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United States. Bureau of Education / Public libraries in the United States of America; their history, condition, and management. Special report, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. Part I
(1876)
Dewey, Melvil, et al.
Chapter XXVIII. Catalogues and cataloguing, pp. 623-662
Page 623
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CATALOGUES AND CATALOGUING.
I.-BY MELVIL DEWEY,
Amherst College Library.
if.-BY S. B. NOYES.
Mercantile Library, Brooklyn, N. Y.
ii.-BY JACOB SCHfWARTZ,
Librarian Apprentizes' Library, New York.
IV.--BY JOHN J. BAILEY,
Librarian Public School Library, St. Louis, Mo.
I.-A DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION AND SUBJECT INDEX.
DEVISED FOR CATALOGUING AND INDEXING--FOUND APPLICABILE TO ARRANGING AND
NUMIBERING 1001KS ON THE SIIELVEs-DEscRIIPT'ON-M1Y JIE USED IN ANY LI-
IRAiRY - EXAMP'LES - NOTES.
It was thought that a description of the plan as in actual use in the
Amherst College Library would be its best explanation. It will be seen,
hlowever, that its most valuable feature, the classification and subject
index, may be adopted, if desired, in connection with very different cat-
alogues and methods. Though the system was devised for cataloguing
and indexing purposes, it was found on trial to be very valuable for
numbering and arranging books and pamphlets on the shelves.
The plan of this classification and index was developed early in 1873.
It was the result of several months' study of library economy as set forth
in some hundreds of books and pamphlets, and of over fifty personal
visits to various American libraries. In this study, the author became
convinced that the usefulness of these libraries might be greatly in-
creased without additional expenditure. Three years' practical use of
the system here exl)laiued leads him to believe that it will accomplish
this result; for with its aid the catalogues, shelf lists, indexes, and
crois-
references essential to this increased usefulness, can be made more eco-
nornically than by any other method which he has been able to find.
For the better understanding of the scheme there are appended pages
5 to 8 of the Library Hand-book, giving a brief description of the cata-
logues; a specimen page of the classificati~n, also of the subject index;
6(23
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