■-'■iM EXPLANATION OP THE Alphabetic-Order Marks (TWO-FIGURE TABLES) By CHARLES A. CUTTER NORTHAMPTON, MASS. HKRALD JOB PRINT, Tqi 1 HBRARV THE CUTTER OPDER-MAPK5; WHY AND HOW THEY ARE USED.* It has been found convenient b}- libraries to arrange s< classes of books alphabetically. In Biography, for instanc the book stand on the shelves in the order of the names of persons whose lives they relate, one knows that Adams will bi the beginning of the class and Washington at the end and Jef son somewhere near the middle ; and one can go to the shelf, . get the life one wants, without having to consult a catalog fi which makes a saving not only of time, but of eyes and patie. Moreover, one will find a// the lives of Washington standing ; by side, which will often not happen on an}^ other plan. In Fict. such an arrangement, either b3^ authors' names or by titles, almost a necessity. In Poetry and the Drama also it is usefu and in fact, in ever}^ class it is better than an arrangement 1: sizes, which merely makes the shelves look a little more orderly or by accession-number, which have no advantage at all.t But it is also found that the books must have some marks oii the back to keep them in order. The binders' titles will not do. because they often do not contain the word by which the book should be arranged, and when the}^ do, the arranger cannot alway.- see at a glance which of several words is the one to arrange by Moreover, we want some brief mark peculiar to each book, and not belonging to any other cop}^ b}' which to charge the volume to the borrower. Therefore, I letter on the lower part of the back of each book : 1. In one line, the letters or figures that denote its class and sub-class. 2. In another line, the initial of the author's name, followed by certain figures (to be explained later on) ; this line stands for the author's name. 3. In another line, the initial of the title (used only when there are two works by the same author in the same sub-class). 4. In the same line, when there is more than one copy of the same work, I put 2- for the second copy, 3 for the third, if there is one, and so on. •Some preliminary discussions on tUis subject may be lound in "Plans lor uumbering with especial reference to fiction, a library symposium." Library Journal, 4:38-47. fThe plea that in science accession order assist study by putting the older works at the begin- ning of each subject and modern works at the end is true only in the rearrangement of an old library: In a new library, or in the subsequent history of the old library, it would not be valid unless libraries always bought books in the order In which they are published ami never received gifts of old bb'cfks. ChnmolO^tra^ ofrdw, made up as b'cfoks Usually oomernto a ttbrary. would bte a mb'ttlfed atfair, (2) Examples in English Fiction. Class , Class Class and author author, author. and title. title, and copy. Yk Yk Yi- •036- -Dsfi- -Dae- r r4 Defoe's Defoe's Robinson Novels. Robinson Crusoe,. Crusoe. 4th copy. ALPHABETIC ORDER. Books on the shelve.^ are kept aljDhabeted by authors by marking them with the initial of the authors' s family name* fol- lowed by one or more decimal figures assigned according to a table so constructed that the names whose initials are followed by some of the first letters of the alphabet li^ve the first numbers, and those in which the initials are followed by the/^/^r letters have later numbers. t E. G., Garfield, ai8 Gore, g66 Gerry, G32 Grand, G76 Gilman, G42 Grote, G91 Glover, G51 Guizot, G94 If the books are arranged in the order of these numbers, of course they will be in alphabetical order. To use the table : , 1. Find the first few letters of the author's name in the table; the figures following added to the initial are the mark. E. G., for the name Holmes the table gives Holm 73, the mark is h73. Lowell (Low 95) has l95, Tenney CTeti 25), t25. Huxley is h08, Macauley is Mil, Thackeray, t32. *In the case of authorless Books (anonymous works, periodicals, government publications, etc..) tlie alphabetical order is determined by the headlngadopted for cataloging, according to r!utter's rules tor a dictionary catalog. In biography, when the Decimal Classification is used, the name of tlie sub- ject of the life should be used Instead of the name of the author: in the Expansive Classirtcation, the name of the subject forms part of the class mark, as Gerry's Life, Eg32. iTwo sets of tables have been issued: the first with only U figures after the Initial; the second with 3 figures. The two can be used successively in the same class, because the two figures of the first tables are the same as the first two of the second. The figures given in the following examples are from the two-figure tables. (3) 257648 In printing a catalog, the printer should be cautioned not to use the old style figures, *, 2, 3, 4, etc.) in which the figure one is the same as the "small capital" letter I. 2. For names beginning with A, E, I, O, U and S, I prefer to use the first two letters of the author's name instead of the initial, and for names beginning Sc three letters. In this way fewer marks are used for the same amount of distinction. In my two figure-tables only one figure is used for A, etc., the second letter taking the place of a figure, as Abbott, ab2, Edwards, ed9, Ives, ivS, Olney, OlG, Upton, up8, Semmes, se5, Scanimon, SCA 0. Schopenhauer, sch6. For large classes, a second figure is needed. Some persons, however, object to the use of two letters. For such Miss Sanborn has prepared a table of the vowels and S with three figures. 