Sourcebook

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"Sourcebooks" redirects here. For the publisher, see Sourcebooks (publisher).For other uses, see Sourcebook (disambiguation).

A sourcebook is a collection of texts on a particular subject intended for use as an introduction to the subject. [1] The selected texts are typically edited, laid out, and typeset in a uniform format before binding, and the result is often a hardcover book similar to a textbook. In contrast, course readers are prepared by simply photocopying or scanning the selected materials and then adding covers, front matter, tables, and pagination, they are usually bound as softcover books, and they are usually prepared for a specific course.

Contents

Academic use

In American universities, a sourcebook may function as a supplement to or as a replacement for a textbook. Sourcebooks are also often the result of the increasing ease of self-publishing, prompting authors and teachers to assemble their own custom packets of readings which become sourcebooks in their fields. Hence, they may be helpful in academics and education since they provide a more diverse range of information. [2]

In American law schools, casebooks are similar to sourcebooks, offering selections of legal cases and commentary, forming the basis for analysis and discussion. [3] Rather than simply laying out the legal doctrine in a particular area of study, a casebook contains excerpts from legal cases in which the law of that area was applied. It is then up to the student to analyze the language of the case in order to determine what rule was applied and how the court applied it. [4]

Games

In games, a sourcebook is a publication intended to supplement the core materials of a game. Sourcebooks are usually used to complement role-playing games and tabletop or wargaming series, and often contain optional rules, scenarios, or other materials that players can use to extend or enhance the central game. While the splatbook is a sourcebook which focuses on a specific fictional aspect of the game in depth. The association of sourcebooks to tabletop series emerged with many published sourcebooks for gaming like for the World of Darkness games. Similar patterns are observed with the clanbooks for Vampire: The Masquerade , tribebooks for Werewolf: The Apocalypse , traditionbooks for Mage: The Ascension , and so on. [5] [6] [7]

Sourcebooks may also refer to guidebooks meant for beginners containing instructions, rules or advice as in the handbooks for Minecraft .

Popular gaming series with many sourcebooks include:

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Sourcebook." Oxford Learner Dictionaries, Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/sourcebook?q=sourcebook. Accessed 16 September 2024.
  2. ↑ Gale, Xin Liu; Gale, Fredric G., eds. (1999). (Re)visioning composition textbooks: conflicts of culture, ideology, and pedagogy. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN   978-0-7914-4121-3.
  3. ↑ Kemker, Diane, A Genre-Based Critique of the Law School Casebook (October 11, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4599485. Accessed 16 September 2024.
  4. ↑ Anderson, Wayne L.; Headrick, Marilyn J. (1996). The legal profession: is it for you?. Cincinnati. Ohio: Thomson Executive Press. p. 83. ISBN   978-0-538-84392-8.
  5. ↑ Appelcline, Shannon (2014). Designers & Dragons: The 90s. Silver Spring, Maryland: Evil Hat Productions. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-1-61317-081-6.
  6. ↑ Fannon, Sean Patrick (1999). The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible. Jacksonville, FL: Obsidian Studios. p. 242. ISBN 0967442907.
  7. ↑ Horvath, Stu (2023). Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9780262048224.
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