LIS-COR-103 Unit 2

International Conference on Cataloguing Principles (ICCP) – 1961

The Paris Principles also known as the ‘Statement of Principles’ defined the theoretical foundation
for the creation of bibliographical cataloging rules for libraries. They were specified and agreed upon in
October 1961 at the International Conference on Cataloguing Principles (ICCP) of the International
Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in Paris. The six-page script stipulated which
function and structure library catalogs should have in the future. It was the first international agreement -
delegations from 65 countries were involved - on fundamental questions of cataloging, which formed an
important basis for the development of regulations. For example, determining the function of a library
catalog is influential up to now. By using the catalog, the user should be able to determine whether a
respective library holds a certain book of which is known:
➔ the author and the title, or
➔ only the title (if the author is not mentioned in the book), or
➔ a suitable replacement for the title (if the author and title are unsuitable or insufficient).
In addition, the catalog should allow to determine which works by a particular author and which
specific editions of a work are present in a library.
Since 2009, the ‘Paris Principles’ have been replaced by the ‘International Cataloguing Principles’
(ICP), by IFLA Cataloguing Section and IFLA Meetings of Experts (IME) on an International
Cataloguing Code (ICC) with the latest version is 2016 edition with minor revisions 2017.

IME ICC: International Cataloguing Principles – 2009

The Paris Principles, which was developed at the International Conference on Cataloguing
Principles (ICCP), held in 1961 in Paris, dealt with the choice and form of entry in the author and title
catalog. It is the most relevant theoretical reference framework that was taken as the basis for the codes
developed worldwide from the mid-sixties, beginning with the 1967 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules
(AACR). Later, many authoritative scholars suggested calling an international meeting to critically re-
examine the Paris Principles and to broaden its scope to today’s several cataloguing issues – the broader
bibliographic universe; the greater variety of types of resources; the changes brought about by automation
and informatics; the search modes and the languages used by readers who think and act globally; the need
to use of the same strategies to search online public access catalogs (OPACs); and the need for an
architecture built on shared rules. Five subsequent IFLA Meetings of Experts on an International
Cataloguing Code (IME ICC) were held and the ‘Statement of International Cataloguing Principles’ (ICP)
was published online in February 27, 2009. The first meeting was held in Frankfurt, Germany (July 2003);
the following ones in Buenos Aires, Argentina (August 2004); Cairo, Egypt (December 2005); Seoul,
South Korea (August 2006); and Pretoria, South Africa (August 2007). Barbara B. Tillett (chair), Ana
Lupe Cristán, Mauro Guerrini, Elena Escolano, and Jaesun Lee were permanent members of the IME ICC
Planning Committee. The analysis made clear the following points. The objectives of the new principles –
➔ should be formulated in clear expressions, easily understood and valid everywhere for all types
of resources; they should make it possible to work in the Web; and be consistent with other rules
for the description and access of resources.
➔ should be supported the relational structure of the catalog, and to address primarily the various
resources found in libraries and the electronic ones to which libraries provide access via the
Internet, or other connecting modes. The text also had to cover both descriptive and subject
cataloging, to pay great attention to authority records, and to deal not only with the collection of
one library but virtually with the collections of all libraries and including the features of digital
collections.

The international meetings saw the emergence of some basic issues; particularly the Western
(European and North American) approach to cataloging problems was fiercely criticized. A few examples
– the Western tradition indexes a work under its author’s name while the Eastern tradition gives
prominence to its title; in other parts of the world there are no official forms of name; in many cultures
family names are absent; different scripts are used (alphabetic, ideographic, etc.). All this implies different
treatments, and also different publishing traditions—for example, the absence of a real title page in many
Arabic and Eastern publications.
One of the really novel features of the ICP, “This statement replaces and broadens the scope of the
Paris Principles from just textual works to all types of materials and from just the choice and form of
entry to all aspects of bibliographic and authority data used in catalogues”. ICP is built on a highly
adaptable conceptual framework and has employed the tremendous diversity of the library and
information worlds, both physical and digital. As Paris Principles proposed, “In this Statement, the word
book should be taken to include other library materials having similar characteristics.” The term ‘book’
was to be understood in a broad sense and applied to other media, including any document that might be
found in the library, the ICP is certainly more accurate when it states that it deals with “all the
bibliographic resources”. The new principles meet the needs yet they are still imperfect, especially for the
theoretical analysis of the bibliographic description and for the subject indexing nearly absent from the
text. The Paris Principles which are still an indispensable landmark for cataloguing has a consistent and
balanced framework, therefore modifying that text would be very hard—perhaps impossible—without
impairing that balance. Thus the Introduction in the 2009 Statement of ICP states: “Now, at the beginning
of the 21st century, an effort has been made by IFLA to produce a new statement of principles that are
applicable to online library catalogues and beyond.”

Ref.:
Chaplin, A. H. (1963). International Conference on Cataloguing Principles I. Organization. Journal
of Documentation, 19(2), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026325
Creider, L. S. (2009). A comparison of the Paris Principles and the International Cataloguing Principles.
Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 47(6), 583-599.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01639370902946270

IFLA (2017). Statement of International Cataloguing Principles. Accessed on June 08, 2021, available
at https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/cataloguing/icp/icp_2016-en.pdf

IME ICC (2007). Statement of International Cataloguing Principles. Accessed on June 08, 2021,
available at https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/cataloguing/IMEICC/IMEICC1/imeicc-
statement_of_principles-2008.pdf

Ranganathan, S. R. (1962). International Conference on Cataloguing Principles, Paris, 9-18 october

1961 and its findings (Cataloguing problems 5). Annals of Library and Information Studies,
9(1), 15-38. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/28409