Józef Grycz: The Creator of Polish Library Cataloguing Regulations

Abstract

The article aims at demonstrating the input of Józef Grycz into the unification of cataloguing rules in Polish libraries. To this end the author analyzed Grycz’s correspondence with other leading Polish librarians. This allowed for the reconstruction of his activities, which resulted in the publishing of the Cataloguing Rules for Polish Libraries in 1934. The experience gained during the interwar period proved beneficial for Grycz’s second cataloguing manual, published in 1946 (Abbreviated Regulations for Alphabetical Cataloguing). This book was reprinted many times in the following years. In preparing the later editions, Grycz was assisted by W. Borkowska.

The article also discusses the most important issues settled by the rules worked out by Grycz. The Abbreviated Regulations... provided the basis for cataloguing activities in Poland for over forty years and dictated the choices of headings. Nowadays, when computer cataloguing is the normal and natural procedure, it is well worth to keep in mind how difficult were the beginnings, and to remember the person who paved the way towards modern cataloguing