| COLLECTION
OF BOOKS
A book is a collection of
leaves of paper, parchment or other material,
leap together along one edge within covers. A
book is also a literary work or a  main separation
of such a work. A book produced in electronic
format is known as an e-book. Maintaining a library
used to be the chance of princes, the well-off,
monasteries and other holy institutions, and universities.
The growth of a public library system in the United
States started in the late 19th century and was
much helped by contributions from Andrew Carnegie.
This reflected classes in a society: The poor
or the middle class had to share most books through
a public library or by other means while the rich
could pay for to have a private library built
into their house.
The advent of
paperback books in the 20th century led to an
explosion of fashionable publishing. Paperback
books made owning books reasonably priced for
many people. Paperback books often included works
from genres that had previously been published
mostly in pulp magazines. As a result of the low
cost of such books and the spread of bookstores
filled with them (in addition to the creation
of a smaller market of extremely cheap used paperbacks)
owning a private library ceased to be a status
symbol for the rich.
While a small collection of books, or one to be
used by a small number of people, can be stored
in any way suitable to the owners, a large or
public collection requires a catalogue and some
means of consulting it. Often codes or other marks
have to be added to the books to speed the process
of relating them to the catalogue and their correct
shelf position. Where these identify a volume
uniquely, they are referred to as "call numbers".
In library and booksellers' catalogues, it is
common to include an short form such as "Crown
8vo" to indicate the paper size from which
the book is made.
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