Blue book

Blue book is a term used in various fields. It often refers to an almanac or other compilation of statistics and information. The Tennessee Blue Book traces the term to the large blue velvet-covered books used for record-keeping by the Parliament of the United Kingdom beginning in the 15th century. [ [http://www.state.tn.us/sos/bluebook/07-08/Preface.pdf Preface] , Tennessee Blue Book, 2007-2008 edition, page vii]

Examples of the use of this term include:

;U.K. politics and government
* Treachery of the Blue Books, an 1847 Welsh parliamentary report on the state of education in the country
* The nickname formerly given to a parliamentary paper. In the 19th century, many of these were issued with a blue cover, and the term was applied to all parliamentary papers. A 1916 Parliament "Blue Book" on the Armenian genocide, formally known as "The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915–1916", is considered a significant source on the history of that event and is commonly called "the Blue Book." [ [http://www.gomidas.org/events/11dec00r.htm At the House of Lords, the Armenian Genocide is Back on the Table] , The Gomidas Institute website]
* A weekly digest of signals intelligence reports by the British intelligence agency GCHQ
* The nickname of the annual publication of the Motor Sports Association
* Annual reports produced by the governments of each crown colony and protectorate of the British Empire
* The United Kingdom annual National Statistics Blue Book, containing the estimates of the domestic and national product, income and expenditure.

;U.S. politics and military
* "Blue Book" (United States Marine Corps), a bulletin listing the lineal precedence and seniority of Marine Corps officers
* "Project Blue Book", a U.S. Air Force study on UFOs
* Wisconsin Blue Book, an almanac of state government affairs and statistics. Several other states produce similar publications, including the Tennessee Blue Book.

;Law
* , the most widely followed authority for legal citation formats in the United States.

;Literature and media
* "Blue Book" (magazine), published from 1905 to 1975
* "Bluebook", a citation guide used in law review articles or legal documents
* "Blue Book" (racing), a publication of The Jockey Club
* A common name of the "Handbook of United States Coins" by R.S. Yeoman
* A guide to houses of prostitution in the Storyville district of New Orleans, published between 1895 and 1915
* The publications of the European Central Bank describing the main payment and securities settlement systems in the EU Member States
* Project UFO, a 1978 television series about fictional UFO investigators, created by Jack Webb, and based loosely on the United States Air Force investigation known as "Project Blue Book".

;Computing and technology
* Blue Book specification, the name of one format from the Rainbow Book standards for compact discs, defining the Enhanced CD standard
* A set of telecommunications Recommendations issued by the International Telecommunication Union Standardisation Sector in 1988
* A common name of the book "Smalltalk-80: The Language and its Implementation", and any virtual machine implementation based on it
* Blue Book protocol, the File Transfer Protocol of the Coloured Book protocols
* The Java Virtual Machine Specification
* Blue Books, spacecraft data and telemetry recommendations made by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems

;Automotive and Aviation
* Aircharter Bluebook,a comprehensive worldwide guide to aircharter services which includes AirCharter operators, brokers, cargo operators and Air Ambulance services.
* Aircraft Bluebook, a digest that covers the price and condition of used general aviation aircraft in the U.S; the Aircraft Bluebook Rating Scale (or "Bluebook scale") is used in the aviation industry to rate the condition of used aircraft
* Kelley Blue Book, an automotive appraisal firm

;Education
* Blue book exam, a type of test involving writing an essay
* The lecture notes of Ludwig Wittgenstein's 1933–1934 Cambridge class, on the philosophy of language

;Jewelry
*Blue Book is the Tiffany & Co. catalog first published in 1845. It is still being published today.
* The World Jewellery Confederation "Blue Book" is a three-part publication outlining terminology, classification and ethical guidelines (i.e. disclosure of treatments and synthetics) for coloured gemstones, diamonds and pearls.

;Biology
*UNEP has compiled endangered species of the world under this book

References