Book
Archaeologists have uncovered Jiahu symbols inscribed onto bones and tortoise shells in graves that are 8,600 years old. These markings appear to be precursors to the Chinese writing system that fully emerged thousands of years later. Sumerian cuneiform tablets emerged from earlier traditions of sealed clay envelopes called bullae around 3200 BC during the Uruk period in modern-day Iraq. Scribes impressed stylus marks into flattened pieces of clay to create records that lasted for millennia. The Standard Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh was written on a series of about 12 tablets each with over 300 lines of cuneiform verse. Clay tablets were used throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age to record literature and other information. Various forms of pictographs developed alongside linguistic writing systems to represent physical things or concepts. Art historian Elizabeth Boone Hill described these early images as non-writing and beyond writing yet they continue to be used today in maps and diagrams.
Martial wrote his first mention of the codex format in Apophoreta CLXXXIV at the end of the first century praising its compactness compared to scrolls. The vast majority of surviving Christian texts from before the 5th century AD are codices rather than scrolls. By the end of the 4th century AD nearly all Greek texts were being composed as codices instead of scrolls. Jewish authors adopted the new format much slower with the oldest surviving Jewish codices dating to the 10th century AD. Torah scrolls remain read aloud in synagogues during Jewish prayers to this day. In Islam many of the earliest manuscript copies of the Quran were composed as codices. Scribes in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica independently developed a similar codex format using long folded strips of fig bark or plant fibers bound between wooden planks. The oldest of the surviving Maya codices dates to the 11th century AD. Most of the pre-Columbian Aztec codices were destroyed by the Spanish though some like the Codex Borbonicus date to around the time of European arrival.
The Diamond Sutra printed in 868 AD stands as the oldest known dated book in the world created via woodblock printing. This method originated in the Han dynasty before 220 AD and was widely used throughout East Asia. Books produced by this technique required a hand-carved block for each page which could crack if stored too long. Johannes Gutenberg independently invented movable type in Europe around 1450 along with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix. Movable type made books quicker and less expensive to produce making them more widely available. Steam-powered presses could print 1,100 sheets per hour and became popular in the early 19th century. Two types of machines were invented to cast molten metal into type blocks from key presses in the late 19th century: Monotype and linotype. Copyright protection emerged securing authors' rights and shaping the publishing landscape significantly during these centuries of technological change.
Google Books estimated in 2010 that roughly 130 million total unique books have been published globally. The advent of electronic publishing means new information is often published online rather than in printed books through digital libraries. Print on demand technologies make it possible to print as few as one book at time allowing self-publishing to become easier and more affordable. Audiobooks began attracting book retailers in the 1980s when they started displaying recordings on bookshelves rather than separate displays. Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries since the 1930s though many spoken word albums prior to cassettes focused on poetry and plays. Ebooks exist without a printed equivalent and can be read on dedicated e-reader devices or any computer device featuring a controllable viewing screen. While discussions about the potential decline of physical books have surfaced print media continues to thrive as a multi-billion-dollar industry today.
English-language publishing is currently dominated by the so-called Big Five publishers including Penguin Random House Hachette Book Group HarperCollins Simon & Schuster and Macmillan Publishers. These major houses were estimated to make up almost 60 percent of the market for general-readership books in 2021. A publisher negotiates a formal legal agreement with authors to obtain copyright then arranges for production and sale. The major steps include editing proofreading designing manufacturing and selling the books often taken on by third-party companies paid by the publisher. Self-publishing allows an author to pay for production and distribution managing some or all steps of the process independently. Commercial publishers generally assign ISBNs to their books so buyers may presume that the number is part of a total international system. Many government publishers do not participate fully in the ISBN system and publish books that lack these identifiers entirely.
The Library of Celsus in Ephesus Turkey was built in 135 AD and could house around 12,000 scrolls. In 1970 the International Standard Book Number provided unique identifiers for books since that year. One of the earliest and most widely known systems of cataloguing books is the Dewey Decimal System alongside the Library of Congress Classification system. Call numbers relate the books to the catalogue and determine their locations on shelves based on institutional standards like ANSI/NISO Z39.41 , 1997. Modern libraries extend services beyond physical walls providing material accessible by electronic means including from home via the Internet. Librarians are trained experts in finding selecting circulating and organizing information while interpreting needs and navigating large amounts of data. Libraries can vary widely in size and may be organized by public bodies institutions corporations or private individuals. They provide quiet areas for studying as well as common areas for group study and collaboration with access to computers and internet.
Books have been censored by authoritarian dictatorships such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to silence dissent. The Catholic Church issued lists of banned books through its Index Librorum Prohibitorum which did not always carry legal force. Ayatollah Khomeini ordered bans of books like Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses though these measures sometimes lacked legal weight. Authors of censored books could face harsh sentences exile from the country or even execution depending on the regime. Censors typically identify as concerned parents community members reacting without reading texts or local national organizations. Books are most often censored for age appropriateness offensive language sexual content or other reasons similar across many cultures. Censorship can be enacted at national or subnational levels carrying legal penalties that restrict free speech and entrenched authority. Religious groups frequently issue lists of banned books alongside government mandates to suppress ideas within written works.
Common questions
When were the Jiahu symbols inscribed onto bones and tortoise shells discovered?
Archaeologists uncovered Jiahu symbols in graves that are 8,600 years old. These markings appear to be precursors to the Chinese writing system that fully emerged thousands of years later.
What year did Sumerian cuneiform tablets emerge during the Uruk period?
Sumerian cuneiform tablets emerged from earlier traditions of sealed clay envelopes called bullae around 3200 BC during the Uruk period in modern-day Iraq. Scribes impressed stylus marks into flattened pieces of clay to create records that lasted for millennia.
Who wrote the first mention of the codex format in Apophoreta CLXXXIV at the end of the first century?
Martial wrote his first mention of the codex format in Apophoreta CLXXXIV at the end of the first century praising its compactness compared to scrolls. The vast majority of surviving Christian texts from before the 5th century AD are codices rather than scrolls.
Which book is recognized as the oldest known dated book created via woodblock printing?
The Diamond Sutra printed in 868 AD stands as the oldest known dated book in the world created via woodblock printing. This method originated in the Han dynasty before 220 AD and was widely used throughout East Asia.
How many total unique books have been published globally according to Google Books estimates from 2010?
Google Books estimated in 2010 that roughly 130 million total unique books have been published globally. The advent of electronic publishing means new information is often published online rather than in printed books through digital libraries.
When did the International Standard Book Number provide unique identifiers for books since that year?
In 1970 the International Standard Book Number provided unique identifiers for books since that year. One of the earliest and most widely known systems of cataloguing books is the Dewey Decimal System alongside the Library of Congress Classification system.