Susan Bristol
csmbristol@cox.net
ILS 506 - S70
Dr. Sierpe
Assignment 2 - Shelflisting and Subject Analysis
April 9, 2006
Commentary on Shelflisting Exercise
In this commentary, I will discuss the construction of the shelflist for works by Harold
Pinter as shown above. The main points I will address are the methodology I used to arrive at the
call numbers for the works, the provisions in the Library of Congress Table for Literary Authors
with One Cutter Number P-PZ40 and the effects of those provisions on my shelflisting
decisions.
The first task was to establish the base or class number for Harold Pinter. This was
relatively straightforward, and I used the Library of Congress (LOC) Authority file, available on
the LOC website to do so. The class number for the authorized heading “Pinter, Harold, 1930-“,
as determined by this method was PR6066.I53. This number is the one that has been permanently
assigned to works both by and works about Harold Pinter, and is the number from which all of
the final call numbers in my shelflist are derived.
The class number for Pinter is derived from the “P” class of the LOC Classification
Schedule. The “P” Class is designated for works which are classed as “Language and Literature”.
At the macro level of organization in the “P” class, a literary author’s class number is based on
his country of origin and the time period in which he produced the bulk of his work. In Pinter’s
case, these are England and the later half of the 20th century. According to this classification
system, English literature is to be classed in subclass “PR”. English literature is then further
subdivided into topics descending from the general to the more specific, and individual authors
are classed according to time period. English literature related to individual authors during the
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period 1961-2000 is assigned the range of PR6050-PR6076. It appears that authors with last
names beginning with “P” are further assigned to PR6066. Pinter’s unique base number is
determined by the addition of a single cutter number, resulting in PR6066.I53. In this case, the
cutter number is based on the second letter of his last name (I), followed by two numbers which
don’t appear to be directly derived from the LOC Cutter table. This is not a surprise because the
assignment of cutter numbers is always context specific. In other words, the assignment of a
particular cutter number is dependent on the particular collection in which a cataloger is working.
The next task was to find a source of bibliographic records that would enable me to create
a shelflist for the works of Harold Pinter and to assign appropriate call numbers so that my
shelflist would be consistent with the Table for Literary Authors with One Cutter Number PPZ40, the Preferred Shelflist Order for Individual Authors and the Translation Table. I
primarily used the bibliographic records I found in the Library of Congress Catalog and also used
a number of records from CONSULS and the Harvard University Library OPAC.
One of the most frustrating aspects of this task was the lack of detailed instructions from
the LOC on how to assign call numbers. I also found that there wasn’t much help from the
professional literature, after searching a number of relevant online databases and websites.
Ultimately, I found that the best method was to select individual bibliographic records, and
evaluate them vis-à-vis the relevant tables to determine if the call number as presented was
appropriate for my shelflist. In many cases, I made adjustments to the numbers as found in order
to make them appropriate for my particular collection. The evaluation of the call numbers
necessitated examining the full records in the library catalog, including MARC tags, in order to
justify placement of certain items in the correct category. These decisions weren’t always
straightforward, and in a number of cases, I simply relied on my best judgment to make a
placement decision.
The first decision I had to make with any item was whether it was a work by Pinter or a
work about Pinter, because the classification provisions in the P-PZ40 Table are specific in that
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regard .The technique I used in this process was to look at the MARC tags for each record. Those
with Pinter in the 100 field are works by Pinter and do not generally have subject headings. Those
with another main entry (generally a title or another author) and with Pinter in the MARC 600
field are works about Pinter.
Works by Pinter start with the general “collected works” category and end with the more
specific “separate works” category. Second cutter numbers in these categories range from no
additional number for collected works, and then from .xA11-Z458. The arrangement of these
works was also affected by the Preferred Shelflist for Individual Authors and the Translation
Table. One of the most common changes I made to works by Pinter was the addition of an
additional number to the second cutter number for separate works. In general, I found that the
records from the LOC had only one number in the second cutter number. I added an additional
number to my call numbers for these works to conform to current practice, although it wasn’t
necessary to do this for my shelflist to retain the appropriate structure. It is important to note that
the cutter numbers are filed decimally, and expansion to many more than two numbers is
theoretically possible in order to maintain the proper shelflist order. Another change that I made
to many records was the addition of a date in the call number to conform to current practice. This
did affect my shelflist and was an important organizational tool.
