Lectern

To facilitate eye contact and improve posture when facing an audience, lecterns may have adjustable height and slant.

"[2] One 1905 dictionary states that "the term is properly applied only to the class mentioned [church book stands] as independent of the pulpit.

"[3] By the 1920s, however, the term was being used in a broader sense; for example, in reference to a memorial service in Carnegie Hall, it was stated that "the lectern from which the speakers talked was enveloped in black.

Lecterns of this sort are generally attached or integrated into a large desk, as the amount of support material tends to be larger in academic contexts than in straightforward public talks.

[citation needed] In the Christian Church, the lectern is usually the stand on which the Bible or other texts rest and from which the "lessons" (scripture passages, often selected from a lectionary) are read during the service.

The lessons may be read or chanted by a priest, deacon, minister, or layperson, depending upon the liturgical traditions of the community.

Originally this would have carried the antiphonal book, for use by the cantor or precentor leading the singing of the divine office.

[8] In traditional yeshivas and some synagogues, students and members of the congregation may use small desks called shtenders (Yiddish: שטענדער).

[14] While they are designed in a wide variety of variations, lecterns usually feature a sloped top on which to rest the material to be read.