Thai romanization question (fwd)

[Yuphaphann Hoonchamlong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 11:48:11 +0200
From: michael farris <maf at amu.edu.pl>
To: gil at eva.mpg.de
Cc: Yuphaphann Hoonchamlong <yui at alpha.tu.ac.th>, sealteach at nectec.or.th
Subject: Thai romanization question


Hello,

The Institute of Linguistics of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland
began a small-scale Thai language program this last academic year. We also
recently received a very generous gift of materials including many books in
Thai and are wondering how to catalogue them.
The usual procedure in our library is to catalogue books not written in
Polish in their original language (without translations). If a language does
not use the Roman alphabet, then a system of romanization is used.
So, is there any particular system of romanization favored by librarians?
Our Thai lecturer made a preliminary list of some of the materials but he
didn't seem to be using a consistent system. He also won't be available for
further consultation and our next Thai lecturer won't arrive before October
(by which time we were hoping to get a lot of the materials already
catalogued). I'm pretty familiar with the Thai alphabet so I can do some of
the work but am wondering if there is any particular system in wide use or
if it's catch as catch can.
Also, I understand that personal names are more important than family names
in Thailand. Are items catalogued by personal or family names in Thailand
and how are they catalogued outside of Thailand?

Thanks in advance for any help.

-mike farris