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* To create a Book Note, or add your own notes to an existing Book Note, you must 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. title begins with a capital letter; capitalize all but articles, conjunctions, and short prepositions in the title. Recall: when typing the page name as a URL, use the underscore "_" in place of the space " ".

* To create a new Book Note page, type its URL into your browser's location window:
: <pre>http://ArsHermeneutica.org/besieged/Lastname:_Title_Capitalized</pre>
: You get a message saying the page does not yet exist; click on the tab marked "edit" to begin editing.

* To add your own notes to an existing Book Note page, simply click on the tab marked "edit"; add your own notes between the lower-most "<nowiki>{{Notesby|XXX}}</nowiki>" template and the "<nowiki>[[Category:Book Notes]]</nowiki>" link (see below).

* Edit your text in the editing area, which is the big space below the row of 11 butons with '''B''' and ''I'' and other markings on them. Make ample use of the "Show preview" button below the editing area to check how your Book Note will look.

* Click on the "Save page" button below the editing window when you are finished with your current round of editing. After the page has been created, you may edit it at any time.

* Every Book Note has these four parts:
# A filled-in ratings template;
# The book citation;
# Notes on the book; 
# Initials; 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 anecdotes to convince parents never 
to give chemistry sets to their children.

{{Notesby|JNS}}

[[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 apostrophes 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.

* Use the "<nowiki>{{Notesby|XXX}}</nowiki>" template (yes, those are two curly braces on either side) at the end of your notes, replacing the "XXX" with your upper-case initials; this allows more than one contributor to make notes about a specific book.