Public Book

Public Book (of order)

The orders to buy or sell, entered by the public, that are generally away from the current market. The order book official or specialist keeps the public book. Market-Makers on the CBOE can see the highest bid and lowest offer at any time. The specialist's book is closed (only he knows at what price and in what quantity the nearest public orders are). See also Market-Maker and Specialist.

Public Book of Order

A list of all buy and sell orders for a certain security that were placed by members of the public. The public book contains orders that have not yet been filled. The orders, however, are not public; only the book keeper has access to the details of most orders. Market makers and specialists have access only to the highest and lowest orders in order to facilitate trade.