Library Cataloguing

Quinn, John Henry, 1860-1941Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 390K words
Chapters: 40

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Library Cataloguing by John Henry QuinnAuthor: Quinn, John Henry, 1860-1941,Language: English, Class: Z: Bibliography, Library science, Release Date: Apr 5, 2015

Editor's review

This is a practical work on library cataloguing written in the early twentieth century. Its author, John Henry Quinn, spent many years working in libraries, and the book systematically sets out the cataloguing workflows, card catalogue organization, descriptive rules, and classification practices of British and American libraries at the time. As a free electronic edition from Project Gutenberg, its greatest value lies not in offering contemporary cataloguing standards but in preserving a precious piece of professional history: readers can see the specific practices of cataloguing during its transition from hand-written cards to standardization, and understand how the descriptive rules we now take for granted took shape step by step. The book's discussion of such fundamental questions as the functions of the catalogue, alphabetical arrangement, and cross-references still has methodological reference value today. It is suitable as supplementary reading for students of library science, archival science, and information management, and also for general readers interested in the history of the book and the history of knowledge organization. It should be read as a historical document rather than an operations manual, with attention focused on the evolution of cataloguing ideas rather than on whether specific rules still apply.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students in library science, archival science, and information management who need to understand the history of cataloguing and the origins of the discipline
Library practitioners who wish to understand the evolution of card catalogues and descriptive rules from a historical perspective
Researchers in the history of the book and the history of knowledge organization who need primary professional literature for reference
General readers interested in old-fashioned library workflows, suitable for casual reading

Not a good fit for

Staff who need to learn current cataloguing standards (such as RDA and MARC); this book does not provide contemporary specifications
Practitioners hoping for a ready-to-use cataloguing manual
Beginner readers with limited English reading ability who are unfamiliar with library terminology

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and preface to grasp the book's structure and the author's historical context, then move on to the individual chapters.
Read alongside a contemporary cataloguing textbook, marking where the rules have changed, and keep comparative notes on the historical evolution.
Skim terminology-dense chapters first and look up key concepts as needed, rather than plodding through word by word.
After finishing, summarize the core cataloguing questions discussed in the book on a single page to check whether you have grasped the main thread.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does this book cover current cataloguing rules?

No. The book was written in the early twentieth century and reflects the cataloguing practice and card catalogue methods of libraries at that time, which differ considerably from today's standards such as RDA and MARC. Its value lies at the historical and methodological level, helping readers understand how cataloguing rules took shape, rather than offering current operational specifications that can be applied directly.

Can readers outside the library profession understand it?

Yes, but it requires some patience. The book deals with professional concepts such as catalogue organization, description, and classification, and non-specialist readers may find the terminology dense. It is advisable to read the preface and overview chapters first to build a framework, look up unfamiliar terms as you go, and approach it as a historical work about early library work; it will be much easier that way.

What should I keep in mind when reading the electronic edition?

This is an English public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg, set mainly in plain text, and it may lack the layout and illustrations of the printed book. It is recommended to use reading software that supports table-of-contents navigation and full-text search, so you can locate chapters and look up terms easily, and to distinguish the main text from the publication information pages.

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About the author

Quinn, John Henry, 1860-1941 Author

John Henry Quinn (Quinn, John Henry, 1860-1941) is an author in the field of library cataloguing, though details of his life are limited in publicly available sources. Two of his works are held in the collection: Library Cataloguing and Manual of Library Cataloguing, both of which deal with methods for compiling library catalogues and are specialized writings aimed at library practice. Judging from their titles and subject matter, his writing focuses on concrete operational questions such as cataloguing rules, descriptive formats, and the organization of catalogues, serving the daily needs of librarians in a concise and practical style. Handbooks of this kind offered practitioners technical guidance at a time when library science education was still developing, and they reflect the trend toward standardization in cataloguing work. Beyond these two works, public information about his identity and career is limited and cannot be further elaborated.