Part 13

«Address» to Christians, recommending the distribution.

«Husson, F.» Vie d’une grande dame.

— Vie dans le Sahel.

«Mason, T.» The corner stone.

— A wall of defence.

242. Arrange different editions of the same works chronologically.

_Ex._ «Homerus.» Carmina [Gr.]; cum annot., cur. C. G. Heyne. Lips., 1802. 8v. 8º.

— _Same._ [Gr.]; cum notis et proleg. R. P. Knight. Londini, 1820. 4º.

— _Same._ [Gr.]; ed. J. Bekker. Bonnae, 1858. 2v. 8º.

«Bartlett», John. Collection of familiar quotations. 3d ed. Camb., 1860. 12º.

— _Same._ 4th ed. Boston, 1863. 12º.

— _Same._ 8th ed. Boston, 1882. 16º.

243. Undated editions should have the date supplied as nearly as may be; absolutely undatable editions should precede dated editions.

244. Disregard numerals commencing a title before such words as Report, Annual report.

_Not_ First report, Fourth report, General account, Second report.

_but_ General account. 1st, 2d, 4th report. {90}

245. Arrange translations immediately after the original, prefixing the name of the language into which they are made; if there are several, arrange the languages alphabetically.

_Ex._ «Cicero.» De officiis. [Various editions, arranged chronologically.]

— _Same._ Erkl. von O. Heine. Berlin, 1857. 8º.

— _Eng._ Offices; tr. by C. R. Edmonds. London, 1850. 8º.

— _French._ Les offices; tr. par [G. Dubois]. Paris, 1691. 8º.

If the original is not in the library the translation may be arranged either by the first words of its own title or by the first words of the original title prefixed in brackets. The latter order is to be preferred when most of the other titles are in the original language. When the list of entries is long a reference should be made from any title of a translation which is alphabetically much separated from its original back to the original title under which it is to be found.

_Ex._ «Hofland», _Mrs._ B. (W. H.). [The son of a genius. _French_:] Ludovico; tr. par Mme. de Montolieu.

«Dudevant.» L’homme de neige.

— _Eng._ The snow man. [58 titles interposed.]

— The snow man. _See, back_, L’homme de neige.

An original text with a translation is to be arranged as if alone, but if there are many editions make a reference from among the translations to the original. If there are translations into two languages in a volume, arrange by the first, and, if necessary, refer from the second.

Polyglots precede all other editions.

246. Divide the works _about_ a person when numerous by collecting the titles of lives into a group.

247. When a writer is voluminous insert the criticisms or notes on or replies to each work after its title; otherwise give them according to § 240, at the end of the article.

248. Arrange analyticals, when there are several for the same article, chronologically, as being different editions.

_Ex._ «Pretty», F. Prosperous voyage of Sir T. Cavendish. (_In_ «Purchas», S. Pilgrims, v. 1, b. 2. 1625; — «Harris», J. Col., v. 1. 1705; _and_ v. 1. 1764; — «Callander», J. Terra Austr., v. 1. 1768; — «Hakluyt», R. Col., v. 4. 1811.)

249. If the library has a work both as part of another work and independently, arrange in the probable order of publication.

_Ex._ «Cutter», C: A. Common sense in libraries. (_In_ «Library» journal, v. 14. 1889.) — _Same._ (_In_ «American Library Assoc.» Proceedings at St. Louis, 1889.) — _Same, separated._ — _Same._ [Boston, 1889.] Q.

250. Under countries arrange titles as under any other author.

That is, put first the country’s own works (governmental publications), then the works about the country; and as we put the criticisms on a voluminous author after the separate writings to which they respectively apply, so we put accounts of or attacks upon any branch of government after the entry of the branch.

251. In arranging government publications make all necessary divisions but avoid subdivision. {91}

It is much clearer—and it is the dictionary plan—to make the parts of a division themselves independent divisions, referring from the including division to the subordinate one. _E. g._ (to take part of the headings under «United States»):

_Subordination._

«United States.» Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Patent Office. Pension Office. Public Land Office. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Navigation. Hydrographic Office. Naval Academy. Naval Observatory. Bureau of Navy-Yards and Docks. Naval Asylum. Department of War. Adjutant-General’s Office. Bureau of Engineers. Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Commissary-General’s Office. Freedmen’s Bureau. Military Academy.

