(1) of the four last things, death, judgment, heaven, and hell.
(2) of the nature of the life after death, a much more extensive
question than (1).
(3) whether there is any future life, without regard to its nature.
(4) of the retribution after death for the good and for the evil
deeds done in this life.
(5) whether there is any retribution for evil in a future life.
(6) what is its nature.
(7) how long does it last.
Here are seven questions on nearly the same subject-matter, and there
are six names for them. (It will be found, by the way, that although
there are some books treating of each separately, many of the works
overlap as the subjects do, and that the titles are no guide whatever
to the contents of the books.) Two main courses are open to the
cataloguer:
1st. To make one heading, as «Future life», cover the whole, with
subdivisions. In this way the catalogue becomes classed to a certain
extent. No matter, if that is on the whole the more convenient
arrangement;
2d. More consistently, to make four headings: «Eschatology» (covering
the 1st question, four last things, with references to each of them),
«Future life» (its nature, including retribution both for good and
evil, 2d and 4th questions), «Future punishment» (existence, nature,
duration, and so including universalism, with references to Purgatory
and Hell, covering the 5th, 6th, and 7th questions), «Immortality» (is
there any? 3d question).
(b.) ENTRIES CONSIDERED AS PARTS OF A WHOLE.
118. The systematic catalogue undertakes to exhibit a scientific
arrangement of the books in a library in the belief that it will thus
best aid those who would pursue any extensive or thorough study. The
dictionary catalogue sets out with another object and a different
method, but having attained that object—facility of reference—is at
liberty to try to secure some of the advantages of classification
and system in its own way. Its subject-entries, individual, general,
limited, extensive, thrown together without any logical arrangement,
in most absurd proximity—«Abscess» followed by «Absenteeism» and
that by «Absolution», «Club-foot» next to «Clubs», and «Communion»
to «Communism», while «Christianity» and «Theology», «Bibliography»
and «Literary history» are separated by half the length of the
catalogue—are a mass of utterly disconnected particles without any
relation to one another, each useful in itself but only by itself.
But by a well-devised net-work of cross-references the mob becomes an
army, of which each part is capable of assisting many other parts. The
effective force of the catalogue is immensely increased. {58}
119. Make references from general subjects to their various subordinate
subjects and also to coördinate and illustrative subjects.
Cross-references should be made by Full from «Classes» of persons
(Merchants, Lawyers, Artists, Quakers, etc.) to individuals belonging
to those classes; from «Cities» to persons connected with them by
birth or residence, or at least to those who have taken part in the
municipal affairs or rendered the city illustrious; from «Countries»
to their colonies, provinces, counties, cities, etc. (unless their
number is so great or the divisions are so well known that reference
is useless); also, under the division _History_ to rulers and
statesmen, under _Literature_ to authors, under _Art_ to artists, and
so on; from other «Subjects» to all their parts, and to the names of
persons distinguished for discoveries in them or knowledge of them.
Short and Medium will make such of these references as seem most
likely to be useful.
The construction of this system may be carried on simultaneously
with the ordinary cataloguing of the library, each book as it goes
through the cataloguer’s hands not merely receiving its author- and
subject-entries, but also suggesting the appropriate cross-reference;
but when all the books are catalogued the system will not be complete.
References are needed not merely to the specific from the general
but to the general from the more general and to that from the most
general. There must be a pyramid of references, and this can be made
only by a final revision after the completion of the cataloguing.
The best method is to draw off in a single column a list of all the
subject-headings that have been made, to write opposite them their
including classes in a second column and the including classes of
these in a third column; then to write these classes as headings to
cards and under them the subjects that stood respectively opposite
to them in the list, to arrange the cards alphabetically, verify the
references, and supplement them by thinking of all likely subordinate
headings and ascertaining whether they are in the catalogue, and also
by considering what an inquirer would like to be told or reminded of
if he were looking up the subject under consideration. In this way a
reasonably complete list may be made.
It will, however, often happen that there is no entry under the
including subject. Take a simple instance. The catalogue, we will
suppose, contains twenty histories of towns belonging to seven
counties in Connecticut. In the revision described above references
have been made both from Connecticut _to_ these counties and to
the towns _from_ the counties, but only three of the counties have
any titles under them. The others would not make their appearance
in the catalogue at all if there were no cross-references. And as
this will happen continually, it follows that the system will very
greatly increase the number of headings and therefore the length of
the catalogue. Such fullness may be allowable in regard to the state
which contains the library, which, of course, should be treated with
exceptional completeness. It may possibly be worth while for all the
States of the Union and for England, but to attempt to do the same for
all countries and all subjects is too much. A modification of the plan
must be introduced which will make it much less complete but still
useful. With many subjects the next heading in the ascending series
must be skipped, and the references massed under one still higher; in
the supposed case, for example, the references to all the towns will
be made under Connecticut and under those counties alone which have
any other entry under them.