(In which we continue to extract text from Theodore Graebner’s The Pastor as Student and Literary Worker.)

“The commonplace book may vary in size according to the purpose which it is to serve. Any note-book will do if the literary task is limited to a single object. … Since, however, the preacher and theologian does a great amount of reading which has no immediate objective; and since it is impossible even for the best memory to retain the vast array of facts and data that, in the course of systematic reading, pass through consciousness; and since not only the facts but the sources and authorities from which they are derived are frequently of the highest importance,–it is an absolute requisite of fruitful reading that significant data be retained by means of some mechanical device. And the mechanical device which will serve every literary purpose, whatever it may be, is the commonplace book. … Its single purpose is that of serving as a repository of facts which, though we have no present intention of embodying them in a paper, essay, etc., yet appear worthy of preservation in such a form that they will be available whenever the occasion arises.” (pages 98-99)

So, what’s the process? Graebner explains his well-thought-out technique:

“Get a large blank-book bound in stout boards. It may have its pages lined, if the owner so prefers. On the title-page write: ‘Excerpts A,’ or any other title which will render easy later references to it in your Index Rerum [index of things]. Write only on the right hand pages, leaving each opposite page blank. What shall go into this book? Anything that occurs to you as possessing such value that you can imagine some future necessity of reference to it.” (page 99)

A little later he describes the book this way: “A common-place book should not be too small, nor, again, too bulky. A volume of one to two hundred pages, about 8×10 inches in size, will prove most convenient. Needless to say, the paper should be good enough to permit the use of pen and ink.” (page 100)

“Take the time to copy out the portions that are of value, writing at the head the complete title of the book, and opposite each extract the page on which it is found.” (page 100) Copy them out of whatever resource, book, article, and so on is at hand. Copy these extracts out in whatever order you read them.

It’s notable that Graebner directs his readers to use their commonplace books to extract information from books that they do not own. This is for books you borrow from a library, a friend, a co-worker. If the book is on your own shelf, if the journal article is in your own filing cabinet, you don’t need to spend the time copying it out. How then do you capture information from your own books? You use your “Index Rerum.” Let Graebner explain:

“All lines of literary endeavor meet in the Index Rerum. Proper indexing alone preserves for future usefulness the results of study and research. What the most powerful mind is unable to do,–to record the data of any department of knowledge and their sources,–the Index Rerum will do, and do it unfailingly.” (page 122)

“Our object must be to index every volume to which we have devoted study, and to index it with a minimum expenditure of time and energy. The most practical method is not that of continuous indexing. By this I mean the making of entries during the reading of a book.” (page 124)

He then goes on to discuss the comparative advantages of using a card index or a blank book. Using a blank book as your Index Rerum of course means that it’s impossible to interfile terms in absolute alphabetical order, but Graebner assumes that it won’t be a heavy time burden to scan down a page of references – such as: Grace; Gospel; God, Attributes of; Government; Greed; Grief; Glory; … to find where you’ve indexed the concept of Gentleness.

So even though Graebner comes down on the side of a blank book over a card index, he allows as how if he were starting over he would use a looseleaf notebook as a way to combine the advantages of both systems while overcoming many disadvantages of either.

Here’s how it would work in a looseleaf notebook. Write the subject word at the top of a page. Under it enter the brief reference to either your commonplace book volume and page number (for extracts from books and pamphlets you don’t own), or the book title and page number (for items you own). The big advantages of the looseleaf notebook are that you can get your index terms in strict alphabetical order, and that you don’t have unused pages wasting space.