_Better order._

«U. S.» Adjutant-General. Bureau of Engineers. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Bureau of Navigation. Bureau of Navy Yards and Docks. Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Commissary-General. Department of the Interior. Department of the Navy. Department of War. Freedmen’s Bureau. Hydrographic Office. Military Academy. Naval Academy. Naval Asylum. Naval Observatory. Patent Office. Pension Office. Public Lands.

The subordination of bureaus and offices to departments is adopted simply for convenience, and is changed from time to time as the exigencies of the public service demand. There is no corresponding convenience in preserving such an order in a catalogue, but inconvenience, especially in the case of the above-mentioned changes. The alphabetical arrangement has here all its usual advantages without its usual disadvantage of wide separation.

252. Insert a synopsis of the arrangement whenever there are enough titles under a heading to require it.

This applies chiefly to the larger countries (as «France», «Great Britain», «United States»), the more voluminous authors (as «Cicero», «Shakespeare»), one title-entry («Bible»), and possibly some subjects not national. The arrangement of titles under «Bible» will be governed by §§ 240, 242, 245, and 247; but it can be best understood from an example in some catalogue which has many titles under that heading. The synopsis in the Boston Athenæum catalogue is as follows:

Whole Bibles (first Polyglots, then single languages arranged alphabetically).

Works illustrating the whole Bible (under the heads Analysis, Antiquities, Bibliography, Biography, Canon, Catechisms, historical and theological, Commentaries, Concordances, Criticism, Dictionaries, Evidences, authority, etc., Geography, Hermeneutics, History, Inspiration, Introductions, Natural history, Science and the Bible, Theology, morals, etc., Miscellaneous illustrative works).

Selections from both Testaments.

Prophetical books of both Testaments.

Old Testament.

Illustrative works. {92}

Parts of the Old Testament (arranged in the order of the English version), and works severally illustrating them.

Apocrypha.

New Testament.

Illustrative works.

Parts of the New Testament, and works illustrating them.

Under each part the order is: Editions of the original texts chronologically arranged;—Versions, in the alphabetical order of the languages;—Illustrative works.

(c.) CONTENTS.

253. Arrange _contents_ either in the order of the volumes or alphabetically by the titles of the articles.

_Alphabetical order._

_Contents._

Argentile and Curan; a legendary drama, v. 2.

Art of painting, by Du Fresnoy, v. 3.

Caractacus; a dramatic poem, v. 2.

Chronological list of painters to 1689, v. 3.

Dryden’s preface to his translation of Du Fresnoy, v. 3.

Elegies, v. 1.

Elfrida; a dramatic poem, v. 2.

English garden, The, v. 1.

Epitaphs and inscriptions, v. 1.

Essay on the meaning of the word angel, as used by St. Paul, v. 4.

Essays on English church music, v. 3.

Examination of the prophecy in Matthew 24th, v. 4.

Hymns and psalms, v. 1.

Musæus: a monody to the memory of Mr. Pope, v. 1.

Odes, v. 1.

Pygmalion; a lyrical scene, v. 2.

Religio clerici, v. 1.

Sappho; a lyrical drama, v. 2.

Sermons, v. 4.

Sonnets, v. 1.

_Volume order._

_Contents._

Vol. «1.» Musæus, a monody to the memory of Mr. Pope. — Odes, sonnets, epitaphs and inscriptions, elegies. — The English garden. — Religio clerici. — Hymns and psalms. «2.» Elfrida, a dramatic poem. — Caractacus, a dramatic poem. — Sappho. — Argentile and Curan, a legendary drama. — Pygmalion, a lyrical scene. «3.» Du Fresnoy’s art of painting. — Dryden’s preface to his translation of Du Fresnoy. — Chronological list of painters to 1689. — Essays on English church music. «4.» Sermons. — Essay on the meaning of the word angel, as used by St. Paul. — Examination of the prophecy in Matthew 24th.

