subject. It is, as the title describes it: "A classified catalogue of the works on architecture and the allied arts in the principal libraries of Manchester and Salford". At the same time, care has been taken to secure accuracy in the transcription of the titles. This catalogue may be said to mark an epoch in the development of library administration and co-operation, and for that reason it seems desirable to indicate, in a few words, the principles which we have kept before us in determining the scope, form, and arrangement of the volume. Among the most distinctive features of the present Co-operation. generation is the growing sense of the great advantages springing in every direction from corporate action, coupled with a keener perception of the disadvantages that inevitably attend the failure to utilise such opportunities of combination as may present themselves. In every department of life the value of co-operation is being increasingly recognised as an essential element in the conduct of any undertaking in which one desires to attain the maximum of economy and efficiency. Libraries, which are to a large extent the creation of this age, cannot afford to lag in this matter, and to neglect to avail themselves of so valuable a means of increasing and extending their sphere of usefulness. Yet, hitherto, little has been accomplished, or attempted, in this direction. Libraries have been content to act independently of one another. If a reader unable to find a book in the library where he was working has wished to know whether it could be found in a neighbouring one, too commonly, his only chance of ascertaining the fact has been by means of a personal, and, perhaps, fruitless, visit to the library in question. The loss of time thus entailed on students must, in the aggregate, be very considerable, and any method by which an economy can be effected in this particular should be accepted, and welcomed, as one of the necessary phases of library development. Form of the It was possible to construct the catalogue in two entirely different ways. One method would have been the formation of an alphabetical list of authors, with a subject index to the same. The other course open was to arrange the entries in a logical, or classified, order, and then to supply alphabetical lists of the authors, and of the particular subjects, which were treated in the several works. The former plan, whilst eminently suitable for the catalogue of a large library embracing treatises on a great variety of subjects, is less appropriate in the case of a single section of literature than the classified catalogue. The latter preserves the unity of the subject, and by so doing, enables a student to follow its various ramifications with ease and certainty. The In the classified catalogue related matter is brought together-juxtaposition is intentional, not accidental. The reader turns to one subdivision and round it he finds grouped others which are intimately connected with it. New lines of research are thus in some instances. suggested, or opinions based on insufficient data modified and corrected. The choice of a system of classification is manifestly a Classification. matter of considerable moment, if the aim of this style of catalogue is to be adequately realised. The system should be one that is intrinsically good: it should be of such simplicity as to be easily capable of comprehension by persons previously unacquainted with it; at the same time, in the case of a union catalogue, it is desirable that the co-operating libraries should be thoroughly familiar with the system. The decimal system of classification originated by Dr. Melvil Dewey, from 1888 to 1906 Director of the New York State Library, was selected as best fulfilling these requirements. Its extensive use throughout England and the United States affords evidence that its merits are widely recognised. Not the least of these is the fact that the fundamental principles of the scheme never fail to be immediately grasped by those who are for the first time introduced to it. Further, the system is already employed for the purposes of shelf-classification in the John Rylands. Library, the Reference Library, the University Library, and the libraries of the Manchester Society of Architects, of the School of Technology, and of Salford. History of the Dewey This system of classification was originally devised about 1873 by Dr. Dewey, when librarian of Amherst Classification. College, Massachusetts, and was first applied to the library of that institution. In 1876 the scheme was published anonymously under the title "A classification and subject-index for cataloguing and arranging the books and pamphlets of a library". Several editions have appeared since, in which the original scheme has been very greatly extended. The "Institut International de Bibliographie" of Brussels has adopted it as the basis of its system of classification for documents, but with still further amplification. The Dewey system has met with such general approval that it is now the most commonly employed of all forms of book-classification. Though primarily constructed for the arrangement of books on the shelves, the scheme has also been successfully applied to the construction of various catalogues. The "A.L.A. Catalog: 8000 volumes for a popular library," prepared under the editorship of Dr. Dewey and published in 1904 by the Library of Congress, is an excellent example of its adaptability for this purpose. Principles of the Classification. The distinctive feature of the system is its employment of the ten digits in their ordinary significance to the exclusion of all other symbols-hence the name, decimal system. Letters, which have to be used wholly or in part in other schemes, have no place in the Dewey system. The sum of human knowledge and activity has been divided by Dr. Dewey into ten main classes-o, I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. These ten classes are each separated in a similar manner, thus making 100 divisions. An extension of the process provides 1000 sections, which can be still further subdivided in accordance with the nature and requirements of the subject. Certain mnemonic features in the scheme contribute to a recollection of the significance attaching to the symbols, whilst the very copious index of subjects appended to the classification enables even a novice, in the majority of cases, to discover at once the proper location of any work of which he may be in quest. Modifications of the System. Yet, in a system, however admirable, that aims at nothing less than the co-ordination of all knowledge, it is