Int. Libr. Rev.

(1971) 3, 241-249

International Standards in Cataloguing

DOROTHY ANDERSON~

Once upon a time there were some libraries and there were not so very
many readers, most of whom were content to use one library only and to
work there, satisfied that within that one building were all the books and
all the research material that they might ever need. Each library was
proud of its identity and was concerned to be self-sufficient in its book
stock and to its own readers; the organization of its resources and the
records involved were indigenous to itself, and were formulated taking
into account that one library, its book stock and its readers' needs. In the
middle of the nineteenth century this applied whether the library was the
British Museum with Panizzi drawing up his cataloguing rules to
organize a book stock that was enormous and multi-language, or
whether it was the small collection of books in the village hall with a
custodian writing down titles and numbers and very satisfied that there
should be 97 books behind locked cupboard doors.
By the end of the century the situation had changed: readers began to
multiply and some began to travel in search of material in other libraries
and in other countries; in return books began to be acquired by libraries
in ever-increasing numbers. No library could remain omnipotent, know-
ing and supplying aU the requirements of its readers. As library users
widened their horizons, so libraries became the users of other libraries; it
was the beginning of the whole system of library co-operation, of union
catalogues and inter-lending schemes. If no library by itself could be self-
sufficient, perhaps it would be possible if the unit, whether it be city,
region or country, were sufficiently large and comprehensive.
But when it came to library records, the reality of co-operation was not
so easy. There were m a n y different schemes for library classification, and
more hampering, too many varying codes of cataloguing rules. The
reader might be looking further and further afield for his material, but it
was not always certain that he would be able to locate what he wanted in
This paper was presented as a background paper for the Library Seminar on Cataloguing
held at the 28th International Congress of Orientalists, Canberra, 1971.
++Secretary, IFLA Committee on Cataloguing; Organizing Secretary, IFLA International
Meeting of Cataloguing Experts; British Museum, Bloomsbury, London W.C. 1.
 242 D. ANDERSON
the catalogues of libraries of different types or in different countries.
National and regional cataloguing traditions had developed over the
years, with perhaps the biggest division between those countries whose
libraries followed the set of rules called the Prussian Instructions (and
did not recognize corporate bodies as authors) and those that followed
the Anglo-American code of 1908.
It was a situation that was wasteful and frustrating, but very natural
and difficultto remedy, although from the beginning of the twentieth cen-
tury efforts at change, adjustment and compromise were made. By the
middle of the twentieth century, with increasing and ever-increasing
quantities of books and supplies of scholars chasing those books in a greater
number of libraries and in a wider range of countries, it was antiquated.
Librarians by the very nature of their work have always been internatlon-
ally minded, rendering services to readers that ignore barriers of thought
and language. It was time that the manner in which library catalogues
were organized should also be made international, doing away with
barriers that held up the reader and the search for information. What
was required was some standardization in the rules for library catalogues.
The International Conference on Cataloguing Principles, Paris, 1961,
was a brave and resolute effort to bring international uniformity into
cataloguing codes. The time for the Conference was opportune; national
library associations in a number of countries, faced with a flood of
material introducing new styles of authorship, new formats of publica-
tions, were finding their old codes inadequate or antiquated, clogged
with detail and far removed from fundamentals. Lubetzky had made the
effort in his unfinished draft Code of Cataloging Rules, Author and Title
Entry (1960) to look clearly at the functions of the catalogue and at the
means by which publications and works might be best recorded to fulfil
those functions. The ICCP followed the lines indicated by Lnbetzky: the
Conference would look for the areas of agreement and would initiate a
set of cataloguing principles upon which it seemed possible that inter-
national agreement might be reached. The result was the Paris State-
ment of Principles drawn up and voted by the delegates of the 53
countries who attended as the accredited representatives of their national
associations.
That the Paris Conference was able to reach such a successful con-
clusion was due to careful preparation and careful planning: the scope
of the statement was limited to choice and form of headings and entry
words, and its special reference was to large libraries. Equally important,
the Conference was in preparation for two years, allowing national
cataloguing committees and library associations to consider their
especial problems, their own national viewpoint and traditions, and there
 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN C A T A L O G U I N G 243

had been sufficient resources to enable the conference to be really inter-

national in its membership.
The I C C P has been a landmark in the library profession, a new point
of departure for cataloguers. That it was an outstanding success in inter-
national co-operation and that its Statement of Principles was a document
welcomed, even desired, as well as agreed upon, is certain. Reading the
Report of the Conference ~ one cannot but be impressed by the record of
discussion on Section 9, Entry under Corporate Bodies, where delegate
after delegate representing countries that had not hitherto accepted
corporate authorship, agreed to do so. T h e first of the Resolutions of the
I C C P requested the returning national delegates to
" t a k e the necessary action to ensure (a) t h a t cataloguing rules in their
countries are established or revised as soon as possible in conformity
w i t h the Principles laid d o w n b y the Conference, a n d p u t into practice;
(b) t h a t the same principles are t a k e n into account in the compilation of
n a t i o n a l bibliographies." 2

