A table of figures is a list of captions derived from figures, illustrations, or tables in your text, organized by page number. It's similar to a table of contents, except it may contain anything with a caption. Tables of figures are often included in the margins of books or other printed material. They help readers find particular details more easily. Books that use tables of figures include: Shakespeare's plays and poems, George Bernard Shaw's novels, H. G. Wells' science fiction stories, and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Today, many reference works, such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, include tables of figures for easy identification of entries related to a specific topic or event. Tables of figures also appear in manuscript documents such as journals and letters. These tables provide information about the figures in your document, including who created them, when they were drawn or written, and what they illustrate. Manuscript tables of figures are usually not included in published materials because they are difficult to create and maintain. Instead, publishers supply descriptive headings and page numbers in the margin of each page of the book. These indications make it easier for readers to follow the story from chapter to chapter or scene to scene without having to flip back and forth through the manuscript.