Books, Background, Characteristics, Scope and it;s Types

Books

Though books existed before print technology, they were limited in number and their readership was also confined to few. 

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 

Books became part of the mass media after the printing process was invented. Now they are in the reach of almost everyone and could cover any distance on the planet. Their topics are varied and their value could be judged from the fact that most libraries in the world are due to books rather than other published material. 

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. 

Background of Books

Books are bound pages of written or printed messages of considerable length, mostly on one topic.  Being meant for circulation, they are produced using durable materials and in a portable form.

The Papyrus (from which the word paper derived) rolls of the Chinese are considered as ancestors of modern books. The concept of books existed in China and in Babylonian way back in 3000 B.C. While the Chinese used papyrus rolls made of bamboo strips, the Babylonians used clay tablets. In Rome, animal skins were used to prepare books.

 Introduction of paper production advanced the book production. But, absence of easy printing method blocked its mass production. So, earlier books were handwritten and they were called manuscripts.

The Chinese invented a method for printing using wooden blocks in 400 A.D. But, it was not developed enough to print books. Invention of movable metallic types by Johannes Guttenberg revolutionized printing, thereby book production.

Before the invention of movable metallic types, books were expensive and large in size. They were affordable only to the wealthy, aristocratic people like political and religious leaders and business men. Guttenberg’s invention changed the situation.

 Printers could reduce price when books were made available to more people. The first book published using the metallic moveable types was the Bible.

Characteristics of Books

  • Books are portable and compact, and thus have an advantage over other media forms.
  • Unlike other print media, books most often deal with a single subject. Thus, we can read books piece by piece for days or weeks with convenient intervals, without losing concentration.
  • While newspapers and magazines get old soon due to their time limitations, books remain afresh since they deal with subjects significant for a longer period.
  • Unlike magazines and newspapers, books are stored for longer period in public or private libraries.
  • Content in the books is in an organized manner so that readers can access to the interested parts easily.
  • Books have index which helps reader some sort of navigation from one subject to the other.
  • Books are stored for future reference.
  • Books are published after adequate verification and research. So, the content of the books is more authentic than that of newspapers and magazines.
  • The language level of the books is audience specific or subject specific while newspaper or magazine language is general in nature.

Scope of Book Publishing

  • The mass production of books certainly revolutionized cultural and thinking pattern by accelerating the exchange of ideas and information among more people.
  • As books are of permanent nature they are considered as repository of knowledge.
  • In the past, contribution of a nation or a person was taken into account based on the number of books produced.
  • Books are creators of culture. Reading is considered one’s cultural index. Books created a special culture in 15th and 16th century Europe.
  • With the production of books, education through public institution was developed and started to include more people.
  • The book culture paved the way for new cultural elite called writers/authors. Gradually they became recognized public opinion leaders.
  • In any country books were major contributors to national culture and identity.
  • Moreover, books enrich the media sector also by being adapted to movies and documentaries or encouraging the production of various genres in literature like short stories, novels and poetry.
  • Despite technological advancement, book reading remains the most enduring media using habit.
  • Research results show that books are strongly returning stimulating reading culture even during this age of visuals.
  • In modern time, book production has been a lucrative industry of billions plus dollars.

Who read books?

Book reading is a general habit. But, its readers are diverse. Children are avid readers of books and recently publishing industry focuses on children’s literature. J.K Rowling’s Haripotter series created a new momentum in children’s book sector.

Government and private agencies publish children’s books with an aim of inculcating reading culture in young minds.

Academic community including students, teachers, scholars and researchers are another important segment of book audience. They read both academic texts and fictions.

 The third category is general readers ranging from house wives to labors and politicians to businessmen.

Types of Books

Books are categorized according to their content type and target audience. Based on nature of the content books can be categorized generally as  fiction and non-fiction.

 Fictions include stories, novels, poems etc. while non-fictions comprise of academic and reference books.

 But, as commercial commodity books are categorized according to their uses and users. Following are the major types of books in modern book industry:

  • Trade Books
  • Professional Books
  • Textbooks
  • Paperbacks
  • Religious books
  • Reference Books
  • University-Press Books

Trade books include hardbound and paperback books targeting general readers. They are sold at retail outlets. Trade books are categorized as adult books and children’s books. Adult trade books include fiction, current non-fiction, biographies, literary classics, hobby books, and books on self-help , popular science, travel, technology etc.

Children’s book categories range from preschool picture books to young reader books. Drawing and coloring books, cartoon books, comic books, children’s fiction are sub categories of children’s books.

Professional Books target occupational groups such as engineers, doctors, managers, lawyers, technicians etc. These books are not for general readers and are mainly sold through direct mail order to the publishing houses or distributors. Emergence of specialized jobs made the professional book publishing a profitable business.

Textbooks are for academic community. They are segmented as elementary-high school books (el-hi), vocational education, college texts, study aids (guides), pocket editions, student editions etc. Because of their mass production, textbooks are low priced books.

Paperbacks are low-priced books having cheaper, flexible covers and pages. They lack durability as meant for ‘use and throw’. Traditionally, books were produced with hardbound decorated covers. After 1870s paperbacks began to attract middle and working class readers sparking a new reading wave all over the world. Paperbacks became more popular in the second half of 20th century. In America, a new type of paperbacks called mass-market paperback is available. They target mass market and sold through drugstores, supermarkets, malls etc unlike traditional paperbacks sold through bookstores. Mass-market paperbacks’ content includes fictions and other uncomplicated subjects.

Religious books find new life recently with the rise of a spiritual wave across the world. The very purpose of religious books, as name indicates, is propagation. The best-selling book of all time is the Bible, in all its diverse versions. Religious books include holy texts, hymnals and inspirational books.

Reference books include encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, handbooks, almanacs etc. University-Press Books are non-commercial books aim at academic world. Oxford University Press, Chicago University Press, Harvard University Press are leading University publishers. They focus on both reference books like dictionaries (Eg. Oxford Dictionary) and encyclopedias and academic texts.

Publishing is the production of texts and documents. The production process involves three stages:

  • Pre-Production: All activities including finding topic, author, market study, negotiation, entry into agreement etc.
  • Production: Procurement manuscript, editing, proofreading, designing and organization are the processes at production stage.
  • Post Production: Promotion and marketing are the major post production activities.