Exact references

The British Library’s interim catalogue is a starting point for Punjab research. Record a shelfmark and distinguish a catalogue description from the document itself.[1]

Read a map record as a dated object

The record for Punjab, IOR/X/12101, provides a concrete example. It describes a topographical map centred on Lahore, with two sheets joined together and dates that may differ between them. The catalogue gives a range from 1915 to 1923 and a scale of 1:1,000,000. Its physical description also notes manuscript additions in pencil. Those fields prompt useful questions about different layers of information. They do not establish that every feature was surveyed in one year, or that the mapped area matches a present administrative Punjab.[2]

When consulting this map, distinguish the printed surface from later annotations. The description identifies blue-pencil additions on the front and lead-pencil additions on the reverse. Recording which side carries a note would preserve information that a title-only citation loses. The catalogue can guide that investigation, while interpreting the marks requires the actual sheet.[2]

Separate an edition from the events it covers

A different reference, IOR/V/27/47/3, identifies a volume of political diaries associated with the Agent to the Governor-General and Resident at Lahore. The title specifies coverage from 1 January 1847 to 4 March 1848, while the publication is an Allahabad printing by the Pioneer Press in 1909. The catalogue places it within official publications and the Punjab record-publication series. Keeping both sets of dates prevents a later printed edition from being cited as a book published during the events. The volume’s actual selection and editorial apparatus still require examination.[3]

The record identifies one English-language volume and supplies a hierarchy from official publications through monographs to the Punjab series. Retain both the item shelfmark and the edition details when following that hierarchy. They allow another reader to identify the particular publication. They do not disclose whether its editors printed every surviving diary entry or explain any omissions.[3]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. The British Library. Search the catalogues and request items: Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue ↗Inspected institutional catalogue or access documentation · Source date: Guide last updated 2026-10-16; not a claimed first-publication date · Locator: Actual Introduction, Do I need to log in?, What is cataloguing?, access and hierarchy paragraphs. Accessed 2026-11-01.Complete actual guide body read. Its October 2023 catalogue snapshot and public-search/Reader-Pass distinction are retained. Current access is a dated check, not a guarantee of future availability.Return to Exact references, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. The British Library. Punjab, IOR/X/12101; catalogue record 040-004313251 ↗Inspected institutional catalogue or access documentation · Source date: Current institutional page; original publication date not established · Locator: Actual shelfmark, Scope & Content, date range, scale and physical-characteristics fields. Accessed 2026-11-01.Actual full catalogue record read. The described two joined sheets/date differences remain explicit. The map itself was not inspected, downloaded or used to infer a modern boundary. Catalogue date ranges are not treated as a uniform survey date.Return to Read a map record as a dated object, paragraph 1 ↑Return to Read a map record as a dated object, paragraph 2 ↑
  3. The British Library. Political diaries, Punjab Government Records Vol.3, IOR/V/27/47/3; record 040-000144504 ↗Inspected institutional catalogue or access documentation · Source date: Current institutional page; original publication date not established · Locator: Actual official public JSON record: title_tsi, reference_ssi, ancestor_title_ssm, extent_tsi and date_range_tsi; linked metadata endpoint/catalog/040-000144504.json. Accessed 2026-11-01.The official public JSON catalogue record was inspected. Only metadata was read; the 1909 volume and original 1847–48 diaries were not examined. HTML, JSON and persistent identifier versions share one work.Return to Separate an edition from the events it covers, paragraph 1 ↑Return to Separate an edition from the events it covers, paragraph 2 ↑
Help improve this entry. Suggest a correction with a source.
Record PH-COL-0030 · English edition · human review not performed