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Catalogues and the Documentation System of the Library of the German Bundestag

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2019

Gerhard Hahn
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Extract

Catalogues are the essential element of every library. The following description of the main features of the documentation system maintained by the Library of the German Bundestag and of the most important principles of its catalogues will, more than anything else, show that they differ considerably from the forms of library documentation generally known in Germany. Though it would be particularly interesting to do so here, limitations of space unfortunately prevent a theoretical discussion of cataloguing principles in any detail. However, at this point it is important to stress that in view of the manifold requirements to be met by a modern library documentation and information system, the catalogues and documentation system of the Bundestag Library have proved themselves quite valuable.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law Libraries , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , March 1977 , pp. 95 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © International Association of Law Libraries 1976 

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References

1 The question of whether a certain publication, the bibliographical data of which are known, is available in the library is generally regarded as the main question to be answered by catalogues.Google Scholar

2 Historically the alphabetical cataloguing in Germany is characterized by the principle of the so-called “grammatical arrangement of words” in the title. Apart from the so-called “main entry” there are special “added entries” referring to the main entry.Google Scholar

3 The rules for alphabetical cataloguing, as applied in the Bundestag Library, are formulated in a work comprising 422 sections: Instruktionen für die Kataloge der Bibliothek des Deutschen Bundestages, Bonn, 1970.Google Scholar

4 The hierarchical arrangement of the subject headings under the stem of the heading in these cases is as follows:Google Scholar

Parlament (heading) Verfassung (heading)Google Scholar

Parlamentsfraktion (subheading) Verfassungsstruktur (subheading)Google Scholar

Parlamentsfraktionszwang (subheading) Verfassungsstruktur, föderalistische (subheading)Google Scholar

Arbeit (heading) Wirtschaft (heading)Google Scholar

Arbeitslohn (subheading) Wirtschaftspolitik (subheading)Google Scholar

Arbeitslohnkaufkraft (subheading) Wirtschaftspolitik: Infrastruktur (subheading)Google Scholar

5 Confer the latest edition of Thesaurus der Bibliothek des Deutschen Bundestages, Bonn 1975.Google Scholar

6 This figure includes the periodicals concerning the German and international official publications and the periodical publications of international organizations. The Bundestag Library receives official publications (parlamentary publications, law gazettes, statistical material) from about 150 countries and from over 200 official and non-official international organizations. It is a depositary library for 10 international organizations (European Council, EEC, FAO, GATT, ILO, IMF, OECD, WHO, UNESCO, UNO), i. e., these organizations send all their publications to the library on a continuing basis. Out of the 9,000 periodicals there are about 5,400 official ones.Google Scholar