Why do we Catalog

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Why do we Catalog?

• Dr. Daniel Stuhlman
• Wright College Library

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Order out of chaos 1

• Humans need to order for objects to be able to
  find them when needed
• First we name things to be able to recall them.
  Second we describe them. For example for cars we
  give vehicle ID numbers and license plate numbers.

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Collections 1

• Think about your own collections of items.
• How do you arrange them?
• Function
• ? Dishes in the kitchen
• ? Books in the study
• ? Repair tools in the workroom

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Collections 2

• Size
• ? Larger items in larger containers
• ? Cars in the garage
• ? Books segregated by size
• Age
• ? Most recent items on top
• ? Youngest to oldest

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Collections 3

• Kind of item
• ? Spoons, forks, and knives in their own places
  in the silverware drawer
• ? Books on the book shelves
• ? Fish in the fish tank
• ? Stamps and pictures in albums

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Order out of chaos 2

• For books we have informal rules used by non
  librarians or book specialists and formal rules
  used by specialists and in libraries.
• Think of following collections
• Personal, book store, elementary school
  classroom, research library
• How are they arranged?

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Order out of chaos 3

• Aesthetics
• Ease of access
• Size
• Subject
• Author
• Title

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Charles Ammi Cutter, 1837-1903.

• From his Rules for a Dictionary Catalog (1876)
• To enable a person to find a book when the one
  or more is known
• A. The author
• B. The title
• C. The subject
• To show what the library owns
• by author, subject, or a given kind of
  literature
• To assist in the choice of a book
• as to its edition (bibliographically) as to its
  character (literary or topical)

For more information on Charles Cutter
http//web.utk.edu/ebowker/deadgerman.html
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History of Cataloging 1

• Book catalogs (19th century)
• Card catalogs (20th century)
• Computer databases (now)

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Book Catalogs 1

• Advantages
• Portable
• Low tech
• Does not require special equipment to store or use

• Disadvantages
• Takes a long time to create
• Hard to make additions and revisions
• Space is limited
• Costly to create

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Book Catalogs 2

• Example of a published book catalog
• National Union Catalog, Pre-1965 Imprints a
  cumulative author list representing Library of
  Congress printed cards for books, and titles
  reported by other North American Libraries.
  London Mansell, 1968-1981.

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Card Catalog
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Library Management Systems
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Famous libraries of the past
The library of Columbia University, New York
Citytaken between 1920 and 1940. From the
Library of Congress collection.
Harvard University Library in 1915. From the
Library of Congress collection.
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Parts of the book (for a binder)
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Parts of the book (for a cataloger)

• Spine is the bound edge of the book. It is
  possible for the title on the spine to differ
  from the title on the title page (t.p.).
• Endpapers are the pages a binder adds to the
  front nad back of the book to join the text to
  the cover. Usually they are blank, but they may
  contain colors, decorations, maps, or pictures.
• Flyleaves are blank leaves inserted by the binder
  in addition to the endpapers
• Head is the top of the book or page
• Tail is the bottom of the book or page

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Parts of the book (for a cataloger) 2

• Fore-edge or front edge is the opposite side from
  the spine
• Half title is a page on a leaf preceding the
  title page. May be a full or brief title.
  Supplied by the publisher. Protects the title
  page. May or may not be present.
• Title page is the page at the beginning bearing
  the full title, the statement of responsibility
  (usually) and the publication information. This
  is supplied by the publisher for the full
  identification of the item.

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Parts of the book (for a cataloger) 3

• Recto is the right side of a two page spread. It
  is also the front side of a leaf.
• Verso is the backside of a page. Verso and
  recto are sometimes assumed to refer to the title
  page.
• Page is a printed side of a piece of paper. One
  piece of paper can be printed on both sides.
• Leaf is a sheet of paper. It is enumerated when
  printing is only one side.
• Colophon is a statement at the end of the text
  proper giving information about one or more of
  the following title, author(s), publisher,
  publication date, etc. A colophon is not commonly
  in contemporary American books.

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Parts of the book (for a cataloger) 4

• Plate is illustrative matter with or without
  explanatory text, that does not form part of
  either the preliminary or the main sequence of
  pages or leaves. A plate may be printed on one
  or both sides. A book may have pages of plates or
  leaves of plates.

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Parts of the book (for a cataloger) 4

• Plate is illustrative matter with or without
  explanatory text, that does not form part of
  either the preliminary or the main sequence of
  pages or leaves. A plate may be printed on one
  or both sides. A book may have pages of plates or
  leaves of plates.

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Libraries
Carnegie Library from Houston, TX 1900 or later
Central Building of St. Louis, MO Public Library
about 1965. Opened in 1912, one of the finest
examples of Italian Renaissance architecture in
the city.
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Libraries 2
Dedicated in 1897 as the first permanent home of
the Chicago Public Library. In 1991 the main
library moved out. This building is now the
Chicago Cultural Center. It has a circulating
collection, performance auditoriums, and
formerly The Museum of Broadcast Communications
(moving to new location in 2007).
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Views of the Library