DEciphering Physical Descr fields in library catalogs

In library catalogs, there is an entry for the physical description of the book. It usually contains such information as the number of pages, physical dimensions, and whether or not the work is illustrated, has an index, bibliography, or maps. For some works, this field starts with a string of roman numerals. At first, I thought this might indicate the number of pages in a preface or introduction. After checking specific editions against the catalog, I’ve found that the number of unnumbered pages rarely matches the roman numerals. So, what do the roman numerals represent? Are there any resources for deciphering this and other strange abbreviations? I spend a lot of time in libraries, but this has never bothered me until now.

Roman numerals should be used to indicate the number of pages numbered with Roman numerals in the book. The entry

indicates that the book has 24 with Roman numerals and 232 pages numbered with Arabic (as well as being illustrated and being between 22 and 23 cm tall). I can quote AACR2R for you, but it will have to wait until I get home tonight.

The object of the physical description is to provide the information to the user that the book itself would provide, except in those cases where that information is wholly insufficient to differentiate one book from another. In other words, if you have two books with the same title, both with unnumbered pages, both with the same general physical dimensions, and with no author or other information to provide in the catalog that would help a user tell one book from the other, you might go to the trouble to count the pages and include that information (in square brackets) in the catalog, especially if one book had ca. 50 pages and the other had ca. 200, because that would be helpful to someone trying to find the right book. Unnumbered pages are not normally counted at all.

Hope this helps.

If a book has maps in it, it should say “maps” in the description. And good catalogers will also specify “ill.” or “plates” or “drawings” or “tables”.

The height of the book is important because most libraries have separate shelves for taller books (folios in the trade, there are also “elephant folios”)

If the book has pages that are only printed on side, it will say “leaves” instead of “p.”

I think you should go to your local library and ask for a copy of AACR2. You will get some very strange looks, but you will also learn what catalogers consider to be the best source of information about a book. (It’s the title page. You can’t judge a book by its cover.)

It seems strange to me that the pages numbered with roman numerals wouldn’t match the library catalog for identical editions. I suppose it could be chalked up to librarian error (gasp) or perhaps a format change within an edition. I’m familiar with the general format of the physical description field. It’s the obscure abbreviations like “ports.” that cause me to scratch my head. It sounds like AACR2 will answer my questions. Thanks!

“ports.” is “Portraits”.

My favorite is “unpaged”, which means no one wanted to count the pages.

That’s sloppy cataloging, but it’s not at all uncommon to find. Catalogers come up with all kinds of justifications for breaking rules. The cataloger at my library even happily catalogs hardcover and paperback editions of the same book in the same record, just being sure to include both ISBN numbers so that a search by ISBN will always turn up the right record. :rolleyes:

One thing to be sure of is that you are seeing a Roman numeral and not an abbreviation that looks like a Roman numeral. The physical description field for a serial will often start with what looks like the Roman numeral V but is in fact a blank space followed by v., that is a lower-case v followed by a period. This is the number-of-volumes subfield and is left blank (the blank space) so that it can be filled in if and when the serial is ever “complete,” i.e., no longer being published.

The rule I cited in my earlier post is in the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2 ed., rev. (a.k.a. AACR2R) as rule 2.5B2.

I have looked through my notes from cataloging and can’t find a good list of abbreviations. Browsing through the AACR2R, though, I see the following in rule 2.5C2:

Following this are several examples including some abbreviations, but all of the abbreviations given have already been mentioned in this thread. Perhaps having the complete list of specified items will help you figure out some confusing abbreviations, though.