in the 15th-century Gualenghi-d'Este Hours (Getty Museum, MS Ludwig IX 13), and here to see a profusion of banners in a 16th-century genealogy of the royal houses of Spain and Portugal (Getty Museum).

In telecommunications, a unit of measurement indicating the number of signaling elements (changes of voltage or frequency) transmitted per second over a communication channel, at slower speeds synonymous with bits per second (bps). At higher speeds, more than one bit may be encoded per second; for example, a speed of 4,800 baud may transmit 9,600 bits per second. For this reason, bps has replaced the term baud as a measure of data transmission speed. The baud rate of a modem is one of the factors determining the speed of an Internet connection in dial-up access. Pronounced bawd. Plural: baud.

In mapping and surveying, a relatively permanent physical object, natural or man-made, bearing a clearly marked point for which elevation above or below a specified datum is known. To see examples of U.S. Geological Survey bench marks, try a keywords search on the term "bench mark" in Google Images. Compare with landmark.

Although he has received awards for his work, Berners-Lee elected not to copyright or profit from his invention because he wanted the Web to remain widely accessible. He has been quoted as saying, "You can have an idea...and it can happen. It means that dreamers all over the world should take note and not stop." In December 2003, Berners-Lee was knighted in Great Britain for his achievements, and in 2004, he was awarded the first biennial Millennium Technology Prize of 1 million euro (US$1.2 million) by the Finnish Technology Award Foundation, an independent fund supported by the Finnish government and a number of Finnish companies and organizations.

Michelle Brown notes in Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts (Getty Museum/British Library, 1994) that bestiaries were illustrated in a wide variety of styles, and their motifs were often used in other decorative contexts (borders, bas-de-page scenes, mappae mundi, etc.). The 13th-century Aberdeen Bestiary is one of the finest surviving examples (University of Aberdeen, MS 24). Click here to view a different style of illumination in a Flemish bestiary of the same period (Getty Museum, MS Ludwig XV 3) or page through the 12th-century Worksop Bestiary (Morgan Library, MS M.81). Click here to browse a late 13th-century Persian example titled The Benefits of Animals (Morgan Library, MS M.500). Synonymous with Bestiarius, De Bestiis, and Book of Beasts. Compare with beast epic.

In television series production, a general outline of story and character development for all the episodes of a program, at least for the first broadcast season.

Throughout the Middle Ages, certain books of the Bible were produced separately, especially the Gospels, Pentateuch, Hexateuch, Octateuch, Psalms, and Apocalypse. Prior to the 12th century, most scriptural texts were produced as beautifully illuminated manuscripts, in large format for liturgical use (see the Marquette Bible, courtesy of the Getty Museum, MS Ludwig I 8), but with the growth of universities, a market developed for smaller, less costly bibles written in condensed script. Although biblical texts were translated into the vernacular as early as the 8th century (usually as glosses), vernacular translation did not get fully under way until the mid-13th century. The Latin 42-line Gutenberg Bible was the first book printed in Europe. Click here to see a page from the Tyndale New Testament in English, printed in Germany by Peter Schöffer. The Royal Library of Denmark provides an online exhibition of The Bible Printed in Many Languages. See also a selection of bibles in the Schøyen Collection (Oslo and London). For more information, see The Book: A History of the Bible by Christopher de Hamel (Phaidon, 2001). See also: Atlantic bible, Bible historiale, Bible moralisée, Biblia Pauperum, Coverdale Bible, pandect, picture bible, pocket bible, and thumb bible.

Latin for "Bible of the Poor," the name was applied by German scholars in the 1930s who assumed that the purpose of the format was to educate the illiterate. However, since even blockbooks were costly to produce in the late Middle Ages, their real purpose may have been to entertain people of moderate means. Click here to browse pages in a illuminated Biblia Pauperum dated 1395-1400 (British Library, King's 5) and here to view a Dutch blockbook example dated 1460-1470 (Koninklijke Bibliotheek).

