Catalogs, their types and history

Library Catalog Codes and their types (LCC)

Types

1. Classified Catalog Code- a code to compile a catalog of documents having one Main entry and added entries, to be arranged in two sequences, one classified by Main entry, as Call Number of the document on top line. Call Number being the Class Number of the document allotted by the classifier as per chosen Classification Scheme, and Book Number to individualize the document, and another alphabetically of all added entries derived from Main entries including class index entries

2. Dictionary Catalog Code- - a code to compile a catalog of documents having one Main entry and added entries, to be arranged in one sequence in alphabetic sequence. Main and Added entries are so structured as to put words on top line, which may be subject, title, title responsibility.

Examples

1. Charles Ammi Cutter made the first explicit statement regarding the objectives of a bibliographic system in his Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalog in 1876. According to Cutter, those objectives were

a). to enable a person to find a book of which either (Identifying objective), the author, the title, the subject, the category is known.

b). to show what the library has (Collocating objective), by a given author, on a given subject in a given kind of literature

c). to assist in the choice of a book (Evaluating objective) as to its edition (bibliographically) as to its character (literary or topical)

2. in 1960/61 Cutter's objectives were revised by Lubetzky and Lubetzky and the Conference on Cataloging Principles (CCP) in Paris. The latest attempt to describe a library catalog's goals and functions was made in 1998 with Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) which defines four user tasks: find, identify, select, and obtain.

3. At a 1977 conference in Los Angeles called “The Catalog in the Age of Technological Change,” “The catalogue has to tell you more than what you ask for…. The answer of a good

catalogue is not to say yes or no, but … to tell [the user] that the library has [the item] in so many editions and translations, and you have your choice”

Cataloging Rules so far(CRS)

1. All library cataloging rules drafted so far are meant for Card Catalogue. Card Catalogue is compilation of entries(Main and Added), arranged and filed in Catalog Cabinets.

2. Currently, most cataloging rules are similar to, or even based on, the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD), a set of rules produced by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to describe a wide range of library materials. These rules organize the bibliographic description of an item in the following areas: title and statement of responsibility (author or editor), edition, material specific details(for example, the scale of a map), publication and distribution, physical description (for example, number of pages), series, notes, and standard number (ISBN).

3. The most commonly used set of cataloging rules in the English speaking world are the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd Edition, or AACR2 for short. In the German-speaking world there exists the Regeln für die alphabetische Katalogisierung, abbreviated RAK. AACR2 has been translated into many languages, however, for use around the world. AACR2 provides rules for descriptive cataloging only and does not touch upon subject cataloging

4. Dr S R Ranganathan in the later part of 20th century wrote two very important works, .Classified Catalogue Code, with additional rules for dictionary catalogue and Colon classification scheme. These two works revolutionized Library Cataloguing,

a) He introduced the concept of linking subjects with class number allotted to documentsb) It was recommended to use Colon Classification Scheme( or any analytic-synthetic

scheme) to classify documents, and chain procedure to derive subjects c) His additional rules for Dictionary Catalogue recommended an additional entry for

specific subject representing the class number of the documentd) Chain procedure was used for deriving subjects for Classified Catalogue, while for

dictionary catalogue specific Feature heading is to be derived from the Class Number given to a document

e) Examples1) Colon Number: X.44’N8; Headings by Chain Procedure,1. INDIA, ECONOMICS,

1980-,2.ECONOMICS; specific subject heading by Feature Heading, ECONOMICS.INDIA.1980-