John Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors, 9th edition. Nicholas Barker and Simran Thadani, eds. and Sidney E. Berger. The Dictionary of the Book: A Glossary for Book Collectors, Booksellers, Librarians, and Others.

Abstract

Dictionaries and encyclopedias represent bundles of choices. No book is large enough to address every aspect of its topic. Space is always at a premium. There are always more terms or variants that could be included. Publication due dates always limit how much more time one could devote to a project. The choices made by authors of these two books listing terms describing books shape the works, of course, but also provide the basis for judging them together. There is merit in a head-to-head comparison.