College and Research Libraries B y S I G M U N D V O N F R A U E N D O R F E R 1 International Unification of Cataloging? Dr. Frauendorfer is director, Bibliotek der Hochschule fiir Bodenkultur, Vienna. WHENEVER a t s p e c i a l o c c a s i o n s t h e q u e s t i o n of i n t e r n a t i o n a l u n i f i c a t i o n of c a t a l o g i n g r u l e s h a s a r i s e n , p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n s c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e s e p r o b l e m s h a v e s t a t e d , a l m o s t u n a n i m o u s l y , t h a t a w o r l d - w i d e a g r e e m e n t i n t h i s f i e l d is p r a c - t i c a l l y i m p o s s i b l e . O n e of t h e s p e c i a l r e a - s o n s g i v e n is t h e b a s i c d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e A n g l o - A m e r i c a n s y s t e m a n d t h e p r a c - t i c e a s p r e v a i l i n g i n t h e G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g c o u n t r i e s . O c c a s i o n f o r s u c h d i s c u s s i o n s w a s o f f e r e d a t t h e t i m e w h e n w e w e r e t o l d a b o u t t h e s u c c e s s f u l u n i f i c a t i o n of E n g l i s h a n d A m e r i c a n c a t a l o g i n g r u l e s , b r o u g h t a b o u t b y t h e c o o p e r a t i o n of t h e l a r g e l i b r a r y a s s o c i a t i o n s of t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s in 1 9 0 8 , a n d l a t e r a g a i n , w h e n i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e G e r m a n G e s a m t k a t a l o g t h e p r o b l e m of a u n i f o r m s e t of r u l e s f o r G e r m a n r e - s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s e n t e r e d t h e d e c i s i v e s t a t e , a n d finally w h e n a u n i f o r m t r a d e b i b l i o g - r a p h y i n c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e D e u t s c h e B i i c h e r e i i n L e i p z i g w a s c o n t e m p l a t e d . U s u a l l y t h e d i s c u s s i o n s e n d e d w i t h t h e s k e p t i c a l s t a t e m e n t , it w o u l d b e p r e m a t u r e 1 This article was written in 1947 for the " F e s t s c h r i f t " in honor of the 25 years' jubilee of Dr. Josef Bick, di- rector general of the Austrian National Library. The " F e s t s c h r i f t " is entitled Die Osterreichische Nationalbib- liothek and has been published by H. Bauer-Verlag, Vienna 1948. The English version is reproduced with special permission of the publisher. The original text has been thoroughly revised and in some parts modified and expanded, since in the immediate postwar period, when this article was written, Austria was practically cut off from the world outside and the author had to base his statements on very fragmentary sources of in- formation. The English translation is due to Johannes L. Dewton, of the Library of Congress, whose help is greatly appreciated by the author. t o t a c k l e s u c h Utopian p l a n s , if t h e r e e v e r s h o u l d be a n y n e e d t o t a k e u p s u c h p r o b - l e m s a t a l l . B u t n o t o n l y t h e l i b r a r i a n s of G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g c o u n t r i e s s h o w e d t h i s s k e p t i c a l a t - t i t u d e t o w a r d i n t e r n a t i o n a l u n i f i c a t i o n of c a t a l o g i n g r u l e s . E v e n a n o r g a n i z a t i o n s u c h a s t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l F e d e r a t i o n of L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n s c h a r g e d s p e c i f i c a l l y w i t h i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s i n t h e l i b r a r y field a n d e x p e c t e d t o e n c o u r a g e s u c h d e - v e l o p m e n t s , h a s t r e a t e d t h i s p r o b l e m w i t h a ' c e r t a i n h e s i t a t i o n a n d r e s i g n a t i o n . N e v e r - t h e l e s s , t h e q u e s t i o n f o r m e d a r e g u l a r l y r e c u r r i n g f e a t u r e i n t h e p r o g r a m of d i s c u s - s i o n s . I n t h e l a s t p r e w a r m e e t i n g of t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l L i b r a r y C o m m i t t e e ( N e t h e r - l a n d s , J u l y 1 9 3 9 ) t h e r e p o r t i n g m e m b e r of t h e S u b c o m m i t t e e o n U n i f o r m C a t a l o g u e R u l e s , K . D . M e t c a l f , s t a t e d a s m a i n t a s k of t h e c o m m i t t e e f o r t h e t i m e b e i n g t o s t u d y t h e c a t a l o g i n g r u l e s of t h e v a r i o u s c o u n - t r i e s , t o m a k e t h e m a c c e s s i b l e b y t r a n s l a - t i o n s , a n d t o c o m p a r e t h e m . T h i s t a s k w a s s p l e n d i d l y p e r f o r m e d b y J . C . M . H a n s o n i n h i s p a i n s t a k i n g a n a l - ysis of 1 9 d i f f e r e n t s e t s of r u l e s w h i c h is t h e m a i n c o n t e n t s of h i s b o o k , A Compara- tive Study of Cataloging Rules Based on the Anglo-American Code of igoS, Chi- c a g o , 1 9 3 9 . A s t o t h e final g o a l , t h e c r e a - t i o n of u n i f o r m i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y