In the nine years since the Conference a large number of national codes
(at least 17 with some drafts still under scrutiny) have been fornmlated
based on the Paris Statement. In the process of detailed examination
and expansion of detail and thought, the clarity of the Statement of
Principles has proved a little less than pristine. Ambiguities and incon-
sistencies have been revealed in the text, the phrasing of some sections
h a s proved too general in its terms, and in particular the famous sections
9.11 and 9.12, dealing with which categories of publications should be
entered under a corporate body as author (sections which represented a
compromise solution between the two schools of thought represented at
Paris) have proved impossible to interpret exactly or even with uni-
formity. To help in the interpretation of the Statement an annotated
edition was issued in 19663 but in a provisional form only, and it was felt
that closer examination of the Statement by a group of expert cataloguers
representing the different cataloguing traditions (which still flourish)
was required before a definitive edition could be published.
This was one of the reasons for bringing together last year in Copen-
hagen the 38 cataloguers who attended the International Meeting of
Cataloguing Experts. 4 It was also time to consider a new step towards the
1 A. H. Chaplin and D. Anderson (eds.) (1953). ICCP Report. Reprinted 1969 by Clive
Bingley, London.
2 ICCP Report, p. 91.
s By A. H. Chaplin, assisted by D. Anderson.
4 Note the difference from the Paris Conference: the IMCE was small, and its participants
were not necessarily accredited delegates who could speak for their national association: thc
time for the preparation of the Meeting had been very short, and there had been little oppor-
tunity to publicize it or to get widespread reaction to its purposes and its aims.
Z~q~ D. ANDERSON

international standardization of the catalogue entry. The ICCP had

established a set of principles for formulating the choice of headings and
entry words: was it possible to establish a standard formula for the
descriptive content of a catalogue entry, that is, all that is included in the
catalogue record other than the heading ? A preliminary study on this
had been inaugurated by the IFLA Committee on Cataloguing, and the
resulting document 1 was ready for examination.
Other factors that have altered drastically the whole structure of the
library world in the 1960s are in effect the result of the basic change in
world scholarship: the boom in books, the growth of the student popula-
tion, the mushrooming of new universities everywhere, the dispersion of
old demarcations of subject study and subject specialization. 2
Because libraries could not cope with the boom in books and the
demands of readers, the Shared Cataloging Program of the Library
of Congress came into existence in 1966--to speed up book procurement
and to speed up cataloguing. The Program became possible because
it was found on examination that there was already sumcient uniformity
in the cataloguing practice of the national bibliographies of Europe for
those entries to be taken over by LC and to appear as printed LC cards.
The Program is possible through the co-operation of 18 European
national bibliographies (and that of Japan) ; the benefiting libraries are
the large university and research libraries of North America. As has
often been pointed out, the title has proved somewhat misleading; the
term "Shared" was originally intended to qualify the next word "Cata-
loging". But Library of Congress has from the beginning been con-
cerned that the benefits of the Program should be more widely
distributed, that it should be a Program of "truly international library
co-operation ''8 between the Library of Congress and the participating
national bibliographies whereby libraries everywhere can obtain the
cataloguing information available to LC.
In Europe this promise has been treated with some scepticism, depend-
ing as it does on a rapid availability of LC cards and more fundamentally
on the uniformity of catalogue entries. Though the Program had been
conceived on the basis of uniformity in the national bibliographies'
entries, LC was still altering and adding its own headings. In spite of the
Paris Principles and the new Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, there
1 Prepared by M. G o r m a n , u n d e r a U N E S C O contract.
2 Consideration of the one word, Orientalist, shows clearly w h a t has h a p p e n e d : once a
scholar of oriental languages a n d literatures, n o w perhaps a lawyer, a n economist, a n agro-
nomist, relating his subject specialization to a particular region or country.
o1. G. Lorenz of L i b r a r y of Congress, speaking at the I F L A General Council Session,
Toronto, 1967, on the " I n t e r n a t i o n a l implications of the Shared Cataloging P r o g r a m " : see
Libri (1967) 17, 270-293.
 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN C A T A L O G U I N G 245

