Books

  
Periodicals 
Censorship 
Papyrus 
 

 
Book Stacks: Banned Books Exhibit 
Multimedia presentation on literacy censorship. 
Humanities Interactive 
Well presented collection of exhibitions.

Producing the scrolls was actually a profession for the ancient civilizations who used them regularly. Major cities of the time like Athens, Alexandria, and Rome produced many scrolls, distributing them all over the world. The process was lengthy and expensive; only wealthy individuals owned their own. Most were found in temples or government facilities, but rarely used for educating: lessons were usually taught orally. 

Unfortunately, most scrolls didn’t last longer than a century. Papyrus, although an excellent, inexpensive writing surface, disintegrates in moist air: most scrolls didn’t survive an entire century. This was not a problem for civilizations in the Middle East, where papyrus isn’t available. Persians and Hebrews made their scrolls from highly durable tanned leather or parchment .

By the 4th century, most people realized scrolls weren’t the easiest types of documents to read. Slowly, information began being documented on a rectangular codex (Latin for "book"). First used by Greeks and Romans for businesses and school work, a codex featured at least two wax-covered wooden tablets, which could be smoothed over for rewriting. Later papyrus or parchment was used, often with multiple sheets stitched together in the middle. The writing area was larger, and both sides of the page could be used. Codices became popular because you could easily flip back and forth to find your place. The word codex was often part of the title of the book, espescially Bible manuscripts .

Medieval Books 
During the Middle Ages of Europe, from the 5th to the 15th centuries, books were written by churchmen for the church or the nation’s ruler. The books were usually written with a quill pen  by monks working in a scriptoria (Latin for "writing room"). While most books were portions of the bible, some were classical texts. First the text appeared only in capital letters, later written clearly in a rounded script of upper and lower case letters. However, after the 12th century, the script deteriorated into crowded, thick letters that were difficult to read. Most books contained intricate artwork and flourishes, and were bound by wooden covers and leather, often adorned with precious metals and gems. Books were still costly, and only a few people could afford to pay for them, but due to a lack of education, most people couldn’t read them anyway. 

Books in Asia 
The first books to appear in Asia were tablets of bamboo or wood bounded with cord. The Chinese invented paper in the 2nd century AD by mixing bark and hemp . At first, the paper was used for scrolls, but later made into book form, folded like an accordion, stitched on one side, with paper or cloth covers glued to the outside. The books’ text was of meticulously created calligraphy , written on both sides. 

But China didn’t invent just paper. In the 6th century AD carved wooden blocks printed a Chinese edition of the 868 AD Buddhist text Diamond Sutra. While it took more initial time to create each block, this development exponentially reduced the work required to make multiple copies of a book, but because of the many characters in the Chinese language, it was rarely used. 

Gutenberg 
The 15th century brought Europe two major developments in book production. They discovered paper from Muslims (who acquired the process from China). But it was German printer Johann Gutenberg who is credited with the other development: movable metal type . This efficient method of creating books couldn’t have came at a better time, since increased public literacy was putting demand on more books. As distribution increased, the number of works published increased as well. 

Today 
Thanks to the Industrial Revolution, book production became more efficient in the 20th century. High-speed mechanical devices could cast and compose type and reproduce high quality photos and text quickly and efficiently. Today books were widely available on every possible subject. Most major new books are available in durable hard-cover editions bound in cloth as well as smaller inexpensive paper-back versions. Standard books follow the same basic format, or style, and are printed with easy to read serif (type with tiny "tails" at the end of letters) typefaces  in virtually every common language. Books can be purchased at retail stores, or borrowed from a library.