Short will depart from the order whenever it can not otherwise abridge
the title; Medium and Full will do the same, but they will bracket all
words introduced out of their original place as much as if they did
not occur in the title at all.
149. When the title-page begins with the indication of the series to
which the book belongs, followed by the title of the book, transpose
the series name to a parenthesis after the imprint, including the
number in the series, when the series is numbered.
_Ex._ American commonwealths. Virginia; a history of the people, by
John Esten Cooke, would be entered «Cooke», J: E. Virginia; a history
of the people. Boston, 1883. D. (Amer, commonwealths.)
(b.) ABRIDGMENT.
150. The more careful and student-like the probable use of the library
the fuller the title should be,—fuller, that is, of information, not
of words. Many a title a yard long does not convey as much meaning as
two well-chosen words. No precise rule can be given for abridgment. The
title must not be so much shortened that the book shall be confounded
with any other book of the same author or any other edition of the same
book, or that it shall fail to be recognized by those who know it or
have been referred to it by title, or that it shall convey a false or
insufficient idea of the nature of the work and (under the subject)
of its theme and its {68} method of treating its theme.[49] On the
other hand, it must not retain anything which could reasonably be
inferred from the rest of the title or from its position under a given
heading.[50]
[note] 49. This clause must be very differently interpreted according
to the character of the catalogue. It expresses rather the object to
be aimed at than the point which an ordinary catalogue can expect to
reach. To fully describe and characterize every book is impossible
for most cataloguers. Still by a little management much may be
briefly done. The words drama, play, novel, historical novel, poem,
retained from or inserted in the title tell a great deal in a little
space.[/note]
[note] 50. It must make these omissions not merely that the catalogue
may be short but that consulting it may be easy. Other things being
equal, that title is best which can be taken in at a glance. What
has been said in defence of full titles may be true, that “it takes
longer to abridge a title than to copy it in full,” but it is also
true that it takes longer for the printer to set the unabridged title,
and longer for the reader to ascertain its meaning, and a long-title
catalogue, besides being more expensive, is more bulky and therefore
less convenient.[/note]
151. Omit the preliminary article when it can be done without altering
the sense or too much offending the ear.
It will not do even for Short to catalogue “On the true, the
beautiful, and the good” thus:
«Cousin, V.» True, beautiful, good;
but a list of Buckstone’s plays may as well be printed
— Breach of promise, comedy.
— Christening, farce.
— Dead shot, farce.
— Dream at sea.
— Kiss in the dark, farce.
— Lesson for ladies, com.,
though the meaning of “Christening” and “The christening” is slightly
different, and “Kiss in the dark” might be taken for an injunction,
whereas “A kiss in the dark” is evidently only a title. Still neither
Short nor Medium should hesitate to omit even in these cases. Besides
the economy, the alphabetical order is brought out more clearly by
this omission. That can also be done awkwardly by transposing the
article; as,
— Breach of promise, The; com.
— Christening, The; farce.
— Dead shot, The; farce.
— Dream at sea, The.