Asked in Books and LiteratureDefinitionsLibraries and Library HistoryCard Games
What is a card catalog?
Answer

Wiki User
August 10, 2010 7:28PM
The definition is: A library catalog (or library catalogue) is a
register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of
libraries, such as a network of libraries at several
locations.
A card catalog is a list of the books in the library on 3x5 cards.
Each book is listed on one or more cards. A card has a listing for
Author, Title, and Subjects. The Cards are arranged alphabetically
in drawers. Someone had to alphabetize and file each card by hand.
In large university libraries several people would be doing this
work at once. This information is now on computers. In a few
seconds the computer alphabetizes and files the work that took
humans all day.