Book Catalogue :: Definition, Merits and Demerits of Book Catalogue

This form of catalogue has some major qualities or merits. First it is easily transportable and thus can be used outside the library when needed. Secondly, it occupies too less space. Thirdly, from the point of view of utility for centralized and cooperative cataloguing, it is very convenient. It has the quality of being multiplied and therefore, any number of readers can consult it simultaneously. Accessibility and expansibility both are remarkable in it.

Book catalogue is very costly to prepare because of high cost of printing. This is its biggest demerit. An ordinary library cannot afford to prepare it. Secondly, it cannot be updated without bringing out new edition because it has no flexibility. When new books are added to a library, new entries representing these books are also prepared. These new entries cannot be accommodated at appropriate place in book catalogue. Some places may be left vacant on each page to accommodate new entries, but then also only limited number of entries can be accommodated. Likewise, if some books are weeded out from the library, entries representing those books cannot be removed without cutting or stamping. Thus printed book catalogue does not reflect the actual and up-to-date picture of the collection of a library. It has one more major demerit: It uses comparatively thin quality of paper and therefore, is less durable. Most of the library tries to avoid this form of library catalogue.