New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-10-03
A NEW CARD CATALOGUE
RESULT OF DR. BILLINGs's WORK IN THE
PUBLIC LIBRARY.

1T WILL. BE PUT IN Use TOMORROW AND WILL
BE GRADUALLY ADDED TO UNTIL COMPLETE
THE METHOD OF CLASSIFICATION
ApoPrEp-A VAST AMOUNT OF
WORK INVOLVED. BUT 1T
WILL BE DONE ONCE
FOR ALL
Visitors to the New-York Public Library !"
LAFAYETTE Place, better known as tne As'oI IL
hrary will see tomorrow the first fruits VI INC
labor OF which DR. Billings. the librarian, anu "'
CORPS Of assistants have been engaged tor "ioie
than a wear This Is the first nstalment Oh 'he
now card catalogue. 1t Is not complete py any
neans-ln fact, It Is only a begnn'he-ou' ~ 10
complete so far as IL goes. ana IS sunhcie"t " ~
how great an improvement II VIII DE OH INC ia'''
tiles which the library has hitherto hau III '''e
OF catalogues. -,
re- ro,, c,,a,ooue contains cards showing In al
nbahe,i,aI order the authors and subjects OF All
books added to the library since March, i'''' or
also subject and author cards LOT many o'u
books The cards will be added 10 constantly u"'''
all the books In the library are fnciudea' ""e"
tho card catalogue will be complete guide 10 the
resources OF the institution. II will nciude aoou.
forty thousand cards at the outset. covering all
books Of the last year and hail. ana 'he ouiA y,
All the books in the library reia'hg " o"'ea
States History, the history OF Great Britain anu
the department OF economies Transportation "'
trade. ,,.,o
dIncultv IN ascertain what books the library con-
tanned on any subject In the first pace. the hrst
prlnted catalogue OF the library. In FOUR Volumes
had TO be consulted. This embraced all pooHs Pio
cured prior to 1860. arranged alphabetically, accofu
INC 70 the names OF the authors. Then there was
q second series OF four volumes covering the per'ou
between 1860 and 1850 In the year last named "ha'
70 known as the small card catalogue was started
This was arranged on the most economical sca'e
The cards were scarcely more than nan inc sIe
Of the standard cards used In catalogues Oh inns
time the titles were condensed as far as possible
- :, an, -o,e no a,tempt was made to give them
in f,,u and there was no information In reference
20 the size Of the volumes the number OF plates
and other interesting points
MICH RESEARCH NECESSARY.
ttorce 70 make sure whether any particular book
.,os IN the library one was under the necessity OF
consulting all three catalogues aithous" ~ ""s
somethng OF a guide In his research II ne cha"0eu
20 know the year In which the pook was p''"'eu'
For q book printed between 1850 and 1879 II was USE
,ess N look IN the four Volumes ana Tor DOCKS
r,r,.d after 1880 II was useless to look In the sec
and nr,nted catalogue At the same time tnere
was no telling whether book OF carrier oe'e
might have come into the library later anu 81
found its way either into the second set Oh 'oi-
umes or into the small card catalogue. To exhaust
the possibilities OF the library has been dimcui'
4, NOT an impossible thing But all this Will De
changed as the new card catalogue Is brought 10
completon The work Is laDorious' ana 'ahes
good deal OF time Dr. Billings Is OF the opinion
that II will require not less than three years "
finish II.
The now catalogue has been made In accordance
Nth tho nIan that has found favor among librari-
o,s in this country where card catalogues are IN
general vogue The cards are OF standard size' ana
the Information given on them Is run enough 10
answer the needs Of all nquirers For every DOCK
., least three cards are made-two author cards
and one subject card One complete set OF author
rds "a kent In the cataloguing room for the BEN
IN, ~ tho librarian and his assistants ana 10 save
them from the necessity OF consulting the pupic
catalogue when seeking Information that may oe
required at any moment. Dr. Billings wouid nave
hosr glad 10 include subject as well as author
- ~. oe,ce catalogue but considerations OF
o.o,v induced him TO take cards relating to
authors alone.
The public catalogue will contain compete sets
Of both author and subject cards In some cases II
Is necessary to write two or even three carus 20
cover the subject OF volume. AS Dr. Billings
pu,s T. III n man writes book on Japan. with
incidental observations on trout-hshins. TWO SUD-
,ct ga rds are reouIred-one for Japan and one for
trout" The cards are arranged In drawers In the
usual way and people consulting the cataiogu"
will he expected 10 remove the drawer containing
the cards which they wish to look at. carry 1t TO
a convenient table LOT eAa"iiia''o" ""o 'c'u' u ~
promptly as possible. ,, A..
drnxusrs were fastened so that they could not be
removed from the case. and the person inspecting
Tho cards was for ed stand with the drawer
.,mcJ ont until he found what he wanted; and this
nathod ia still adhered to In some Libraries. More
ov.r n was found TO be less expensive 10 put two
rowe of cards In each drawer. The result was that
a man or woman looking for a particular author
or subject occupied much room In front OF the
"a se that the use OF ten q dozen other drawers
Was interfered with. The new method. and the
one decided on by DR.. Billings. is TO place one row
~ cards I'm each drawer and 10 have the drawers
ramoved for examination. Specific instructions to
Tho natrons of the library regarding the use OF
the new catalogue will be displayed In the Astor
building.
CLASSIFYING THE BOOKS.
s,,.. Dr Killings .ook charge OF the Pubnc LII
hrarv in this city he has given mucn attenti'n 10
the question OF classifying the books. ana ne mas
o,r.fuIlv studied the methods In use IN other
,,hrar,es In America and Europe. one OF MS main
oh,ac,. has been to break up the hxed iocauoh
,d.a in respect 10 books. and to group tose'ner az
,oo,s re,,ting to each subject. he mas determined
- ~. General scheme OF CLASSIFICATION. out IN some
on m he may decide to make chansens IN ,ne
When he carries out MS pan. easn upas ,,
ut will be complete In ITSELF ano no cnanse VII.
me' r.sonred II il becomes necessary 20 rahsIer
group of books from ohe pa, rs conveved fo the
other when al me p p"rS "'e
new I iris acheme the great departments OF iitera-