213. Arrange entries according to the English alphabet, whatever the order of the alphabet in which a foreign name might have to be entered in its original language.
Treat I and J, U and V, as separate letters; ij, at least in the older Dutch names, should be arranged as y; do not put Spanish names beginning with Ch, Ll, Ñ, after all other names beginning with C, L, and N, as is done by the Spanish Academy, nor ä, å, æ, ö, ø, at the end of the alphabet, as is done by the Swedes and Danes, nor the German ä, ö, ü, as if written ae, oe, ue (except Goethe). If two names are spelled exactly alike except for the umlaut (as Müller and Muller) arrange by the forenames.
[65] On this subject consult Appendix IV, pp. 116–118; also p. 36–69 of Dr. C: Dziatzko’s “Instruction für die Ordnung der Titel im alphabetischen Zettelkatalog der Univ.-Bibliothek zu Breslau, Berlin, 1886,” 74 pp. O (the first 35 pp. are a treatise on Entry).
214. When the same word serves for several kinds of heading let the order be the following: person, place, followed by subject (except person or place), form, and title.
Arrangement must be arbitrary. This order is easy to remember, because it follows the course of cataloguing; we put down first the author, then the title. The subject and form, expressed sometimes in more than one word, and the title, almost always having more than one word, must be arranged among themselves by the usual rules. Of course, the person considered as a subject can not be separated from the person as author. As the place may be either author or subject or both, it may come between the two.
Ex.
Washington, George. (person)
Washington, D. C. (place)
Homes, H. A. (person)
Homes family. (persons)
Homes. (subject)
Homes and shrines. (title)
215. Forenames used as headings precede surnames.
Ex.
Christian II.
Christian, James.
Christian art.
Francis II.
Francis, Abraham.
Francis and Jane.
216. Headings like Charles, George, Henry, when very numerous, must be divided into classes, in this order: Saints, Popes, Emperors, Kings, Princes and Noblemen, others. The Saints are subarranged by their usual appellatives, the Popes by their number, Sovereigns and Sovereign princes in alphabetical order of countries, and under countries numerically. Other persons are subarranged by their usual appellatives, neglecting the prepositions. [66]
[66] So that Thomas de Insula and Thomas Insulanus may not be separated.
Ex.
Peter, Saint.
Peter, Pope.
Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia.
Peter II. of Aragon.
Peter III. of Aragon.
Peter I. of Portugal.
Peter, Duke of Newcastle.
Peter, of Groningen, enthusiast. See Pieter.
Peter, John Henry.
Peter, Lake.
Peter, Mt.
Peter Lewis, a true tale.
Peter-Hansen, Erik.
When there are two appellatives coming in different parts of the alphabet, refer from the rejected one, as Thomas Cantuariensis. See Thomas Becket.
217. Arrange proper names beginning with M’, Mc, St., Ste. as if spelled Mac, Saint, Sainte.
Because they are so pronounced. But L’ is not arranged as La or Le, nor O’ as if it stood for Of, because they are not so pronounced.
218. In a card catalogue mix in one alphabet names that differ slightly in spelling and come close together in the alphabet.
Ex. Clark and Clarke, and the French names beginning with Saint and Sainte. The names should be spelled correctly, but the difference of spelling disregarded by the arranger. But the exceptional order should be clearly indicated. A guide block should have the inscription Clark and Clarke, and there should be a reference guide block, Clarke. See Clark. The most common spelling should go first; if the forms are equally used, let that precede that comes first in alphabetical order.
219. Arrange by the forename headings in which the family name is the same.
No attention is to be paid to prefixes, as Bp., Capt., Dr., Hon., Sir, Fräulein, Miss, Mlle., Mme., Mrs., or to suffixes, as D.D., F.R.S., LL.D., etc. In regard to Hungarian names, observe that the name appears on the title-page as it does in a catalogue, the family name first, followed by the Christian name; as, “Elbeszélések; irta báró Eötvös Jozsef.”
220. When the forenames are the same arrange chronologically.
Again, no attention is to be paid to the titles Sir, etc. The alphabetical principle is of no use here because no one can know beforehand which of many possible titles we have taken to arrange by, whereas some one may know when the author whom he is seeking lived. Of course
Brown, T. L., comes before
Brown, Thomas, for the same reason that
Brown comes before
Browne.