a c c e p t a b l e c a t a l o g i n g r u l e s , M r . M e t c a l f h a d m a d e i n 1 9 3 9 t h e f o l l o w i n g r a t h e r c o n s e r v a t i v e s t a t e m e n t : " I t w i l l , h o w e v e r , t a k e m a n y y e a r s b e f o r e s u c h a g o a l c a n b e l o o k e d o n a s m o r e t h a n i d e a l i s t i c . " JULY, 1951 245 T h i s s u g g e s t s t h e q u e s t i o n : W h a t w i l l i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y u n i f o r m c a t a l o g i n g a c c o m - p l i s h ? O n e of t h e m a i n o b j e c t i v e s of t h e s u p p o r t e r s of u n i f o r m c a t a l o g i n g c e r t a i n l y is t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l e x c h a n g e a n d u s e of p r i n t e d c a t a l o g c a r d s , a s p r a c t i c e d f o r m a n y y e a r s w i t h i n a n a t i o n a l s c o p e b y t h e m a r v e l o u s s y s t e m of c a r d d i s t r i b u t i o n s e r v - ice of t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s i n W a s h i n g - t o n . W i t h i n G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g c o u n t r i e s t h e c a r d s of t h e D e u t s c h e B i i c h e r e i i n L e i p z i g h a d b e e n a p r o m i s i n g s t e p i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n , t a k e n s h o r t l y b e f o r e t h e w a r . A d d t o t h i s t h e g r e a t e r e a s e f o r t h e c r e a - t i o n of b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l c e n t r a l c a t a l o g s , u n i o n c a t a l o g s , e t c . , a n d t h e p o t e n t i a l i t i e s i n c a s e t h e b o o k t r a d e w o u l d j o i n t h e i n - t e r n a t i o n a l n o r m s of d e s c r i p t i v e c a t a l o g i n g . T h u s a w o r l d of f a s c i n a t i n g p r o s p e c t s o p e n s f o r t h e f u t u r e . W e w i l l c o n c e d e t h a t a l l t h i s s o u n d s r a t h e r U t o p i a n if i n t e r n a t i o n a l a p p l i c a t i o n is i n t e n d e d . O n e s h o u l d r e a l - i z e , h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e A n g l o - S a x o n l i b r a r - i a n s h a d t o fight f o r u n i f i c a t i o n a g a i n s t a n o v e r w h e l m i n g p e s s i m i s m , a n d t h a t t h e P r u s - s i a n c a t a l o g i n g i n s t r u c t i o n s h a d t o o v e r - c o m e e n o r m o u s r e s i s t a n c e a n d d i f f i c u l t i e s b e f o r e b e i n g m o r e o r less g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d i n G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g c o u n t r i e s . T h u s o n e c a n n o t d e n y t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t a u n i f i c a t i o n o n a w o r l d - w i d e s c a l e c o u l d b e a c c o m p l i s h e d w i t h p a t i e n c e a n d s t e a d f a s t n e s s . E v e n if t h i s g o a l w o u l d n e v e r b e r e a c h e d c o m - p l e t e l y , p a r t i a l p r o g r e s s t o w a r d i t w o u l d m e a n m u c h . E v e n w i t h i n t h e l i n g u i s t i c a l l y h o m o g e n e o u s g r o u p s m e n t i o n e d b e f o r e a c o m p l e t e i n t e g r a t i o n h a s n o t t a k e n p l a c e . I t m a y b e c o n c e d e d t h a t t h e o l d e r g e n e r a - t i o n of l i b r a r i a n s c a n h a r d l y h o p e t o see t h e c r e a t i o n o r t h e g e n e r a l a c c e p t a n c e of i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y u n i f o r m c a t a l o g i n g r u l e s . B u t s h o u l d t h a t p r e v e n t u s f r o m t r y i n g e v e r y t h i n g t o l e a d t h e c o m i n g g e n e r a t i o n o n a w a y w h i c h w i l l f a c i l i t a t e i t s p r o f e s - s i o n a l w o r k t r e m e n d o u s l y a n d w i l l f o r m a b y p a t h , n o t q u i t e u n i m p o r t a n t , t o w a r d p e a c e f u l i n t e r n a t i o n a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g ? C e r - t a i n l y , t h e s e t h o u g h t s a r e " i d e a l i s t i c " a c - c o r d i n g t o M e t c a l f ' s e x p r e s s i o n , b u t of a t y p e o f — I m i g h t s a y — " p r a c t i c a l i d e a l i s m , " w i t h o u t w h i c h a s u c c e s s f u l a c t i v i t y of li- b r a r i a n s is u n t h i n k a b l e . B u t w h e r e a r e t h e m a i n d i f f i c u l t i e s w h i c h m u s t b e o v e r c o m e , if a s o l u t i o n a c c e p t a b l e t o a l l p a r t s s h o u l d b e f o u n d f o r t h e p r o b - l e m of u n i f i c a t i o n ? A s f a r a s c a t a l o g c a r d s f o r w o r k s of p e r s o n a l a u t h o r s a r e c o n c e r n e d , i n t e r f i l i n g of c a r d s of f o r e i g n o r i g i n i n - v o l v e s n o p a r t i c u l a r p r o b l e m . T h e s i t u a - t i o n is d i f f e r e n t i n t h e c a s e of so c a l l e d " a n o n y m o u s " w r i t i n g s . H e r e , i n d e e d , l i e s a g r e a t s t u m b l i n g b l o c k w h i c h h a s b e e n r e c o g n i z e d in i t s i m p o r t a n c e , b u t w h i c h h a s n o t b e e