College and Research Libraries Rare Book Cataloging How to Catalog a Rare Book. By P a u l Shaner D u n k i n . Chicago, American L i b r a r y Association, 1951. vii, 85p. $1.75. . I t will be a surprise to many a reader to learn t h a t a cataloger f r o m the Folger Shakespeare L i b r a r y has succeeded in de- scribing in simple, layman's English the in- tricacies t h a t are the foundations of r a r e book cataloging. In a mere 85 pages he has lifted the iron curtain behind which most catalogers of ordinary books (as he calls t h e m ) have been too timid to look. T h e r e is a serious danger, however, t h a t catalogers and library a d m i n i s t r a t o r s may be misled by this simplicity and assume t h a t the task is as simple as this explanation of it. T h e critical r e a d e r will soon discover t h a t in spite of the opening chapter entitled " W h y s and W h e r e f o r e s , " t h e r e are many questions l e f t unanswered. I n his first p a r a g r a p h , M r . D u n k i n says t h a t "catalogers dream of a brave new w o r l d in which simplified catalog- ing will answer all needs of all books." H e then promptly explains t h a t w h a t he has suggested in the following pages f o r r a r e book description is really simplified cataloging and he falls into his own t r a p . H i s dreams of simplified descriptions f o r r a r e books should answer the needs of all r a r e books. H i s basic fallacy as I see it is his f a i l u r e to attempt to define a r a r e book which he says is not the cataloger's job. Even if one ac- cepts his premise t h a t "any book which has value as a physical object is a r a r e book," it is possible to concede this in a day of good photoduplication services one must admit t h a t different physical qualities may have caused the rarity, and correspondingly dif- f e r e n t descriptions may be required to catalog such books adequately w i t h o u t giving un- necessary i n f o r m a t i o n . T o suggest t h a t if the convention of quasi-facsimile transcription of title pages is not adopted, the transcription must give line endings in every case ( " T h e general cataloger . . . will do well to m a r k line endings in all transcriptions because it is so little trouble t h a t omitting them results in no saving") is to provide guidance to be fol- lowed w i t h o u t the discriminating mind t h a t it is necessary f o r a cataloger of r a r e books to have. Intelligent cataloging requires that the cataloger see the relationships between books. T h e cataloger of r a r e books in many cases must make finer distinctions in the relation- ships and be able to express clearly and con- cisely w h a t he has discovered. T h i s brief treatise may be a godsend to guide the be- ginner in the presentation of his bibliographi- cal data, but it needs to be supplemented by a guide t h a t leads the cataloger to the sources of information t h a t tell him why his particu- lar book is rare.—Lucile M. Morsch, Li- brary of Congress. ILO Publications Catalogue of Publications in English of the International Labour Office, 1919-1950. Geneva, T h e Library, I n t e r n a t i o n a l L a b o u r Office, 1951. 379P- ( M i m e o g r a p h e d . ) Limited f r e e distribution. T h i s volume, issued as Bibliographical Contributions No.5, is the first a t t e m p t at a complete listing of the English language pub- lications of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l L a b o u r Office. T w o years ago a corresponding catalog w a s issued f o r F r e n c h language publications (Bibliographical Contributions N o . i ) and a supplement f o r 1949 publications followed. Since the F r e n c h catalog is out of print, the librarian, Joseph W i l s o n H a d e n , has an- nounced t h a t the library is preparing a new edition covering the period 1919-1950, which they hope to bring out later this year as N o . 6 of the series. T h e Catalogue of Publications in English is a r r a n g e d in two p a r t s : T h e first p a r t is a dictionary catalog w i t h full bibliographic in- f o r m a t i o n f o r each e n t r y ; the second p a r t is a checklist a r r a n g e d by conference, committee or other body, and by series. T h e l a t t e r should be exceedingly useful f o r libraries in checking their holdings and in identifying the somewhat complex publications of inter- national labour conferences. F o r prices of I L O documents reference m u s t be made to t h e Abridged Catalogue of Publications which is f r e q u e n t l y revised. 