Manual of Library Cataloguing

by John Henry Quinn

In the dictionary catalogue a book like

Bernard, Henry M.

The apodidæ. (Nature ser.) pp. xx. 316, illus. sm. 8o. 1892

is readily dealt with, as it is simply entered under “Apodidæ” for the subject. In the classified catalogue, however, it must be worked out to its full limits, as class “Science,” section “Natural History,” division “Zoology,” sub-division “Arthropoda” or “Articulata,” lesser division “Crustacea.” The Dewey number is 595.3, and the Brown notation is A152.

Upon a like principle, a book upon a very different subject, viz.,

Loftie, W. J.

Westminster Abbey. New ed., revised, pp. xii, 319, illus. 8o. 1891

is treated in the same manner. The class is “History,” the division “Europe,” sub-division “British Isles,” further division “England,” and lesser division “London”; the Dewey number being 942.1, and that of Brown is F742. This arrangement is upon the presumption that the book is written from the historical and topographical standpoint. It is, however, written as much from the architectural point of view, and the heading might be entirely different; as then the class would be “Fine Arts,” the division “Architecture,” and the sub-division “Ecclesiastical Architecture,” with a further section devoted to “Monographs.” This is one of those books of a composite character that can be very suitably placed in two classes, so far as the catalogue is concerned, as against shelf arrangement.

Even in cataloguing it is unusual and not easy to split up into classes and sub-divisions those books of a miscellaneous character, as volumes of essays, which are “indexed” section by section in the dictionary catalogue. These, therefore, are brought together in one place, unless the whole or the greater number of the essays or sections are upon a particular subject, when they are placed in their proper class. Though there may be no division of the contents of miscellaneous books, as distinct from collected works, this in no wise obviates the necessity for setting out in full the contents of such books in the entry under the main class. Apart from the little difficulty and it not being customary, there is no very sufficient reason why these contents should not be split up in classified cataloguing and inserted in the proper classes throughout, even as they would be treated to subject-entries in the dictionary catalogue; indeed, fairly looked at, it is the only right method of procedure to adopt.