stationery Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter pape ...

, a diary (UK and Commonwealth English), datebook, daybook, appointment book, planner or agenda (American English) is a small book containing a main

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

section with a space for each day of the year with room for notes, a

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a phy ...

, and usually various pages at the beginning and end containing various pieces of reference information, which may include maps and telephone codes, and pages for a short

address book An address book or a name and address book is a book, or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields (for example: first name, last name, company name, address, telephone n ...

at the end. Most diaries are pre-printed for a specific year, which is printed on the cover, with each day's space therefore able to be printed with the day of the week. However diaries that can be used for any year are also produced. Page-marker

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mat ...

s are commonly included. The US Customs official definition of a diary is: "A book prepared for keeping a daily record, or having spaces with printed dates for daily memoranda and jottings; also applied to calendars containing daily memoranda on matters of importance to people generally, or to members of a particular profession, occupation, or pursuit". The main different sizes produced are the small pocket diary and larger desk diary, both of which come in many different sizes. Any size may be referred to as an appointment diary, especially larger diaries with pre-printed lines for each period in the day, as in the picture above. A large variety of layout formats are sold, including: *page per day *week per view/opening *week per page *month per view/opening Often, as in the diary pictured above, weekend days are given less space than workdays. Small calendars of the current month, and if there is room, previous and following months at the bottom of the page are also typical. Most diaries run from January to December, but school or academic diaries, also known as "mid-year" diaries, run for twelve months from shortly before the beginning of the

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

academic year An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. School holiday School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which sch ...

. Many diaries are themed for different interest groups, and contain relevant reference information to that interest, and others are given as gifts by businesses. Especially in diaries for children or young people, many are now branded for fictional characters, authors,

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

s or magazines. The British stationery business now called the

Letts Filofax Group Ltd Letts may refer to: People * Judge Letts, multiple persons *Arthur Letts, American developer of Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California *Barry Letts (born 1925), British actor, television director and producer * Billie Letts (née Gipson; 1938–2014 ...

produced the world's first pre-printed diary in 1812, calling it the "Commercial Diary".Barker, Tom. ''Leadership for results: removing barriers to success for people, projects, and processes'', American Society for Quality, 2006, ,
Google books
/ref> Printed diaries now compete with loose-leaf

personal organizer A personal organizer, datebook, date log, daybook, day planner, personal analog assistant, book planner, year planner, or agenda (from Latin ''agenda'' – things to do), is a small book or binder that is designed to be portable. It usually con ...

s and various electronic forms of diary functions on

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or te ...

personal digital assistant A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a handheld PC, is a variety mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. PDAs have been mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of highly capable smartphones, in part ...

s and

mobile telephone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while ...

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External links

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

br>Seven pocket diaries of Theodore Roosevelt
{{Authority control Stationery Notebooks

See also

Notes

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