Open the book to the copyright page. It can usually be found right after the title page.
Scan the page for the information all copyright pages must have: the title of the book, author's name, name and address of the book's publishing company, and the copyright notice and statement. This information is legally required to be printed in all books.
Note the acknowledgments or disclaimers listed on the copyright page. Sometimes authors use quotations from other books or sources; listing these instances on the copyright page protects the author from infringing on another person's copyright. Also, medical or legal fiction books sometimes have disclaimers to let the reader know that the book is no substitute for real legal or medical advice.
Locate the Library of Congress catalog data. This tells the library how to categorize the book so patrons can find it. All books must have a Library of Congress Catalog Number (also known as an LCCN) to be stocked by any library.
Find the book's ISBN numbers. These numbers are used by book distributors when ordering books. Every book has an ISBN number; this number could come in handy if your book is destroyed and you'd like to order an exact replica to replace it.