How to Catalogue a Library

by Henry B. Wheatley

Exception 1 is surely unnecessary, for the publications of the Société Météorologique de France have just as much right to appear under "Paris" as the publications of the "Institut" (which, by the way, is the "Institut" of France, not of Paris).

The difficulties of this first word (not an article) arrangement are numerous. For instance, all the French societies will be under Société, and a large number of the English societies under Royal. Then, again, how many German and Swiss towns have a Naturforschende Gesellschaft—the confusion of which is obviated by arranging them under the names of the towns. This is one reason; but another is, that many of these societies have double titles, with the designation of the society in different languages. For instance, the Neue Denkschriften of the "Allgemeine Schweizerische Gesellschaft für die gesammten Naturwissenschaften," at Zürich, is also styled Nouveaux Mémoires de la Société Helvétique des Sciences Naturelles; and this at once confuses the society with "Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft," which is also named "Allgemeine Schweizerische Gesellschaft" and "Société Helvétique des Sciences Naturelles." Several of the Scandinavian societies have a Latin as well as a native name. Thus the "Kongl. Vetenskaps Societet," of Upsala, is also called "Regia Societas Scientiarum Upsaliensis," and its publications are known as Acta and Nota Acta. Again, the publications of the "Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab," of Trondhjem, have been in German as well as in Danish, and in the former language the style of the society has taken the two forms of "Drontheimische Gesellschaft" and of "Konigl. Norwegische Gesellschaft." Again, Bohemian societies have both a German and a Bohemian title, and the cataloguer must choose which he will take.

It cannot be said that by arranging the societies under the names of the places where they meet all difficulties are overcome, but it may safely be said that they are found with much greater ease by the consulter of the catalogue, than if they were spread about in the alphabet under the first words of their titles (not an article), and this, I think, is the greatest advantage that can be claimed for any cataloguing scheme. Another good reason for placing the societies under their place of meeting is that their transactions are most commonly referred to as the "Paris Mémoires," the "Berlin Abhandlungen," or the "Copenhagen Skrifter;" and therefore it is most objectionable that the reader who knows what he wants should have, before consulting the catalogue, to seek for the exact wording of the society's name.

The London Mathematical Society would come under London by Cutter's rule, although it is always spoken of as the Mathematical Society simply; while some of the publications of the Meteorological Society would be arranged under B (British Meteorological Society) and others under M (Meteorological Society). Those who have little to do with transactions can scarcely guess the confusion that occurs in catalogues when the references are not arranged upon a sound system.

There are two very serious objections to the geographical arrangement of the places where societies are seated rather than the alphabetical. One is, that you have to think what country the place is in before looking for it; and the other, that the boundaries of Europe are constantly being altered. If every society is placed under the name of the town where it holds its meetings, and the towns are arranged in one general alphabet, we have an arrangement that is simplicity itself.

It is of paramount importance to place all the publications of a society under one heading, even when the place of meeting may have been changed; and in such a case as this the only safe plan is to arrange all under the name of the last place of meeting, with cross-references from the other places. A good instance of this is the well-known set of transactions which is almost invariably quoted as the Nova Acta. The "Kaiserliche Leopoldino-Carolinische Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher" published their Acta at Nuremberg between 1730 and 1754, and their Nova Acta at the same place between 1757 and 1791. The Nova Acta has subsequently been published at Erlangen, Breslau, and Bonn, and the present seat of the academy is at Dresden.

There is of course a difficulty in the case of peripatetic societies both national (such as the British Association) and international (such as the Congress of Prehistoric Archæology); but these societies have usually permanent headquarters, and these may be treated as the headings.

No mention has been made of what we rather vaguely style "Publishing Societies," because these require special rules. They should be catalogued with a general entry under the division of Transactions, but the separate books published by each society must be catalogued in the general catalogue.

Journals.

Mr. Cutter's rule, No. 54 (Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue, p. 53), is as follows: "Periodicals are to be treated as anonymous, and entered under the first word. Ex. Popular Science Monthly, Littell's Living Age.