Spine shelving is a

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

-shelving technique. Books are usually shelved upright with the spines facing out. When a book is taller than the distance between shelves, it is usually placed sideways or shelved horizontally i.e., flat. Putting a book with the spine down resting on the shelf is called spine shelving. The opposite, with the spine facing inwards, is called

foredge shelving Foredge shelving (or fore-edge shelving) is a book shelving technique. Books are typically shelved upright with the spines facing outwards. However, when a book is too tall to stand upright on a shelf it may be shelved horizontally, i.e., flat, o ...

. Shelving with the

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Vertebral column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoolog ...

facing outwards protects the book from damage and makes it easier to see the information about a book. Spines normally include the book title, the author's name, the publisher, and in libraries, the call number.ISO. ISO 6357:1985(en) Documentation — Spine titles on books and other publications. https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:6357:ed-1:v1:en

History

Prior to the invention of the

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

books A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ar ...

were sparse and early

libraries A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

did not require formal shelving techniques; books were usually stored on sloped shelves for display or stacked horizontally with their spines facing into the shelf. Weihs, J. (2009, Mar/Apr). A brief history of shelving. ''Technicalities''(29):2, p.11.Petroski, H. (2000). The book on the bookshelf. New York: Vintage Books. The

Chained Library A chained library is a library where the books are attached to their bookcase by a chain, which is sufficiently long enough to allow the books to be taken from their shelves and read, but not removed from the library itself. The practice was usua ...

was created in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

as a way to provide broad access to books.Sylverne, S. (2015, July 30). When books were shelved backwards. Medium https://medium.com/@kvetchingyenta/when-books-were-shelved-backwards-b6a15fe82a3 Available books were chained to shelves as security measures, and faced fore-edge out so the chain could be attached without causing damage. Libraries would often provide a list of books at the end of the row or shelf marks on the fore-edge of the book. Some libraries and private collections added hand-written titles or fore-edge paintings on the base related to the topic to identify the book.Francesca, M. (2012, December 27). Shelf-conscious. The Paris Review https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/12/27/shelf-conscious/ Early book spines did not contain wording or information as they were not seen when books were shelved. Production of more books in the

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

required better storage to fit more on shelves.Patton, M. (2021). Spine tingling: Looking closely at the spine could unlock the mystery of a rare book, or it could raise more questions. State Library, New South Wales. https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/spine-tingling A change from horizontal to vertical shelving became commonplace in the early

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural moveme ...

. As collections grew, it became difficult to retrieve books of interest under heavy horizontal stacks, and

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

became entangled; vertical storage allowed for easy retrieval. Spine shelving started on lower shelves where

s were placed spine out to protect them from potential damage by foot traffic. The beginnings of adding information on spines date back to the early

1500s 1500s may refer to: * The period from 1500 to 1599, almost synonymous with the 16th century (1501–1600) * 1500s (decade), the period from 1500 to 1509 {{Letter-NumberCombDisambig ...

. Later, in the mid-

, it became fashionable for collectors to display books decoratively with many rebinding books in similar material shelving spine out to display the craftsmanship. Marking

book design Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit. In the words of renowned typographer Jan Tschichold (1902–1974), book design, "though ...

with information became necessary to distinguish bound materials, and a way for booksellers to promote their publications.

References

Book terminology {{library-stub

History

See also

References