Printing of subject headings at the head of cards for Library of Congress catalogues of which a test had been made during the year, had to be suspended. Pending the installation of a small hand press which may be utilized for this purpose, it will be necessary, as heretofore, to write these headings by hand or typewriter.

At the request of the president of the American Library Cooperation Association, the Chief of the Catalogue Division prepared a report on the history and status of the catalogue rules question in America which was submitted to the International Conference of Librarians and Archivists to convene at Brussels in the latter part of August. Steps were to be taken at this Conference to secure, if possible, an extension of the Anglo-American agreement on cataloguing rules of 1908 to other countries. In case these efforts are successful they may ultimately lead to the preparation and printing of catalogue cards in various countries according to uniform standards, thus facilitating the interchange of entries and saving a large part of the expenditure for cataloguing and printing now incurred by most libraries.

Cards of the
Library,

Berlin

The Royal Library in Berlin began on January 1, 1909, Royal to print on standard size cards its catalogue titles for books added after that date. A set of these cards is received at the Library of Congress, but has so far not been put to much practical use, mainly for the reason that only one copy of each card can be obtained. As soon as the annual index for 1909 covering these entries is at hand it may be possible to withdraw from the files cards for books received at the Library of Congress, the cards after revision to be utilized as copy for the printer. It is hoped that the Royal Library may soon be in a position to furnish cards for separate titles in any desired number. Until this stage is reached it is doubtful whether other libraries will derive much profit from a subscription to a single set. In the case of the Library of Congress particularly, where from ten to twenty

copies are required of cards for any given title, one copy is entirely inadequate.

While the Royal Library cards for general publications have not therefore as yet proved a direct saving, the entries issued by the same institution for German dissertations published after 1908 are freely utilized. It has even been deemed advisable to discontinue the printing of cards for German dissertations received at the Library of Congress and for which the Royal Library has already furnished entries, the procedure in dealing with these publications being as follows:

When a dissertation is received the card is withdrawn from stock, entry compared with the book, changes necessary to make it agree with the catalogue noted, subject cards written for the public catalogue, and an authority card for the official catalogue on which is stamped a reference to the public catalogue for full entry.

While we are at a disadvantage, therefore, in not having a sufficient number of copies of each card to supply stack lists, shelf lists, and the extra copies of the dictionary catalogue, it is nevertheless deemed inadvisable at the present time to go to the expense of printing in order to have the dissertations fully represented in all the catalogues. This curtailment of entries, permissible in case of dissertations, can not well be considered for the bulk of our other German accessions, and until arrangements are made whereby a sufficient number of copies of each card can be secured to correspond with our needs, it will be necessary to continue printing as heretofore.

If the Royal Library should later on find itself in a position to furnish cards under conditions similar to those which obtain in the Library of Congress, there seems to be no good reason why this duplication of printing might not be avoided, at least for entries representing books of individual authorship. In case of publications of corporate bodies and anonymous books the differences in rules of entry would probably inter

fere somewhat with the use of the German cards in American libraries.

The use of analytical cards supplied by the American Library Association has been extended so as to include all entries relating to American history, not only those for a limited number of historical serials, dealing almost exclusively with America.

Entries for Incunabula, which in the author catalogue fall under letters E and F, have been prepared for the Union list of Incunabula in America, so also additions to letters A-D, already submitted.

CLASSIFICATION

(From the report of the Chief Classifier, Mr. Martel)

The number of volumes classified was 151,727 (1908–9, 150,410; 1907–8, 145,889); reclassified, 69,834 (including 3,256 transfers; 1908-9, 71,751; transfers, 3,510); new accessions, 81,893 (1908–9, 78,659); shelf-listed, 132,569, of which 65,991 were new accessions (1908-9, shelf-listed 132,690; new accessions, 64,449).

