Preußische Instruktionen

The Preußische Instruktionen (abbreviated PI, German for 'Prussian Instructions') were a set of cataloging rules used in scientific libraries in German-speaking countries and, to some extent, abroad. First published in 1899, the PI were replaced by other sets of rules such as the Regeln für die alphabetische Katalogisierung (RAK) from the 1980s onwards, which in turn have been replaced by the Resource Description and Access (RDA) rules since 2015.

History

Already in 1874 (hectographed edition) and 1886 (printed edition), Karl Franz Otto Dziatzko of the University Library at Breslau had presented a set of cataloging rules under the title "Instruction für die Ordnung der Titel im Alphabetischen Zettelkatalog der Königlichen und Universitäts-Bibliothek zu Breslau", also known as "Breslauer Instructionen" (English: Breslau instructions). In there, the order of the titles was defined, but not the bibliographic recording.

In 1890, the Königliche Bibliothek in Berlin created "instructions" that regulated the admission but not the order of entries.

In 1899, a compromise arose from these two sets of instructions, resulting in the first uniform set of rules, the "Preußische Instruktionen" (PI). They were first published on 10 May 1899 under the title "Instruktionen für die alphabetischen Kataloge der preussischen Bibliotheken und für den preussischen Gesamtkatalog". Fritz Milkau, a later employee of Friedrich Althoff, played a decisive role in the creation of the PI. The second edition appeared in 1908. The PI formed the basis for the Preußischer Gesamtkatalog, the later Deutscher Gesamtkatalog (English: German General Catalog).

During their time, the PI were a major step forward in the German library landscape and they were occasionally adopted also outside of Prussia.