386 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES T h e Catalogue represents the c a r e f u l bibliographic w o r k t h a t has been typical of the I L O L i b r a r y staff. T h e technical w o r k was done by Mariliese M u l l e r under the direct supervision of J a n e t F . Saunders. As with most catalogs, the user wishes for more subject entries. F o r example, the volume would have been of g r e a t e r use in locating reports on working conditions in specific countries if such titles as Industrial Labour in India had been entered under I N D I A as well as under L A B O U R — I N D I A . This, of course, would have added consider- able w o r k and pages. T h e usefulness of this catalog to those working in the field of industrial relations suggests the need for a similar catalog of the publications of the United States D e p a r t m e n t of L a b o r or at least of its chief publishing agency, the Bureau of L a b o r Statistics. T h e last subject index to the publications of the bureau was issued in 1915. T w o other publications in the I L O Biblio- graphical Contributions a r e : Catalogue of Russian Periodicals in the International Labour Office Library ( N o . 2 ) a n d List of Periodicals Indexed in the Library of the International Labour Office During 1950 ( N 0 . 3 ) . In preparation a r e : A Catalogue of the L i b r a r y of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a n a g e - ment Institute ( N 0 . 4 ) and a Bibliography on the International L a b o u r Organization ( N 0 . 7 ) . Both will be issued with French a n d E n g l i s h t e x t s . — R a l p h E. McCoy, Insti- tute of Labor and Industrial Relations, Uni- versity of Illinois. India and Libraries Library Catalogue: Fundamentals and Pro- cedure. By S. R. R a n g a n a t h a n . M a d r a s L i b r a r y Association, Publication Series, 15. London, G . Blunt & Sons, 1950. 463P. $6.00. Library Tour 1948: Europe and America, Impressions and Reflections. By S. R . Ranganathan. Delhi, Indian L i b r a r y As- sociation, 1950. 2i9p. $3.00. Public Library Provision and Documentation Problems: Papers for Discussion at the Ninth All-India Library Conference, In- dore, 11-14 May, 1951. Edited by S. R. R a n g a n a t h a n . Indian L i b r a r y Association, English Series, 2. London, G . Blunt & Sons, 1951. 223p. Colon Classification 3d ed. B y S. R . Ranganathan. M a d r a s L i b r a r y Associa- tion, 1950. D r . R a n g a n a t h a n introduces the Library Catalogue with the statement that it is "pri- marily a book in practical cataloguing." I t is not a book of rules, and is not concerned with theory or the routine involved in cata- loging books in a library. Based on the premise t h a t "cataloguing is, f r o m the point of view of teaching, a subject in which the practical performance must be the hub f r o m which everything else should radiate and indeed should get irradiated," D r . R a n g a n a t h a n has prepared a textbook which is characterized by many exercises and examples. Of special interest in this volume is Chapter 84, "Perspective of the P a s t and the Prospect of the F u t u r e . " D r . R a n g a n a t h a n comments upon the p r e - C u t t e r period, the efforts of C u t t e r to systemize the subject approach to books, and the failure of li- brarians to take full advantage of the values of classification. H e criticizes sharply the dictionary catalog and the blind acceptance of this type of arrangement. Since the libraries of India are j u s t establishing catalogs, he suggests that they take cognizance of this situation. "A great responsibility is laid upon Indian libraries to make full use of the fact that they are at present on virgin soil, that it is there t h a t new techniques can be forged and t h a t indeed the laboratory has shifted to India. L e t it not be said that her sons in the library missed the golden oppor- tunity and were inert and imitating when they should have been active and creating." Library Tour 1948 is a n a r r a t i v e of D r . Ranganathan's visit to Europe and America. I t consists of a series of comments on various subjects, such as national central libraries, city library systems, r u r a l library systems, university libraries, business libraries, ad hoc bodies, and the library profession. Considera- tion is given to the differences which exist in OCTOBER, 1951 32 7