CHAPTER II.
THE DICTIONARY CATALOGUE.
6.—The dictionary catalogue is not the idea or invention of any individual, but has developed gradually from the requirements of librarians in dealing with readers. The earlier catalogues were limited to entries given under the authors’ names, as in the British Museum Catalogue, or were in classified form, either under the large classes into which a library was divided, or with very little other sub-division. These were followed by what may be termed “dictionary index catalogues” containing the first principles of the dictionary catalogue as now understood. They consisted of very brief entries under authors, and the simple turning about of a title to bring a certain word in it to the front as conveying its subject, in this manner:—
England under Victoria. Michelsen.
Englefield (Sir H. C.) Walk through Southampton.
English Antiquities. Eccleston. 1847.
Ennui. Edgeworth.
Entomology, Exotic. Drury. 1837.
Episodes of Insect Life. 1851.
Errand to the South. Malet.