# Running head

> Source: https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/running-head

Last updated: 2026-09-06
Category: Typesetting & layout
Also called: Header · Running foot

A running head is the line repeated at the top of each page — usually the book title on the left and the chapter title on the right, with the folio.

## Definition

A **running head** (or *header*) is the short line of text that repeats at the top of the pages of a book, above the text block. The commonest scheme puts the **book title** (or the author's name) on the verso and the **chapter title** on the recto, with the folio at the outer edge of the same line; a running head placed at the bottom of the page is a **running foot**.

Running heads are omitted on display pages — chapter openers, part titles, blanks, the front matter — because the heading itself does the job there and a repeated title would clutter it. That is also why chapter openers use a drop folio.

They are set small, often in small caps or italics, and a long chapter title is shortened to fit on one line. In a novel they are optional; in nonfiction, where a reader dips in and out, they are close to essential.

## Related

- [Folio](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/folio)
- [Margins](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/margins)
- [Chapter](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/chapter)
- [Recto and verso](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/recto-and-verso)
- [Turn a PDF Into a Printed Book](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/tools/pdf-to-printed-book)
- [Business Book Maker](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/formats/business-book-maker)
- [Book Publishing Glossary — 59 Terms Defined](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary)
- [Bindery — the Claude-powered book studio](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/bindery)

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More from Infinite Library, as one map for AI agents: https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/llms.txt