The card catalog for the University of Virginia’s Alderman Library was once the only way to find needed books. Over four million cards cataloged each book’s location and from where it was donated.

Men working at linotype machines in the Card Division Printing Office of the Library of Congress (c. 1900-1920), from The Card Catalog: Books, Cards and Literary Treasures by the Library of Congress, ...

Imagine you wanted to find books or journal articles on a particular subject. Or find manuscripts by a particular author. Or locate serials, music or maps. You would use a library catalog that ...

As National Library Week begins — it runs from April 9–15 this year — the Library of Congress looks back at the ancestor of the card catalog, in this excerpt from The Card Catalog: Books, Cards, and ...

If you do a Google search for "card catalog" it will likely return Pinterest-worthy images of antique furniture for sale — boxy, wooden cabinets with tiny drawers, great for storing knick-knacks, ...