n r e m o v e d y e t . T h e g r e a t a n t a g o - n i s m d i v i d i n g t h i s p a r t i c u l a r field of c a t a l o g - i n g t e c h n i q u e c a n b e e x p r e s s e d as f o l l o w s : o n o n e s i d e p r e f e r e n c e of " c o r p o r a t e " a u - t h o r s h i p , c o m b i n e d w i t h m e c h a n i c a l t i t l e a r r a n g e m e n t a c c o r d i n g t o t h e first w o r d n o t b e i n g a n a r t i c l e ; o n t h e o t h e r s i d e p r e f e r - e n c e of t i t l e e n t r i e s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c a t c h - w o r d s y s t e m ( u s u a l l y t h e first n o u n i n t h e n o m i n a t i v e c a s e ) . T h a t , s c h e m a t i c a l l y , is t h e m a i n d i f f e r - e n c e , so o f t e n d i s c u s s e d , b e t w e e n t h e A n g l o - A m e r i c a n c a t a l o g i n g t e c h n i q u e , a s c o d i f i e d in t h e Catalog Rules of 1 9 0 8 ( a b b r e v i a t e d C.R.) a n d t h e p r a c t i c e of t h e G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g c o u n t r i e s , a s e x p r e s s e d i n a r e p r e - s e n t a t i v e f o r m in t h e Prussian Instructions ( P r . I . ) . 2 F i r s t s o m e b a s i c r e m a r k s c o n c e r n i n g t h e q u e s t i o n of c o r p o r a t e b o d i e s . T h e r e is n o t h i n g t o be s a i d a g a i n s t t h e e x t e n s i o n of t h e t e r m a u t h o r s h i p , a l r e a d y u s e d i n a r a t h e r w i d e s e n s e in t h e P r . I . , f r o m p h y s i - c a l i n d i v i d u a l s t o l e g a l p e r s o n s . T o d o so is n o c o n t r a d i c t i o n t o l o g i c . A n d e v e n if it w o u l d b e a g a i n s t l o g i c , it w o u l d n o t m a t - t e r . O n e s h o u l d n o t o v e r e s t i m a t e t h e i m - 2 The complete title reads: Instruktioncn fur die alpha- betischen Kataloge dcr preussischen Bibliotheken vom 10. Mai 1899. (Various editions) 246 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES p o r t a n c e of f o r m a l l o g i c in j u d g i n g o n p r o b l e m s of c a t a l o g i n g t e c h n i q u e . T h e p r a c t i c a l a s p e c t of t h e r u l e , e s p e c i a l l y f r o m t h e u s e r ' s v i e w p o i n t , is a l o n e d e c i d i n g . E v e n t h e P r . I . r e c o g n i z e d l e g a l p e r s o n a l i t y a s p r i n c i p l e of e n t r y i n o n e c a s e : S e c t i o n 6 0 , d e a l i n g w i t h s a l e s c a t a l o g s a n d p r o s p e c t u s e s of c o m m e r c i a l f i r m s , p r o v i d e s e n t r y u n d e r t h e n a m e of t h e f i r m . B u t t h e m a i n p o i n t of c r i t i c i s m r e p e a t e d l y r a i s e d b y G e r m a n c r i t i c s of t h e C.R. is t h e c o m p l e x i t y a n d d i v e r s i t y of t h e r u l e s f o r c o r p o r a t e a u t h o r s h i p . T h e b a s i c p r i n - c i p l e s a r e s i m p l e , e a s i l y l e a r n e d a n d r e m e m - b e r e d , b u t t h e r e a r e t o o m a n y e x c e p t i o n s a n d s p e c i a l r u l e s . A n d , i n d e e d , o n e c a n n o t a l w a y s see c o m p e l l i n g r e a s o n f o r t h e i n d i v i d u a l r u l e , e v e n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e p e c u l i a r i t i e s of A n g l o - S a x o n i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d of t h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e . T h e l e a d i n g i d e a b e h i n d t h e p r i n c i p l e of c o r p o r a t e a u t h o r s h i p w a s e v i d e n t l y t o f i n d t h e o n e t e r m o n t h e " a n o n y m o u s " t i t l e p a g e m o s t e a s i l y n o t i c e d a n d r e m e m b e r e d b y t h e u s e r — c e r t a i n l y a r e a s o n a b l e a n d s o u n d t h o u g h t ! I n t h e c a s e of g o v e r n m e n t d o c u m e n t s o n e w i l l p r o b a b l y k n o w t h e c o u n t r y a n d f r e - q u e n t l y t h e g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c y . I n t h e c a s e of s m a l l e r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a g e n c i e s o n e m i g h t r e m e m b e r t h e g e o g r a p h i c a l u n i t o r t h e p l a c e n a m e . I n s t i t u t i o n s c o n n e c t e d w i t h a l o c a l i t y a r e p r o b a b l y r e m e m b e r e d b y t h e p l a c e . S o c i e t i e s , c o r p o r a t i o n s , c o n - f e r e n c e s , i n t e r n a t i o n a l b o d i e s , e t c . , a r e m o s t e a s i l y r e m e m b e r e d b y t h e i r o f f i c i a l n a m e s . T h e s e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s m a k e t h e C. R. f o r m u - l a t e t h r e e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s , w h i c h m i g h t r o u g h l y b e f o r m u l a t e d a s f o l l o w s : 1. G o v e r n m e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s a r e e n t e r e d u n d e r t h e c o u n t r y ( p r o v i n c e , c i t y ) , f o l - l o w e d b y t h e n a m e of t h e a g e n c y . 