Library catalogue code:
A library catalogue code, one or two of which (for, there are a score of the them), as you may have surely become familiar with to some extent, can be explained as a 'set of rules' for guidance of cataloguers in the preparation of descriptive bibliographical records (i.e., entries in library catalogues, bibliographies and. similar other lists) for books and other graphic materials so as to ensure consistency and uniformity in their treatment.
The code may additionally have rules for subject cataloguing/indexing and filing of entries as well. Generally, codes comprise rules for description of materials (books, etc.) and choice of headings and their forms needed in making author, title, etc. bibliographical entries including cross references as may be warranted. This is-normally so with codes designed for author-title alphabetical catalogues in which subject entries with appropriate cross references serving as syndetic devices are also filed as in the dictionary catalogue. AACR 2, 1988 rev, the latest of the Anglo-American family of catalogue codes is one such example.
Subject cataloguing/indexing calls for a different skill and requires additionally the use of separate aids such as a list of subject headings (e.g., Sears List of Subject Headings) or a scheme of classification (e.g., Dewey Decimal Classification, Colon Classification, etc.). Similarly, filing of entries in the catalogue also needs a separate set of rules, as for example, ALA Rules for Filing Catalogue Cards, Library of Congress Filing Rules, etc. Assigning call numbers to documents to facilitate shelving/storing and thus, to ensure physical control of documents, further requires the use of a classification scheme and any author or chronological tables as well (e.g., Cutter Author Marks, Biscoe Time Numbers, etc).
The comprehensive codes such as Cutter's Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue, Ranganathan's Classified Catalogue Code do not support the total cataloging process. Some classification schemes and any author/chronological table have to be employed as adjuncts. This Unit is about the 'history' and 'development' of 'library catalogue codes' (which have greatly proliferated over the time).