3. Historical development of cataloguing codes

Origin of Cataloguing Codes

The first cataloguing rules were prepared by individuals.

1.Panizzis British Museum Rules for the compiling of the catalogue (1841) was the first major modern statement of principles underlying cataloguing rules: It has extended an influence on every western world code, that has been published since its publication.  

2. Cutters rules for a dictionary catalog in its 4th edition at his death in 1903, presented the first complete ser of rules for a dictionary catalog.

From the beginning of the twentieth century codes have been drawn up by committees, but the influence of those early far sighted individuals continued through LC rules on printed cards (1903) through the 1930s, 

3. LC rules for descriptive cataloguing (1949) 

4. ALA rules (1908, 1941, 1949), 

5. AACR, (published in 1967) and the present 

6. AACR2.  

The ALA rules of 1908 were the results of a seven-year study by a committee of ALA and the (British) library Association (LA). In 1901 the library of congress began its printed card service with the result that libraries became interested in ways to use LC cards with their own cards. One of the important responsibilities of the committee was to formulate rules to encourage incorporation of LC printed cards into catalogs of the libraries.

The committee attempted to reconcile the cataloguing practices of LC with those of other research and scholarly libraries. The use of LC cards increased dramatically between 1908 and 1941 and standardization of library catalog progressed. However, the ALA rules were not expanded during this 33 years period, drastically curtailing attempts of cataloguing practice to stay in touch with cataloguing done at the LC.

In 1930 a sub-committee was appointed by ALA to begin work on a revision of cataloging rules and the problems were outlined. Dissatisfaction with the 1908 code expressed on the grounds of omission of the basic rules were not in question. Expansion was required to meet the needs of large scholarly libraries or specialized collections. The preliminary edition, published in 1941, expanded the rules of 1908 to make more provision for special classes of material i.e. serial publications, government documents, religious bodies publications, anonymous classics, music and maps to amplify existing rules to cover specific cases of frequent occurrence. The revised edition of 1949 states that:

The chief changes from the preliminary edition are a rearrangement of the material to make the sequence of rules logical as far as possible; reduction of the number of alternate rules; omission of rules for description; rewarding to avoid repetition or to make the meaning clearer and revision where possible of rules inconsistent with the general principles.

The 1941 and 1949 rules were sharply criticized for being too elaborate and often arbitrary emphasis had shifted from clearly defined principles to a collection of rules developed to fit specific cases rather than the conditions that the cases illustrated.

Lubetzky commented that any logical approach to cataloguing problems was blocked by the maze of arbitrary and repetitious rules and exceptions to rules. Because of the omission of rules for description from 1949 ALA rules, the LC published its rules for descriptive cataloguing in the LC also in 1949.

This set of rules was much more simplified than had been the rules in part II of the 1941 ALA preliminary edition. These were not criticized as were the rules for entry and heading and were incorporated virtually intact into the next edition of rules published by ALA in 1967.