The classification of the first item in my shelflist, PR6066.I53 1990, was straightforward.
The uniform title “[Works]” in the MARC 240 field and the title itself indicate that this is a
collected work and thus, requires no additional cutter number. One of the areas that I found
somewhat confusing was the determination of which works were “collected works” by various
categories (.xA15-.xA19) and which were “selected works” (.xA6). I ultimately made changes to
some of the records I found to place them in what I determined were more relevant categories. An
example of this is the fourth item in my shelflist, PR6066.I53A6 1962. With the use of the .xA6
cutter, I categorized this item as a “selected work”. This was originally given a call number by the
LOC of PR6066.I53A19 1962, placing it in the category for “collected plays”. The reason for my
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change to the call number was due to the MARC tag for this item in the 240 field which was,
[Plays. Selections]. This tag indicated to me that this was a “selected work” instead of a
“collected work”. I also made a similar change to the fifth item on my shelflist, PR6066.I53A6
1968. This was originally classified as PR6066.I53P6 by the LOC. I felt that this more
appropriately belong with “selected works”, justified by the title and the nature of the work. I also
added a uniform title - “[Poems. Selections]”, as prescribed by AACR. 25.10A. I also added the
date to the call number, as the P-PZ40 table specifies that these works be organized by date. I also
noted that the P-PZ40 table doesn’t provide for any breakdown of “selected works” by type of
work - i.e., screenplays, poems, plays. These are simply organized by date, thereby intermingling
the various types of works. It would make more sense to separate them from an organizational
standpoint, when an author has work in a number of genres.
Another problem I encountered in using the provisions of the P-PZ40 table was the
proper placement of a “selected work” which is a translation. The third item in my shelflist is a
translation of three of Pinter’s plays into French, and was classified as a “separate work” by the
LOC with call number PR6066.I53C614. Because this work contains three works and is
therefore technically a “selected work” and not a separate work, I felt it should be included with
“selected works”. However, the P-PZ40 table doesn’t include any provision for “selected
translations” and using the Translation Table with the .xA6 cutter for “selected works” would
cross a shelflisting boundary and place it back in “separate works”. I opted instead to give it the
call number PR6066.I53A35 1967, placing it in the “collected translations” category. While not a
perfect solution, it intuitively made more sense to me than including it with “separate works” and
applying the Translation Table.
The issues of compression and of crossing shelflisting boundaries were both apparent to
me as I constructed my shelflist. In the “separate works” category, items are required to be
organized by title. However, the range of numbers available begins with .xA61 and ends with
.xZ458, resulting in a need to assign cutter numbers for works beginning with “A” and “Z” that
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don’t necessarily agree with the cutter table. My first separate work is PR6066.I53A84 1977.
Given the fact that the title of the work is Ashes to Ashes, I determined that this cutter number is
appropriate and appears to be logical according to the cutter table. In any case, it would not be
possible to assign a “separate work” a cutter number lower than .xA61 or the number would cross
the boundary into the range of numbers designated for works from “collected works” to “selected
works”.
In several instances, I used the provisions in the Preferred Shelflist Order for Individual
Authors table to determine cutter numbers. Item PR6066.I53B5735 1983 in my shelflist is a
criticism of The Birthday Party, a play by Pinter. I determined this category to be the appropriate
one for this work by looking at the title in the record, by examining the subject headings, the main
entry and the MARC 245 field to see the title / statement of responsibility. In this case, I used the
base cutter number for The Birthday Party, PR6066.I53B57 as the starting point, and then added
a “3” to designate a criticism and the “5” to designate the main entry and added the date. This
conforms to the stipulations in the Preferred Shelflist Order table. I also used this table and the
Translation Table to help determine the cutter number for a translation of The Collection, a play
by Pinter, into the Persian language. Although the separate work itself isn’t in my shelflist, I
determined the base cutter number for it to be PR6066.I53C65 and then added “165” to indicate
a Persian translation, as per the Translation Table. The final cutter number was then,
PR6066.I53C65165 1970. The uniform title and translation note both justify this shelflisting
decision. The Preferred Shelflist Order table also affected my choice of cutter number for
PR6066.I53H6633 1974, a criticism of The Homecoming, a “separate work”. I determined the
base cutter number for The Homecoming to be PR6066.I53H66 and then added a “3” to
designate a criticism and another “3” to designate the main entry and added the date.