It is evident how much much more compendious the second method is. But there is no reason why an alphabetical “contents” should not be run into a single paragraph.

The titles of novels and plays contained in any collection ought to be entered in the main alphabet; it is difficult then to see the advantage of an alphabetical arrangement of the same titles under the collection. Many other collections are composed of works for which alphabetical order is no gain, because the words of their titles are not mnemonic words, and it is not worth while to take the trouble of arranging them; but there are others composed of both classes, in which such order is very convenient. {93}

(d.) SUBJECTS.

254. Care must be taken not to mix two subjects together because their names are spelled in the same way.

Thus «Grace» before meals, «Grace» of body, «Grace» the musical term, and «Grace» the theological term, must be four distinct headings.

255. Under subject-headings group titles topically when it can be done, otherwise arrange them by the authors’ names.

Alphabetical arrangement by authors’ names is useful when a subject-entry is a substitute for a title-entry, but otherwise is as useless as it is inappropriate. If the author’s name is known the book should be looked for under that, not under the subject; if it is not known, what good can an arrangement by authors do? Sometimes, if one has forgotten the Christian name of an author, it may be easier to find him under a subject than in a crowd of Smiths or Joneses or Müllers, and this use of a subject-heading is impaired by grouping or by chronological order; but such use is infrequent, and the main design of a subject-entry should not be subordinated to this side advantage.

It is even urged that it is harder to find a work treating of the subject in any special way among subdivisions than when there is only one alphabet, which is absurd. On the one hand one must look over a list of books embracing five or six distinct divisions of a subject and select from titles often ambiguous or provokingly uncommunicative those that seem likely to treat of the matter in the way desired. On the other plan he must run over five or six headings given by another man, and representing that man’s ideas of classification, and decide under which of them the treatise he is in search of is likely to be put. Which system gives the least trouble and demands the least brain-work? Plainly the latter. In three cases out of four he can comprehend the system at a glance. And if in the fourth there is a doubt, and he is compelled after all to look over the whole list or several of the divisions, he is no worse off than if there were no divisions; the list is not any longer. The objection then to subdivisions is not real, but fanciful. The reader at first glance is frightened by the appearance of a system to be learned, and perversely regards it as a hinderance instead of an assistance. But if anyone has such a rooted aversion to subdivisions it is very easy for him to disregard them altogether, and read the list as if they were not there, leaving them to be of service to wiser men.

As the number of titles under each heading increases in number so does the opportunity and need of division. The first and most usual groups to be made are _Bibliography_ and its companion _History_, and the “practical-form” groups _Dictionaries_ and _Periodicals_ Under countries the first grouping will be _Description and Travels_, _History and Politics_, _Language and Literature_, followed by _Natural history_, etc. For examples of further subdivisions see the longer catalogues. It is not worth while in a printed catalogue to make very minute divisions. The object aimed at,—enabling the enquirer to find quickly the book that treats of the branch of the subject which _he_ is interested in,—is attained if the mass of titles is broken up into sections containing from half a dozen to a score. Of course there are masses of titles which can not be so broken up because they all treat of the same subject in the same way, or at least show no difference of treatment that admits of classification. The general works on the Fine Arts in a library of 100,000 volumes may number 100 titles, even after _Periodicals_ and _Dictionaries_ have been set aside.

There is one objection to grouping,—that books can seldom be made to fill any classification exactly, their contents overrunning the classes, so that they must be entered in several places, or they will fail to be found under some of the subdivisions of which they treat. Thus in the chronological arrangement of _History_, whether we arrange by the first date, the average, or the last date of each work, the books cover periods of such various length that one can never get all that relates to one period together. {94}

There is another objection,—that it is much harder to make a catalogue with subdivisions, which of course require a knowledge of the subject and examination of the books; and the difficulty increases in proportion to the number of the books and the minuteness of the divisions.

256. The subarrangement in groups will often be alphabetical by authors; but in groups or subjects of a historical character it should be chronological, the order being made clear by putting the dates first or by printing them in heavy-faced type.

