Adjunct Professor Sidney Berger (MSLIS '87) has authored a new book that will provide readers with a definitive glossary of book-related terminology. In The Dictionary of the Book: A Glossary for Book Collectors, Booksellers, Librarians, and Others (2nd Edition), which was recently published by Rowman & Littlefield, he brings “the vocabulary and theory of bookselling and collecting into the modern commercial and academic world” through the addition of more than 700 new entries. The new edition has over 2,000 entries.
According to Berger, there has been an "uneven and imprecise" use of the language of books over the centuries. Through this new edition, he hopes to help people use the proper terminology when writing and talking about books.
"For instance, an anopisthographic book is one in which all the text is printed on one side of each leaf," he said. "An orihon or leporello is a book bound in accordion fashion. Students, instructors, booksellers, archivists, historians, and others are likely to encounter all kinds of words about books of which they do not know the meaning. These words are explained in The Dictionary of the Book."
Berger is director emeritus of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum and an adjunct faculty member at Simmons University and UIUC, where he teaches courses in rare books and special collections. He has published more than 20 books, including Rare Books and Special Collections (ALA/Neal-Shuman, 2014), which received the 2015 ABC-CLIO Award for the Best Book in Library Literature. Berger holds a PhD in medieval English literature and bibliography from the University of Iowa.