Book Description

Excerpt from Standard Catalog, Biography Section: One Thousand Titles of the Most Representative, Interesting and Useful Biographies Scope. This section of the Standard Catalog contains about one thousand titles of the moat representative and useful books on social, economic and educational questions, arranged under the class numbers of the Dewey decimal classification, with descriptive and evaluative notes. Author and subject indexes are appended. This Catalog, covering the Sociology(300) division of the Dewey classification, will later form part of a dictionary catalog of 5, 000 of the best books for adults on all subjects that should be represented in a public library of that size. As now printed, it includes more volumes than will be listed in the final Catalog. This section is issued in advance of the full Catalog in response to requests from public libraries and library commissions, because of the need of an up-to-date list of books on sociology and economics, because it seemed wise to print a test section in the hope of getting valuable criticism before issuing the full Catalog, and because the publishers wish to find out whether there is a demand for a classed catalog, printed in sections, in addition to the full dictionary catalog. The Standard Catalog is the third in the Standard Catalog Series, already including the Childrens Catalog, issued in three sizes, with its 1918 Supplement, and the Fiction Catalog. It is the intention of the publishers to issue complete Standard Catalogs in dictionary form in sizes varying from 1, 000 to 10, 000 titles, including adult fiction, and to revise them every year or two. Method of compilation. Questionnaires were sent out to a number of librarians, before beginning the work, dealing with its scope, form, and the dati to be included. With these suggestions to guide her, in addition to her own experience in public libraries, large and small, and in one state library, the compiler formed her plan of work. No attempt was made to go over in detail the ground so carefully covered by the American Library Association up to 1912, altho some books published prior to 1912 and not included in the A. L, A. Catalog and Supplement have been listed at the suggestion of collaborators. The chief sources used for the older books were the A. L.A. Catalog of 1904 and its Supplement(1904-1911) and the Classified Catalog of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Beginning with 1912, the compiler checked such titles as might be included in a librarj of 10, 000 volumes, in the bulletins of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the Cleveland Public Library, the Pratt Institute Library, the St. Louis Public Library, and the New York Branch Library News. These were clipped and mounted on cards, together with material from a number of other sources, including lists in bulletins of library commissions, notably that of Wisconsin, the New York Best Books, the Booklist, the Russell Sage Foundation Bulletin, etc. The file of book reviews accumulated by the Book Review Digest was constantly used. In this way a tentative list of some 1, 300 titles was made and the galley proofs were sent to a few librarians and to a few specialists along economic, educational and sociological lines, for criticism and suggestion. Acknowledgments. Among the many librarians who gave helpful advice special thanks are due to Mr. John Boynton Kaiser and Miss Mary E.Lytle of the Tacoma (Wash.) Public Library, Miss Louise Hinsdale of the East Orange (N.J. )Public Library, Miss MaryL, Jones of the Los Angeles County Free Library, Miss Lucy E.Fay, instructor in the Carnegie Library School, and Mr, John Cotton Dana of the Newark (N.J.) Free Public Library. The compiler also acknowledges her indebtedness to Miss Phelps of the Education section of the New York State Library, who checked up the books on Education from the standpoint of their practical use, and to the library of the Russell Sage Foundation, which offered suggestions of much va.