Hidden Wisdom and Unseen Treasure: Revisiting Cataloging in Medieval Libraries
Issue Date
1998Author
Whittaker, Beth M.
Publisher
Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Scholars working in the fields of medieval history and cultural history have recognized that understanding the cataloging and accessioning of books is central to understanding the transmission of ideas. This view should come as no surprise to catalogers themselves, who daily struggle with the problem of providing intellectual, and sometimes physical, access to texts and information. Unfortunately, general histories of libraries and even the library literature seem content to sketch out a chronological development of cataloging in line with the nineteenth and twentieth century view of library development, from a simple list to complex intellectual systems. In truth, however, those individuals responsible for cataloging books in medieval libraries faced many of the same challenges as catalogers today: how to organize information, how to serve local needs, and how to provide access to individual works within larger bibliographic formats. This article will summarize recent scholarship in the history of the book that relates to library cataloging, as well as providing parallels to the cooperative library environment of today.
Description
DOI: 10.1300/J104v26n03_03
Collections
Citation
Russell, Beth M. “Hidden Wisdom and Unseen Treasure: Revisiting Cataloging in Medieval Libraries.” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 26.3 (1998): 21-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J104v26n03_03
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