A. L. A. CATALOG 1904 - 1911 CLASS LIST 3,000 TITLES FOR A POPULAR LIBRARY WITH NOTES AND INDEXES Edited by Elva L. Bascom ' Editor "A. L. A. Booklist" UNIV. OF AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PUBLISHING BOARD CHICAGO 1912 PREFACE In consulting this list its limitations of date should be kept in mind. With a very few exceptions, to be mentioned later,, it includes no works earlier than 1904, the date of the original Catalog, and less than a half dozen 1912 works, which have been added where there existed no book of earlier date that was equally good. The general plan of the Catalog and the routine of cooperation in the selection of titles practically coincide with those of the original work (see p. 6, 8 of Editorial preface to Class list) except that the whole routine, from the preliminary selection to the final preparation for printing, has remained in the hands of one person. The list of cooperating librarians and experts has been much less extensive, owing to the fact that in the A. L. A. Booklist the editor had at hand a body of titles, covering nearly the whole period, which had already had the benefit of a certain amount of cooperative opinion. All titles have been submitted to the publishers for latest information, so that the list should be dependable for prices. As a result of this examination by publishers a considerable number of useful works have had to be rejected because out of print, but, as a whole, the Catalog has suffered less in this respect than the 1904 publication did. Classification. The sixth edition (1899) of the Decimal Classification has been followed. This decision was made on the understanding that the smaller libraries had not to any extent adopted the seventh edition. It is to be hoped that when the revision of the 1904 Catalog is undertaken there may be at hand a complete revised edition of the "D. C." simplified for the requirements of the smaller libraries. The larger libraries which have adopted the new edition need no help in classification. Titles have been more minutely classified than the small library practice demands, for two reasons: (1) the closer classification makes the list of greater value for reference purposes; (2) the majority of libraries using the Catalog subdivide more closely than the small library and it is a simpler matter to reduce a number than to expand it. Subject headings. The addition of subject headings (not given in the Class list of the 1904 Catalog) was determined on before the decision to print only a class list was made. It has been a frequent request from the librarians of smaller libraries, who need help in this matter and who found it difficult to find the headings chosen for the Dictionary list in the 1904 Catalog. The new edition of the List of subject headings has been followed, with some additions. It is quite possible that not as many headings are suggested as many libraries use, an effort having been made to follow a medium course between the duplication and very full analysis that only the very small library can afford and the briefer entry of the large library, with its elaborate cross reference system. Where the subjects of analytics are easily ascertainable, they are only recommended. Neither the classification nor sug |