A Manual of Cataloguing Practice

Book excerpt: A Manual of Cataloguing Practice is a text on cataloguing and covers topics ranging from the major cataloguing codes to the subject catalogue, the name catalogue, and cataloguing of special materials. Physical forms of catalogue are also considered, along with the filing and arrangement of catalogue entries; centralized and cooperative cataloguing; the organization of cataloguing; and the relation of cataloguing to modern methods of information retrieval. This manual is comprised of 16 chapters and begins with an overview of the nature and purpose of catalogues, as well as the history of cataloguing and catalogues. The discussion then turns to the development and application of the major cataloguing codes, including the British Museum Cataloguing Rules; the Vatican Code; the American Library Association Rules 1949; and the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules 1967. Some particular problems of author-title cataloguing are considered, together with the solutions suggested by some of the major codes and the practices of some individual libraries. External guides (instructions for the use of the catalogue) and internal guides (""signposts"" within the catalogue) are also discussed. Finally, the future of cataloguing is examined. This book will be a useful resource for practicing cataloguers and librarians as well as students of librarianship.