In library cataloging, the detailed description of a copy of a specific edition of a work intended to identify and distinguish it from other works by the same author, of the same title, or on the same subject. In AACR2, the bibliographic record representing an item in the catalog includes the following standard areas of description: title and statement of responsibility (author, editor, composer, etc.), edition, material specific details, details of publication and distribution, physical description, series, notes, and standard number and terms of availability (ISBN, ISSN, price). See also: chief source of information and level of description.

In academic libraries, bibliographic instruction is usually course-related or course-integrated. Libraries that have a computer-equipped instruction lab are in a position to include hands-on practice in the use of online catalogs, bibliographic databases, and Internet resources. Instruction sessions are usually taught by an instructional services librarian with specialized training and experience in pedagogical methods. The University of Texas at Austin Library provides Tips and Techniques for Library Instruction. Synonymous with library instruction and library orientation. Compare with user education. See also: information literacy, Instruction Section, Library Instruction Round Table, lifelong learning, LOEX, one-shot, and teaching style.

As defined in FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records), a single concrete exemplar of a manifestation of an expression of an intellectual or artistic work, in most cases a single physical object, such as a copy of an edition of a single-volume monograph. All the items constituting a manifestation normally contain the same intellectual/artistic content and are identical in physical form, but variations can occur subsequent to production, as in the case of a monograph rebound by a library. In some cases, an item consists of more than one physical object, for example, a videorecording released on more than one cassette or a multivolume set of reference books. See also: bibliographic record.

In the context of scholarly publication, a list of references to sources cited in the text of an article or book, or suggested by the author for further reading, usually appearing at the end of the work. Style manuals describing citation format for the various disciplines (APA, MLA, etc.) are available in the reference section of most academic libraries and online via the World Wide Web.

Also refers to the art and practice of describing books, with particular reference to their authorship, publication, physical form, and literary content. See also: analytical bibliography, annotated bibliography, biobibliography, current bibliography, degressive bibliography, national bibliography, period bibliography, retrospective bibliography, and selective bibliography.

Also refers to excessive devotion to a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Some bibliomaniacs are driven by apparent obsession to become biblioklepts. In a recent case, Stephen C. Blumberg was convicted on four felony counts, sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison, and fined $200,000 after a collection of 21,000 rare books was found in his home in Iowa, stolen over a period of years from approximately 140 libraries in the United States and Canada. The fact that Mr. Blumberg had a very comfortable independent income from family trusts suggests that his larceny was motivated by the desire to possess rather than profit from his illegal activities. Compare with biblioholism and bibliophile.

In 1994, the Bibliothèque Nationale (BN) and the newly built Bibliothèque de France (BDF) merged to form a single entity, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, one of the leading libraries in the world. The collections have been brought together in two locations, the "Site Richelieu" and the "Site François Mitterrand." The latter welcomes both scholars (2,000 seats) and the general public (1,700 seats). The Library of Congress hosts the online exhibit Creating French Culture: Treasures from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Click here to connect to the homepage of the BNF.

Also refers to a survey conducted in the United Kingdom by BBC in 2003 to determine the nation's best-loved novel of all time (Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien). Click here to read the results, as reported in Wikipedia.

Example:

A bill to give the consent of Congress to the removal by the legislature of the State of Washington of the restrictions upon the power of alienation of their lands by the Puyallup Indians : 52d Congress, 1st session, S.2306

Main entry is under the heading for the Senate of the United States.

Also refers to a written statement of the amount owed for goods or services rendered, sent by the seller to the purchaser in expectation of prompt payment. In library acquisitions, the term invoice is preferred.

0 0 0 0 position

8 4 2 1 value

Thus the decimal number 15 is expressed in binary as 1111. Click here to see an ASCII Code conversion table from character to binary.

Also refers to a person trained in the art and craft of binding books and other publications, usually employed in a bindery. Synonymous in this sense with bookbinder. Also used synonymously with bindery. See also: binder's mark and library binder.

In photographic and motion picture film, the substance in the emulsion layer, originally a form of gelatin, that in black and white film holds the image-forming particles and in color film holds the dyes and attaches the emulsion to the film base.

