card catalog

Definition

A physical filing system using index cards to catalog library books and materials, organized alphabetically by author, title, and subject. Each card contained essential information like call numbers needed to locate books on the shelf.

Example Usage

Before computers, I had to search the card catalog at the library to find the call number for any book I wanted to check out.

Origin

Card catalogs emerged in libraries during the 19th century as a practical organizational system that proved more flexible than bound catalogs.

Fun Fact

The Library of Congress card catalog contained millions of cards and took up entire rooms; today library catalogs are fully digital, though some institutions have preserved historic card catalogs as artifacts.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

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