2 . I n s t i t u t i o n s , i.e., e n t i t i e s c l e a r l y c o n - n e c t e d w i t h a l o c a l i t y , a r e e n t e r e d u n d e r p l a c e , f o l l o w e d b y t h e n a m e of t h e i n s t i t u - t i o n . 3 . S o c i e t i e s , i n t h e w i d e s t s e n s e , a r e e n - t e r e d a n d f i l e d u n d e r t h e f i r s t w o r d of t h e i r o f f i c i a l n a m e . A f o u r t h r a t h e r i n h o m o g e n e o u s g r o u p , c a l l e d " m i s c e l l a n e o u s b o d i e s , " a r e t r e a t e d s e p a r a t e l y . T h e y a r e a g r o u p m a d e u p of b o d i e s w h i c h d o n o t b e l o n g t o a n y of t h e g r o u p s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , a s f o r e x a m p l e c o n g r e s s e s , e x h i b i t i o n s , e x p e d i t i o n s , f i r m s , e t c . E x c e p t i o n s f r o m t h e s e t h r e e r u l e s a r e h a r d l y a v o i d a b l e . T o g i v e a n i l l u s t r a t i o n : n o b o d y w o u l d l o o k f o r A m e r i c a n p r i v a t e u n i v e r s i t i e s l i k e H a r v a r d o r Y a l e u n d e r t h e p l a c e n a m e C a m b r i d g e o r N e w H a v e n . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e s t a t e u n i v e r s i t i e s , t h e s o - c a l l e d l a n d g r a n t c o l l e g e s , a r e g e n - e r a l l y k n o w n so w e l l u n d e r t h e n a m e of t h e s t a t e t h a t t h e p l a c e n a m e , w h i c h w o u l d b e t h e e n t r y r e q u i r e d b y t h e b a s i c r u l e , is of n o s i g n i f i c a n c e . T h e s e e x c e p t i o n s c o n - f i r m t h e p r i n c i p l e , t o c h o o s e t h e c o m m o n l y u s e d a n d t h e r e f o r e g e n e r a l l y r e m e m b e r e d t e r m a s e n t r y . T h e r e a r e a l s o less s u c - c e s s f u l s o l u t i o n s , as f o r e x a m p l e i n t h e r a t h e r d i f f i c u l t f i e l d of l a w s , f o r e i g n t r e a t i e s a n d c o n s t i t u t i o n s . I n t h e s e c a s e s t h e n a m e of t h e c o u n t r y s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t a l a g e n c y i s s u i n g . B u t f r e q u e n t l y i t is i m p o s s i b l e t o f i n d o u t t h e a g e n c y . T o k e e p t h i s m a t e r i a l t o g e t h e r , t h e c o m p i l e r s of C. R. d e c i d e d t o d i s r e g a r d t h e b a s i c r u l e a n d t o u s e a m e t h o d w h i c h is i n f a c t a l i e n t o a n a u t h o r c a t a l o g a n d is b o r r o w e d f r o m t h e p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h a r e f o l l o w e d i n s u b j e c t c a t a l o g s . A l l l a w s a r e e n t e r e d u n d e r t h e c o u n t r y , f o l l o w e d b y t h e s t a n d a r d i z e d t e r m : "Laws, statutes, etc." T h i s a r t i f i c i a l g r o u p i n g h a s i t s p r a c t i c a l a d v a n t a g e , b u t it is a r b i t r a r y a n d m u s t b e " l e a r n e d . " O n e c a n n o t e x p e c t t h a t t h e a v e r a g e u s e r 3 is p r e p a r e d t o k e e p s u c h a r u l e i n m i n d . E v e r y b o d y w h o h a s w o r k e d w i t h t h e C. R. f i n d s t h e g r e a t e s t d i f f i c u l t y i n s o l v - 3 Always under consideration of eventual international application of cataloging rules. JULY, 1951 247 ing the p r o b l e m : " i n s t i t u t i o n " or "society." I n the individual case a decision is f r e - quently very difficult or c a n n o t be m a d e at all. F i r s t of all the names given in t h e original publications f r e q u e n t l y designate the c h a r a c t e r and legal s t a t u t e of the cor- porate body involved in such a vague and even misleading m a n n e r t h a t detailed en- quiries as to the t r u e n a t u r e of the "so- ciety" or " i n s t i t u t i o n " are necessary. T h e t e r m " i n s t i t u t e " is f r e q u e n t l y used f o r en- tities which are, according to their n a t u r e , societies. Consider the usage of the t e r m " a c a d e m y . " L e a r n e d societies, b u t also schools, museums, etc., can be concealed u n d e r this t e r m . T h e r e are also d o u b t f u l cases w h e n e v e r an o r g a n i z a t i o n shows the characteristics of both institution and so- ciety at the same time. T o make things still worse, the o r g a n i z a t i o n m i g h t also have the character of a g o v e r n m e n t agency. Such cases occur f r e q u e n t l y among the m a n y semiofficial o r g a n i z a t i o n s of a u t h o r i - t a r i a n governments. T h e r e it is o f t e n quite impossible to distinguish between g o v e r n m e n t agencies, institutions and so- cieties. C e r t a i n l y , cross references do help in practice and are t h e r e f o r e used by the C. R. more f r e q u e n t l y t h a n E u r o p e a n cata- logers a r e used to. T h e t r e a t m e n t of periodicals also causes d o u b t . T h e e n t r y u n d e r the first w o r d of the title except the article is the basic r u l e ; but in certain cases t h e e n t r y is u n d e r the corporate a u t h o r . F o r example, the e n t r y f o r the a n n u a l r e p o r t of a g o v e r n m e n t agency