The concept of Standard Codes of Cataloguing refers to the comprehensive sets of rules and defined terminology designed to guide the preparation of catalogue entries, ensuring uniformity and standardization across libraries.
I. Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR)
The AACR suite of codes represents the dominant Anglo-American tradition in cataloguing, driven by standardization and the need to accommodate new media and technological changes.
AACR I (1967)
The Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, first published in 1967, was prepared collaboratively by the American Library Association (ALA), the Library of Congress (LC), the Library Association (UK), and the Canadian Library Association.
Key Features and Principles:
- Target Audience: The rules were primarily formulated to meet the requirements of general research libraries.
- Structure: It was organized into two parts: Part 1 dealt with entry and heading, and Part 2 covered description.
- Scope: It covered books and non-book materials.
- Access Points: Emphasis was laid on providing direct headings and sufficient entries/references to satisfy various reader approaches.
- Foundation: The rules were based on the statement of principles adopted by the International Conference on Cataloguing Principles (ICCP) in 1961.
AACR 2 (1978)
The second edition of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) emerged in 1979. It was a unified text compiled by five major bodies, including the ALA, the British Library, the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing, the Library Association, and the Library of Congress.
Key Features and Principles:
- Objectives: The main objectives included creating a single code that covers all library materials and maintaining conformity with the ISBD(M) (International Standard Bibliographic Description for Monographs) as a basis for bibliographic description.
- Structure: AACR2 consists of two parts:
- Part I (Description): Covers rules for the standard description of all kinds of library material. This part is based on the general framework of ISBD(G).
- Part II (Headings/Access Points): Deals with the determination and establishment of headings, or access points, under which descriptive information is presented.
- Levels of Description: It prescribed three levels of description (First, Second, and Third Level) to allow libraries flexibility in their cataloguing policy, providing minimum, medium, and maximum detail respectively.
- Revision: The 1988 revision (AACR 2R) superseded earlier versions and incorporated additions and modifications, reflecting the principle that cataloguing rules must respond to changing needs.
II. Classified Catalogue Code (CCC)
The Classified Catalogue Code (CCC) was designed by S. R. Ranganathan, with the first edition appearing in 1934 and the fifth (and latest) edition in 1964. CCC is noted as the first and only cataloguing code designed in India.
Key Features and Principles:
- Type of Catalogue: CCC is oriented toward the Classified Catalogue, although it includes additional rules for the Dictionary Catalogue.
- Structure: It consists of two main parts:
- Classified Part: Entries (Main Entry and Cross Reference Entry) are arranged according to the Call Number or Class Number.
- Alphabetical Part: Entries (Book Index Entries, Class Index Entries, Cross Reference Index Entries) are arranged according to the Alphabetical order.
- Normative Principles: CCC incorporates the fundamental laws and canons of cataloguing (Normative Principles) in its structure and is guided by an empirical, analytical, and critical approach.
- Description (Brevity): CCC draws a distinction between a library catalogue and a bibliography, arguing that elaborate description is unnecessary for a service library utilizing open access. Therefore, it omits certain descriptive sections like collation (physical description/number of pages) and imprint (place, publisher, date) from the main entry.
- Completeness: After Cutter's rules and the Vatican code, CCC is one of the few codes considered complete as it covers all cataloguing procedures, including rules for entry, description, subject cataloguing/indexing, and filing.
- Subject Indexing: CCC introduced the ingenious and economical technique of Chain Procedure (Chain Indexing) to derive subject headings for the alphabetical part of the classified catalogue mechanically from the class number.
III. Other Historical and Major Cataloguing Codes
Historically, several influential codes contributed to the development of modern cataloguing principles:
| Code | Year(s) | Key Feature / Basis |
|---|---|---|
| The British Museum Code (Panizzi's 91 Rules) | 1841 | Formulated for the British Museum Library, establishing the author entry and influencing subsequent codes. It prescribed corporate entries. |
| Charles Jewett's Code | 1852 | Intended to promote uniformity and standardization among libraries, advocating for a legalistic approach with a rule for every problem. |
| Charles Ammi Cutter's Rules (Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue) | 1876 (4th ed. 1904) | A landmark work providing systematic guidelines, especially for the Dictionary Catalogue. It established foundational objectives for the catalogue (finding, gathering, and assisting choice). |
| The Prussian Instructions | 1886 | Represented the German tradition, differing from the Anglo-American tradition by prescribing grammatical title entry and not accepting corporate authorship. |
| Anglo American Code (AA Code) | 1908 | The first major attempt at a joint Anglo-American code aimed at establishing uniform practice in English-speaking countries, primarily focused on the needs of large research libraries. |
| Vatican Code (Rules for the Catalogue of Printed Books) | 1931 | Reflected American cataloguing bias and was a complete and comprehensive code covering entry, description, subject headings, and filing. |
| ALA Cataloguing Rules | 1949 | A revision of the 1908 code, limited to rules for author and title entries only, intended as a standard for descriptive cataloguing when used with the LC Descriptive Rules. |
IV. Descriptive and Exchange Standards
In modern cataloguing, the function of description and the electronic exchange of data are standardized by specific formats and descriptions that act as de facto codes or supplements to the main codes:
- ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic Description): Specifies the required elements, their order, and the punctuation for bibliographic description, intended to facilitate the international exchange and interpretation of records across language barriers. It forms the descriptive basis for AACR2.
- MARC (MAchine-Readable Cataloging): Standards for the representation and communication of bibliographic and related information in machine-readable form. This standard is crucial for modern library automation and exchange.
- CCF (Common Communication Format): A detailed and structured method for recording mandatory and optional data elements in a computer-readable bibliographic record specifically for exchange between two or more computer-based systems.