An Overview of Medieval Library Cataloging |
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| Abstract: | This paper attempts to summarize the rich and interesting history of cataloging in Medieval monastic libraries, when the production of books was in its infancy. It discusses some of these early practices when books were few in number and very valuable to the community. In the beginning, catalogs were mostly inventory lists of treasures, not used for research direction. Only the librarian or armarius was consulted for research direction. Complicating these practices was the fact that several "books" were often bound together in the same binding which would have hindered subject cataoging. As books' value evolved toward their subject matter rather than their value as physical objects, and the catalog grew from an inventory list for the librarian toward a guide for patrons, and the rudimentary inventory practices grew toward the modern research direction-oriented cataloging methods, the medieval catalog approached the modern catalog in purpose and content. |
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