Just had a library patron ask how to tell the edition of a book by the info included on the copyright page. Found myself trying to remember how to decode the apparently random strings of numbers listed below all the cataloging data
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 (3rd edition)
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 (2nd edition)
Fortunately I knew a little about the “printer’s key” or “number run” and found myself flipping through a bunch of books looking for 1st editions. Then I read this short article at Wikipedia.
The interaction reminded me of some poems i wrote a while back, odes of sort to my work in the library.
Jonas Lamb 