025.8 SHELF WORK

JENNIE D. FELLOWS

SHELFLISTING

General directions

Directions common to both card and sheet shelflists are as follows:

I Items included. The items included generally consist of call number, author's name, title (with such additional information as is necessary to distinguish editions), accession number, and volume and copy numbers. Do not use ... to indicate omissions and use [] for matter supplied only in title.

2 Samples. Examples of shelflisting on both 25 x 20 cm and 10 x 25 cm sheets are given in Library School Rules (5th ed.) after page 61; examples of shelflisting on 10 x 25 cm sheets and on cards are given in Simplified Library School Rules, page 66-67, but in case of variations from the following directions, observe the latter.

3 Call number. Make all characters very clear, printing all letters except lower case k, 1 and q, which should be written to distinguish from capital K and figures 1 and 9, with which the handprinted characters are liable to be confused.

4 Title. Give short but clear and comprehensive title, corresponding to the form on the title page and beginning with the first words of the title proper.

For convenience in taking inventory the cover or binder's title is sometimes preferred, but this is liable to change in rebinding and for the several uses of the shelflist the entry corresponding to the catalog cards is on the whole more satisfactory.

Card shelflist

The forms recommended for the card shelflist are fuller than those suggested later for the sheet shelflist but in most cases may be abbreviated to correspond to the latter if economy of time requires.

I Number of entries. Enter only one work on a card, regarding different editions as different works.

2 Call number. Give both class and book number close to left edge of card, class number on top line, book number on second line. If a change of size necessitates a change in call number, give the changed form under the original form, leaving one blank line. If the size mark is incorporated in the book number, only the new book number need be given; if in the class number, the entire call number must be given. Add below the changed number the number

of the volume with which the change occurs. Give the changed number, whether book number alone or entire call number (according to the position of the size mark), in red, in the list of volumes, above the volume with which the change occurs; for example:

3 Author's name. Give on top line, outer indention, secondary fulness.

4 Title. Follow cataloging rules for position and indention, including rules for anonymous books and periodicals. After the title, give for the classics and for other works when the fact is important the surname of the editor or translator, separating this from the title proper by a space instead of by a mark of punctuation, except that when the editor's or translator's name comes at the beginning of a line a comma should be used after the previous phrase, for the sake of clearness. Give in () the series note in short form, but omit series number. If the library has more than one edition of a book, the distinguishing feature should be given, for example, the imprint date or place of publication, unless the editions are already distinguished by variation in title, by editor, translator etc. or by series note. Since imprint dates etc. are used only to distinguish editions, they should be placed at the end of the items noted above even though, contrary to cataloging rules, they are thus placed after

a series note.

5 Accession, volume and copy numbers. Omitting one line

after the title and accompanying items, write in columns, beginning between the vertical lines, the accession numbers, followed by the corresponding volume and copy numbers, as

When accession numbers are not consecutive, a line must be given to each. When they are consecutive and volume numbers are also consecutive they may be given as a group; for example, 3422-5 4v., or 745-7 3 cop., but when changes must be made in a record, as when a volume or copy is lost, it is more convenient to have them on separate lines. In the case of a long set with consecutive accession numbers these may be given in groups of, for example, five or ten volumes each; for works of reference, as cyclopedias, where the danger of loss is minimized, this may sometimes be found desirable, but for class work each accession number is to be given separately.

Leave space for missing volumes.

When accession numbers are short or when only volume numbers or copy numbers are to be added, two columns of accession numbers may be given on a card.

If a library expects to add copies to a work in more than one volume, space may be left after the entries for each volume or if a large but indefinite number of copies will probably be added a card may be used for each volume, but these possibilities need not be considered for class work.

6 Special classes. In individual biography, individual bibliography, and family genealogies, the shelf record as described above will best be dropped one line and the name of the biographee, bibliographee or family written on the top line, inner indention. For the subjects of biography and bibliography, use secondary fulness, without subheads. For genealogy, use for example, the form, Grant family, or for the particular branch of a family, if the distinction is made in cataloging, Grant, T. F., family. In class work this distinction is to be made.

The subject heading in these classes in the shelflist may be written in either black or red, but one or the other should be used consistently. It is very doubtful whether the color distinction between author and subject headings is of sufficient value on the shelflist to justify the extra expenditure of time.

7 Continuations. a Title. For periodicals give title on top line, inner indention, with the date of beginning of the periodical, followed by a dash, if the library has the first numbers; otherwise omit date.

b Volumes. Give a line to each accession number, arranging in order of volume numbers, and leaving space for missing volumes. If more than enough volumes to fill a card are missing at the beginning of a set, do not leave space for these but, considering the card in hand as a second or third card, consider where the first volume now in the library would come if the set were complete and write the volume number on that line. When the first volumes of the set come in, write another card and insert before the original card.

c Indexes. If consolidated indexes covering several volumes are published separately they should (unless numbered in consecutively with the rest of the set) be given on a separate card, numbered as zero volumes and inserted before the cards for the regular volumes. Inclusive numbers of volumes covered (or inclusive dates) should, on typewritten cards, be given in curves after the volume number for the index, as v. 01 (v. 1-20). On manuscript cards this fact is best given without the curves, above the volume number for the index.

d Dates covered. It is very convenient to have the periods covered by volumes given at short intervals when the set is continuous, and always at the top of a column or after a gap of any considerable extent. On typewritten cards the date is best given after the volume. number, as 4787 v. 44 N98-Ap99. On manuscript cards the dates are to be given above the volume number. For continuations issued irregularly or at long intervals, it is better to give the dates with each volume.

e Consecutive numbers. When consecutive volumes of a continuation have consecutive accession numbers, the first of these accession numbers should be given in full and for the remaining numbers only the last figure need be given unless tens or hundreds etc. change, when as much of the number must be written as is changed; also at the head of every column the accession number should be written in full.

These shortened accession numbers should be used only in shelflisting continuations.

f Unbound volumes. Current unbound numbers are not generally recorded on the shelflist but unbound volumes occurring in the