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* To create a Book Note, you much have an account at Science Besieged. If you don't have an account, request one via the [[Special:CommentForm|Comment Form]].

* Book Note pages have titles made up of 
# the author's last name;
# a colon; and
# the book's title (if the book has a subtitle, use just the main title for the page name)
: The colon follows the author's name without a space, but is itself followed by a space. Every word in the title begins with a capital letter. Recall: when typing the page name as a URL, use the underscore "_" in place of the space " ".

* To create the empty Book Note page, type its URL into your browser's location window:
: <pre>http://ArsHermeneutica.org/besieged/Lastname:_Title_Capitalized</pre>

* Every Book Note has these four parts:
# A filled-in ratings template;
# The book citation;
# Notes on the book; and
# A category template.
: In the editing window, those elements look like this (using [[Sacks: Uncle Tungsten]] as an example):
<pre>
{{BNR-table|scienticity=5|readability=5|hermeneutics=5|charisma=5|recommendation=5}}
Oliver W. Sacks, ''Uncle Tungsten : Memories of a Chemical Boyhood''. 
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. viii + 337 pages.

Oliver Sacks is a neurosurgeon and writer. His writing is engaging, lucid, and enlightening. 
In this volume he recounts events from his own youth with an immediacy that turns the personal
into the universal -- with enough amusing yet harrowing anectdotes to convince parents never 
to give chemistry sets to their children.

[[Category: Book Notes]]
</pre>
: You can cut and paste this example, replacing the necessary information for your own Book Note.

* In the ratings template, put in your own rating for each category using numerals 1 through 5. Ratings are discussed on the [[Book-note ratings|Book-Note Ratings Page]].

* NB: the ratings template is surrounded by two curly braces, not square brackets. However, the "Category" at the bottom '''is''' surrounded by two square brackets.

* In the citation, italics are created by two aprostophes on each side of the italicized element; in the editing window, you can also select the text to be italicized and click the "''I''" button above the editing window.

* For the citation, we follow the US Library of Congress. Use a space around colons, and periods for punctuation between elements.

* The notes part of the Book Note may be abbreviated or extended; it is intended to inform visitors about the rationale for the ratings.