Thus under countries the division _History_ will be arranged according to the period treated of, the earliest first; so under _Description_, for England as seen by foreigners in the days of Elizabeth was a very different country from the England seen by Prince Pückler-Muskau in 1828, or satirized by Max O’Rell in 1883. So _Statistics_ and _Literature_, and other divisions, should be treated when they are long enough.

257. When there are many cross-references classify them.

_Ex._ «Architecture.» _See also_ «Arches»;—«Baths»;—«Bridges»;—«Cathedrals»;—«Fonts»;—[and many other things built];

_also_ «Carpentry»;—«Drawing»;—«Metal-work»;—«Painting»;—[and many other means or methods of building];

_also_ «Athens»;—«Berlin»;—«Boston»;—«Milan»;—«Rome»;—«Venice»;—«Verona»;—[and many other cities whose buildings are described];

_also_ «Arabia»;—«Assyria»;—«Egypt»;—«France»;—«Greece»;—«India»;—«Italy»;—[and many other countries whose architecture is described].

258. When the titles are numerous under a subject-heading divide them, but avoid subdivision.

It may not be best to adopt strictly the same method in the subdivisions under countries that was recommended for government publications. There are advantages in both the following plans. The second is the dictionary plan pure and simple; the first is a bit of classification introduced for special reasons into a dictionary catalogue, and perhaps out of place there. It is, however, the one which I have adopted for the catalogue of the Boston Athenæum.

(1.) Dictionary Catalogue with a Bit of Classification

[Name of country.]

Administration. Agriculture. Antiquities. Architecture. Army. Art. Biography. Botany. Calendar. Ceremonies. Charities. Climate. Colonies. Commerce and Trade. Costume. Description and Travels. Ecclesiastical history. Education. Entomology. Finance. Folk-lore. Foreign relations. Geology. Heraldry. Herpetology. History. Bibliography. General works. Chronological arrangement. Ichthyology. Industry. Language. Bibliography. General and miscellaneous works. Composition. Conversation and Phrases. Correspondence. Dialects. Dictionaries. Epithets. Etymology. Exercises. Grammar. Historical grammars. History. Homonyms. Pronunciation and spelling. Prosody. Readers (for foreign languages). Rhymes. Synonyms. Law. Bibliography. History. General works. Literature. General Bibliography. History (including lives of authors). Collections. Manuals. Selections for reading and speaking. Ballads and songs. Dialogues. Drama. Eloquence or oratory. Epigrams. Epitaphs. Essays. Fables. Fairy tales. Fiction. Legends. Letters. Parodies. Periodicals. Poetical romances. Poetry. Popular literature.[68] Prose romances.[69] Satire. Sonnets. Wit and humor. Malacology. Manufactures. Medicine. Mineralogy. Money. Music. Names. Natural history. Navy. Naval history. Numismatics. Ornithology. Palæontology. Philosophy. Politics. Population. Public works. Registers. Religion. Sanitary affairs. Science. Social distinctions. Social life, Manners and customs. Social science. Statistics. Technology. Theatre. Theology. Zoölogy. Etc.

(2.) Dictionary Catalogue Pure and Simple

[Name of country.]

Administration. Agriculture. Antiquities. Architecture. Army. Art. Ballads and songs. Bibliography. Botany. Calendar. Ceremonies. Charities. Climate. Colonies. Commerce. Composition. Conversation and Phrases. Correspondence. Costume. Description and Travels. Dialects. Dialogues. Dictionaries. Drama. Ecclesiastical history. Education. Eloquence or oratory. Entomology. Etymology. Epigrams. Epitaphs. Epithets. Exercises. Fables. Fairy tales. Fiction. Finance. Foreign relations. Geology. Grammar. Heraldry. Herpetology. History. Bibliography. General works. Chronological arrangement. Homonyms. Ichthyology. Language. Bibliography. History. General and miscellaneous works. Law. Bibliography. History. General and miscellaneous works. Legends. Letters. Literature. Bibliography. History. General and miscellaneous works. Collections. Malacology. Manufactures. Medicine. Mineralogy. Money. Music. Names. Natural history. Navy. Naval history. Numismatics. Ornithology. Palæontology. Parodies. Periodicals. Philosophy. Poetical romances. Poetry. Politics. Popular literature.[68] Population. Pronunciation. Prose romances.[69] Prosody. Public works. Registers. Religion. Rhymes. Sanitary affairs. Satire. Science. Social distinctions. Social life, Manners and customs. Social science. Sonnets. Spelling. Statistics. Synonyms. Technology. Theatre. Theology. Wit and humor. Zoölogy. Etc.

