Print (PDF) - On this page / på denna sida - Sidor ...
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
SUBJECT CATALOG — SCHLAGWORTKATALOG 73
used in the Library are excellent tools in the hands of catalogers working
on a subject catalog.
The Stadtbibliothek of Zürich, seems to be the first among the large
libraries in German speaking countries which introduced the alphabetical
»Schlagwort-Katalog». The rules were published by Wilhelm von Wyss
in 1909. Zürich has been followed by the University libraries of Vienna
and Graz, the state libraries of Wiesbaden and Stuttgart, and the
Nationalbibliothek in Vienna. The rules of these libraries have been published in
Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen.
The primary purpose of the alphabetical subject catalog is to enable
the student to find the literature he desires with the least possible
expendi-ture of time and effort. The catalog must be arranged in a way that will
prevent the reader from going through a large number of cards to find the
specific material for which he is searching.
The fundamental principle of the subject-catalog consequently must
be the »specific entry», that is, each book must be entered in the catalog
under that heading which most exactly expresses its subject-content.
This principle of specific entry is theoretically accepted by all the
various rules for subject catalogs, which I have had occasion to examine.
But in the application of the principle we find the most striking differences
between American and German practice.
The American subject-catalog adheres most faithfully to the norm, the
exceptions being relatively few. In the Dictionary catalog, one will find
subjects such as Fox-terrier, Castle of Ambras, Siege of Strasbourg in 1870,
the Ortler Mountains, Fermat’s theory, the Eclipse of the Sun in 1927, The
counting horse »Hans» etc., directly under these specific subjects. The fact
that the headings are modified in some cases, by inversion for example, or
some other way, in order to obtain a fixed and concise caption, does not
violate the principle any more than the conventional inversion of personal
names change their individual character.
In the German rules we also find the specific entry as the norm; but
fearing the consequences of a too literal adherence to the rule, some of them
advise »grouping in the right piaces», as the expression goes. To attain
this purpose indirect headings are used to a large extent, by which special
subjects are subordinated with correlated general headings.
It is the rules of Zürich which first indicated this way. Mr von Wyss
has deliberately abandoned the principle in many cases in favonr of more
general headings with a system of subheadings in various degrees »Neben-
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
