Martin Schrettinger

Martin Schrettinger (1772–1851) was a German Benedictine monk and librarian who advanced systematic library cataloging and helped define librarianship as a profession.

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Library catalog: An organized record of a library’s holdings, designed to help identify and locate materials. Schrettinger’s cataloging work sought to make collections systematically searchable.
Benedictine Order: A Catholic monastic order following the Rule of Saint Benedict, founded in the sixth century. Schrettinger entered the order before pursuing his library career.
Bibliography: The systematic description of books and other publications, including their authorship, editions, and publication details. Bibliographic description supplies the information that catalog entries organize.
Versuch eines vollständigen Lehrbuchs der Bibliothekwissenschaft: Martin Schrettinger’s early nineteenth-century work outlining a systematic science of library organization and practice. This treatise set out his program for treating library work as a coherent discipline.
Library classification: A method of organizing library materials into ordered categories based on subject or another scheme. His approach connected cataloging with the systematic arrangement of collections.
Benedictine Abbey of Metten: A Benedictine monastery in Bavaria, founded in the eighth century. Schrettinger served as a monk at Metten before moving into library work.
Metadata: Structured information that describes, identifies, or contextualizes other information resources. Cataloging is a library-specific practice of creating and organizing metadata.
Handbuch der Bibliothekwissenschaft: Martin Schrettinger’s handbook on library science, published in the nineteenth century. The handbook developed his practical guidance for organizing and managing collections.
Cataloging: The process of describing and organizing information resources so they can be identified and retrieved. Schrettinger’s work helped shape cataloging as a systematic library function.
Bavarian State Library: A major research library in Munich, founded in 1558 as the court library of the dukes of Bavaria. Schrettinger worked there, developing cataloging ideas in a large scholarly collection.