# Why would a university student do this? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 26, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161 "2025-11-26T18:36:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/21 "2025-11-27T17:56:36Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I appear to have the definition of “indicia” wrong. I meant the page with the copyright, publisher, edition and ISBN. Oh. That’s usually just called the copyright page. But if it has other info, like details about the typeface, and the publisher’s logo, it’s sometimes called the colophon page. It’s almost always on the backside of the title page, and therefore often called “reverse title page.” Since it’s usually across from the dedication, it’s one image to take a picture of both. It could be as simple as someone studying how dedications have changed in wording and person over time. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/22 "2025-11-28T15:46:05Z")
Maybe it’s someone being paid to double check every detail, prior to it being submitted…somewhere or other? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/23 "2025-11-28T16:10:08Z")
Young Republican. [https://www.rawstory.com/tennessee-book-bans-2674352969/](https://www.rawstory.com/tennessee-book-bans-2674352969/) ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/24 "2025-11-28T16:15:38Z")
I would expect the info on the verso of the title page (that’s what I learned to call it in library school back in the previous millennium) would be in the library’s online catalog. Maybe someone linked the book to a less complete record, which happens occasionally, especially if the book was purchased back in the days before we just got the records from the vendor and downloaded the whole order at once. It’s an interesting combination of the way things were done in the old days (getting the publishing info straight from the book) and the modern (taking a picture with one’s phone). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/25 "2025-11-28T19:59:42Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > While university library catalogues often have capacity to generate a reference in Endnote or other formats, that needs to be verified against reality as they are sometimes shit. Speak of the devil. My wife found a website that generates endnotes etc in a variety of formats for papers given the DoI number. I’m writing some chapters for her, and I’m about to try this out. Another possibility for the situation in the OP is that the student wants to look up biographical details on the dedicatee. But I suspect getting info from the indica is more likely. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/26 "2025-11-28T22:33:19Z")
A suspicious professor might tell his students that because of rampant AI hallucinations, he’s only going to accept bibliographies that include images of the copyright info of real books (I’m not sure if that idea makes sense - but a suspicious enough professor might try it) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/27 "2025-11-28T23:06:53Z")
I sometimes used to give an assignment that required reading physical sources from before 1900 from the university’s stacks. I required students to include a photocopy of the data page of the book or article, including the abstract (if an article) or the jacket copy or section of the introduction that explained what the book was about (if a book). Otherwise, I got Wikipedia plagiarism or similar with no evidence the student had at least put their hands on the thing. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/28 "2025-11-28T23:34:51Z")
Yeah, that’ll work. [![](https://greenwoodsoftware.com/misc/ai-book-page.png) ](https://greenwoodsoftware.com/misc/ai-book-page.png) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/29 "2025-11-29T00:18:37Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > rather than running it through the photocopier, Photocopiers cost money, money you could spend on beer. They are a student, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/30 "2025-11-29T00:47:34Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > “Taking a photo” these days often replaces what was once “jotting down a note” or “copying down information”. Think of it in those terms, and many reasonable explanations become apparent. True. I currently have a picture of chicken salad on my phone to remind me to buy some more chicken salad when I go to the store. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/31 "2025-11-29T03:24:28Z")
At this point I’m mystified at what the OP might have been thinking. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/32 "2025-11-29T04:14:16Z")
I’m in love with the dolphenguin logo. It’s just so perfectly messed up, it’s adorable! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161/33 "2025-11-30T20:19:22Z")
Me too. And I love that Mifflin is misspelled. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-university-student-do-this/1025161.md?page=1)