are still areas of international disagreement (which are widened by

LC's policy of superimposition).
At the I M C E there was the opportunity to examine the various aspects
of the Program and to consider how this unilateral effort at providing a
comprehensive bibl!ographical service might be turned into one that
was truly international. The cataloguers at the IMCE, though con-
cerned with the machinery of the Program, were more impressed with its
potential. For cataloguers its significance is twofold: the Program has
shown that variations in descriptive detail can be accepted and so it has
encouraged a more flexible attitude towards change; but it has also
proved that greater uniformity is desirable, as the variations did lead to
uncertainty in identification of publication or work. In fact, the Program,
in making cataloguers more aware of existing variations, has also
increased their willingness to work towards uniformity.
The other great change in the world of librarians and cataloguers in
the last few years has only enhanced this conclusion. The impact of
mechanization, the introduction of the computer, the use of machine
readable tapes, has done much to break down traditional barriers of
codes and languages, and to increase the demand for standardization in
headings and entries which will permit the creation of an international
system of bibliographical communication. It is true that for many coun-
tries mechanization and the age of the computer catalogue seem far
distant; cataloguing is still and will be for some time the detailed
description of a book by a cataloguer, a record that is still made by hand
in the traditional shape of catalogue card. But is is important that new
steps towards uniformity should be valid for the traditional catalogue
and should anticipate the requirements of machine readable records.
The Shared Cataloging Program has shown that entries in national
bibliographies are similar enough to be acceptable: is it not then pos-
sible to iron out the differences and to establish a formula for a standard
descriptive entry? Discussion at the IMCE agreed that a standard that
could serve the needs of both catalogues and national bibliographies was
possible, and that it should include all the bibliographical data required
not only for catalogues, for bibliographies, but also for other library
records (i.e. book orders). A Working Group was set up to establish the
details and to draw up a draft standard which has now been circulated
for comment. The main features of the standard, the Working Group
decided, were that it should be comprehensive (including each and every
bibliographical element), that there should be a fixed order of elements,
and that a standard system of punctuation should control the elements.
Some details have still to be determined (including punctuation)~ but it
is hoped that the Working Group may meet again early in 1971 to
241J D. ANDERSON

decide final points. After that will come, it is planned, a draft document
that can be put before library associations, national bibliographies,
cataloguing committees, etc., for acceptance and promulgation. Library
of Congress and the British National Bibliography have indicated their
willingness to change their rules for descriptive entry accordingly, as an
aid to international uniformity, and already acceptance of the standard in
principle has come from smaller countries (e.g. South Africa).
The International Standard Bibliographic Description (its full name)
is being planned taking into account the special needs of the computer
age, but its immediate advantages to all cataloguers are apparent. The
cataloguer or the reader considering an entry in a language or even an
alphabet with which he is unfamiliar will be able, from the order of the
elements in the entry and from the punctuation, to pick out the details
he may require--the place of publication, the publisher's name, the
price, or the size.
If the Shared Cataloging Program gives a blueprint for an inter-
national system of bibliographical communication, the Statement of
Principles and the International Standard Bibliographic Description are
two specifications which will make it possible for such a system to work.
In such a system national bibliographies take on the fundamental role of
providing the standard description of each new publication which could
be used both for catalogues in the libraries of their own countries and in
international communication. That is, each publication should be cata-
logued once and for all in its country of origin, and should appear in the
national bibliography of that country; the national bibliography should
be responsible for processing the entries by printed cards or through
tapes or any other form which might be introduced in the future. At the
I M C E this was expressed as a statement of policy for cataloguers looking
towards a future of international co-operation in library work and inter-
national standardization in cataloguing:

"Efforts should be directed towards creating a system for the inter-

national exchange of information by which the standard bibliographical
description of each publication would be established and distributed by a
national agency in the country of origin of the publication. The means of
distribution in such a system would be through the medium of cards or
machine readable records. The effectiveness of the system will be de-
pendent upon the maximum standardization of the form and content of
the bibliographical descrlption."l

