Running Head: THE BOOK JACKET: A POWEFUL ASPECT OF THE BOOK
The Book Jacket: A Powerful Aspect of the Book
Candyce L. Pruitt
Southern Connecticut State University
ILS 518.S70
Professor Okobi
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THE BOOK JACKET: A POWERFUL ASPECT OF THE BOOK
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The Book Jacket: A Powerful Aspect of the Book
Introduction and Thesis
Books have a very powerful role in society. They serve as a means by which powerful
ideas and information are shared throughout society, thus making them powerful objects in and
of themselves. Books have the power to not only transform society and inform readers with their
contents, but to also significantly impact their reader’s emotions, having the power to make them
happy, tearful, angry, embarrassed, and quite often surprised or perplexed. The book jackets that
hold these books often contain cover art, plot summaries, and short book reviews that play a vital
role in determining whether prospective readers will be exposed to the book’s contents. As a
result, book jackets are a very powerful aspect of the book, as they serve as a gateway into the
book’s contents, and contribute significantly to the power of the book.
Support of Thesis
Books are undeniably one of society’s most powerful resources. The majority of books,
however, are first looked at before they are read (Parker, 2006). Because of this, the way in
which a book jacket depicts the book’s contents has a significant impact on whether readers will
take the time to read the book (Parker, 2006). Wendelin and Zinck argue that the three factors
that influence students’ book choices are peer recommendations, television and movie tie-ins,
and the information provided on the book jacket (1983). Therefore, aside from word of mouth
and the students’ previous knowledge of the subject matter, the information presented on the
book jacket is the most important factor on which students base their book choices. Similarly, a
study conducted by the Book Industry Study Group revealed that 29 percent of American readers
claimed that the description on the book jacket was “very important,” and 27 percent indicated
that the cover art depicted on the book jacket attracted them to the book (Ross, 1999).
THE BOOK JACKET: A POWERFUL ASPECT OF THE BOOK
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The less information readers know about a new book, the more heavily they rely on clues
contained on the book jacket to determine whether or not they will read the book (Ross, 1999).
Book jackets contain a significant amount of information about the books they hold. At a study
conducted at a library at the University of Kansas, of the 228 book jackets examined, 99.6
percent contained book summaries, 96.1 percent contained subject indicators, 80.3 percent
contained evaluative statements, 97.8 percent contained author credentials, and 68.9 percent
contained reviews (O’Connor & O’Conner, 1998). Each of these pieces of information contained
on the book jacket aids readers in their book selection process. This information presents
responses to the questions “what can [they] do with this book?” and “do [they] have reason to
trust in its cognitive authority?” (O’Connor & O’Connor, 1998). In this way, book jackets are a
very powerful aspect of the book that help determine whether a book’s powerful contents will be
further examined by readers.
Book jackets are not only an important tool for readers making book choices, but they are
also powerful resources for librarians. In most cases, it would be impossible for librarians to read
every book on the shelf at their library (Saricks, 2007). Because librarians are often asked for
book suggestions, however, taking a few minutes to examine the information contained on book
jackets is a helpful practice that will aid librarians in helping readers of all genres make book
selections (Saricks, 2007). This is another example of how book jackets are a very powerful
aspect of the book. The information contained on book jackets can significantly influence
whether or not librarians recommend certain books to library patrons. This, in turn, can
significantly influence the number of people who are exposed to a book’s powerful contents.
Conclusion
The book jacket is a very powerful aspect of the book. Readers often make book choices
THE BOOK JACKET: A POWERFUL ASPECT OF THE BOOK
based on the information contained on the books’ jackets. Thus book jackets directly affect how
well a book’s contents are disseminated throughout society. This in turn directly affects how
powerful a book becomes within that society. In a similar fashion, librarians often make book
suggestions to library patrons based on the information contained on a book’s jacket. These
suggestions then influence how many readers are exposed to the book’s contents, thus also
affecting how powerful a book becomes within that society. Book jackets, serving as a window
into a book’s contents, influence whether or not the contents of a book will be disseminated
throughout society, and as a result, significantly contribute to the power of the book.
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THE BOOK JACKET: A POWERFUL ASPECT OF THE BOOK
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References
O’Connor, B.C. & O’Connor M.K. (1998, September 7). Book jacket as access mechanism: An
attribute rich resource for functional access to academic books. First Monday 3(9).
Parker, L. (2006, February 3). Never judge a book by its cover?: A visual argument. Retrieved
from https://www.msu.edu/~parke131/portfolio/documents/parker_visualreport.pdf
Ross, C.S. (1999, November). Finding without seeking: the information encounter in the context
of reading for pleasure. Information Processing & Management 35(6) 783-799.
Saricks, J. (2007, July). Book Jackets. Booklist. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com
/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=2055272
Wendelin, K.H. & Zinck, R.A. (1983). How Students Make Book Choices. Reading Horizons
23(2) 84-88).