A Research Paper Investigating A Selected Number Of Printed Materials Concerning The Value, Economy And Accessibility And Durability Of The Paperback Book; As Discussed By Librarians And Teachers

Author

Linda Faye Foley, Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical College

Date of Award

8-1971

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Education

Degree Discipline

Library

Abstract

The first paperbacks were similar to the development of the inexpensive book and most of all the cheap reprint. After certain technical discoveries, special types of bindings have been made and commercially utilized. Through modern methods of mass distribution, the number and variety of the paperback has increased tremendously. The purpose of the first book, whether written by hand or printed, was to record thought. These written records were begun with inscriptions on the walls of caves and have progressed with time to the newest photo-mechanical methods. It has always been the problem of the generation to produce writing in quantity. Mass production of copies were based on the economy of cheap slave labor handled by ancient Rome. Many of these manuscripts were written in monasteries, during the Middle Ages, where there were fewer economic problems, or by individual scribes; a procedure that cost more. The beauty of the medieval manuscripts were made possible by the patient work of the trained organizers and the monks. They were also responsible for the frequent misreadings and the progressive corruption of texts by compounding old mistakes with the new ones. Reprints have always served the purpose of producing and filling out the demand for a book and supplying the same book at a lower price and less expensive binding, increasing the sale of books. The backbone of the inexpensive paperback has always been the reprint and even today the original paperback is rather the exception than the rule. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM It was the purpose of this paper to make an investigative study concerning the: (1) value of the paperback book to readers, (2) economy and accessibility to libraries and the reading public, and (3) durability of the paperback book.

Committee Chair/Advisor

F.J. Davis

Committee Member

F.J. Davis

Publisher

Prairie View Agriculture and Mechanical College

Rights

© 2021 Prairie View A & M University

Date of Digitization

8/27/2021

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

Recommended Citation

Foley, L. F. (1971). A Research Paper Investigating A Selected Number Of Printed Materials Concerning The Value, Economy And Accessibility And Durability Of The Paperback Book; As Discussed By Librarians And Teachers. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-theses/296