221. Forenames not generally used should be neglected in the arrangement.
When an author is generally known by one of several forenames he will be looked for by that alone, and that alone should determine the arrangement, at least in a card catalogue. Instances are: Agassiz, (J:) L: (Rudolph), Cleveland, (Stephen) Grover, Collins, (W:) Wilkie, Cook, (Flavius Josephus known as) Joseph, Dobson, (H:) Austin, Doré, (Paul) Gustav. The form should be
Harte, Bret (full name Francis Bret), or Harte, Bret (in full Francis Bret).
Make references whenever the omission of a name will change the alphabetical arrangement, as from Müller, F: Max, to Müller, Max.
But if they are counted in arranging they should be spaced or parenthesized, because when there are several persons with the same family name the spacing or parenthesizing assists the eye in picking out the right one. Thus if we have
Franklin, John, d. 1759,
Franklin, Sir John, d. 1863,
Franklin, John Andrew,
Franklin, John Charles,
Franklin, John D a v i d,
the reader not knowing of the name David would expect to find the last among the simple Johns, but seeing the David spaced would understand that it was a rarely used name. This supposes that he knows the system, but one can not have a condensed catalogue without obliging the reader to learn how to use it. (See § 140.) {85}
222. If an author uses both the shorter and the longer forms in different works and yet is decidedly better known by the shorter, arrange by that.
Ex. Müller, Max (in full F: Max). Otherwise give and arrange by all the names.
223. If a person’s forenames occur differently in different books or different authorities, or occur in a different order, or the person has changed one or more of his forenames, arrange by one form (the best known or the latest) and refer from the others if alphabetically separated.
224. Arrange a nobleman’s title, under which entry is made, and the name of a bishop’s see, from which reference is made to the family name, among the personal names, not with the places.
Ex.
London, Alfred.
London, David, Bp. of.
London, John.
London, Conn.
London, Eng.
not
London, John.
London, David, Bp. of.
London, Conn.
nor
London, John.
London, Conn.
London, David, Bp. of.
London, Eng.
Danby, John.
Danby, Thomas Osborne, Earl of.
Danby, Wm.
Danby, Eng.
Holland, C.
Holland, H: E. Fox-Vassal, 4th Baron.
Holland, H: R. Fox-Vassal, 3d Baron.
Holland [the country].
225. The possessive case singular should be arranged with the plural.
The alphabet demands this, and I see no reason to make an exception which can not be made in foreign languages.
Bride of Lammermoor.
Brides and bridals.
Bride’s choice.
Boys’ and girls’ book.
Boy’s King Arthur.
Boys of ’76.
226. Arrange Greek and Latin personal names by their patronymics or other appellatives.
Ex.
Dionysius.
Dionysius Areopagita.
Dionysius Chalcidensis.
Dionysius Genuensis.
227. Arrange English personal names compounded with prefixes as single words; also those foreign names in which the prefix is not transposed (see § 24).
Ex.
Demonstration.
De Montfort.
Demophilus.
De Morgan.
Demosthenes.
Other such names are Ap Thomas, Des Barres, Du Chaillu, Fitz Allen, La Motte Fouqué, Le Sage, Mac Fingal, O’Neal, Saint-Réal, Sainte-Beuve, Van Buren.
This is the universal custom, founded on the fact that the prefixes are often not separated in printing from the following part of the name. It would, of course, be wrong to have Demorgan in one place and De Morgan in another. {86}
228. Arrange personal names compounded of two names with or without a hyphen after the first name but before the next longer word.
Ex.
Fonte, Bart. de.
Fonte Resbecq, Auguste.
Fontenay, Louis.
Fontenay Mareuil, François.
229. In the preliminary card catalogue it is best to arrange these by the first name, neglecting the second entirely [67] and subarranging by forenames.
The reason is (1) that authors do not always use the second part of their names, and (2) that the single alphabet is easier to use in a card catalogue.
Ex.
Halliwell (afterwards Halliwell-Phillipps), James Orchard.
[67] Except when the first family names and forenames of two persons are the same, when the one with a second part will come after the other; but if both have a second part, subarrange by these second parts when they differ.
230. Arrange compound names of places as separate words.
Ex.
New, John.
New Hampshire.
New legion of Satan.
New Sydenham Society.
New York.
Newark.
Newfoundland.
Newspapers.
not
New, John.
New legion of Satan.
Newark.
Newfoundland.
New Hampshire.
Newspapers.
New Sydenham Society.
New York.
231. Arrange names of societies as separate words.
See New Sydenham Society in the list above.