Obviously this must be considered a long term policy--but it is none the

less valid for that, and it does envisage international co-operation based
1 Report of the IMCE, in Libri (1970) 20, (105-132), pp. 115-16.
 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN C A T A L O G U I N G 247
on equality of effort and judgment. But just as the use of the computer is
not yet world wide, neither are the areas of bibliographical control firmly
fixed in all countries. Not every country has a national bibliographical
centre and a national bibliography; not every national bibliography
has the resources to produce definitive catalogue records at the speeds
and with necessary quality of entries. But it is possible for every country
to become a component part in such an international system of biblio-
graphical communication.
From the cataloguing point of view various corollaries spring immed-
iately to mind: the acceptance that each country is best placed to
describe its own publications and to identify national authors, their
names and their works. 1 This presupposes that within each country, the
national library or the library association or the national bibliography
can establish not only rules for the entry of their national names but also
can build up an authority list of national authors, with the information
based on sources found within that country. Such a contribution from
librarians in Asian countries would be welcomed internationally by
scholars and librarians, and it would go far towards establishing
international uniformity.
Uniformity in cataloguing headings and entries presupposes also
uniformity in transliteration schemes. The International Standards
Organization has been working over a period of years to establish inter-
nationally acceptable forms of transliteration for a limited number of
non-roman alphabets into roman script, but the results are slow coming.
It is clear that we cannot wait upon ISO methods however democratic,
however scrupulously fair, to deal with the multitude of non-roman
scripts of Asia. At the Paris Conference at the sectional meeting on trans-
literation, the recommendation was made that:

" T h e n a t i o n a l bodies in t h e field o f library w o r k . . . s h o u l d actively

assist t h e i r o w n n a t i o n a l bodies i n t h e field o f s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n in t h e
d e v e l o p m e n t o f i n t e r n a t l o n a l l y a c c e p t a b l e t r a n s l i t e r a t i o n systems."2

Can we then suggest that this could be the especial contribution of

Asian librarians ? Would it be possible to make the standard translitera-
tion system from the national alphabet to the roman script that which is

1 One of the I C C P Resolutions related to the urgent need for a survey of national usages
with regard to names : the result of this survey, Names of Persons, by A. H. Chaplin and D.
Anderson, was published by I F L A in 1967; the information which it contains and the con-
clusions reached with regard to the entry element for particular names were contributed by
national cataloguing committees and national representatives.
2 ICCP Report, p. 119.
248 D. A N D E R S O N

in use in the national library and which may be used in the national
bibliography? The areas of need are there, and the opportunities. In
Asian countries library development has sometimes lagged behind other
more immediately important or attractive or lucrative schemes, and
there has always been a shortage of finance and of trained personnel.
Too often because of this lacuna the countries of the west have stepped in,
making decisions and assessments of other countries' literatures and
languages. It would be preferable if the contribution of western librarians
towards the needs of their eastern colleagues was made by ensuring the
development of national bibliographical schemes that are workable,
competent and authoritative.
If the solution put forward in this paper--of an international system
of bibliographic communication based on equal contributions from the
bibliographical centres of all countries--seems a far distant prospect in
terms of time or likelihood, yet there are immediate possibilities that
would be steps towards international standardization: small practical
schemes which could be undertaken at once by small groups of librarians
at very little cost, and which could be satisfactorily completed in a
limited time. Some of the projects set down in the ICCP Resolutions, for
example, have still to be completed.

(1) Names of Persons. Surveys to obtain additional coverage of

national usages in countries are in preparation: (a) a survey of
African names has been undertaken by M. Jean Fontvieille at
the University of Dakar; (b) a supplementary volume which
will deal at greater length with the countries of Asia, including
those countries already dealt with in the original work as well
as others, and which will include short historical accounts of
name formation, notes on available authority lists, biographical
references, etc.
(2) International List of Uniform Headingsfor Anonymous Classics. M.
Roger Pierrot, Bibliothbque nationale, Paris, prepared the pro-
visional edition of this in 1964, but now finds in producing a
definitive text that he has to restrict the work to western lan-
guages and literatures. The provisional edition included no-
table contributions from some Asian countries (e.g. Ceylon and
Korea). Could a small Working Group of Asian librarians get
together to check the lists already prepared and to prepare new
lists of uniform headings for the anonymous classics of their own
countries ? Only by such co-operation, which M. Pierrot would
more than welcome, will the second part of this work be com-
pleted satisfactorily and quickly.
 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN CATALOGUING 249
(3) The IFLA Committee on Cataloguing has set up a new Working
Group to deal with the organization of headings for voluminous
authors, in catalogues of large libraries. But the voluminous
authors is not a category of writer limited to the literatures of
the west: would a small group of Asian cataloguers be interested
in contributing to this study ?
(4) Another new IFLA Working Group has been set up to consider
the possibility of producing a list of uniform headings for liturgical
works of the Christian Church. Would it be possible to produce
lists of uniform headings for the texts of the religions of Asia ?
Could a group of librarians from countries of the Buddhist
religion, for example, draw up such a list for the Buddhist
texts ?