takes this f o r m : C a n a d a . F o r e s t Service. A n n u a l r e p o r t ; or, the proceed- ings of a society: A c a d e m y of Political Science. Proceedings. T h e reason f o r de- viation f r o m the basic r u l e is obvious. T h e r e are h u n d r e d s of a n n u a l reports and of proceedings, and one needs to k n o w the n a m e of the issuing agency. W h y n o t make the best of it and emphasize the sig- nificant t e r m ? B u t in this case, too, it is very difficult to d r a w a clear and correct distinguishing line w h i c h w o u l d be also intelligible f o r the user. A n i m p r o v e m e n t could be f o u n d by distinguishing between periodicals w i t h general designations as " M i t t e i l u n g e n , " " B u l l e t i n , " " C o m p t e s r e n d u e s , " etc., in connection w i t h the name of the issuing organization, and periodicals w i t h specific names whose titles include in- f o r m a t i o n as to the contents or some other characteristical designation. T h e question is n o w w h e t h e r it w i l l be possible to remove these various weak spots of the C. R. w i t h o u t sacrificing the practi- cal and u s e f u l principle of corporate a u t h o r - ship. Such a r e f o r m w o u l d involve t h e removal of the artificial and impractical di- viding line between institutions and societies. O n e should consider e n t e r i n g local societies in the same w a y as institutions, u n d e r the place; n a t i o n a l societies, like g o v e r n m e n t agencies, u n d e r c o u n t r y . G e o g r a p h i c a l designations are best remembered a n d least complicated by synonyms. T h e question, to be solved in an i n t e r n a t i o n a l set of rules, of which l a n g u a g e to accept f o r the names of countries and places, could be answered best by choosing the v e r n a c u l a r of the re- gion concerned, as has been done in inter- national railroad time tables. C e r t a i n l y , such a rule is not always c o m f o r t a b l e . T h e official n a m e of t h e c o u n t r y m i g h t be less well k n o w n , as f o r instance, E i r e f o r Ire- land, Suomi f o r F i n l a n d . B u t in the in- terest of i n t e r n a t i o n a l application this little inconvenience—easily repaired by cross r e f e r e n c e s — m u s t be tolerated. A general exception f r o m this rule seems quite justified f o r all institutions and so- cieties whose official names begin w i t h a proper n a m e ( f o r example, as mentioned before, the H a r v a r d and Y a l e Universities, or t h e Senckenbergische N a t u r f o r s c h e n d e Gesellschaft, e t c . ) , because in these cases 248 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES t h e proper name, mnemonically, is s t r o n g e r t h a n the place name. T h e value of the e n t r y w o r d as a help f o r the memory, a f t e r all, is the deciding f a c t o r . W i t h these f e w sketchy rules the greater p a r t of corporate entries w o u l d be dis- posed of. Still, there remain the organiza- tions which cannot be very well connected w i t h any l o c a l i t y : the C a t h o l i c C h u r c h , the I n t e r n a t i o n a l R e d Cross, and in general the m a j o r i t y of the w o r l d - w i d e organiza- tions and institutions. O n e is tempted to f o l l o w the method of mnemonics and to enter u n d e r the significant w o r d . B u t the t w o organizations just mentioned demon- s t r a t e already the difficulties in deciding which is the significant w o r d . W h e r e w o u l d the layman user of the catalog look first, u n d e r C a t h o l i c or C h u r c h , u n d e r R e d or Cross or I n t e r n a t i o n a l ? O n e recognizes that w e are lost in the ocean of subjective c o n j e c t u r e . I t seems advisable indeed to f o l l o w the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n system: e n t r y u n d e r the first w o r d ( n o t being an article) of the best k n o w n name. T h i s example leads us to a f u r t h e r g r e a t difficulty in i n t e r n a t i o n a l unification. H o w should the genuinely anonymous w r i t i n g s be treated, a f t e r the corporate a u t h o r s are disposed o f ? T h e Anglo-Saxons have the single and simple r u l e to enter u n d e r the first w o r d of the title, even if it is an ad- jective or a preposition. I n the G e r m a n - speaking countries it is customary to enter u n d e r the first noun in the nominative case followed by other catch w o r d s . A large set of special rules governs the selection and correct o r d e r of these w o r d s . T h e G e r - m a n librarian is completely f a m i l i a r w i t h these rules, by continuous usage. I t is cer- tainly possible to learn these rules. T h e unbiased j u d g e , however, w i l l find them quite complicated and theoretical. W e ad- mit, they h a r m o n i z e w i t h subtle philo- logical principles and represent a master- piece of G e r m a n scholarly thoroughness, but h o w about the practical result f o r the general public? C a n anybody really claim t h a t