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Research Guides

Definitions

Reference Bibliography - The study of books as intellectual objects:

  • Systematic or Enumerative Bibliography - Listing of books and/or other materials covering a specific time period, country, or topic; an inventory; can describe items focusing on a particular topic.

 

Physical Bibliography - The study of books as physical objects:

  • Analytical or Descriptive Bibliography - The study of the materials (paper, binding, type, ink) and the processes of producing books; physical details that might be significant to those studying the text.
  • Textual Bibliography - The study of the author's creative message as expressed in the physical object, and how this message might be distorted through the process of printing; the relationship between the printed text and the text as conceived by the author; comparison of texts and their transmission through various printings and editions.

Bibliography