Parts and Functions of a Book

Study Notes

Book Parts and Functions

Frontispiece: An illustration relating to the book's subject, preceding the title page. In printed books, it's an unnumbered illustration on the unpaginated verso of the leaf before the title page.
Title Page: The first important printed page of a book.
Half-Title Page: Precedes the title page, offering protection. It displays the book title, usually in a smaller font size than on the title page itself.
Body: The main portion of the book, containing the text.
Text: The main body of the book's content.
Bibliography: A list of books used by the author, or recommended further reading. It's a systematic list of works by a specific author or on a subject.
Index: An alphabetically arranged list of topics discussed, with page references.
Glossary: A section explaining specific technical or foreign terms; an alphabetically ordered list of specialized vocabulary with definitions.
Endpaper: Thick, strong paper folded and pasted to the inside of the front or back cover; forms the first and last leaves.
Table of Contents: A list of chapters with page numbers, serving as a book outline.
Preface (Foreword/Introduction): Introduces the author and their reasons for writing the book. A preliminary statement at the beginning.
Flyleaves: Blank pages adjacent to the endpapers; the first and last leaves of the book.
Spine: The binding edge displaying the book's title, author, publisher, and call number.
Binding: Holds the book together, protecting it and making it easy to handle; comes in soft and hard varieties.
Appendix: Contains supplementary materials referred to but not fully explained within the main text.