Author's Tables

tables in alphabetical order to facilitate the arrangement of books on library shelves in exact alphabetical order.

Author’s tables were invented by the American librarian C. Cutter in the late 19th century. In the USSR two- and three-digit author’s tables are used.

Two-digit author’s tables are used in popular libraries. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a table that consists of syllables arranged in alphabetical order and their corresponding two-digit figures: 11—99. For instance:

A 11 B Ab 13 Bav Abi 15 Bad

Aa 12 Ba Abe 14 Bag Abr 16 Bazh

Each book is marked with a so-called author’s sign, which consists of the first letter of the author’s surname (or the first letter of the book title if the book is not listed by author) and the number from the author’s table corresponding to the syllable closest to the first letters of the name or the title. For instance, the surname Abashidze receives the author’s sign A13.

Three-digit tables are composed according to the same principles, except that they use the figures 11 through 999. Three-digit author’s tables are used in bigger libraries. Author’s tables have been designed for the different languages of the peoples of the USSR.