Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue / U. S. Bureau of Education Special Report on Public Libraries—Part II, Third Edition

by Charles A. Cutter

also Carpentry;—Drawing;—Metal-work;—Painting;—[and many other means or methods of building];

also Athens;—Berlin;—Boston;—Milan;—Rome;—Venice;—Verona;—[and many other cities whose buildings are described];

also Arabia;—Assyria;—Egypt;—France;—Greece;—India;—Italy;—[and many other countries whose architecture is described].

258. When the titles are numerous under a subject-heading divide them, but avoid subdivision.

It may not be best to adopt strictly the same method in the subdivisions under countries that was recommended for government publications. There are advantages in both the following plans. The second is the dictionary plan pure and simple; the first is a bit of classification introduced for special reasons into a dictionary catalogue, and perhaps out of place there. It is, however, the one which I have adopted for the catalogue of the Boston Athenæum.

• [(1.) Dictionary Catalogue with a Bit of Classification]
  • [Name of country.]
    • Administration.
    • Agriculture.
    • Antiquities.
    • Architecture.
    • Army.
    • Art.
    • Biography.
    • Botany.
    • Calendar.
    • Ceremonies.
    • Charities.
    • Climate.
    • Colonies.
    • Commerce and Trade.
    • Costume.
    • Description and Travels.
    • Ecclesiastical history.
    • Education.
    • Entomology.
    • Finance.
    • Folk-lore.
    • Foreign relations.
    • Geology.
    • Heraldry.
    • Herpetology.
    • History.
      • Bibliography.
      • General works.
      • Chronological arrangement.
    • Ichthyology.
    • Industry.
    • Language.
      • Bibliography.
      • General and miscellaneous works.
      • Composition.
      • Conversation and Phrases.
      • Correspondence.
      • Dialects.
      • Dictionaries.
      • Epithets.
      • Etymology.
      • Exercises.
      • Grammar.
      • Historical grammars.
      • History.
      • Homonyms.
      • Pronunciation and spelling.
      • Prosody.
      • Readers (for foreign languages).
      • Rhymes.
      • Synonyms.
    • Law.
      • Bibliography.
      • History.
      • General works.
    • Literature.
      • General
      • Ballads and songs.
      • Dialogues.
      • Drama.
      • Eloquence or oratory.
      • Epigrams.
      • Epitaphs.
      • Essays.
      • Fables.
      • Fairy tales.
      • Fiction.
      • Legends.
      • Letters.
      • Parodies.
      • Periodicals.
      • Poetical romances.
      • Poetry.
      • Popular literature. [68]
      • Prose romances. [69]
      • Satire.
      • Sonnets.
      • Wit and humor.
    • Malacology.
    • Manufactures.
    • Medicine.
    • Mineralogy.
    • Money.
    • Music.
    • Names.
    • Natural history.
    • Navy.
    • Naval history.
    • Numismatics.
    • Ornithology.
    • Palæontology.
    • Philosophy.
    • Politics.
    • Population.
    • Public works.
    • Registers.
    • Religion.
    • Sanitary affairs.
    • Science.
    • Social distinctions.
    • Social life, Manners and customs.
    • Social science.
    • Statistics.
    • Technology.
    • Theatre.
    • Theology.
    • Zoölogy.
    • Etc.

• [(2.) Dictionary Catalogue Pure and Simple]
  • [Name of country.]
    • Administration.
    • Agriculture.
    • Antiquities.
    • Architecture.
    • Army.
    • Art.
    • Ballads and songs.
    • Bibliography.
    • Botany.
    • Calendar.
    • Ceremonies.
    • Charities.
    • Climate.
    • Colonies.
    • Commerce.
    • Composition.
    • Conversation and Phrases.
    • Correspondence.
    • Costume.
    • Description and Travels.
    • Dialects.
    • Dialogues.
    • Dictionaries.
    • Drama.
    • Ecclesiastical history.
    • Education.
    • Eloquence or oratory.
    • Entomology.
    • Etymology.
    • Epigrams.
    • Epitaphs.
    • Epithets.
    • Exercises.
    • Fables.
    • Fairy tales.
    • Fiction.
    • Finance.
    • Foreign relations.
    • Geology.
    • Grammar.
    • Heraldry.
    • Herpetology.
    • History.
      • Bibliography.
      • General works.
      • Chronological arrangement.
    • Homonyms.
    • Ichthyology.
    • Language.
      • Bibliography.
      • History.
      • General and miscellaneous works.
    • Law.
      • Bibliography.
      • History.
      • General and miscellaneous works.
    • Legends.
    • Letters.
    • Literature.
      • Bibliography.
      • History.
      • General and miscellaneous works.
      • Collections.
    • Malacology.
    • Manufactures.
    • Medicine.
    • Mineralogy.
    • Money.
    • Music.
    • Names.
    • Natural history.
    • Navy.
    • Naval history.
    • Numismatics.
    • Ornithology.
    • Palæontology.
    • Parodies.
    • Periodicals.
    • Philosophy.
    • Poetical romances.
    • Poetry.
    • Politics.
    • Popular literature. [68]
    • Population.
    • Pronunciation.
    • Prose romances. [69]
    • Prosody.
    • Public works.
    • Registers.
    • Religion.
    • Rhymes.
    • Sanitary affairs.
    • Satire.
    • Science.
    • Social distinctions.
    • Social life, Manners and customs.
    • Social science.
    • Sonnets.
    • Spelling.
    • Statistics.
    • Synonyms.
    • Technology.
    • Theatre.
    • Theology.
    • Wit and humor.
    • Zoölogy.
    • Etc.

[68] Not meaning novels, but broadsides, chap-books, and the like,—the literature of the people in times past.

[69] Again not meaning novels, but the romances of chivalry, etc.

Note, however, that if the subordination under Language and Literature is objected to, it is very easy to make them independent headings in the main alphabet, having