WHAT IS THE CARD WHAT IS THE CARD CATALOG?CATALOG?

The original purpose of the card catalog was to provide library users with multiple ways to search for books. Before the advent of automation, each card was written in what was called "library hand," then filed manually in drawers.

IT IS THE INDEX TO THE COLLECTION OF THE LIBRARY. IT CONTAINS CARDS ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED. THERE ARE LABELS OUTSIDE THE TRAYS TO ASSIST THE USER IN LOCATING THE BOOK HE OR SHE NEEDS. CARDS SIZE “3X”5 ARE FILED IN THE CARD CATALOG TO GIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOKS. EACH CARD CONTAINS A CALL NUMBER WHICH APPEARS IN THE UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER TO IDENTIFY THE BOOK.

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In a Library, What Are the In a Library, What Are the Three Types of Cards in the Three Types of Cards in the

Card Catalog?Card Catalog?

|Library card catalogs use three types of cards. These form

a system that helps patrons locate a book on the shelf. The card types have listings by author, subject or title.

The system was created to assist people who may not be sure of all of the information about a book. Information on

the card corresponds with where the book is located.

Author card catalogAuthor card catalog

Author cards in the catalog are fairly straightforward, listing the author alphabetically by last name. Authors of similar name can be differentiated by a middle initial or by their birth and death dates. If a book has multiple authors, the card catalog will give each of them their own author card with their co-authors listed, so that if readers know just one author they can still find the book. Authors using pen names will often have a "See Also" card under that name directing readers to the full listing elsewhere.

Title Card CatalogTitle Card Catalog

The title cards are filed alphabetically by the title of a book, not counting the article (The, A, An, etc.). In the card catalog, title cards are listed after author and subject cards when all start with the same word. Title cards will also contain the subtitle of the book. Like author and subject cards, title cards will contain the publishing date and number of pages.

Subject Card CatalogSubject Card Catalog

Subject listings in the card catalog are most helpful for a reader who isn't in search of a specific book, but would rather see all the books under a certain topic. All card catalogs list subjects and subdivisions of subjects based on criteria created by The Library of Congress. Subject cards will begin with the broadest topic (i.e., Literature) and then become more specific and subdivided (i.e., Literature-American; Literature, American, 1900-1945).