Biography.
Sterne, Laurence, The life of, by Percy Fitzgerald. Port. 2 v. sm. 8o. 1896
By the Dewey system works of fiction fall into place under languages, epochs, and authors in the main class “Literature” as they should, but most libraries have to make a separate class for this kind of literature. This has been allowed for in the Brown Adjustable Classification, the arrangement being alphabetically by authors with a separate section of books for juveniles, this being further divided for books specially written for boys and again for books for girls. These two main divisions of works of fiction (i.e. novels) and story books for children will be found sufficient in cataloguing, the entries being alphabetically by authors. The dictionary principle of a title-entry may be added with advantage, and the titles given either in separate alphabetical order or more conveniently in their place in the same alphabet with the author-entries, of course keeping all the entries together in their particular class.
111.—The more elaborate the classification in a classified catalogue the more need there is for an adequate index to authors and subjects. The index may be a simple reference under the author’s name to the page upon which the entry is to be found, as
Ward, James 130
but this necessitates a hunt from page to page, and almost from line to line on each page if the author has written a number of books which appear in different parts of the catalogue. For example, this is the index-entry to a catalogue so indexed:
Hamerton, P. G., 42, 84, 86, 119, 125, 149, 151, 163, 165, 174, 175, 176, 190, 213, 215, 252, 330, 366.
The only method of obviating this is to give a brief title of each book, just sufficient to identify it, and while it must be admitted this method takes up some space, yet it is worth it. The following is the form referred to:
Hamerton, P. G. Drawing and engraving, 86.