232. Arrange as single words compound words which are printed as one.
Ex. Bookseller, Bookplates. Sometimes such words are printed on title-pages as two words; in such case do the same in copying the title, but if the word is used as a heading follow the authority of a dictionary; each library should select some one dictionary as its standard.
233. Arrange hyphened words as if separate.
Ex.
Happy home.
Happy-Thought Hall.
Happy thoughts.
Home and hearth.
Home rule.
Homely traits.
Homer.
Sing, pseud.
Sing, James.
Sing, James, pseud.
Sing-Sing Prison.
Singapore.
Singing.
Grave and Reverend Club.
Grave County.
Grave Creek.
Grave-digger.
Grave-mounds.
Grave objections.
Grave de Mézeray, Antoine.
Gravel.
Gravestone.
Graveyard.
Out and about.
Out in the cold, a song.
Out-of-door Parliament.
Outer darkness, The. {87}
234. Arrange pseudonyms after the corresponding real name.
Ex.
Andrew, pseud.
Andrew, St.
Andrew, St., pseud.
Andrew, John.
Andrew, John, pseud.
Andrew, John Albion.
235. Arrange incomplete names by the letters. If the same letters are followed by different signs, if there are no forenames, arrange in the order of the complexity of signs; but if there are forenames arrange by them.
Ex.
Far from the world.
Far...
Far***
Far***, B.F.
Far..., J. B.
Farr, John.
236. If signs without any letters are used as headings (§ 57) (as ... or †††) put them all before the first entries under the letter A.
237. The arrangement of title-entries is first by the heading words; if they are the same, then by the next word; if that is the same, by the next; and so on. Every word, articles and prepositions included, is to be regarded; but not a transposed article.
Ex.
Uncovenanted mercies.
Under a cloud.
Under the ban.
Under the greenwood tree; a novel.
Under the greenwood tree; a poem.
Under which king.
Undone task, The.
Undone task done.
Here the transposed The is non-existent for the arranger.
It makes no difference whether the words are connected with one another in sense or not; the searcher should not be compelled to think of that. Let the arrangement be by words as ordinarily printed. Thus Home rule is one idea but it is two words, and its place must be determined primarily by its first word Home, which brings it before Homeless. If it were printed Homerule it would come after Homeless. Similarly Art amateur is one phrase, but as the first word Art is followed by a word beginning with am, it must come before Art and artists, although its parts are more closely connected than the parts of the latter phrase.
The French d’ and l’ are not to be treated as part of the following word:
Ex.
Art d’économiser.
Art d’être grandpère.
Art d’instruire.
Art de faire.
Art de l’instruction.
Art de linguistique.
Art des mines.
Art digne.
not
Art de faire.
Art de linguistique.
Art de l’instruction.
Art d’économiser.
Art des mines.
Art d’être grandpère.
Art digne.
Art d’instruire. {88}
238. Arrange titles beginning with numeral figures (not expressing the number of the work in a series, § 244) as if the figures were written out in the language of the rest of the title.
Ex. 100 deutscher Männer = Ein hundert deutsche Männer; 1812 = Mil huit cent douze.
239. Arrange abbreviations as if spelled in full; but elisions as they are printed.
Ex. Dr., M., Mlle., Mme., Mr., Mrs., as Doctor, Monsieur, etc.
But
Who’d be a king?
Who killed Cock Robin?
Who’s to blame?
☞ The arrangement recommended in §§ 227–232 suits the eye best and requires as little knowledge or thought as any to use. The exception made in § 227 is required by universal practice and by the fact that a very large part of the personal names beginning with prefixes are commonly printed as one word. Names of places beginning with New, Old, Red, Blue, Green, etc. (which might be likened to the prefixes De, Des, Du, etc., and made the ground of a similar exception), are much less frequently printed as one, and when they are the accent is different. Moreover the words New, Old, etc., have an independent meaning and occur as personal names, first words of titles, or of the names of societies, as in the examples in § 230. The reason for separating New Hampshire and Newark in the first example is patent to every consulter at a glance; the reason for the different positions of New legion and New York in the second example would not be clear and would have to be thought out; and it is not well to demand thought from those who use the catalogue if it can be avoided.
240. Under an author’s name adopt the following order: (1) Complete (or nearly complete) works, (2) Extracts from the complete works, (3) Single works, whether by him alone or written in conjunction with another author, (4) Works about him.