inevitable that there should be some points that appear to require modification. The necessity for these changes is not always due to the inadequate knowledge of the compiler; frequently it arises from the inability of anticipating with certainty the direction of the current of literature on some subject, and the impossibility of confining its course within the limits that theory might wish to prescribe. Literature, in fact, makes its own channels regardless of the limitations of scientific arrangement. Every system of classification, especially the most practical, must be constructed on an intelligent anticipation of the future. Places have to be provided for classes of books that are at present but scantily, if at all, represented. Under such circumstances it is not surprising if schemes need modification in various particulars. It is a striking testimony to the merits of the Dewey system that it has been found possible to apply it with such trifling modifications to so extensive a collection of the literature of a special subject as the present. In illustration of what has been said above, one may draw attention to the section 697 reserved by Dr. Dewey for Heating and Ventilation. In the catalogue it will be found that this heading has been extended for the sake of convenience so as to include the closely related subject of Sanitary Science. Under the heading Residences-728-it has been found desirable to make a slightly more important change. According to the strict text of the Dewey scheme 728.1 and its subdivisions are reserved for Tenement Houses. It has been considered advisable to give an entirely new significance to this symbol, and to place here works on Smaller Residences (including villas, etc.), both town and country, for which no provision has been made elsewhere. The cause of this omission may, perhaps, be attributed to the different conditions of life obtaining on this side of the Atlantic, which are naturally reflected in the literature produced here. Divergences of Practice. In the practical application of any system of classification it is almost certain that divergences of opinion will arise as to the proper location of certain books, and, indeed, of classes of books. These discrepancies are due to various causes, such as the character and scope of the library, a different interpretation of the principles of classification, or the individuality of the librarian, which, after all, is the determining factor in the solution of all such problems. Such variations have, needless to say, been found in the course of editing the material supplied by the several libraries. Different symbols have been assigned to the same work. In such cases it has been obviously necessary to choose what seemed the most suitable place in the classification to the exclusion of the others. In other instances it has seemed possible to assign numbers which were more appropriate than those adopted by any of the libraries. This catalogue is consequently to be regarded as a guide only to the contents of the various libraries, not an index to their shelf-classification. Ecclesiastical One important class of literature, viz., historical works. Architecture. on ecclesiastical architecture, has consistently received treatment different from that frequently accorded to it. All such works appear to be commonly assigned to 726-Ecclesiastical and Religious. In this catalogue that section has been reserved for general treatises. Works on single churches and the churches of a particular country have been put with the place or country, on the principle that ecclesiastical architecture is but the highest form of national architecture. In support of this decision we might quote what Joseph Nash says in the preface to his Architecture of the Middle Ages: "The specimens are mostly ecclesiastical, as it is in the edifices raised for the solemn purposes of devotion that we have been accustomed in all ages to look for the most splendid effects of national genius and munificence". The Parthenon, the Pantheon, and Westminster Abbey are among the supreme architectural achievements of the several countries in which they have been erected. Domestic Historical treatises on domestic architecture have in the same way been placed with national architecture, instead of in the section 728-Residences. The scope of this section has been confined to works of a more practical character, and such as are intended to provide general designs for the erection of domestic residences. The appropriateness and convenience of this arrangement will be sufficiently evident on an examination of the catalogue, as all the historical material is thus kept together instead of being separated as would otherwise be the case. Division This treatment of the historical portion of the literature of Countries. has naturally resulted in bringing together a large number of entries under England, France, and Italy. To avoid any risk of confusion which might arise in consequence, these countries have been divided: England by counties, with other divisions for biography, and general domestic architecture; France according to the arrangement of the old provinces adopted by Dr. Dewey; Italy into North, Central, South, and Sicily, with additions for Rome, and Venice. Those in search of informa tion on a particular locality have an additional help in the subject index, which provides references to all places mentioned in the catalogue. Greek and Works devoted to the study of particular styles of architecture have been placed in the sections assigned them in the Dewey classification. To those who may not be familiar with the system, it will not be, perhaps, superfluous to say that whenever works treat both of Greece and Rome, they are classed with the former. As 722.8 is the number for Greek architecture, general treatises on the architecture of the two races will be found there, and not before 722.7, the number for Roman architecture. Repetition of Some works can be regarded from several points of view, and are of almost equal interest under whichever aspect they may be considered. Halfpenny's Gothic Ornaments in the Cathedral Church of York presents an instance of this kind. It is important that this volume should appear along with similar works in 729-Architectural Design and Decoration-whilst as a contribution to the study of Gothic architecture it must have a place with books on that subject in 723.52; at the same time, it would be misleading for this work not to appear with other books descriptive of the history and antiquities of York in 720.942. In many cases of this kind titles have been repeated so as |