Note, however, that if the subordination under Language and Literature is objected to, it is very easy to make them independent headings in the main alphabet, having

instead of

«Italy.» _Description._ _History._ _Language._ _Literature._ _Natural history._

the headings

«Italian language.» «Italian literature.» «Italy.» _Description._ _History._ _Natural history._

Of course different countries will require different divisions, e. g., _Ecclesiastical history_, _Mythology_, _Religion_, _Theology_ will not often be required for the same {97} country. And often it will be expedient to combine those divisions in which there are very few titles into one more general; thus _Botany_, _Herpetology_, _Ichthyology_, _Zoölogy_, would join to give _Natural history_ a respectable size, and _Geology_, _Mineralogy_, _Palæontology_, _Physical geography_ would combine, or in very small countries all these would go together under _Description_. Under some countries other divisions will be required; in the list are given only those in actual use; but the arrangement is elastic and admits of new divisions whenever they are needed. In regard to a few (such as _Epitaphs_, _Fables_, _Names_, _Proverbs_) there is room for doubt whether they ought to be under countries; whether the subject cohesion is not much stronger than the national cohesion. Many others are not usually put here (as _Numismatics_, _Philosophy_, _Religion_, _Science_, _Theology_, _Zoölogy_). The former usage was to put under the country only its history, travels in it, and the general descriptive works; and books that treated of the Art, Architecture, Ballads, Botany, Drama, etc., of that land were put with the general works on Art, Architecture, etc. But the tendency of the dictionary catalogue is towards national classification; that is, in separating what relates to the parts of a subject, as is required by its _specific_ principle, it necessarily brings together all that relates to a country in every aspect, as it would what relates to any other individual.

It may be asked (1) why the parts of _Natural history_ are here separated and the parts of _Language_ and _Literature_ not; and (2) why we do not divide still more (following out the dictionary plan fully), so as to have divisions like _Liliaceæ_, _Cows_, _Horses_. As to (2), in a library catalogue of a million volumes it would no doubt be best to adopt rigidly this specific mode of entry for the larger countries; for a catalogue of one or two hundred thousand, arrangement in classes is as well suited to quick reference and avoids the loss of room occasioned by numerous headings. With few books minute division has a very incomplete appearance, specialties occurring only here and there, and most of the titles being those of general works. This may be compared to the division of a library into alcoves. One of from 10,000 to 20,000 volumes has an alcove for Natural History; from 20,000 to 50,000 it has alcoves for Botany and for Zoölogy; from 50,000 to 100,000 it has alcoves for Birds, Fishes, Insects, Mammals, Reptiles, but it must be either very large or very special before it allows to smaller divisions of Zoölogy separate apartments. On an expansive system it is easy to make new alcoves as they are wanted; a similar multiplication by fission is possible in the successively enlarging editions of a printed catalogue. A card catalogue, designed for continuous growth, should have more thorough division than can be put into print, because it must look into the future, while the printed catalogue has no future.

As to (1) I can only say that the divisions of _Language_ seem to me too intimately connected to be dispersed in catalogues of the present size, but that those of _Literature_ have a more substantive existence and ought to be separated sooner. A double subdivision, however, ought to be avoided. Under _Language_ there should be only one alphabet. It is better to arrange

«Greece.» _Language._ _Accents._ _Dictionaries._ _Ellipses._ _Etymology._ _Grammar._ _History._ _Particles._ _Pleonasms._ _Pronunciation._ _Syntax._ than _Dictionaries._ _Etymology._ _Grammar._ _Accents._ _Ellipses._ _Particles._ _Pleonasms._ _Pronunciation._ _Syntax._ _History._