Author / Personal Bibliography:
An author’s bibliography (last work) is one which lists books, parts or portions of books, periodical publications, and individual articles found scattered or referred to in the pages, and after given in the foot notes of books and periodical articles. It includes even those items which are found listed at the end of the chapter or article or book. Besides. the adaptations to literature used by the author would also be included. This kind of bibliography is a source-list and the author himself becomes a consumer as well as distributor of ideas.
Personal bibliography is “a list of the writings by and on a person”. In the field of literature, personal bibliographies are extremely important. They serve a very useful purpose for the scholars in the field concerned.
An author bibliography is a complete list of all the documents by an author. This would cover his books, articles in periodicals, contributions to books, documents edited by him. etc., in all their various editions, translations and adoptions. Thus, “a personal bibliography of a purely ‘by’ kinds is an author bibliography”
If an author bibliography is to active literacy or scholarly value, it must bring together in a definitive manner, all works written by an author, arranged so as to serve as a true outline of his contribution. Sometimes an author bibliography is called a bio-bibliography. Ranganathan also calls author bibliography by the name, producers, (through) bibliography. A bibliography of an author is more likely to contain a complete list of his works. In the case of a collected works, the contents. pages. will usually constitute a bibliography.
Preparation of author/personal bibliography warrants above all a thorough knowledge on the part of the bibliographer of the history of the times in which the author lived and flourished. He should be familiar with the social, political, religious and cultural conditions of the time of the author. Author bibliography generally follows the arrangement as in the library catalogue with some variations and adjustments and adjustments and elaborations as may be needed. Usually the arrangement will be complete or nearly completed with collected works. Smaller collections of two or more works published together: single work in alphabetical order, each followed by reference to books dealing with the particular work : translations of the author’s works; works of other writers translated or edited by the author and appendix i.e.. criticism. reviews and biographical notes.
Author bibliography is either descriptive or enumerative. If the author is a pioneer in his particular field, the bibliography should be descriptive and the arrangement chronological, otherwise alphabetical arrangement is suitable. Author bibliography can be arranged and also divided as books, contributions to books, collected works, contributions to periodical publications; books and periodical publications edited by the author, books and pamphlets about the author, symposia, biographical, critical works, reviews by the author etc. A personal bibliography is a list of writings on the different aspects of the career of the multi-faceted personality or hero having more than one distinct sphere of activity in addition to the works he may have written himself, eg., Churchill also enjoyed a reputation as a historian as well as a statesman. Esdaice says that all men have one quality in common; between birth and death. They exist in the dimension of time. They are first young and then old. All literature dealing with special episodes in a life can, therefore, often be most significantly arranged in the chronological order of their episodes.
Reference:
- Reddy, P. V. G. (1999). Bio bibliography of the faculty in social sciences departments of Sri Krishnadevaraya university Anantapur A P India.
- Esdalice, A. “Esdalic’s Manual of Bibliography”. Rev. By Roy Stokes. London : Allen and Unwin, 1969. p.21