Foot MM "The study of books" ASLIB PROCEEDINGS 58 (1-2): 20-33 2006

[Eugene Garfield]

Mirjam M. Foot : E-mail Addresses: m.foot at ucl.ac.uk 

Title: The study of books 

Author(s): Foot MM 

Source: ASLIB PROCEEDINGS 58 (1-2): 20-33 2006 

Document Type: Article 
Language: English 
Cited References: 42      Times Cited: 0        

Abstract: 
Purpose - This paper aims to show how the concept of "Bibliography" has 
changed since the late Accepted 21 September nineteenth century. It 
proposes discussing what "Bibliography" did and did not include in the 
various 2005 stages of its development; how the study of "Bibliography" 
moved from the UK to the USA; how it narrowed down from an originally much 
wider concept and how, under the influence of French historians over the 
past three decades, it has widened out again, reaching a better synthesis 
of the study of books as material objects with the study of the history of 
the book. 

Design/methodology/approach - A discussion and critical assessment of the 
writings of the major main stream bibliographers and book historians is 
presented.

Findings - From an original (nineteenth century) emphasis on enumerative 
bibliography, the concept of "Bibliography" widened out (from the end of 
the nineteenth century) to include historical bibliography and the study of 
books as material objects; in the mid-twentieth century this wider approach 
narrowed down, as a consequence of much emphasis being placed on 
descriptive, analytical, critical and textual bibliography. Under influence 
of French book historians the emphasis has changed again and the value of a 
wider historical approach and greater inclusivity in subjects has brought 
the study of historical bibliography and that of the history of the book 
much closer together.

Research limitations/implications - This research looks only at Western 
Europe and the USA.

Practical implications - Practical implications of this study are: the 
widening-out of the subject to include all physical manifestations of the 
book; the dimension of creative reading; and the emphasis on the importance 
of artifactual evidence for correct establishment and interpretation of 
texts has had implications for preservation.

Originality/value - This paper is a critical assessment of the literature, 
drawing the logical consequences of its findings. It presents an argument 
for the inclusion of all aspects of the book as a physical object, as well 
as for the importance of using all available evidence.

Addresses: Foot MM (reprint author), Univ Coll London, Sch Lib Arch & 
Informat Studies, London, England
Univ Coll London, Sch Lib Arch & Informat Studies, London, England 

E-mail Addresses: m.foot at ucl.ac.uk 

Publisher: EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LIMITED, 60/62 TOLLER LANE, BRADFORD 
BD8 9BY, W YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND 

Subject Category: COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS; INFORMATION 
SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE 
IDS Number: 048IH 

ISSN: 0001-253X 


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