3. If the first letters of the name do not occur in the table take the letters next previous in the alphabetic order. E. g., there is no Dot in the table; for Dotten, therefore, we take the number of Dos, which gives d74; for Pecksniff, the number of Feb; for Manners, the number of Mam. Some persons prefer to add at once another figure whenever the author-table does not give a figure for any combination; it prevents trouble later. 4. If the number found is already in use, annex another decimal. E. g., if one using the table wishes to insert Harrison between Harris, h24, and Harsnet, h25, a third figure makes Harrison h242, Harrisse h245, Harry, h249. If, again, there is a Harrison, Alfred, h242, Harrison, James, ma}' be numbered with a fourth figure, h2424, Harrison, John, h2425, Harri- son, Robert, h2427, and so on. This can be carried to any extent. In making such insertions it is necessary to consider in what part of the gap the new name will best go, so as to leave room on one side or the other for future insertions. For instance, between Bal 18 and Bald 19 there may come in all the names beginning with Bala, Balb, Bale. There are nine num- bers, which we might divide thus: Bala 1-3, Balb 4-(i, Bale 7-9. Then Balbi would be b184, and Balbo b185, Balbuena, b186, Balcarres, b187, Balch 188. If Balboa should come in, it would go between b185 and b186, i.e., b1853. I do not make it b1851, wishing to leave room for another Balbo. Except in very large classes, like Fiction or Biography, one rarel}^ gets to the fourth figure. But bad judgment in choosing the third figure may hasten the need of adding a fourth. With the 3-figure table one excapes doubt. Avoid using the number I as long as other numbers are vacant, because when it is once used nothing can be inserted before it; one cannot put, for instance, anything between 22 and 221. Zero is not used because it might be mistaken for the letter o of a work-mark; otherwise, 220 would come between 22 and 221. It can be used when nothing else will get one out of a difficult}^. (4) 5. The figures are to be considered as decimals, and arranged on the shelf in the order ii2, h21, H'iU, h2111, 112112, h22, h2;:;, Tr238, h24, h3, and so on. That is, all the numbers beginning with l^ come before a number begin- ning with .'J, and all the numbers beginning with 21, before any beginning with 22, and all beginning with 221 before any beginning with 222; just as in a dictionary all the words beginning with ab come before words l)eginning with ac, and all the aca words come before the act words. [J^P^Some persons are apprehensive that this decimal arrange- ment will be hard to use, or at least hard to teach to stupid assist- ants and (when the ptiblic are allowed to go to the shelves) to a public unwilling to take the trouble to comprehend. It may be so sometimes; I can only say that I never had any difficulty with any one, bo}' or girl, man or woman, when the arrangement was explained as it is above. But if this is considered a serious objection to the use of these author-marks^ the difficult}^ can be entirely avoided by using two figures with the initial in all cases, treating them as ordinals, and when two names are to be repre- sented by the same combination, so that subdivision becomes necessary, starting a new series of ordinals either from 1 to 9 or from 11 to 99, by putting a point after the first two figures, e. g., H24.1, or H24.il. The stupidest attendant could not fail to com- prehend the order H34, H34.1, H34.2, H34.3, H34.4, and so on. As it would be awkward to use two decimal points (H34.2.1, H34.2.2), it would be well to use two figures alter the decimal point in very large collections, as P'iction and Biography, thus : H34, H34.il, H34.12, H34.13, etc. Of course this ordinal method does not allow infinite inter- calation. A time will come when some new name cannot be inserted in its proper order, . because its number is alread}^ occu- pied. Btit a notation consisting of an initial followed by four characters provides places for so many names that this misfortune will not occur soon or frequently. And when it does occur the approximate alphabetical arrangement that will here and there result is very much better than no alphabetic order at all. Further marks:* 6. On the shelves three alphabetical series should be made, O including all books 25 cm. high or less, O between 25 and 30 *For a discussion of other methods, see Lihrary Notes, vol, 3. (5) F over 30. These will be indicated b}^ the sign that seperates the class mark from the author-aad-book mark. • for O and smaller- sizes, -f- for Q, II for F. In small libraries it is best to make only one series of books under each division; the few books that are too large for the shelves can be turned down; very large books can be kept in some separate case. But in a library of size, and especially in a library that has many old books, there are likely to be so many quartos and folios that provision must be made to keep them by them- selves and yet in juxtaposition with the smaller books of their class. It is well always to mark the books for O and F with these distinctive marks, but these two sizes may often be mixed advantageously in a single alphabet on the shelves, especially where there are onl^' one or two folios with many quartos, or one or two quartos with many folios. They can be separated when there are enough of each class to make it worth while. The three size-marks are for marking the catalog and the back of the title-page; they are not used for lettering the backs of the books; in a majority of cases the book's size is sufficiently shown to the attendant who puts them up by the fact that a Q book must not go on an O shelf. 