the governing n o u n ( o f t e n r e f e r r e d to as " s u b s t a n t i v u m r e g e n s " ) is always the most significant w o r d of the t i t l e ? N o t to mention t h a t the sequence of words, as ar- ranged according to the P r . I . rules, f r e - quently t u r n s out to be quite odd. T o i l l u s t r a t e — i n the catalog of a large library you find as title heading the f o l l o w i n g se- quence of w o r d s (in E n g l i s h ) : G o v e r n m e n t Spanish axis. T h e n o n l i b r a r i a n will be disturbed and believe it an e r r o r u n t i l he reads the f u l l title, " T h e Spanish govern- m e n t and the axis." B u t even then the layman will h a r d l y u n d e r s t a n d h o w the cataloger ever arrived at this peculiar sequence of w o r d s . L e a v i n g aside the difficulty of disposing of a t r a d i t i o n a l habit in vogue f o r m a n y decades in m a n y great libraries, there is no real a d v a n t a g e in sticking to the " O r d n u n g s - w o r t " rules contained in P r . I . If one considers the f u r t h e r complications involved by the application of the P r . I . principle— as evidenced by the long set of rules spe- cifically designed f o r t r e a t i n g " S a c h t i t e l " — the balance of a r g u m e n t s is decidedly in f a v o r of the simple A n g l o - A m e r i c a n tech- nique which implies a single, easily re- membered rule. T h e l a t t e r may be called a mechanical device and is certainly lack- ing a logical f o u n d a t i o n , but it is the only practical solution of the p r o b l e m . D o these suggestions open the w a y f o r the compilation of an i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y u n i f o r m set of cataloging rules based on the revised C. R.f W e can answer this question in the affirmative only w h e n the librarians of the G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g and some other C o n - tinental E u r o p e a n countries can be expected to make the heavy sacrifice to give up their t r e a t m e n t of anonymous w r i t i n g s and ac- cept both corporate authorship and me- JULY, 1951 249 chanical title entries. T h i s a u t h o r realizes the implications of such a step by m a n y C o n t i n e n t a l E u r o p e a n librarians. A n enormous a m o u n t of t h i n k i n g and w o r k ex- pended in the creation and application of the P r . I. t h r o u g h m a n y years w o u l d be lost, the tradition of generations of librar- ians w o u l d break off. T h e continuation of such great u n d e r t a k i n g s as the Gesarnt- katalog, j u s t begun, w o u l d suffer u n d e r the split b e t w e e n old and n e w techniques of c a t a l o g i n g . B u t w e must not f o r g e t that all l i v i n g m a t t e r tends t o w a r d r e n e w a l . L i b r a r y w o r k , too, is g r o w i n g o r g a n i c a l l y . T r a d i t i o n should not prevent s h e d d i n g an old, o u t w o r n g a r m e n t and d r a w i n g a line to separate us f r o m the o u t d a t e d past. Is the time ripe for t h a t ? N o general reply is possible. E a c h l i b r a r y w i l l have to find its o w n a n s w e r i n d e p e n d e n t l y . I n e v e r y l i b r a r y , h o w e v e r , there arrives e v e n t u a l l y the day w h e n a n e w start is u n a v o i d a b l e . A n d has not the day f o r a n e w start a r r i v e d a l r e a d y a m o n g the ruins of E u r o p e , w h e r e so many libraries are destroyed and have to start reconstruction ex fundamentis? I t m a y be w o r t h w h i l e to say a f e w w o r d s on the geopolitical situation of the l i b r a r y w o r l d , if I m a y use this expression. W e talked of an A n g l o - A m e r i c a n cata- l o g i n g technique. A c c u r a t e l y speaking, the z o n e of influence of the C. R. surpasses the E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g w o r l d by f a r . W e k n o w that R o m a n c e countries have introduced corporate authorship m a n y years ago (in- dependent f r o m the C. R.) so t h a t a change to the C. R. w i l l come easily there. T h e same tendency is s h o w n by the y o u n g , promising libraries of L a t i n A m e r i c a . A m e r i c a n l i b r a r y influence is s t r o n g l y f e l t in S c a n d i n a v i a n countries, especially in D e n m a r k and N o r w a y . A s to corporate authorship there is n o w even a tendency to f a v o r it in G e r m a n libraries, w h i l e the N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y of B e r n is so f a r the o n l y l i b r a r y w h i c h has adopted them in S w i t z e r l a n d (in its n e w unpublished r u l e s ) . I t is also quite i m p o r t a n t that a g r o u p of international institutions in E u r o p e ( L e a g u e of N a t i o n s , I n t e r n a t i o n a l L a b o r O f f i c e , I n t e r n a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e of A g r i c u l - t u r e ) has accepted the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n rules l o n g before the U n i t e d N a t i o n s or U n e s c