The first reference in the Minute Book to a catalogue is under date 8th
June, 1657: "The library keeper this day brought in catalogues of the
books wch were affixed. Sixpence was ordered to bee given to a boy for
pasting up the Catalogues." It may perhaps be assumed that these
catalogues were written lists which were displayed in the Library.
At the meeting on Jan. 11th, 1657, an order was given for "a book
consisting of 3 qrs of thick venice paper, to be bound up to make a book
to contain Catalogues of the bookes in the library," and "Mr. Collinges
was desired to keep the office of library keeper untill the aforesaid
book be bought and the Catalogues made."
On Dec. 13th, 1658 "The library keeper brought in a paper book ruled
containing a Classicall and an alphabetical catalogue of all ye bookes in
the library" . . . "He further informed them that hee had laid out 3s for
paper and 4s. for ye ruling & binding ye said book, in all 7s wch is more
then he received 2s 10d. That he had procured 2 catalogues to be wrote
in it fairly, that for ye catalogue of Comentators it was begun & should
before ye next meeting be pfected by his own hand." This book has
fortunately been preserved, and is in good state. It is a folio volume,
measuring 13.5 by 9.5 inches, and is in three sections. The first
section is a classified catalogue of the books on the east side of the
Library, which were arranged in two groups of sizes, (1) Folio, divided
into ten classes, and (2) Quarto and Octavo, divided into four classes.
At first an attempt was made to classify the books according to subjects,
the classification of the folios being I Bibles; II and III Old
Commentaries, etc.; IVa Theology, IVb History; V Canon Law; VI The
Fathers; VII Lexicons, Dictionaries, etc.; VIII Reformation Commentaries;
IX Ecclesiastical History; X Miscellaneous. The four classes in the
quarto and octavo section were not grouped according to subjects. A
heading was started in the catalogue for a classification of the books on
the west side, but that part of the work was not done. The second
section is an author catalogue of the books with two columns, the numbers
in the first column denoting the class and those in the second the book.
The third section of the catalogue, ruled in double columns, has a
heading in Latin, to this effect: "Catalogue of the authors whose books
are to be found in the Library of Norwich, who either illustrated the
whole book of Sacred Scripture or any part of it with their most
illuminating annotations or commentaries. The column towards the left
indicates the authors who have written on the whole Book, the other
indicates those who have written on any part of it." Following the names
of the authors are the class and book numbers.
At the meeting on July 11th, 1659, "The library keep brought in a
Catalogue of the bookes & Benefactors names fairly written in a parchment
booke; For the wrighting wherof hee pd to the cleark 7s; For the repaymt
of wch monye it was aggreed every minister should pay viijd: wch monye
was paid by as many as were then present." This catalogue or "Donation
Book" is a folio volume measuring 14 3/4 by 9.5 inches, and is bound in
rough calf, with three small brass clasps. Later, in the Minute Book it
is generally referred to as the Vellum Book. In it are entered in
chronological order the names of the donors, the date of each gift, brief
author and title entries of the books, and frequently their date and
place of publication. The entries are all very clearly written, from the
date of the first donation in 1608, the year of inauguration, to 1737.
Facsimiles of the title-page, with the initials "J.S." in the lower
corners, and two typical pages face this page. The lettering of these
pages is characteristic of the period, and shows the decadence of the art
of manuscript writing.
[Picture: The Vellum Book. Title-page and two other pages of the
Donation Book begun in 1659]
In the "Extracts from the Court Books of the City of Norwich, 1666-1688,"
edited by Mr. Walter Rye, there is one on Jan. 15, 1669, stating that
"Mr. Thos. Morly, clerk, keeper of the Library of the City, brought in a
catalogue of all the books there," but there is no reference to this in
the Library Minute Book. On January 12th, 1673, however, the ministers
"did appoynt yt Mr Norgate should agt their next meeting bring in a
Catalogue of the Bookes to be dd to the Court and yt he shall see yt the
Bookes given to the Library in his time be fayrely written in the
Vellam-booke appoynted to yt purpose." It is evident, therefore, that
reports regarding the stock of books had to be made to the Court.
The first printed catalogue was an author catalogue, with brief
particulars of about 923 volumes, and was printed in 1706/7. On December
3rd, 1706, it was "Ordered then that ye Alphabeticall Catalogue of ye
City Library be printed by the Widow Burges," and on February 4th,
1706/7, when Joseph Brett was Library Keeper he "brought in the Catalogue
of Books, printed, wch cost two pds sixteen shillings & three pence & he
was allow'd also a shilling for printing an advertisement." This
catalogue, which is exceedingly scarce, {47} is entitled "A Catalogue of
the Books in the Library of the City of Norwich in the year 1706." It is
a crown 8vo volume, consisting of 38 pages. The catalogue proper is
preceded by an alphabetical list of the benefactors to the Library,
giving the dates of their donations, and abbreviations of their surnames,
(e.g., Ad. for Adamson, All. for Allen). The entries in the catalogue
are extremely brief, and frequently occupy only one line. Each entry is
preceded by an abbreviation for the author's name, and is followed by the
class and book numbers.
In the preface it was confessed that while the catalogue would be useful
to the members of the Library, the "great motive, and main end of
Publishing this Catalogue was to encourage donations to the Library."
