Création d'un répertoire bibliographique universel : Conférence Bibliographique Internationale, 1895, publication no. 1

In the late nineteenth century, scholars across Europe were grappling with the practical challenges of tracking the ever‑growing body of published knowledge. This report, prepared for the International Bibliographic Conference in Brussels, lays out a systematic plan for a universal bibliographic directory that could serve every discipline—from law and economics to philology and literature. It describes the work of the newly founded International Office of Bibliography, which has already catalogued nearly half a million entries using a method praised for its accuracy.

The authors outline eight essential criteria for the proposed directory, emphasizing completeness, dual alphabetical and subject indexing, affordability, and the ability to update and correct information easily. They also argue for multiple copies to be widely distributed, integration with library location inventories, and the potential to support emerging statistical studies of intellectual output. Readers will gain a clear sense of the ambitious vision that shaped early efforts to organize global scholarship.