7. In numbering Q and F books a single figure will usually be enough, because there will usually be few books of those sizes in auy class, and therefore fewer marks are needed to distinguisb them; often the initial alone would be enough in F, 8. Different books by the same author in the same class are distinguished by work-marks consisting of the first letter or letters of the catch-title after a thin space. E. g., Dickens's Chimes, d55c; Christmas Carol, d55ch; Cricket on the Hearth, d55cr; David Copperfield, d55d; Dombey and Son, d55do. 9. Other copies or other editions are noted by adding 2 or 8 or -I, as the case may be, to the work-mark. K. g., another edition of Dombey and Son, d55do2. 10. The special mark for translations, for use ui large libraries or in large special collections in a small libr2.ry^ is the initial of the lanuage, a capital letter added (after a size-mark) to the author-mark. (6) \L t^., Goethe's dramatische WerWe ' gSo Dramatic works ' 055 ' ]*, CEuvres dramatiques " g55 ' l*"-' Faust ■ g55 f Faust, in English ' g55 i I 11. If there are several translations distinguisli them b}' adding the initial of the translator's name to the langnage-mark. H. g., , Faust, in the original 1 Ci55- F - English by Austin Bern ays Blackie g55 F ■ g55 F ■ ■ g55 F ' Ea Eb Ebl Bowen Brooks ■ g55 f g55 f • Ebo • Ebr " French Blaze de Burv ■ g55 f Fb Italian Maffei (;55 F ■ Im These marks are long. But il must be remembered that the need for such marks does not occur at all in a small collection of books, and very rarely in a large one. Moreover, if anyone wants to avoid them altogether, he can do so by giving up the exact arrangement of versions, and simply numbering texts and translations in numerical order as they are received, which is just as well where there is no access to the shelves, and almost as well even wher^ there is, until the number of editors and translations becomes very large, as it would among the classics in a college library, or in the case of Shakespeare, Goethe and Dante, in any large general library. 12. In Biography, which is to be arranged by names of the subjects of the lives, in the Decimal classification distinguish different author's by adding their initials. In the Expansive classification Biograpln* is treated like any other class. E. g , Chadwick's Defoe In the 1). C. . 920 D3Gc. In the \i. C liirMi ' C Morey's Defoe In the 1). C. 920 D36m In the Iv C. Ei)3() ' M Wilson's Defoe In the D. C. 020 DSGw In the Jv C. Ed3() " W 13. When in a large collection the number of editions of a single work exceeds or is likely to exceed 9, the different editions may be distinguished by adding the 3^ear of ptiblication (usualh^ of the first volume, if there are more than one), instead of a num- ber 2, 3, 4. E. g., Paradise Lost, ed. of 1667 reprint of same " ed. of 1732 ed. of 1754 (7) ■ M 64 P ■ 1667 ■ M 64 p 1667 ■ 2 ■ M 64 P ' 1732 ■ M 64 P 1754 14. If it is desired to keep a commentary on any work immediately after the work add to the work-mark a capital "Y and (if necessary) the initial of the commentator. For dictiona- ries and concordances add "Z. !•). i^-., I'rehse's W'orterlnch zu Reuler's sammtlichen werkeu would be R.'ilZ ; Clarke's Shakspere concordance lin a library which has no special mark for Shakspere ^ "Shi 'Zc"). The varions marks then are : Class -------- as V Size - - - - - - - - as ■ or -|- or II Anthor -------- as d55 Work -------- as D Copy of edition - - - - - - as 2, 3, 4 " '' when very many - -, - as 1887 Translation - - - - as (into English) .E Other copies of translation - - * - - as "£2, 'E3 Translation b}/ another hand as (d being initial of translator's name) "Ed Another copy of this other translation - - as ■Ed2 Comnientar}^ or other illustrative work - - as "Y Dictionary - - - - - - - asZ Another as (p being initial of anthor of dictionary "Zp For a fuller explanation, see Cutter's Expansive classification, \)i. 1, pp. 139-160. 'J'his includes a way to mark a large collection of Greek and Latin classics (such as would be found in a college library) first published in the Library Journal^ 1 1 :280-28<). Some improvements will be found in the Expansion classification, 7th, class Y, p. 35, 36. See also, full scheme for marking a Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe Moliere, Milton collection, in the Expansive classification, 7th, class Y, p. 49-74, enlarged from Library Journai^ 9 : 137-139. f (8) r'^^Mi^Mhf^mm U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES CDE7m313?