Literature Search Through the Use of Library 173 The Dewey decimal classification system, which is used by most libraries, has numbers only. The Colon Classification Scheme, another system used by Indian libraries, has both letters and numbers to designate subject classes. The purpose of using a classification system as the basis for arranging materials is to bring publications on one subject together in one location and near publications on related subjects. How this is achieved is illustrated on the next page following brief outline of classes in the Dewey system.
The Cutter number consists of the first letter of the author's name, and a number which is a code for the combinationof litters in the name. If there is no author, the Cutter number is derived from the title of the publication. This number serves to alphabetize publications within a subject classification and to bring together within each subject classification all the books of one author and all the volumes of a periodical. All the volumes of Harper magazine, for example, would have the same Cutter number, H295, as well as an identical classification number.
The whole call number is the key to the location of a publication on the library shelves because no two publications can ever be assigned the same combination of symbols. Books within a subject classification are differentiated by the Cutter number, and books with identical classification and Cutter numbers are differentiated by additional symbols to indicate volume or edition.
Table showing
out
lineof
DDCto
locate near publication on related subjects Main class Sociology Political Science 000 General works 300 Sociology 320 General 100 Philosophy 310 Statistics 321 Form of state 200 Religion 320 Political science 321.1 Family 300 Sociology 330 Economics 321.2 Tribes 400 Philology 340 Law 321.3 Feudalism 500 Pure science 350 Government 321.4 Democracy 600 Useful arts 360 Charities and 322 Church and 700 Fine arts corrections 323 Internal relations 800 Literature 370 Education with groups 900 History 380 390 Commerce Customs, folklore 324individuals SutIhgc
* LiteralureSearch Through the Use of Library 175 all the materials that are available in the library. Periodical articles, which form a large and important segment of published literature, are not indexed in the catalogue, nor, in general, are parts of books.
There are some types of materials that libraries tend to organize in special collections which will not be listed in the card catalogue.
Government documents, for example, are often organized separatels;
with special documents indexes used exclusively as guides to them.
Most libraries maintain separate pamphlet collections, also, and do not attempt to prepare any detailed indexes to them.
To find all the materials which may be needed and which cannot be found through the card catalogue, it is necessary to use published indexes, bibliographies, and various types pf reference books. Some of the more important of these are listed and described briefly in the following sections.
Periodical indexes
To locate periodical articles on a specific subject it is necessary to consult one or more of a group of publications known as periodical indexes. One of the best known and most used of these is the Guideto Indian Periodical Lilerature, whichhas been published since 1964. The articles appearing in about 400 periodicals of general interest. The International Index to Periodical Literature (1907 to date) indexes more scholarly periodicals and includes many foreign publications. It is especially strong in science and in the humanities, but it also indexes periodicals in the social sciences. Besides, there is another general periodical index, named Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.
In addition to these general indexes, there are indexes that are limitedto special fields of interest orto special types ofpublications.
A very useful index to materials in economics, political science, and sociology is the Public Affairs InformationService (1915to date).
It is a subject guide to books, pamphlets, and government documents as well as to periodical articles. Other special publications which index materials pertinent to the social sciences are the Agriculture Index(1906to date), which is of special value because it indexes
176
many materials pertaining to rural sociology; the Education Index (1929 to date), which covers all aspects of the subject of education and indexes books, pamphlets, government documents, and periodical articles; the Index to Legal Periodicals (1908 to date); Psychological Abstracts (1927 to date), which abstracts as well asindexes the book and periodical Literature in the field of Psychology; and the Writings in American History (1906 to 1939-1940), acomprehensive annual bibliography of books and periodical articles.
A useful index to current affairs is the New York Times Index (1913 to date), which is a detailed index to the contentsof the New York Times newspaper. Because the coverage of this newspaper is so complete, and events tend to be reported at the same time in most newspapers, this index is also a useful guide to materials appearing in other newspapers. Facts on File (1940 to date), a weekly summary of current events, serves a similar purpose. Keesing Record of WorldEvents, published from London is a monthly publicationwhich provides a unique contemporary record of modem historyand currernt affairs.
National and trade bibliographies
National and trade bibliographies are comprehensive lists of publications issued in a given country. They are indispensableto anyone compiling a comprehensive bibliography on aspecific subject.
They are useful, also, for verifying a reference to a publication which has been listed incompletely or inaccurately in some other
source. Probably one of the most common problemsin library research is this need for verification of a reference. It often means thedifference between finding and not finding a publication that is needed.Indian.
National Bibliography, which is kept up to date by the Cumulative Book Index, is the bibliography for materials published in theIndia.
It is an index to publications issued in this country since 1957.
Subject Bibliographies
The indexes and bibliographies described in the preceding sections consist of many volumes and cover many subjects.
A
considerable amount of searching through them is required tofindLiterature Search Throughthe Useof Library 177 materials on a specific subject. It is often advisable, therefore, to determine whether a special bibliography on the subject has already been prepared and published. If there is one, and if it has been carefully compiled, using it may save many steps in the process
of
bibliographical searching. There are, for example, bibliographies such as the GuidetoIndian Periodical Literature (Gurgaon: Indian Documentation Service, 1964), an annotated bibliography of basic works and source materials in there are many good bibliographies that are published in pamphlet and mimeographed form, as parts of books, or in periodicals. The Public Opinion Quarterly, includes a bibliography of materials on propaganda, communication, and public opinion; and organizations such as the Russell SageFoundation and the Reference Division of the Library of Congress issue many useful
bibliographies on subjects pertinent to the social sciences.
Library Catalogues
Several major libraries of the world, including the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the British Museum In London, and the U.S.
Library of Congress, have published author catalogues of materials in their collections. Because they represent some of the largest collections in the world, these catalogues are one of the best sources for verifring references. And because they are catalogues of existing libraries, they are useful for locating publications whichit may be necessary to consult. If the person needing a publicationin another library cannot go directly to that library, he can often get a copy
of
it through interlibrary loan if he is engaged in serious research.Should the publication be unavailable on interlibraiy loan, a microfilm or photostatic copy can sometimes be obtained.
Union lists
Union lists are publications whose major purpose is to locate and list the actual holdings of specific publications in the libraries
of
a region. One of the most important of theseis the Union List of Serials in Libraries of the United States and Canada, edited by Winifred Gregory (New York: H W. Wilson, 2d ed., 1943; and supplement, 1941 to 1943), which lists all the periodicals tobe found
in a large number of libraries. A similar lists for newspapers is American Newspapers, A Union List of Files Available in the
United States and Canada, edited by Winifred Gregory (New York: H. H.. Wilson, 1947). In India, there also exists union catalogues of special collection in a particular region, for example, National UnkMl Catalogue of Scientific Serials in India published from INSDOC, Dehli contains a list of 35,000 serials available in more than 800 institutions.