In the early Middle Ages, most binding was done in the Catholic monasteries that produced manuscript books. Secular binderies were established in Europe as early as the 12th century near primary markets (towns and cities with universities and government offices), usually in the vicinity of shops owned by booksellers and stationers since most books were bound to the customer's order. Early binderies were often family businesses.

In medieval manuscript books, the collated quires were sewn onto leather or hemp cords, and the loose ends of the cords were threaded into grooves cut in the inner surface of the wooden boards and secured with pegs or nails. The spine and outside surface of the boards were covered in damp leather or parchment and the grooves concealed by gluing a leaf, called the paste-down, to the inside of each cover. The cover might then be decorated, usually by blocking or tooling, and metal bosses and cornerpieces added to protect the binding from wear, with one or more clasps attached to the edges to keep the volume tightly closed when not in use. During the early Middle Ages, binding was done in monastic scriptoria, but by the late Middle Ages, this stage of book production was done by the stationer or bookseller.

The tooled goatskin binding on the pocket-sized Stonyhurst Gospel of Saint John, found in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert (died A.D. 687), is believed to be the earliest surviving medieval binding. Click here to view an online exhibition of British bookbindings from the 16th-19th century (Glasgow University Library, Special Collections), and here to see examples of modern British bookbinding (Lilly Library, Indiana University). To find other examples, try the searchable Database of Bookbindings provided by the British Library.

See also: adhesive binding, antique binding, architectural binding, armorial binding, author's binding, Cambridge style, case binding, cathedral binding, champlevé binding, chemise binding, cloisonné, conservation binding, Coptic binding, Cosway binding, cottage binding, custom binding, deluxe binding, dentelle binding, designer binding, desktop binding, easel binding, economy binding, embroidered binding, Etruscan binding, extended binding, fan binding, fanfare binding, fine binding, flap binding, flexible binding, flush binding, gift binding, Greek style, Grolier binding, herringbone, imitation binding, in quaternis, jansenist binding, jeweled binding, lacquered binding, landscape binding, library binding, limp binding, Mauchline binding, mechanical binding, metal binding, mosaic binding, novelty binding, padded binding, painted binding, pamphlet binding, papier mâché binding, paste paper binding, Payne style, peasant binding, plain binding, prelibrary binding, presentation binding, prize binding, publisher's binding, rebinding, reinforced binding, relievo binding, retrospective binding, rocaille, sculptural binding, series binding, shaped binding, specimen binding, spring-back binding, stationery binding, suede binding, temporary binding, treasure binding, vellum binding, and wheel binding.

Also refers to the association of a particular syntax with the data dictionary of a metadata element set. Because of the popularity of XML, many metadata initiatives have developed XML bindings for their metadata standards.

The literary form was pioneered by the Roman historians Plutarch, Tacitus, and Suetonius (click here to see a copy of the earliest printed edition of Vitae imperatorum by Cornelius Nepos, a Roman writer of the 1st century B.C., courtesy of the Royal Library of Denmark). Click here to page through a 13th-century Anglo-Norman verse life of King Edward the Confessor, illustrated with tinted drawings (Cambridge University Library, Ee.3.59). English literary biography began with James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, published in 1791. Modern biographers tend to be objective in approach, but classical and medieval biographers often wrote to confirm a thesis or illustrate a moral principle. Also refers to the branch of literature and history in which the lives of actual people are described and analyzed.

Biographical works are indexed annually in Biography Index, published by H.W. Wilson, and in Biography and Genealogy Master Index, published by Gale. Biographical information is also available online via the World Wide Web (see the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online). Abbreviated bio and biog. Compare with autobiography and memoirs. See also: biobibliography, biographical dictionary, collective biography, criminal biography, and hagiography.

Also, any page or sheet of paper (or other writing surface) that does not bear written or printed matter. Compare with white space. In a more general sense, any recording medium, such as an audiocassette or videocassette, on which nothing is recorded.

Also refers to a person whose vision is severely impaired, eligible in the United States to receive library services through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS).

Also refers to a copy of an e-mail message sent to one or more persons without including the original sender as a recipient, leaving its source with no direct knowledge that the message has been forwarded to others. Compare with blind carbon copy.

