How to Catalogue a Library

by Henry B. Wheatley

Those who are interested in library work are constantly asked where a statement of the first principles of cataloguing may be found, and the question is one which it is not easy to answer. Most of the rules which have been printed are intended for large public libraries, and are necessarily laid down on a scale which unfits them for use in the making of a small catalogue. I have divided out the subject on a plan which I hope will commend itself to my readers, and, after discussing the most notable codes, I have concluded[vi] with a selection of such rules as I trust will be found useful by those who are employed in making catalogues of ordinary libraries.
Here I must express the hope that my readers will excuse the frequent use of the personal pronoun. If the use of "I" could have been avoided, I would gladly have avoided it; but as the main point of the book is the discussion of principles and theories, it seemed to me that such value as the book may possess would be entirely destroyed if I did not give my own opinions, founded upon a somewhat long experience.

Genres: Nonfiction

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2008

About the author

Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838–1917) was a British author and editor.

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun to look back on a what is, for the most part, a defunct system. Some great quotes that can be used for fun.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41813

[Jacob Bornheimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look into the state of cataloguing before the internet, contemporary with Melvil Dewey (not mentioned within). A lot to agree with here, and quite intriguing in a historical sense. At the rear lies some good reference materials: a list of rules for small library catalogues, and a list of Latin place names. Lots to use in my work as a catalogue-writer at the bookshop.