I next turned to works about Pinter. These include works of biography and general
criticism and are assigned second cutter numbers in the range of .xZ459-Z999, according to the
P-PZ40 table. The majority of the works that I found in this category are “general works” and are
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assigned cutter numbers in the range of .xZ5-Z999. It isn’t stipulated anywhere in the LOC
documentation how “general works” are to be organized, although Dr. Sierpe indicated in the
lecture notes that these are to be arranged in alphabetical order by main entry - generally either a
main entry title (MARC 245-0) or by an author other than Pinter (MARC 100). This also became
apparent from my examination of the LOC catalog. Because some of these works are title main
entry and some are author, there is an intermingling of types of main entries in my shelflist,
however, that is appropriate as I understand it. These works also have at least one subject heading
in the MARC 600 field - “Pinter, Harold, 1930-.” and a number of them have additional subject
headings.
The cutter numbers for “general works” are also affected by the issue of compression, as
the first available number for “general works” is .xZ5. There isn’t any guidance from the LOC as
to assignment of cutter numbers and so as I understand it; this area tends to be done somewhat by
“feel” and with an appreciation for the context and the need to respect the alphabetical order of
the items being classified. I did look at the “Unofficial Table” for some guidance in this area, but
did not find it necessary to adhere to the information I found in it. In the case where I had three
items with the same main entry, (Esslin, Martin, 1918-.) I assigned all three items the same base
number, PR6066.I53Z64 and then organized the items by title (which also happened to coincide
with organization by date), although I didn’t note instructions on this situation anywhere. I
determined this procedure from observing the LOC catalog.
The one item I have in my shelflist in the category of works about Pinter that isn’t a
“general work” is PR6066.I53Z464 1994. This is a work containing interviews with Pinter, a
category not explicitly dealt with by the P-PZ40 table. An examination of the MARC tags for this
item revealed that Pinter appears in both the 100 and 600 fields, consistent with an
autobiography. These seemed to be the most appropriate category in which to place this type of
item, given the lack of guidance from the LOC. Autobiographies are assigned the numbers .xZ46-
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479, and then are arranged by title, according to the table. As such, they are shelved before
“general works”.
In summary, I found that once you “crack the code” of LOC classification, it is mostly
logical and relatively straightforward. Given the cryptic nature of the available documentation, it
seems clear that experience over time is most likely the best predictor of good cataloging practice.
This exercise gave me a much better feel the procedures used in shelflisting and for the power of
cutter numbers (and the cataloger) to organize works within a specific class to provide a high
quality browsing experience for a library user.
Shelflist for Harold Pinter
PR6066.I53 1990
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Works]
Complete works / Harold Pinter ; with an introduction, "Writing for the theatre".
-- 1st Evergreen ed. --New York : Grove Weidenfeld, 1990.
PR6066.I53A19 1976
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Plays]
Plays [of] Harold Pinter / Harold Pinter. --London : Eyre Methuen, 1976.
PR6066.I53A35 1967
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[The collection, The lover, and The caretaker. French]
La Collection : Suivi de : l’Amant et de : le Gardien / Harold Pinter ; Traduit de l’anglais
par Éric Kahane. -- [Paris] : Gallimard, 1967.
Translation of: The collection, The lover, and The caretaker.
PR6066.I53A6 1962
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Plays. Selections]
Three plays: A slight ache, The collection [and] The dwarfs. --New York, Grove Press
[c1962].