o existed. E v e n a venerable l i b r a r y w i t h a l o n g t r a d i t i o n , the V a t i c a n a , has accepted A n g l o - A m e r i c a n c a t a l o g i n g tech- nique in its principles and in m a n y details in the Norrne per il catalogo degli stampati, thus c r e a t i n g the most m o d e r n , compre- hensive and detailed set of rules of recent years. M o s t significant a n d — f r o m the v i e w p o i n t of w o r l d p o l i t i c s — h i g h l y sur- prising is the f a c t that S o v i e t R u s s i a remodeled its c a t a l o g i n g technique accord- i n g to A n g l o - A m e r i c a n principles. T h i s occurred w i t h i n the a u t h o r i t a r i a n reorgani- z a t i o n of her c u l t u r a l life, in spite of s t r o n g c o u n t e r tendencies w h i c h , f o r some time, pointed in f a v o r of the P r . I. W e must admit that under these circumstances the s t r o n g h o l d f o r m e r l y held by c e n t r a l E u r o p e has also been lost in this nonpolitical field. Is it dishonorable to j o i n an o v e r w h e l m i n g m a j o r i t y , if o n l y practical things are con- cerned and no loss of ideological v a l u e s is i n v o l v e d , and if finally a compromise w i l l b r i n g a d v a n t a g e s to all parties con- cerned ? In considering the pros and cons of the radical change w e propose one should be c a r e f u l not to be influenced by emotional sentiments or by considerations of national pride or prestige. L i b r a r y service is simply a m a t t e r of practical u t i l i t y . I t is not the l a w per se (in our case the c a t a l o g i n g r u l e s ) that matters, but its usefulness and prac- ticability for the a v e r a g e l i b r a r y user. T h e r e f o r e the librarian, as the politician, must accept a realistic, and that means in 250 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES o u r days to some extent, a cosmopolitan point of v i e w . T h e body w h i c h is in a position to ap- proach the problems outlined above ex officio is the I n t e r n a t i o n a l F e d e r a t i o n of L i b r a r y Associations. O n e of its subcom- mittees is in charge of the unification of c a t a l o g i n g rules. It is g r a t i f y i n g to find in one of the recent reports on the activi- ties of this committee w r i t t e n b y J . Ansteinsson, librarian, T e c h n i c a l I n s t i t u t e L i b r a r y , T r o n d h e i m , N o r w a y , an e v a l u a t i o n of the international c a t a l o g i n g situation w h i c h stresses the same points, hints at the same difficulties and intimates a similar ap- proach to a solution as the w r i t e r of this article has done quite independently. 4 It is also pleasant to k n o w c l e a r l y f r o m a f o r m e r report of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o m - mittee of L i b r a r i e s 5 that e v e r y w h e r e , and especially in the U n i t e d States, the interest in c a t a l o g i n g problems has g r o w n consider- ably w i t h i n recent years. A n e w healthy self-criticism of methods has gained space. H o w significant, that in a paper by J . C . M . H a n s o n , the N e s t o r a m o n g A m e r i c a n c a t a l o g i n g experts, w h o himself has w o r k e d on the creation of the C. R. in an influential position, a f t e r a l o n g experience and at the end of his career, f r a n k l y confesses that he is in doubt w h e t h e r the standard rules f o r corporate authorship really constitute a perfect solution of this difficult problem. H a n s o n r e g r e t s — s o w e read in A . D . O s - born's report on Cataloging Developments in the United States 1940-IQ47 ( A n n e x V I of the Proceedings)—that the problem of corporate authorship never had been the o b j e c t of serious study, a f t e r the C. R. w e r e established, and t h a t nobody has c l e a r l y w o r k e d out the " f u n d a m e n t a l t h e o r y " of corporate authorship. O s b o r n , f o l l o w i n g 4 Actes du Comite international des bibliotheques, i4me session, Londres 20-23 sept. 1948. La Haye, 1949. 5 Actes du Comite international des bibliotheques, i3me session, Oslo 20-22 mai 1947. La Haye, 1947. H a n s o n , shows, h o w in m a n y i n d i v i d u a l cases the C. R. cause doubt and disorgani- z a t i o n , drastically p o i n t i n g out the diffi- culties w h i c h result f r o m the f r e q u e n t l y o c c u r r i n g changes of names of g o v e r n m e n t agencies, institutions and societies. O s - born is certainly right in saying, " W e are sure that the corporate e n t r y is sound in theory, but w e are not so sure w h e n it comes to i n d i v i d u a l cases." T h e practical con- clusion, d r a w n by the A m e r i c a n s f r o m this situation, is that the C. R. needs a t h o r o u g h revision in the t r e a t m e n t of corporate authorship. A revised text of the rules is planned and a p r e l i m i n a r y d r a f t w a s published in 1 9 4 1 . T h e decisive problems, h o w e v e r , w e r e not touched upon, and, t h e r e f o r e , the d