The preliminaries having been settled, the work of printing is put in hand by furnishing the printer with a supply of "copy," of say 100 sheets, duly marked for varieties of type and other details. In due course the printer will send two or three copies of proofs printed in single column on long strips of paper known as "galleys," with ample margins on which to mark the corrections. The corrections are not marked on the printed matter alone, but the nature of the correction required is also marked in the margin. An assistant, possessing some knowledge of the subject, should read out the "copy" slowly and distinctly to the cataloguer, at the same time directing attention to any peculiarities of spelling, punctuation, accented letters, and the like. It is a very difficult task to correct the proofs by reference to the "copy" without having it read aloud. Each galley having been once read through should have the shelf numbers called again, as mistakes in these cause most trouble. After this the cataloguer will be well advised to read the galleys through carefully once more, apart from the "copy," provided he can spare the time, and is not overwhelmed with proofs by the printer. He should also mark the places for the insertion of any additions, which are either written on the margins or, if large in number, made into a new sheet of "copy," with a separate numbering for each item, this numbering being used for marking the exact place where it is to be inserted.
When the corrections are many, as they often are in the early stages of the work before the compositor has got into the right way, it is advisable to have "a revise" in galley—that is, an additional "pull" after the corrections are made. Should the corrections be comparatively few, the printer may safely be trusted to put them right, and a revise in page form will suffice. This revise in page needs careful reading for catch-letters and other page headings, and for the repetition of authors' names and subject-headings when they are divided at the tops of columns (or pages). This reading is done without the "copy," which, once being read, is not needed again, except for reference.
Most catalogues are now set up on the Linotype or Monotype machines, when it is as well to ascertain which of these machines is in use. By the Linotype a single addition of a word or correction of a letter involves the resetting of the whole line, possibly two, and the lines must be re-read. Corrections on the Monotype are made by single pieces in the ordinary way. It is essential in hand-setting to look out for wrong founts, that is pieces of another size or style of type which have been accidentally mixed up with that being used, and if printed will mar the appearance. Broken and worn letters also should be marked to be changed. Work on the type-setting machines is not so much subject to these faults, though they are possible. The method of correcting a proof and the signs used in the process are shown in Appendix A.
With the object of saving expense in the printing of new editions of catalogues, some librarians are trying the experiment of keeping the type standing and paying a small rental. The edition printed is then not so large as usual, and when a new edition is required the type is again used and the new additions inserted. An arrangement of this kind requires that the original estimate shall include a price per page for reprints with additions and for re-imposition. This attempt at economy has not yet got beyond the experimental stage.
The storage of type until wanted for reprinting does not enter into consideration where the Monotype setting machine is used, the perforated paper rolls being easily filed away until required again; though this is rather the concern of the printer than of the librarian.
We may conclude with the following quotation taken from the preface of a library catalogue:—
"In the former catalogue it was said that 'It would seem to be impossible to produce a catalogue absolutely free from errors of compilation or the press, and some are already noted for correction when the next edition is called for.' This statement still holds good."