Descriptive Bibliography
The goal of this exercise was to complete a descriptive bibliography where I analyzed the bibliographic code of a text. The term “bibliographic code” refers to the material traits of the book which includes its binding, cover, spine, etc. In other words, the bibliographic code focuses on the book’s physical presentation rather than its linguistic content. For my text, I chose a guidebook of Italy by the travel company Lonely Planet.
Lonely Planet’s Italy is a travel guide with a glossy photo of the Amalfi coast on the front cover. The cover immediately makes clear what the purpose of this book is with a blurb that proclaims the contents contain “Rome pull-out map”, “Top sights in full details”, and “Best planning advice”. The cover of the book makes it clear that this a practical guide to Italy useful for trip-planning with enticing features such as maps and reviews.
The book is paperback with thin pages, making it easy for a traveler to carry around in a purse or suitcase. This material is cheap, meaning the book is not as durable and not meant to last a long time. It is mostly a one-time read rather than a book people keep forever and read over and over again. This makes sense considering vacations are temporary excursions and most people do not frequently revisit the places they travel. Once a vacation has ended and the reader no longer needs the book, they can easily dispose of it without feeling guilty.
The inside cover of the book contains instructions on how to read the book and explains the color-coding system of the pages. Red pages are for trip-planning and contain photos and suggestions to create an itinerary. Blue pages are for travelers who are already on the road with “expert reviews” and “easy-to-use maps”. Green pages are to understand the culture and history of the places you are visiting. Grey pages have vital practical information, such as etiquette and safety tips.
This color-coding system allows travelers to flip quickly to the section they are interested in without sorting through the pages. If a tourist is at a famous church for example, they can flip directly to that site’s information, making the book easy to navigate for those on the go. In this manner, the book is not meant to be read chronologically. Instead, people only have to read the sections of the book that are relevant to their trip or that interest them.
This is the thirteenth edition of the book, published in February 2018. The first edition of the book was published in September 1993. The high number of editions and long duration of publication implies that this book has been successful for the publisher and highly profitable. This has the potential to increase a reader’s trust in the book since enough people have purchased it to merit reprinting it thirteen times. The number of revised editions also increases faith in the reviews and suggestions, as they are believed to be the most updated and recent.
Although full of useful information, the book also appears to be an advertisement for Lonely Planet, the travel company that publishes it. The back cover has a QR code for the company’s website and the logo of the company appears on the front cover, spine, and back cover of the book. The inside back cover of the book recommends readers follow the travel company on social media, purchase their other guides, download their app, and book trips through their website. Lonely Planet’s hope is that travelers will find their guidebook to Italy so helpful that they will begin to use other products of Lonely Planet. In this way, the guidebook is a testimony to the company’s quality and success.
Leave a Reply