"Containing nearly 4,000 entries of defined terms, Glaister's encyclopedia remains the definitive source on the book as an object and on bookmaking as a trade. There are entries for people (bookseller Thomas Gosden); businesses (Pelican Press); places (Little Britain); slang terms (the French livres
...
cochons for illustrated erotica), pieces of equipment (joiner's press); the parts of a book (foot); printing processes (ink grinding); book-related organizations (the Poetry Book Society); and even individual reference titles (Books in Print). Entries vary in length from a few to more than 3,000 words, with the average being about 80 words. There are four appendixes: a sample of different specimens of typeface, a listing of Latin place-names used in early imprints, British proof-correction symbols, and a bibliography of further readings for the true bibliophile. For this printing of Glaister's standard work, retired librarian Donald Farren has changed the alphabetizing to a letter-by-letter arrangement, from the previous word-by-word system. Also, about a third of the book has been rewritten-1,144 of this edition's entries are new." (American Reference Books Annual 1997 Nr. 554)
more
"The first part [...] deals with [...] topics as copyright protection, desktop advances, the role of the editor, multinational publishers, scholarly publishing, best-sellers, and more. Major essays explore the nature and impact of the new technologies, changing patterns of readership, scientific pub
...
lishing, developments in textbooks, encouraging literacy, economics, and other important issues. The second part of the Encyclopedia focuses on international aspects of publishing. It surveys the industry in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, and examines how developments in the evolving economies of Eastern Europe, the European Community, Southeast Asia, and other parts of the world have an impact on publishing worldwide. The Encyclopedia also offers insights into Africa's drastic book shortage and how the publishing community might reach this market." (Publisher description)
more