The materials of a library, exemplified by books, have traditionally been viewed as presenting two aspects involving two distinct problems: their description and control as unique items, and their treatment as sources of information on various subjects. But this view has tended to overlook a third fundamental aspect: that of the "works" which are…

This report presents an analysis of the problem of descriptive cataloging as a whole: the aspects of the problem, the questions they raise, the issues involved, the course adopted in the new "Anglo-American Cataloging Rules," and the principles that would serve best the objectives of the catalog. (Author)

In setting out to design a system of cataloging, or to evaluate a given system, or to apply a system in effect, it is necessary to begin with a clarification of the ends which the product of cataloging - that is, the catalog - is to serve in the library. To contribute to an understanding of these ends, the present study considers the role of the…

Originally written in the 1950s, this article addresses the question of subdividing and grouping entries under a given author as a main entry that paved the way for the American Library Association's Catalog Code Revision of 1967. It also includes referee responses by Elaine Svenonius, Allyson Carlyle, and Michael Carpenter. (LRW)