The Goethals Nomenclators
Archbishop Paul Goethals' Original Library Catalogues
Among the most remarkable treasures preserved by the Goethals Indian Library & Research Society (GILRS) are the original handwritten and printed Nomenclators compiled by Archbishop Paul Goethals, S.J., founder of the Goethals Collection and the first Archbishop of Calcutta.
Long before the library evolved into the institutional research collection it is today, it began as the personal working library of Archbishop Goethals. Comprising more than 6,000 carefully chosen volumes, it reflected decades of scholarship, intellectual curiosity, and sustained engagement with the languages, religions, history, cultures, philosophies, and sciences of India and the wider world.
The Nomenclators presented here are the original catalogues through which Archbishop Goethals organised this extraordinary collection. Far more than simple inventories, they constitute the intellectual blueprint of his library. Every heading, classification, and subject division reveals the principles by which he organised knowledge, offering a rare glimpse into the scholarly mind of the man who laid the foundations of one of India's most distinguished Jesuit research libraries.
Did You Know?
Archbishop Goethals devised the classification system of these Nomenclators himself. More than a century later, they still allow scholars to reconstruct the original organisation of his personal library exactly as he conceived it — making them an invaluable source for the history of scholarship, librarianship, and intellectual culture in colonial India.
Enduring Digital Vision
Through the digitisation of these Nomenclators, the GILRS preserves not merely a catalogue of books, but the intellectual vision of its founder. They stand today as enduring witnesses to a lifetime devoted to scholarship, the pursuit of knowledge, and the service of learning.
Reproduced from the original Goethals Nomenclators preserved by the Goethals Indian Library & Research Society, St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata.
Available solely for research, teaching, and private educational study. Commercial reproduction requires express written permission.
Goethals Nomenclators. Goethals Indian Library & Research Society, St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata. Digitised Edition.