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PR6066.I53A6 1968
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Poems. Selections]
Poems [selected by Alan Clodd]. -- London : Enitharmon P., 1968.
PR6066.I53A6 1971
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Screenplays. Selections]
Five screenplays / Harold Pinter. --London : Methuen, 1971.
PR6066.I53A6 1978
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Selections. 1978]
Poems and prose, 1949-1977 / by Harold Pinter. -- 1st ed. -- New York : Grove Press :
distributed by Random House, 1978.
PR6066.I53A6 1982
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Screenplays. Selections]
The French lieutenant’s woman, and other screenplays / Harold Pinter. -- London :
Methuen, 1982.
PR6066.I53A6 1983
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Plays. Selections]
Other places: three plays / by Harold Pinter. -- 1st hardcover ed. --New York : Grove
Press, 1983.
PR6066.I53A6 1996
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Selections. 1996]
Collected poems and prose / Harold Pinter. -- 1st Grove Press ed. -- New York : Grove
Press ; [Emeryville, CA] : Distributed by Publishers Group West, 1996.
PR6066.I53A6 1996b
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[Plays. Selections]
Plays two / Harold Pinter. -- London : Faber and Faber, c1996.
PR6066.I53A84 1977
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
Ashes to ashes / Harold Pinter. -- 1st Grove Press ed., 1st Amer. ed. -- New York : Grove
Press, 1997,c1966.
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PR6066.I53B37 1969
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
The basement; a play / Harold Pinter. -- [Acting ed. -- New York] Dramatists Play
Service [1969].
PR6066.I53B48 1979
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
Betrayal / Harold Pinter. -- 1st ed. -- New York : Grove Press, 1979, c1978.
PR6066.I53B57 1960
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
The birthday party; a play in three acts / Harold Pinter. -- New York : S. French [c1960].
PR6066.I53B5735 1983
Liisa Korpimies.
A linguistic approach to the analysis of a dramatic text : a study in discourse analysis and
cohesion with special reference to The birthday party by Harold Pinter / Liisa Korpimies. -Jyväskylä : University of Jyväskylä, 1983.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930-. Birthday party. 2. English language--Discourse analysis. 3.
Cohesion (Linguistics)
PR6066.I53C37 1963
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
The caretaker / Harold Pinter. -- [New York] : Dramatists Play Service [1963].
PR6066.I53C45 1999
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
Celebration ; and, The room / Harold Pinter. -- New York : Grove Press, c1999.
PR6066.I53C65165 1970
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
[The collection. Persian]
Kulliksiyūn / Hārūld Pīntir ; tarjamah-i Manīzhah Kāmyāb / Kāmyāb, Manīzhah.. -Tihrān : Ishrāqī, [1349 i.e. 1970]
Translation of: The collection.
PR6066.I53H66 1965
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
The homecoming / Harold Pinter. -- London : Methuen [1965].
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PR6066.I53H6633 1974
A Casebook on Harold Pinter’s The homecoming / edited by John Lahr and Anthea Lahr.
-- London : Davis-Poynter, 1974.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930-. Homecoming.
PR6066.I53Z464 1994
Pinter, Harold, 1930-.
Conversations with Pinter / Mel Gussow. -- 1st Limelight ed. -- New York : Limelight
Editions, 1994.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Interviews. 2. Dramatists, English--20th century--Interviews. 3.
Playwriting.
PR6066.I53Z592 1983
Almansi, Guido, 1931-.
Harold Pinter / Guido Almansi and Simon Henderson. -- London ; New York : Methuen,
1983.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
PR6066.I53Z594 1999
Armstrong, Raymond.
Kafka and Pinter : shadow-boxing : the struggle between father and son / Raymond
Armstrong. -- New York : St. Martin’s Press, 1999.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation. 2. Pinter, Harold, 1930- -Knowledge--Literature. 3. Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924 --Influence. 3. Domestic drama,
English--History and criticism. 4. Fathers and sons in literature. 5. Drama--Psychological
aspects.
