library, is a matter of extreme complication. The system of the British Museum, as now in operation, was first set forth in the Ninety-one Rules drawn up in 1839 by Mr. Panizzi, Mr. Winter Jones, Mr. Watts, Mr. Serjeant Parry, and Mr. Edward Edwards.
The experience gained in printing the catalogue led to a number of small changes being gradually introduced,[1] and the Rules will be published in an amended form when thought desirable.
The chief points of the system are these: —
I. When the authorship of a book is declared in the book itself, the author's name must be taken as the heading, except in the case of official publications, which are entered under the name of the authority by which they are issued.
Notes.
(1) In the case of saints, the heading is the name by which they have been canonised ; in the case of popes and sovereigns, that which they officially assume; and in the case of members of such religious orders as discard secular names, the name in religion. Princes of sovereign houses are entered under their Christian names only. Peers and bishops are entered under their family names.
(2) When an author has always written under a latinised form, or some other variant of his name, that form is adopted in preference to his vernacular surname. In all other cases, except when the author is invariably known under the latinised form, the vernacular surname is adopted.
- ↑ They manage these things differently in Italy, where cataloguing rules cannot be altered without the consent of the Minister of Public Instruction.
