The term ‘Canon’ was
first introduced by W. C. B. Sayers in his book ‘Canons of Classification, applied to ‘the Subject’, ‘the Expansive’,
‘the Decimal’ and ‘the Library of Congress’ Classifications: A Study in
Bibliographical Classification Method’, published in 1915 in which he explains his
theory of book classification. The term ‘canon’ simply means rules,
regulations, standard tests or criteria by which judgment may be formed. In the context of cataloguing, Ranganathan
was the first to apply the scientific method to cataloguing by formulating
various normative principles of cataloguing, calling them as canons of
cataloguing. Normative principles are those rules which govern the preparation
of cataloguing codes, various types of entries, choice of headings and
descriptions related to cataloguing of documents.
Historical
Development of Normative Principles: There are 9 Canons of
Cataloguing given by Dr. S. R. Ranganathan. However, all these normative
principles (canons) of cataloguing were not developed in a single stretch; they
were formulated in different stages as given below:
Stage
1: Although
Classified Catalogue Code (CCC) was
published in 1934, but the normative principles of cataloguing were first time included
in the Theory of Library Catalogue
published in 1938 by Madras Library Association.
The following six
canons were introduced for the first time in the ‘Theory of Library Catalogue’,
published in 1938.
(i)
Canon of
Ascertainability
(ii) Canon of
Relevance (Renamed as: Canon of Sought Heading in ‘Heading and Canons’,
published in 1955)
(iii)
Canon of Consistency
(iv)
Canon of
Currency
(v)
Canon of
Permanence, and
(vi)
Canon of
Prepotence
Stage 2: The second stage of the development of canons for
cataloguing was made in Ranganathan’s ‘Heading
and Canons: Comparative Study of Five Catalogue Codes’ published in 1955. The
numbers of canons were extended to eight with the addition of the following two
canons:
(vii)
Canon of
context
(viii)
Canon of
purity (Changed to: Canon of Individualization in the 4th ed.
of CCC in 1958)
The last canon of
cataloguing was introduced by Dr. S. R. Ranganathan in December 1969 issue of Library Science with a Slant to
Documentation, making the total tally to nine:
(ix)
Canon of
recall Value
Need
& Importance of Canons: Canons of cataloguing
are the specific normative principles which provide a scientific basis to the
field of cataloguing. These canons are implications of the law of library
science and helps in providing solutions to cataloguing. If a canon fails to
provide solution to a specific problem, then the canons are in conflict and can
appeal to the Laws of Library Science to provide a solution for it. The purpose
and functions of these canons are to help in –
a) drafting
of a cataloguing code and formulation of rules
b) interpretation
of rules to meet new situations
c) providing
guidance to catalogers in their routine cataloguing work to achieve
uniformity, consistency and accuracy.
(i)
Canon of Ascertainability
(ii)
Canon of Sought Heading
(iii)
Canon of Consistency
(iv)
Canon of Currency
(v)
Canon of Permanence
(vi)
Canon of Prepotence
(vii)
Canon of Context
(viii)
Canon of Individualization
(ix)
Canon of Recall Value
SELF-CHECK EXERCISES
1.The latest canon of cataloguing formulated by Dr. S. R. Ranganathan is __.
Answer: (C) Canon of Recall value
2. The problem of Homonyms can be solved by __.
Answer: (A) Canon of Individualization
3. Which canon suggests the best way to make the choice of heading for a catalogue?
Answer: (B) Canon of Sought Heading
4. Which of the following canon says that the choice and rendering of heading should be determined from the title page and its verso:
Answer: (D) canon of Ascertainability
5. The term 'Canon' was first inroduced by __.
Answer: (D) W. C. B. Sayers
6. 'Heading and Canons: Comparative Study of Five Catalogue Codes' was first published in __.
Answer: (B) 1955
7. Which among the following are not the canons of Cataloguing?
Answer: (B) Canon of Relevance
8. Who authored the book 'Canons of Classification'?
Answer: (B) W. C. B. Sayers
9. 'Canon of Recall Value' was first introduced in the year __.
Answer: (D) 1969
10. 'Theory of Library Catalogue' was first published in 1938 by __.
Answer: (B) Madras Library Association
 of Cataloguing){kind=link}
2 Comments
Can i get this in pdf? I mean notes as well as their mcqs from different LIS topics
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