The plan of the following Classification and Index was developed early in 1873. It was the result of several months' study of library economy as found in some hundreds of books and pamphlets, and in over fifty personal visits to various American libraries. In this study, the author became convinced that the usefulness of these libraries might be greatly increased without additional expenditure. Three years practical use of the system here explained, leads him to believe that it will accomplish this result; for with its aid, the catalogues, shelf lists, indexes, and cross references essential to this increased usefulness, can be made more economically than by any other method which he has been able to find. The system was devised for cataloguing and indexing purposes, but it was found on trial to be equally valuable for numbering and arranging books and pamphlets on the shelves.

A Manual of Cataloguing Practice is a text on cataloguing and covers topics ranging from the major cataloguing codes to the subject catalogue, the name catalogue, and cataloguing of special materials. Physical forms of catalogue are also considered, along with the filing and arrangement of catalogue entries; centralized and cooperative cataloguing; the organization of cataloguing; and the relation of cataloguing to modern methods of information retrieval. This manual is comprised of 16 chapters and begins with an overview of the nature and purpose of catalogues, as well as the history of cataloguing and catalogues. The discussion then turns to the development and application of the major cataloguing codes, including the British Museum Cataloguing Rules; the Vatican Code; the American Library Association Rules 1949; and the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules 1967. Some particular problems of author-title cataloguing are considered, together with the solutions suggested by some of the major codes and the practices of some individual libraries. External guides (instructions for the use of the catalogue) and internal guides (""signposts"" within the catalogue) are also discussed. Finally, the future of cataloguing is examined. This book will be a useful resource for practicing cataloguers and librarians as well as students of librarianship.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1876.