Author: Galeffi, Agnese

Source: Library & Information History, Volume 25, Number 4, December 2009 , pp. 227-246(20)

Publisher: Maney Publishing

Abstract:

Antonio Panizzi, the British Museum's Librarian, and Seymour Lubetzky, Theoretician of Library Cataloguing, and considered to be one of the co-founders of the Paris Principles of 1961, share many biographical and theoretical points in common. This article touches on the curious parallels in their life stories, and presents and contrasts the most important aspects of the 91 Rules to be Observed in Preparing and Entering Titles, written and published by Panizzi in 1841, with Seymour Lubetzky's writings, particularly those found in the Manual of Descriptive Cataloging, Preliminary Draft (1943) and the Code of Cataloging Rules, Author and Title Entries of 1960. In addition to the historical and biographical events that led Panizzi and Lubetzky to prepare these works, the article addresses cataloguing principles, catalogue structure, bibliographic description, attribution of authorship, and the selection of entries and headings. The chief elements that differentiate the two authors — owing to the long stretch of time that divided them — are also examined. In conclusion, the works in which Lubetzky quotes Panizzi are presented. Historical perspective and temporal distance notwithstanding, Panizzi, for Lubetzky, continued to be a valid and contemporary subject of comparison — a model and example to follow. The reason behind this resides in the fact that Panizzi, according to the words pronounced by Lubetzky in his last public lecture, 'kept an eye on the future': an indispensable approach when seeking to create an effective research tool.

Keywords: CATALOGUING THEORY; BRITISH MUSEUM; CATALOGUING RULES; CATALOGUING HISTORY; SEYMOUR LUBETZKY; CODE OF CATALOGING RULES (1960); ANTONIO PANIZZI

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/175834809X12489650422732

Affiliations: Vatican School of Library Science, Italy;, Email: agnese_g@hotmail.com

Publication date: 2009-12-01

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