The Death of the Card Catalog?
I was working on a blog post when a friend in Facebook made a post to reminisce about going to the library to do research. This led me to do the same and fondly remembered the Card Catalog. When I mentioned it to my son, he gave me a look that probably meant “You’re talking alien, mom” … and that gave me the shock of the night. Has the Card Catalog become obsolete?
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved reading and doing research. In school, my borrower’s card was well used that by the end of the year, I’d have used up at least 2 borrower’s cards. This is what a borrower’s card looked like back then. Note: This is not my borrower’s card. It’s from a librarian blogger. Oh, how I wish I’ve kept mine. (photo from http://lovealibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-first-library-card.html)
One of the joys about going to the library for research was having to browse the Card Catalog. Usually situated at the front part of the library, these big multi-drawer cabinets held the key to finding a particular book in the library.
Photo from http://www.ncgenealogy.org
Books in the library can be found through first searching the card catalog either by author, by title, by subject or by category. This was what a card entry looked like. The punched hole in the card is for the rod that goes through the stack of cards in each drawer to secure them together. The cards are not to be taken out of the drawers.
Photo from http://www.libraryhistorybuff.com
You would then copy the symbols on the left (Dewey Decimal Classification) and then you can be off to the shelves to hunt for the book. It was a long process but I loved it.
Well, today the Card Catalog has been replaced by the Online Public Access Catalog, commonly referred to as OPAC. Okay, they run much faster and more efficient, but still, they look nowhere handsome than the wooden card catalog cabinets.
Photo from http://www.tip.edu.ph
I hope I can find an old, well-built one to use at home, just like how others have restored it.
Photo from http://bytesandbobbins.racheldewing.com/?p=37
They would make great storage for many of my things and they will make me always remember my joyful days in the library.
So long, Card Catalog… I hope to say to you soon, “welcome home.”