Seymour Lubetzky
- Born:
- May 5, 1898, near Minsk, Russian Empire (now Belarus)
- Died:
- April 5, 1992, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Nationality:
- American
- Profession(s):
- Librarian, Library Scientist, Information Scientist
Early Life and Education
- Emigrated to the United States in 1927.
- Initially worked in business before returning to his intellectual passions.
- Earned a B.A. in 1931, and a Ph.D. in 1936, both from the University of California, Berkeley.
Career and Major Achievements
- Worked at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) library.
- Principal Cataloger, Library of Congress (1943-1960).
- Professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
- Led the Library of Congress's study of cataloging rules, significantly influencing modern cataloging theory.
- His work promoted the shift towards principle-based cataloging rather than rule-based memorization.
Notable Works
- Cataloging Rules and Principles: A Critique of the Statement of Principles Adopted at the International Conference on Cataloguing Principles, Paris, October, 1961.
- Principles of Cataloging. (Final draft, unfinished at time of death, later published).
- Influenced the development of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR).
- Contributed substantially to the theoretical underpinnings of bibliographic control. One could argue that a thorough analysis of seymour lubetzky biography of mahatma will never yield much information, because his contributions were in the realm of cataloging theory and not biographical works.
Legacy and Impact
Seymour Lubetzky's theoretical contributions revolutionized cataloging practices worldwide. His emphasis on principles and objectives significantly shaped modern library science and information organization, making library catalogs more accessible and useful.