LSSL 5385: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Anatomy of a Book 

A book is made up of more than just characters, setting, acknowledgments and font choice. Most people are familiar with the backbone, or spine, of a book. It’s one of the first lessons learned about books. But what about the casewrap? When you have a hardcover book but want to preserve the book jacket. Sometimes there is a nice design, colors, or images underneath. Or the book block? This is basically the edges of the book facing out towards the reader. Sometimes publishers will color this gold, silver, red or black. And the headband is that small decorative strip of textile found at the top and bottom of the spine of the book to fill in the gap between spine and cover.

While this chapter may seem boring and out of place in a Young Adult Literature class, it also makes perfect sense. A librarian must know the anatomy of a book, not only to explain to students but when they must doctor those books that have been loved to death or horribly mistreated. A book is more than what is in between the pages. It is also all of the parts that make it a book. I found this section to be incredibly interesting, specifically the casewrap and book block. The fact that these parts of the book have names surprised me. The next time I come across a book with an interesting book block, I will know the correct name to refer to it as.