Cataloguing Cards filed Recataloguing The only remedies that might be suggested for a condition of affairs which must needs interfere with the progress and efficiency of the work are: I. To increase the salaries for assistants engaged on highly technical work, so as to enable the Library to compete with other institutions in bidding for the service of persons of proper capacity and training. 2. To vary the duties of those engaged on cataloguing and classification, so as to give them at times less exacting work and particularly an occasional opportunity to come into direct contact with the public through reference work. It is, however, difficult to see how the latter remedy can be applied to any considerable extent until the present reorganization of the collections has been in the main completed. While the constant change of personnel referred to no doubt causes great loss of time and retards progress, the fact that so many of the assistants are called to other libraries is not without its compensating feature. This fact should in course of time prove of material assistance in furthering the cooperative work which tends to center about the Library of Congress. Intimate knowledge of the methods and equipment of the Central Library on the part of librarians and assistants of other institutions will no doubt prove of mutual advantage in carrying on the various cooperative activities. There were 725,329 cards filed in the various catalogues of the Division, exclusive of the general Union catalogue and the Catalogue of Early Americana, for which no record has been kept. The record of cards filed during 1907-8 was 704,907. The following classes were completed during the year: American and British family histories (CS); Seals (CJ); Family, Marriage, Woman (HQ); Associations, Secret societies, Clubs, etc. (HS); Social Pathology, Philanthropy, Charities and Corrections (HV); Socialism, Communism, Anarchism (HX); Political Science. General works (JA); Theory of the State (JC); Civil government, American other than United States (JL); Fine Arts. General (N), except folios and books in Prints Division; Manufactures (TS); Trades (TT); Domestic science (TX). in part and under General periodicals (AP) completed to letter O; Phil- Rec a talogued osophy (B); Heraldry (CR); Genealogy, except American way and British families (completed) (CS); Constitutional government, General and Comparative (JF); Civil government, United States (JK); Civil government, Europe (JN); Colonies and colonization, Emigration (JV); Fine Arts (N). rules and guides As indicated in the report of last year, the completion of Catalogue the Rules for author and title entry seemed likely to open the way for the printing, at least in tentative form, of our list of subject headings. What has tended to hasten the decision to print has been the unsatisfactory state of the present interleaved lists which, besides breaking down in a number of places, required an undue amount of time and labor for insertion of new headings. The preparation of copy was begun in January and it was decided: (1) To print a tentative list of the headings as they now stand, exclusive of names of persons and places, societies, institutions, and bodies of various kinds, treaties, conventions, and the like, scientific names of individual chemical substances, and systematic names of genera, species, and subspecies in Botany and Zoology. а (2) To print at more or less regular intervals cumulative a lists of additions and changes supplementing the main list. The plan of subjects now being adopted is to some extent tentative. The present list can not, therefore, be accepted as in any sense final. Changes in many of the headings represented are bound to occur during the progress of recatalogu a For various reasons the printing of the supplementary lists has preceded the issue of the main list. Three numbers have been issued covering additions and changes from December, 1908, to date. ing. In many instances a more minute system of subdivisions than that now provided will be called for. Particularly in Philosophy, Religion, Philology, and Literature, the main classes still to be recatalogued, the majority of subjects are yet to be definitely decided upon. There are various reasons, therefore, in favor of restricting the use of this "Advance edition" to the Library of Congress. Nevertherless, owing to the great increase in the use of the printed cards, and the constant demand for information in regard to the plan of subjects in part represented on our entries, it seems advisable that libraries which subscribe to the cards should have access to some guide, no matter how imperfect, to the subject headings now being developed by the Library of Congress. It is therefore recommended that any library which is a regular subscriber to the printed cards may have a copy of the Advance list, free of charge, on application to the Publication Section, Library of Congress. In addition a number of copies should be placed with the Superintendent of Documents, from whom they might be purchased at a price to be determined upon. The preparation of copy has been completed for the letters A-D, letters E and F being in preparation. Owing to pressure of other work, the Branch Printing Office has been unable so far to print more than a few galleys of the letter A. The following supplementary rules have been printed on cards: a. Available for use of other libraries (numbered series)" 27 Fire companies 28 Archives 29 Courts-martial and courts of inquiry 31 Transliteration-Servian 32 Contested elections 33 Indians-Subject headings a 1-26 previously printed. b. For use within the Library only (unnumbered series)" Additions and corrections Printer's serial numbers-Advance numbers Shelf-list sheets Subject headings-List logues As in previous years, the Catalogue Division has been Special called upon to furnish copy for catalogues of special collections. The first and most important were titles of books on music printed prior to 1800, to be utilized in a new revision of Eitner's Biographisch-bibliographisches Quellen-lexikon der Musiker und Musikgelehrten der christlichen Zeitrechnung. Leipzig, 1900-1904. Two of the assistants have given a great deal of time to these entries, the compilation, revision, and proofreading being entrusted almost entirely to them. In response to a request from the National Library at Lisbon, a sample catalogue of books in the Library of Congress on the Peninsular war and related subjects was prepared. It was intended to form a part of a Biblio-iconographic exhibition contemplated by the National Library of Portugal in connection with the celebration of the centenary of the Peninsular war. Owing to the fact that the subject catalogue of the Library of Congress has not as yet been completed, it was impossible in the limited time at our disposal to present more than a selection of the titles bearing on this topic. The card catalogue of early Americana has also been continued according to the plan outlined in previous reports. books cata Some modifications have been made in the items added Copyright to the catalogue entry as follows: (a) wherever the information has been supplied by the publisher, the price of the book is now added in a note; (b) in addition to the copyright number and year of entry, which have been regularly added a 47 of these directions previously printed. Arrears to the catalogue cards since May, 1907, the Copyright Office now supplies information in regard to name of copyright proprietor and actual date of entry, all of which is printed in a note near the bottom of the card. CLASSIFICATION (From the report of the Chief Classifier, Mr. Martel) α The number of volumes classified was 150,410 а (1907-8, 145,889; 1906-7, 144,948); reclassified, 71,751 (including 3,510 transfers; 1907-8, 76,273, transfers 8,824); new accessions, 78,659 (1907-8, 69,616); shelf listed, 132,690, of which 64,449 were new accessions (1907-8, shelf listed 119,119, new accessions 51,302). b b The reclassified portion of the Library now contains in round numbers 846,000 volumes as follows: Class A (Polygraphy), 53,000; B-BJ (Philosophy), 9,000; C-D (History), 90,000; E-F (America), 65,000; G (Geography), 16,000; H-J (Social sciences), 184,000; L (Education), 38,000; ML-MT (Music, literature, and theory), 14,000; N (Fine arts), 17,000; PZ (Fiction), 38,000; Q (Science), 111,000; R (Medicine), 34,000; S (Agriculture), 32,000; T (Technology), 61,000; U (Military science), 13,000; V (Naval science), 11,000; Z (Bibliography), 56,000; Congressional reference library, Incunabula, etc., 4,000. Class B (in part), Religions, Theology, 50,000; class P, Language and literature, 70,000; Various remainders, 50,000; 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. a This number does not include the Schatz collection of librettos, 12,065, shelflisted in the Music Division, which if counted would bring the total to 162,475. b Not including Schatz collection of librettos, 12,065, reported by Music Division. |