Possessors of the catalogue were recommended to interleave it with "spare
paper, on which may be added such books as shall be given, it may serve
for many Years, even till the number of Books here be doubled, which
when, (as is greatly to be wished for) it shall be, a new Edition of the
Catalogue may be expected."
The cost of the catalogue involved the members in debt. Under the date
May 2nd, 1709, in the Minute Book is the following memorandum: "It is
this day Agreed by us whose Names are underwritten yt ye fourteen
shillings & three pence now paid by Mr Herne the present library keeper
to Mr Joseph Brett to clear his disbursemts for catalogus &c for ye
service of ye Library shal be repaid ye said Mr Herne by the succeeding
Library keeper upon his Election unles paid before." A further
memorandum dated May 6th, 1709, shows that a book was sold to raise the
money: "Recd of the Under-library keeper Fourteen Shillings for Sr Waltr
Raileigh: A super-numerary book sold to Mr. Lillington by order of the
Society which is towds ye discharge of the above sd 14s 3d paid to Mr.
Brett by me. W. Herne."
The second edition of the author catalogue was compiled by Benjamin
Mackerell, the late Library Keeper, and published in 1732, the preface
being dated April 15th, 1732. Mackerell closely followed the plan of the
previous catalogue, using part of the preface for his "Dedication" "To
the Right Worshipful Robert Marsh, Esqr; Mayor, The Worshipful The
Sheriffs, Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of Norwich." The
entries are limited to one line each, and there is a column showing the
sizes. The catalogue consisting of 54 printed pages, and measuring 8.5
by 6.5 inches, is entitled "A New Catalogue of the Books in the Publick
Library of the City of Norwich, in the year 1732, to which is added, An
Account of the Orders prescribed by the Court and Common Council for the
regulation of the same, together with an account of Mr. John
Kirkpatrick's Roman and Other Coins," printed by William Chase, in the
Cockey Lane. Neither of the two copies of this catalogue in the Library
contains the account of Kirkpatrick's coins, and Mr. F. Kitton, the
compiler of the 1883 catalogue, had not seen a copy containing it. As
all the pages of the catalogue except the last one have a catchword it is
reasonable to assume that the account of the coins was not included.
The next catalogue was published in 1817 as a supplement to that of the
"Public Library" where the City Library was housed. Unfortunately the
present writer has been unable to trace a copy of this catalogue, which,
however, is recorded in Samuel Woodward's "Norfolk Topographer's Manual,"
1842: "A Catalogue of Books belonging to the Norwich City Library, which,
by permission of the Corporation, are now deposited in the Norwich
Public-Library Room; 35 pp., 8 vo. Norwich (1817)." This catalogue,
according to a paragraph in the Catalogue of the Public Library, 1825,
had an "alphabetical arrangement, in divisions of languages and sizes."
Perhaps this catalogue served as the "copy" for the catalogue of the City
Library which is printed at the end of the "Second Catalogue of the
Library of the Norfolk and Norwich Literary Institution," 1825, pp.
105-137, as its arrangement is by languages and sizes. This arrangement
not being "calculated to be conveniently accessible" it was deemed
advisable by the Committee of the Public Library that "it should be
subjected to the same scientific arrangement as the books which are the
property of the Public Library; and in order to prevent the obvious
inconvenience of two references, the Committee have included both sets of
works under the same arrangement, distinguishing those which are the
property of the Corporation . . . by a prominent and appropriate
designation," i.e., the letters C. L. in black letter. This catalogue is
a classified catalogue with the following nine classes, seven of which
are subdivided, and the arrangement in each class is alphabetical by
authors' names: I. Theology; II. Ethics, Metaphysics, and Logic; III.
Sciences and the Arts; IV. Jurisprudence, Government, and Politics; V.
History and Biography; VI. Geography, Topography, Voyages and Travels;
VII. Polite Literature and Philology; VIII. Poetry and Dramatic Works,
Novels and Romances; IX. Transactions of Literary and Scientific
Societies, Reviews, Magazines and Reports.
A new edition of the Public Library Catalogue was published in 1847, the
arrangement being the same as in the preceding one.
The Library books having been repaired in 1879 and 1880, the City
Committee decided in 1882 to issue a new catalogue, with the view of
making the books accessible to the citizens. The work of compiling the
catalogue was entrusted to Mr. Frederic Kitton, Hon. F.R.M.S., an eminent
microscopist of his day, who resided in Norwich for many years, but who
apparently had no bibliographical knowledge or library experience. This
appointment was made in the days when it was the common fashion to regard
the work of compiling a library catalogue as within the capacity of any
intelligent person; whereas there are, in fact, many rules to be
observed, and much practical experience is necessary if the thousand and
one pitfalls which beset the path of the cataloguer are to be avoided.
The catalogue {50a} was on much more ambitious lines than its
predecessors, and the compiler claimed to "have carefully copied the
title pages, retaining their abbreviations, antique spelling,
inaccuracies, or other peculiarities." An examination of it, however,
shows that it abounds in inaccuracies, and exhibits most of the errors
that can be made in an author catalogue. A catalogue of the City Library
compiled in accordance with modern bibliographical practice is still a
desideratum.