In 1886 Prof. Dziatzko published his "Instruction für die Ordnung der Titel im alphabetischen Zettelkatalog der Königlichen und Universitäts-Bibliothek zu Breslau" which Mr. K. A. Linderfelt of Milwaukee translated and adapted in 1890, with the other standard rules, under the title "Eclectic Card Catalog Rules, Author and Title Entries, based on Dziatzko's 'Instruction' compared with the Rules of the British Museum, Cutter, Dewey, Perkins, and other Authorities." It is so ample in its details that it covers all possible forms of authors' names and is therefore most valuable for reference or for compiling any catalogues, though it may contain a great deal that is rarely required in average library practice. The appendix, containing a list of oriental titles and occupations with their significance, is a useful feature of the work.
So many classified catalogues have appeared of late years arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System that no notes upon the history of cataloguing would be complete without some reference to that system. There is no doubt that it is mainly responsible for the revival of this form of catalogue. The system was planned or invented by Mr. Melvil Dewey, when librarian of Amherst College, U.S.A., and was in the first instance intended for cataloguing and indexing purposes, though it is now more commonly used for classifying and numbering the books upon the shelves. It was the result of a good deal of careful study of library needs and, on the face of it, is simple and practical. As to this Dewey says "in all the work philosophical theory and accuracy have been made to yield to practical usefulness. The impossibility of making a satisfactory classification of all knowledge, as preserved in books, has been appreciated from the first, and nothing of the kind attempted. Theoretical harmony and exactness have been repeatedly sacrificed to the practical requirements of the library."
In spite of this statement it is astonishing how few defects it has as a system of classification, especially when it is remembered that every class and every subject is divided into ten heads. This limitation has the tendency to congest some subjects while others do not admit of the use of so many as ten numbers. Withal it is very elastic and useful, though, as may be expected, things American get preferential and fuller treatment. The first edition was published from Amherst College Library in 1876, the second from Columbia College Library in 1885, the third in 1888, the fourth from the New York State Library in 1891; the last ("edition 7") being that of 1911, each being a revision and enlargement of the earlier edition. The very full index attached to the scheme makes it comparatively easy to use, but, in the process of using, it is astonishing how many books have to be specially considered as to their correct place, a comparison of catalogues compiled under the system showing that different minds have interpreted the scheme quite differently.