In the motion picture industry, a newly released feature film expected to attract large audiences and sell well on videocassette and DVD, usually because it has won a major award or because its cast includes actors and/or actresses who are stars.

Also refers to the tendency of the leaves of a book or other bound publication to adhere when exposed to water, producing a solidly fused block. With uncoated papers, the effect can be mitigated by standing the wet volume on end with the leaves fanned open to allow them to air dry. In books printed on coated paper, the leaves can be difficult to separate without damaging the printed surface, especially once drying has commenced. Blocking can be minimized by the use of vacuum freeze drying. Under poor storage conditions, photographic film and magnetic tape may also adhere to neighboring materials or, if on a reel or in layers, to itself.

In document reproduction, any copy made on a scale larger than the original. In the book trade, a greatly enlarged image of a dust jacket, illustration, or specimen page, used in marketing. Also spelled blow up. Compare with blowback.

In a more general sense, any official or semi-official authoritative guide, usually published serially (see this example).

With the widespread use of paper following the invention of printing, heavy boards were no longer needed. Pasteboard, made from sheets of paper stuck together, was introduced in the 15th century, and by the late 17th century millboard made from rope-fiber were being used. Strawboard did not come into use in bookbinding until the 18th century. In modern bookbinding, the cover is usually made of binder's board manufactured from various fibrous materials pulped or laminated and pressed into large, flat sheets cut to size in binding. In less expensive editions, strawboard, chip board, or pasteboard is used. See also: conservation board, fiberboard, pressboard, and yawning boards.

In computers, the flat piece of plastic or fiberglass designed to hold microchips and other computer hardware. The main circuit board in most systems is called the motherboard (see this example), and all the component chips that plug into the main board are called cards or boards.

Also refers to a group of prominent persons elected or appointed to serve as trustees responsible for overseeing the policies and major management decisions of an organization or institution, such as a library or library system. See also: editorial board.

In an e-mail message, the text of the message, as opposed to the header (e-mail address of sender, address[es] of recipient[s], subject of message), and any footer.

In typesetting, the small rectangular unit of cast metal bearing a single raised character on one end (the face) from which an impression is taken in letterpress printing. Synonymous in this sense with shank.

Also refers to a group of people with an official function. Library catalogers recognize: corporate body, related body, and subordinate body.

To qualify for the special parcel post rate classified by the U.S. Postal Service as "media mail," a publication must consist of 24 or more pages, at least 22 of which bear printing consisting primarily of reading material or scholarly bibliography, with advertising limited to book announcements. UNESCO defines a book as a nonperiodical literary publication consisting of 49 or more pages, covers excluded. The ANSI standard includes publications of less than 49 pages that have hard covers. Abbreviated bk. See also: art book, artist's book, board book, children's book, codex, coffee table book, gift book, licensed book, managed book, miniature book, new book, packaged book, picture book, premium book, professional book, promotional book, rare book, reference book, religious book, and reprint book.

Also, a major division of a longer work (usually of fiction) that is further subdivided into chapters. Usually numbered, such a division may or may not have its own title. Also refers to one of the divisions of the Christian Bible, the first being Genesis.

To explore bookbinding digitally, see Victorian Bookbinding (Rare Books & Texana Collections, Univ. of North Texas Libraries), Bound to Please (University of Miami Library), and Hand Bookbindings: Plain and Simple to Grand and Glorious (Princeton University Library), three excellent online exhibits. The National Library of Scotland provides images of Scottish Decorative Bookbinding and see British Bookbindings: 16th-19th Century, courtesy of the Glasgow University Library. The British Library's Database of Bookbindings is keywords searchable.

Also refers to an informal group of readers who purchase books for circulation and, in some cases, discussion among themselves. Synonymous in this sense with reading circle. See also: online book club.

"For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand & rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, & all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying aloud for mercy, & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, & when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him forever."

For more on book curses, see Marc Drogin's Anathema! Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses (Allanheld & Schram, 1983).