Nos. 1–3 come first as belonging to the author-catalogue; 4 comes last as belonging to the subject-catalogue.
It is better to let the smaller collections come in their alphabetical place with the single works. The single works of a voluminous author (as Aristotle, Cicero, Homer, Shakespere) should be so printed that the different titles will strike the eye readily. If the “contents” of the collected words are not printed alphabetically, it is well to insert under the titles of the chief single works a reference to the particular volumes of the collections in which they are to be found. (See Boston Athenæum catal., art. Goethe.) Two works published together are arranged by the first title, with reference from the second.
Extracts from single works come immediately after the respective works.
A spurious work is arranged with the single works, but with a note stating the spuriousness. But if the author’s name is used as a pseudonym the entry should have a separate heading after all the works; as, Browne, H. History. Browne, H., pseud. Stones from the old quarry. See Ellison, H.
If there are only two joint authors both may appear in the heading, but the entry should be arranged among the works written by the first author alone; if there are more than two the heading may be made in the form Smith, John, and others. The usual practice hitherto has been to arrange entries by joint authors after the works written by the first author alone, and this was recommended in the first edition in regard both to the form of the heading and the arrangement; but although it is pleasing to a classifying mind, it is practically objectionable because a reader, not knowing that the book he is looking for is a joint production, and not finding it in the first {89} series of titles, may suppose that it is not in the library. This danger is greatest in a card catalogue, where it entirely overweighs the somewhat visionary advantage of the separate arrangement. The arrangement of a card catalogue should be as simple as possible, because the reader having only one card at a time under his eyes can not easily see what the arrangement is. On the printed page, where he takes in many titles at a glance, more classification can be ventured upon; there the danger is confined to the more voluminous authors; where there are few titles the consulter will read them all and so will not miss any. On the printed page, too, the mixing in of joint authors interrupts to the eye the alphabetical order of titles; e. g.,
Dod, T. Anamites and their country.
— and others. Barracouta.
— Carriboo, a voyage to the interior.
— and White, E. Dahomey and the slave trade.
— Elephanta, its caves and their images.
This trifling inconvenience can be easily avoided, however, by including the second name in the title; e. g.,
Dod, T. Anamites.
— Barracouta, by D. [and others].
— Carriboo.
— Dahomey, by Dod and E. White.
— Elephanta.
When the form Smith, John, and others is used, Full will give a list of the “others” in a note. They are not put into a heading merely because there is not room for many names on the first line of a card, and in a printed catalogue the information seems more in place in a note than in a very long heading.
241. In the order of titles take account of every word except initial articles. If two titles have the same words arrange by date of imprint, the earliest first.
Ex.
Address of Southern delegates in Congress.
Address of the people of Great Britain.
Address of twenty thousand loyal Protestant apprentices.
Address on national education.
Address to a provincial bashaw.
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. 8 v. 8º.
— Same. [Gr.]; cum notis et proleg. R. P. Knight. Londini, 1820. 4º.
— Same. [Gr.]; ed. J. Bekker. Bonnae, 1858. 2 v. 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):
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:
Under each part the order is: Editions of the original texts chronologically arranged;—Versions, in the alphabetical order of the languages;—Illustrative works.
253. Arrange contents either in the order of the volumes or alphabetically by the titles of the articles.
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}
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.
[68] Not meaning novels, but broadsides, chap-books, and the like,—the literature of the people in times past.
[69] Again not meaning novels, but the romances of chivalry, 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
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
than
Any subdivision of the groups under countries has been strongly opposed as being troublesome to make, useless, and even confusing, or as being an unlawful mixture of classed and dictionary cataloguing. But suppose you have four or five hundred {98} titles under France. History. Will you break them up into groups with such headings as House of Bourbon, Revolution, Empire, Restoration, etc., with references and other devices for those works which treat of several periods, all of which it must be confessed is a little formidable at first glance, or will you leave them in one undivided mass, so that he who wants to find the history of the last half of the 15th century must read through the 500 titles, perhaps, to find even one and certainly to find all? You would divide of course. It is true that grouping may mislead. The inquirer must still be careful to look in several places. The history of France during the ascendency of the House of Valois is to be found not merely under that heading but in the comprehensive histories of the country. The inquirer may be a little less likely to think of this because the titles of these two groups are separated from the many other titles which have nothing to do specially or generally with the House of Valois, but if he does think of it he is greatly assisted by such segregation.