PR6066.I53Z596 2004
The art of crime : the plays and films of Harold Pinter and David Mamet / edited by
Leslie Kane. -- New York : Routledge, 2004.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation. 2. Mamet, David--Criticism and
interpretation. 3. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Motion picture plays. 4. Mamet, David--Motion
picture plays.5. Criminals in literature. 6. Crime in literature.
PR6066.I53Z61 1971
Burkman, Katherine H.
The dramatic world of Harold Pinter: its basis in ritual / by Katherine H. Burkman. -[Columbus] Ohio State University Press [1971].
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation. 2. Ritual in literature.
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PR6066.I53Z62 2001
The Cambridge companion to Harold Pinter / edited by Peter Raby. -- Cambridge; New
York : Cambridge University Press, 2001.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
PR6066.I53Z63 1985
Diamond, Elin.
Pinter’s comic play / Elin Diamond. -- Lewisburg : Bucknell University Press ; London ;
Cranbury, NJ : Associated University Presses, c1985.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation. 2. Comic, The, in literature.
PR6066.I53Z64 1970
Esslin, Martin, 1918-.
The peopled wound: the work of Harold Pinter / Martin Esslin. -- [1st ed.] -- Garden City,
N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
PR6066.I53Z64 1977
Esslin, Martin, 1918-.
Pinter : a study of his plays / by Martin Esslin. --3d expanded ed. -- London : Methuen,
1977.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
PR6066.I53Z64 2000
Esslin, Martin, 1918-.
Pinter, the playwright / Martin Esslin. -- 6th ed. -- London : Methuen, 2000.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
PR6066.I53Z65 2005
Grimes, Charles.
Harold Pinter’s politics : a silence beyond echo / Charles Grimes. -- Madison : Fairleigh
Dickinson University Press, c2005.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Political and social views. 2. Politics and literature--Great
Britain--History--20th century. 3. Political plays, English--History and criticism.
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PR6066.I53Z66 1987
Harold Pinter / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom. -- New York : Chelsea
House Publishers, 1987.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation. 2. English drama--History and
criticism.
PR6066.I53Z67 1980
Hayman, Ronald, 1932Harold Pinter / Ronald Hayman. -- 4th ed. -- London : Heinemann, 1980.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
PR6066.I53Z71 1967
Kerr, Walter, 1913Harold Pinter / Walter Kerr. -- New York, Columbia University Press, 1967.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
PR6066.I53Z73 2000
Naismith, William.
Harold Pinter / Bill Naismith -- London : Faber and Faber, 2000.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
PR6066.I53Z75 2000
Prentice, Penelope.
The Pinter ethic : the erotic aesthetic / Penelope Prentice. -- New York : Garland, 2000.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Ethics. 2. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Aesthetics. 3.Didactic
Drama, English--History and criticism. 4. Ethics in literature. 5. Love in literature. 6.
Sex in literature.
PR6066.I53Z76 1975
Quigley, Austin E., 1942The Pinter problem / Austin E. Quigley. -- Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University, [1975]
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
PR6066.I53Z77 1995
Regal, Martin S.
Harold Pinter : a question of timing / Martin S. Regal. -- Basingstoke, Hampshire :
Macmillan Press ; New York : St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Criticism and interpretation.
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PR6066.I53Z81 1993
Silverstein, Marc, 1961-.
Harold Pinter and the language of cultural power / Marc Silverstein. -- Lewisburg [Pa.] :
Bucknell University Press ; London ; Cranbury, NJ : Associated University Presses, c1993.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Knowledge--Language and languages. 2. Pinter, Harold, 1930--Political and social views. 3. Language and culture--England--History--20th century. 4.
Power (Social sciences) in literature.
PR6066.I53Z84 1985
Thompson, David T.
Pinter, the player’s playwright / David T. Thompson. -- 1st American ed. -- New York :
Schocken Books, 1985.
1. Pinter, Harold, 1930- --Knowledge--Performing arts. 2. Pinter, Harold, 1930- 3.
Dramatists, English--20th century--Biography. 4. Actors--Great Britain--Biography.
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