When and where the use of bookmarkers originated had not been established, but a variety of devices are known to have been in use from the 12th century on. Some medieval manuscripts have small finger tabs or knotted strips of parchment (sometimes marked with pigment) attached to the fore-edge (see these examples in a 16th-century printed missal, courtesy of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek). In other volumes linen or silk ribbons, or long strips of parchment, were attached to the headband, sometimes with an ornament or reading device suspended from the free end. Click here to see an online exhibition of paper bookmarks intended as keepsakes, courtesy of the Friends of the Amherst College Library. To explore the variety of bookmarks, try a keyword search on the term "bookmarks" in Google Images.

In computing, to mark a document or a specific location in a document for subsequent retrieval. Most Web browser software includes a "bookmark" or "favorites" option that allows an Internet address (URL) to be archived, enabling the user to revisit the site without having to retype the address or repeat the original search from scratch. See also: social tagging.

Especially popular in Flanders and France through the end of the 16th century, many fine Books of Hours survive, some magnificently illuminated, usually with depictions of important events in the life of the Virgin, Christ, King David (author of the Psalms), and various saints. Click here to explore a 15th-century French example painted in vibrant color (Getty Museum, MS 48). In the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux the miniatures are executed in semi-grisaille (The Cloisters). The most famous example is Les très riches heures du Duc de Berry (WebMuseum) containing a picture cycle representing each month of the calendar year. Click here to see a 16th-century printed Book of Hours (University of Sydney Library). For other examples, see the Wellesley College Library online exhibition of books of hours. Synonymous with horae (Latin), Livre d'Heures, and primer.

Although it may have been brought to Ireland from a monastery founded by St. Columba on Iona, an island between Ireland and Scotland, the 680-page manuscript is named after the Abbey of Kells, located in the Irish Midlands, where it remained from the 9th century until 1541. Since 1661, it has been in the possession of the Library of Trinity College in Dublin. During a major restoration in 1953, it was rebound in four volumes, two of which are on permanent public display under controlled conditions, the pages turned at regular intervals to allow visitors to see and appreciate its beauties.

In 1986, the Swiss publisher Urs Duggelin of Faksimile Verlag was allowed to reproduce from photographs a limited edition of 1,480 high-quality facsimile copies purchased by libraries and private collectors worldwide. Click here and here to view images of some of the fully decorated manuscript pages.

Decorative bookplates are a category of gift item sold blank or with the name of the recipient custom-printed in space allowed for the name, sometimes following the Latin phrase ex libris. The earliest known examples appeared in Germany a few years after the invention of movable type. They often expressed gratitude to the donor from the person receiving the book as a gift, a practice still followed in some libraries that receive books as gifts. The presence of a bookplate usually does not affect the value of a book (probably because they are easily removed) and may be useful in establishing provenance.

Bookplate design as an art form began with Albrecht Dürer in the early 16th century. Heraldic bookplates usually bore a coat of arms and/or family motto. Professional mottos and designs commemorating important historical events were also popular, but the mottos on modern bookplates usually praise books or scholarly pursuits. The New York Public Library and the Yale University Library own substantial collections of historically significant bookplates. Click here to view examples from the Thomas Murray collection of bookplates at the University of British Columbia Library. The Department of Special Collections, University of Notre Dame Libraries, is creating a Bookplate Registry. Compare with book label. See also: Bookplate Society, The.

Bookshelves should be located away from heat sources such as radiators. To avoid damp and condensation, shelving should not be positioned against an exterior wall or beneath water or steam pipes. To avoid exposing books to ultraviolet radiation, shelves should not receive direct sunlight. Many libraries use free-standing adjustable steel shelving with a baked-on finish, available from suppliers in 36-inch widths by height and shelf depth, in a variety of colors. Sloping shelving is available for displaying current periodicals face out. See also: compact shelving, high-density shelving, and warehouse shelving.

In modern book production, the size of an edition depends on the size of the unfolded sheet used in printing. In the bibliographic description of rare books, the historical dimensions are still used, but in modern book production, size is based on the height and width of the binding. Slight differences exist between American and British practice in the standardization of book sizes. American sizes are given below. Synonymous with book format. See also: exact size.