CATALOGUES AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF PERIODICALS. A SURVEY OF THE MORE IMPORTANT WORKS PUBLISHED IN THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SINCE 1945
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026220 |
| Pages | 24-38 |
| Published date | 01 January 1956 |
| Date | 01 January 1956 |
| Author | H. MARGARET GUMMER |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
CATALOGUES AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF
PERIODICALS
A SURVEY OF THE MORE IMPORTANT WORKS PUBLISHED
IN THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AND THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA SINCE 1945
by H. MARGARET GUMMER, F.L.A.
Principal Library
Assistant,
University
of London
IN
writing about reference books it is difficult to recommend one rather
than another unless one knows the exact purpose for which it is needed.
This article, therefore, is a survey of the contents and scope of some
important catalogues, union lists, and bibliographies of periodicals,
and does not attempt to say that one
is
better or more useful than another.
Each librarian can only decide that for
himself.
There seem to be two schools of thought regarding the method of arrang-
ing catalogues and
lists
of periodicals. One method
is
well exemplified by the
American Union list of
serials
(generally quoted hereafter as ULS), and the
other by the World list of
scientific periodicals
(quoted as WL). ULS enters
publications under the first word not an article of their latest known title,
except that society publications not having a distinctive title are entered under
the name of the society. The entry contains a 'history' of the publication,
setting out dates, volume numbers, changes of
title,
&c., and then comes the
list of holdings. WL, on the other hand, enters all periodicals (whether
society publications or not) under the first word not an article of their titles,
and does not refer from society names. Changed titles have an entry under
each variant, with references from and to other variants. Bibliographical
details and library holdings are shown in each entry. The introductions to
these two publications should be consulted for a full account of the methods
of arrangement used, but the following example shows their different treat-
ment of the
same
journal.
ULS Royal society of
medicine,
London.
Proceedings.
1,
1907–
WL Proceedings of
the
R. Society of Medicine, London. [1907–]
The words used for alphabetization in the second case are only Proceedings,
Society, Medicine, London.
This question of arrangement has been stressed, because reference to the
two methods is constantly made in describing other publications.
The first union catalogue to be considered is, as it happens, the latest to be
published, although its appearance has been awaited for a long time. Vol. 1,
covering A–C, of the
British union-catalogue
of
periodicals12
was
issued during
the autumn of
1955.
It is, as its sub-title points out, 'A record of periodicals
24
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