a

The reclassified portion of the Library now contains, in round numbers, 979,000 volumes, as follows: Class A (Polygraphy), 64,000; B-BJ (Philosophy), 10,000; C-D (History), 96,000; E-F (America), 71,000; G (Geography), 17,000; H-J (Social and political sciences), 236,000; L (Education), 42,000; M (Music, literature, and theory), 17,000;" N (Fine arts), 23,000; P (Language and literature), 18,000; PZ (Fiction), 40,000; Q (Science), 117,000; R (Medicine), 37,000; S (Agriculture), 36,000; T (Technology), 66,000; U (Military science), 14,000; V (Naval science), 12,000; Z (Bibliography), 59,000; Congressional reference library, Incunabula, etc., 4,000.

Of the arrears roughly estimated, by classes, last year, Arrears there remain: Class B (part 2), Religions and Theology,

a Not including the Schatz collection of librettos, 12,065, shelf listed in the Music Division, 1908-9.

Classification

schedules

50,000; class P, Language and literature, 52,000; various remainders, 20,000; Law, 130,000.

This is exclusive of (1) copyright and other duplicates reserved for future incorporation in the classified collection; (2) duplicates in the exchange collection; (3) special collections: Orientalia, Hungarica, etc.; (4) Yudin collection and other Slavica; (5) Booksellers' catalogues and similar unbound material; (6) Newspapers.

The principal subjects covered by the reclassification were class P, Language and literature, 18,000; various remainders (including material from some of the groups not specified by classes) falling chiefly within class H-J, Social sciences, 32,000; Fine arts, 4,000; Americana, 1,500; and some 12,000 volumes distributed among the other classes.

For administrative purposes and in order to satisfy more readily the growing number of requests from other libraries for the Library of Congress classification schedules, it was decided to put in type all of the schemes provisionally completed regardless of the desirability of more or less extensive modification in connection with the recataloguing of the books and the reclassification of the remaining subjects. The revised schedule of class Z, Bibliography, and the first provisional schedules of classes N, Fine arts; R, Medicine; B (part 1), Philosophy; J, Political science; T, Technology; U, Military science; V, Naval science; G, Geography, have now been issued. H, Economics and Social science, is part in page proof, part in galley proof; and C-D, History (except CT, Biography); L, Education; A, Polygraphy; and S, Agriculture, are in various stages of preparation and will be sent to the printer as rapidly as possible. Class P will follow next; language will probably be completed in December; literature at a date which can not now be named; but it is hoped the schedules may be in press by the end of the calendar year. There will remain, then, class B (part 2), Religions and Theology; CT, Biography; GR, Folklore;

GT, Manners and customs (there are drafts for GR and GT); the General Index to the schedules; and class K, Law. With the other schedules out of the way, considerable force may be concentrated on these and the work pushed to completion.

Apart from the question of the merit or demerit of the schemes compared with others, they may still prove of great assistance to other libraries, especially to those which use the Library of Congress printed cards.

PUBLICATIONS

The publications of the Library during the past year

have been as follows:

Report of the Librarian of Congress for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909. 1909. 220 pp. Plates. Cloth, 50 cents.

25 cm.

Library of Congress publications issued since 1897. 1910. 48 pp. 20 cm.

Library of Congress publications issued since 1897. (April, 1910) 51 pp. 20 cm.

Library of Congress publications issued since 1897. (June, 1910) 52 pp. 20 cm.

The following administration publication has been reprinted:

Rules and practice governing the use and issue of books. 1908. 14 pp.

Compiled by the Division of Bibliography:

Select list of references on the cost of living and prices; comp. under the direction of H. H. B. Meyer, Chief Bibliographer. 1910. 107 pp. 251⁄2 cm. Paper,

15 cents.

Select list of references on sugar, chiefly in its economic aspects; comp. under the direction of H. H. B. Meyer, Chief Bibliographer. 1910. 238 pp. 25% cm. Paper, 25 cents.

The "Select list of references on Inland Waterways of Europe, 1910. 75 pp. was printed as No. 38 Occasional papers, Engineer School, United States Army.