503. Classification and Cataloguing.
503. Classification and Cataloguing.—The classification and catalogue methods of the department should be preliminary to those of the adult departments; but they may be simpler with advantage. Young children would probably find the decimal classification in its orthodox form too intricate. At the same time the system that they use should be in its essentials the main classification of the library. The following simplified form of the decimal system may be suggestive; it is not meant to be more than that:
| 0 | General Works |
| 01 | Bibliographies. Aids to Reading, Catalogues, etc. |
| 03 | Encyclopædias |
| 05 | Children’s magazines |
| 07 | Newspapers |
| 1 | Philosophy |
| 10 | General |
| 17 | Temperance |
| 19 | Conduct |
| 2 | Religion |
| 20 | General |
| 22 | The Bible and Bible Stories |
| 29 | Mythology. Stories involving the Gods |
| 3 | Sociology |
| 30 | General |
| 32 | Government |
| 35 | Army |
| 36 | Navy |
| 37 | Schools and Colleges |
| 39 | Etiquette, Customs |
| 395 | Legends, Folk-lore |
| Fairy Tales go in 833 | |
| 4 | Language |
| 40 | General |
| 42 | Grammars and Readers |
| 45 | Composition, Essay-writing, Précis-writing |
| 5 | Science (Mathematical and Natural) |
| 50 | General |
| 51 | Mathematics, Arithmetic, Geometry |
| 52 | Astronomy |
| 53 | Physics, Electricity |
| 54 | Chemistry |
| 55 | Earth, Sea, Air (Geology, Oceanography, and Meteorology) |
| 56 | Fossils |
| 57 | General natural history; Outdoor books |
| 58 | Trees; Flowers |
| 59 | Man; Races; Origin and Development |
| 6 | Useful Arts |
| 60 | General |
| 61 | Ambulance |
| 615 | Gymnastics |
| 62 | Engineering (Steam, Gas, Electrical) |
| 629 | Aerial Engineering |
| 63 | Farming |
| 64 | Domestic Economy, Cooking |
| 65 | Railways, Shipping |
| 66 | Fishing and Fisheries |
| Angling is 79 | |
| 67 | Trades and Industries, alphabetically |
| 69 | Building |
| 7 | Fine Arts |
| 70 | General |
| 71 | Gardens |
| 72 | Buildings (Architecture) |
| 73 | Sculpture |
| 74 | Drawing |
| 75 | Painting |
| 77 | Photography |
| 78 | Music |
| 79 | Games |
| 8 | Literature |
| 80 | General |
| 81 | Poetry |
| 82 | Drama |
| 83 | Stories and Tales |
| 833 | Fairy Tales |
| 835 | Animal and Other Natural History Fables |
| 84 | Essays |
| 9 | Travel |
| (Including Geography and Descriptions of Countries) | |
| 90 | General |
| 91 | Atlases and Geographies |
| 912 | Travels in Great Britain |
| 914 | Travels in Europe[456] |
| 915 | Travels in Asia |
| 916 | Travels in Africa |
| 917 | Travels in N. America |
| 918 | Travels in Central and South America |
| 919 | Travels in Australasia; The Polar Regions; Isolated Islands |
| 92 | Lives of Famous People: Collective |
| 921 | Lives: Individual |
| Alphabetically by persons written about | |
| 93 | History |
| 930 | Ancient History |
| 940 | History (Modern) of Europe |
| 942 | History of Great Britain and Ireland |
| 95 | History of Asia |
| 96 | History of Africa |
| 97 | History of N. America |
| 98 | History of Central and S. America |
| 99 | History of Australasia and Isolated Islands |
This outline can be expanded as desired without difficulty or dislocation.
504.
504. Similar principles may well govern the cataloguing of the children’s library. It is well that youngsters should become familiar with the arrangement and use of sheaf and card as well as of printed catalogues. Moreover, the Anglo-American code is here the best basis upon which to do the cataloguing. It should be remembered that the children use the catalogue, or ought to use it, and not adults. All recondite bibliographical terms, and abbreviations except the simplest, should be avoided; and explanatory notes should be written in language such as the children may be expected to understand. Indeed, a rule that all cataloguing should be expressed in such language—we mean all that is added to the title—would be a safe one to follow. Some extended rules, with examples, which may prove helpful in this matter are given in Berwick Sayers’s The Children’s Library, chapter iii. It will be seen that no particular form of catalogue is recommended; librarians differ widely upon this question. Perhaps the best printed catalogue is that issued for schools by the Pittsburgh Library: a catalogue in divisions corresponding to the grades in the schools, in which each division contains books which are thought to make appeal to the children in the grade it represents.
505.
505. Reading lists follow the same rules. These, to make any useful appeal, should be presented simply, attractively, and be rigidly selective. A few titles, well presented, are likely to have more effect than lists so long that they frighten the child.