How to Catalogue a Library Part 9

"3. Rickman (Thomas). An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of Architecture in England, from the Conquest to the Reformation, with a Sketch of the Grecian and Roman Orders; Seventh Edition, with Considerable Additions, Chiefly Historical, by John Henry Parker.

Oxford, 1881. 8vo."

Now, we may take the instance of a long t.i.tle, which needs curtailment:--

"The

English Expositor

Improv'd:

Being a Complete

Dictionary,

teaching

The Interpretation of the most Difficult Words, which are commonly made use of in our English Tongue.

First set forth by J. B., Doctor of Physick.

And now carefully Revised, Corrected, and abundantly Augmented, with a new and very large Addition of very useful and significant Words.

By R. Browne, Author of the

_English School Reform'd_.

There is also an Index of Common Words (alphabetically set) to direct the Reader or others more Learned, and of the same signification with them.

And likewise a short Nomenclator of the most celebrated Persons among the Ancients; with Variety of Memorable Things: Collected out of the best of History, Poetry, Philosophy, and Geography.

The Twelfth Edition.

London: Printed for W. Churchill, at the Black Swan in Pater-noster-Row. 1719.

Where may be had the above-mention'd Spelling-Book, Ent.i.tuled, _The English School Reform'd_: Being a method very exact and easy both for the Teacher and Learner."

This long t.i.tle may be reduced into the following form:--

"4. B[ullokar] (J[ohn]). The English Expositor Improv'd: Being a Complete Dictionary, teaching the Interpretation of the most Difficult Words, which are commonly made use of in our English Tongue.... Revised, Corrected, and ... Augmented ... by R. Browne, ... [with] an Index of Common Words ... and ... a short Nomenclator of the most Celebrated Persons among the Ancients, with Variety of Memorable Things.... 12th Edition.

London, 1719. 12mo."

It may be said that all these t.i.tles are in English, and present few difficulties. I therefore add a Latin t.i.tle, prepared by my brother, the late Mr. B. R. Wheatley. The full t.i.tle is as follows:--

"Speculum Polytechnum Mathematic.u.m novum, tribus visionibus ill.u.s.tre quarum extat

Una Fundamentalis Aliquot

Numerorum Danielis et Apocalypseos naturae et proprietatis Consignatio Altera, usus Hactenus incognitus Instrumenti Danielis Speccelii, ad alt.i.tudinum, profunditatum, longitudinum, lat.i.tudinumque dimensiones, nec non Planimetricas delineationes accommodatio.

Postrema brevis ac luculenta s.e.xies Ac.u.minati Proportionum Circini quibus fructuose iste adhibeatur enarratio In Omnium Mathesin Adamantium Emolumentum prius Germanice aeditum Auth.o.r.e

Joanne Faulhabero Arithmetico et Logista Ulmensi ingeniosissimo Posterius vero ne tanto aliae nationes defraudentur bono, Latine conversum per

Joannem Remmelinum Ph. et Med.

Doctorem

Impressum Ulmae, typis Joannis Mederi

M.DC.XII."

This long t.i.tle may be reduced into the following catalogue form:--

"Faulhaber (Joannes).

"Speculum Polytechnum Mathematic.u.m novum tribus visionibus ...

una:... Numerorum Danielis et Apocalypseos naturae ... consignatio; altera: usus.... Instrumenti Danielis Speccelii, ad alt.i.tudinum [etc.] dimensiones ... accommodatio; postrema:... s.e.xies Ac.u.minati Proportionum Circini ... enarratio; ... prius Germanice aeditum,...

Latine conversum per Joannem Remmelinum....

Ulmae, 1612. 4to."

Sometimes it is advisable to repeat the author's name in its proper place on the t.i.tle either in full or with initials. This is the case with Dilke's _Papers of a Critic_, which should appear in the catalogue as follows:--

"6. Dilke (Charles Wentworth). The Papers of a Critic. Selected from the Writings of the late C. W. D., with a Biographical Sketch by his Grandson, Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, Bart., M.P. London, 1875. 2 vols., 8vo."

Mr. Jewett, in his rules, directs that the position of the author's name on the t.i.tle-page should be indicated.

For scarce and curious books it is under some circ.u.mstances useful to mark the position of the lines on a t.i.tle-page thus:--

"7. Bacon (Francis) Viscount St. Alban. | The | Essayes | or | Counsels | Civill and | Morall | of | Francis Lo. Verulam | Viscount St. Alban newly written | London | Printed by John Haviland for | Hanna Barret | 1625 | 4to."

This is clearly not necessary in the case of common modern books.

It is very important that all indication of edition or editor (as in No.

3) should be made clear on the catalogue slip; and if this information is not given on the t.i.tle-page, but can be obtained elsewhere, it should be added to the catalogue slip, but between square brackets.

Many books have two t.i.tle-pages, an engraved one and a printed one, and these frequently differ in the wording. In these cases the printed t.i.tle-page is the one to be followed. Sometimes a second t.i.tle-page will occur in the middle of a book, and the cataloguer must be careful not to make two books out of one. When the contents of this second t.i.tle-page are noted on the first t.i.tle-page, it is not necessary to refer to it specially, unless a collation is given. If, however, this second t.i.tle-page contain additional matter, it should be catalogued and added on the slip, but within parentheses, thus (), to show that it is added, and that it is not made up by the cataloguer, which would be understood if it were placed between square brackets, thus [].

Sometimes a t.i.tle-page not only gives no real indication of the contents of a book, but is positively misleading. In such a case the cataloguer will do well to give some indication of the true contents, either in a note or as an addition to the t.i.tle within brackets. Both Mr. Cutter and Professor Otis Robinson refer, in the _Special Report on Public Libraries in the United States_, to the difficulties caused by these misleading t.i.tles. Professor Robinson gives some amusing instances of modern clap-trap t.i.tles which may well be added to Disraeli's _Curiosities of Literature_.

"Mr. Parker writes a series of biographical sketches, and calls it _Morning Stars of the New World_. Somebody prepares seven religious essays, binds them up in a book, and calls it _Seven Stormy Sundays_.... An editor, at intervals of business, indulges his true poetic taste for the pleasure of his friends, or the entertainment of an occasional audience. Then his book appears, ent.i.tled, not _Miscellaneous Poems_, but _Asleep in the Sanctum_, by A. A.

Hopkins. Sometimes, not satisfied with one enigma, another is added.

Here we have _The Great Iron Wheel; or, Republicanism Backwards and Christianity Reversed_, by J. R. Graves."

In cataloguing books it is very important to turn carefully over the leaves to see that a second book, which may have been bound up in the volume, is not overlooked. It was a frequent practice at one time to bind up thin books with thicker ones, to save the expense of binding; and very frequently these thin additions are overlooked altogether, and never catalogued.

PLACE OF PUBLICATION.

When we have finished with the t.i.tle proper, we come to consider the imprint, the date, and the size. These are most commonly arranged thus, volumes, size, place, date; and this is the best order if this information is tabulated; but when it remains as a part of the t.i.tle, it is better to place the volumes and size at the end, because this is added information not found in the t.i.tle-page.