r a f t w a s r e j e c t e d by m a n y . A final version of the n e w C. R. must be preceded by a " t h o r o u g h investigation of the corporate e n t r y . " T h i s opens a v a l u - able and perhaps unique chance f o r coun- tries w h i c h do not use the C. R. to make their influence f e l t in the final rules. N o t only in the U n i t e d States, but also in other countries voices are heard, v e r y different f r o m the tired skepticism w h i c h prevailed in 1 9 3 9 in the H a g u e , w h e n the same committee discussed the topic of u n i f o r m c a t a l o g i n g . So in F r a n c e a s t r o n g m o v e m e n t in f a v o r of unification of catalogs led to the publication of a na- tional code of c a t a l o g i n g in 1 9 4 5 , w h i c h is, h o w e v e r , rather v a g u e as f a r as corporate entries are concerned ( a c c o r d i n g to the statement of M r . A n s t e i n s s o n ) . S t i l l more receptive to international tendencies of uni- fication are the librarians of C z e c h o s l o v a k i a . T h e y r e a l i z e that they are in the focal point of the s t r u g g l e b e t w e e n the P r . I . and the C. Rthe latter basically accepted by Russia. A n anonymous reporter f o r C z e c h o s l o v a k i a , describing in the C. I. B. report of 1 9 4 7 the l i b r a r y development of his c o u n t r y , calls the diversity of the G e r - JULY, 1951 29 7 m a n and the A m e r i c a n concept, historically represented by the i n f l u e n t i a l personalities of C u t t e r and D z i a t z k o , the real core of the i n t e r n a t i o n a l unification p r o b l e m . T h e C z e c h o s l o v a k i a n report recognizes f u l l y the thoroughness and l o g i c a l consistency of the P r . I., but emphasizes the usefulness of corporate authorship, especially t a k i n g into consideration the enormous increase of " a n o n y m o u s " publications. I t is clear t h a t a f u n d a m e n t a l prerequisite f o r an i n t e r n a t i o n a l code of c a t a l o g i n g rules is n a t i o n a l unification of c a t a l o g i n g practice. I n m a n y countries there is still considerable inconsistency and diversity be- t w e e n the d i f f e r e n t types of libraries and sometimes b e t w e e n linguistic groups. B u t the progress in n a t i o n a l codification m a y and should be accompanied by e f f o r t s to promote i n t e r n a t i o n a l unification. I t is up to the I n t e r n a t i o n a l F e d e r a t i o n of L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n s to a t t a c k the main problems w h i c h are sketchily outlined in this article w i t h energy and w i t h the optimistic feel- i n g that in spite of a l l obstacles the final t a r g e t w i l l be reached and w i l l w o r k out to the benefit of all. Remodel While You W o r k (Continued from page 2j6) and d u r i n g operations in order to a d j u s t the minds of the public and staff to the e x t r a o r d i n a r y conditions p r e v a i l i n g . I n due time, preparations to reoccupy the refinished b u i l d i n g should be m a d e in some detail, to proceed by d e p a r t m e n t or section, perhaps as c o n s t r u c t i o n w o r k is c o m p l e t e d . A cele- bration by s t a f f , public and f r i e n d s m i g h t w e l l signalize the t e r m i n a t i o n of the altera- tions w o r k or of a p a r t i c u l a r l y significant portion of it ( s u c h as a rare book room or an u n d e r g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y ) . I t w o u l d m a r k the cessation of a p a r t i c u l a r l y difficult and t r y i n g experience and m i g h t open a n e w era in l i b r a r y history. I t is difficult to anticipate the contingen- cies w h i c h m a y arise w h i l e r e v i s i n g and a d d i n g to e x i s t i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n . F o r this reason r e m o d e l i n g is less sought by b u i l d i n g c o n t r a c t o r s than is n e w construction, and if revisions are to be v e r y comprehensive, u n i t costs m a y r u n higher than f o r n e w w o r k . E x t e n s i v e alterations d u r i n g occupancy are disadvantageous both to c o n t r a c t o r and li- brarians, and the most w o r k a b l e compromise should be m a d e b e t w e e n n o r m a l l i b r a r y f u n c t i o n and the complete a b a n d o n m e n t of the b u i l d i n g to plasterers, painters and plumbers. R e m o d e l i n g calls f o r c a r e f u l , creative p l a n n i n g , adequate f u n d i n g , m e t i c u l o u s co- ordination and limitless reserves of staff good w i l l and endurance. B u t if the old b u i l d i n g is to continue as a m o d e r n l i b r a r y , an e d u c a t i o n a l f o r c e and research center, and as a w o r k s h o p f o r an inspired l i b r a r y staff, it must be c o n t i n u o u s l y reshaped in the image of that fleeting g o a l , ideal f u n c - tion, and of t h a t evanescent measure of good and beauty, o u r h e a r t s ' desire. 252 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES