Walking through the main library a few days ago we saw this relic...the card catalogue. It is being used for a very cool community project in the teen reading area. Kids are encouraged to use the old cards to write messages or create collages and then to re-file them. The funny thing is most of the kids have never used a real card catalogue. But I remember very clearly the annual tour at our school library teaching us how to use the card catalogue and a lesson on the Dewey decimal sytem. I remember long hours during my college days thumbing through cards and wandering through the stacks. It was such a tactile process...the feel of the cards, the smell of the cards, the little stubby pencils. Don't get me wrong. The current process of searching on-line, placing holds on-line, cross referencing...it is very nice and very convenient. But my sentimental side misses the card catalogue.
Cards from the past
November 10, 2007
Walking through the main library a few days ago we saw this relic...the card catalogue. It is being used for a very cool community project in the teen reading area. Kids are encouraged to use the old cards to write messages or create collages and then to re-file them. The funny thing is most of the kids have never used a real card catalogue. But I remember very clearly the annual tour at our school library teaching us how to use the card catalogue and a lesson on the Dewey decimal sytem. I remember long hours during my college days thumbing through cards and wandering through the stacks. It was such a tactile process...the feel of the cards, the smell of the cards, the little stubby pencils. Don't get me wrong. The current process of searching on-line, placing holds on-line, cross referencing...it is very nice and very convenient. But my sentimental side misses the card catalogue.
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Okay, I love your blog. Can I tell you that? I had some serious flashbacks as I read this post. I have such fond memories of the card catalog in my public library. I remember the look and feel and smell of it. Too bad our kids will never have any sense of that.
Hi Lucia, this is Heather from The Nook. I finally took a minute to check out your blog, and I love it! I'm definitely going to have to be a frequent visitor. :)
What a neat way to use an old card catalog! I too remember the annual tour and training on the card catalog. I think for me the card catalog disappeared while I was in high school. Like so many other things (i.e. handwritten letters), we no longer have that tactile experience, but things are so much less time-consuming and easier nowadays (I can't imagine doing all the research I did in college without the aid of the internet!)
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