How to Use a Card Catalog

The French revolutionary government created the first library card catalog in 1791 when it confiscated the books from religious institutions and created a public library system. It was called the "French Cataloging Code of 1791" and used the back of playing cards to record the books' bibliographic information. Since then, card catalogs have evolved to sophisticated online search systems. They still offer you the option of searching by author and title, but they also let you expand your search parameters when you're not sure what you're looking for.

Instructions

1. Search for items using a computer terminal at your library or an Internet link from the library's website. On the screen, enter the work's title in the search box next to the title option. The library's card catalog system will return any titles that match yours. You can also use a partial title. The system will display a list of works with names that match the words you input.

2. Type the author's last name in the search box. If you know the author's complete name, narrow your search by typing the last name followed by a comma then the person's first name.

3. Type in a subject. If you're searching for any work on a specific topic, type it in the search box. The system will sort the subject into subcategories to help you focus your search.
   For instance, type "bread," and a new window may show you "bread dough craft," "bread--juvenile literature," "bread--religious aspects" and so on. Select the category that best describes your need.

4. Use keywords. Similar to a subject search, a keyword search gives you a list of all the works under a specific subject. However, the results will not be sorted into subcategories but displayed as a simple list of what's available on that issue.

5. Search for a series. If you're looking for an entire book series, for instance, enter its name in the search box next to "series" and a new window will display all the books in that series.

6. Look by call number. If you have the call number of a book but don't remember its author or name, enter it in the card catalog search box. The system will bring up the bibliographic information for the work filed under that call number.

7. Do an advanced search. This feature allows you to combine up to three keywords linked by "and," "or" and "near." For instance, combine "bread" and "recipes" and "Europe" to look for European bread recipes.

   In advanced search, you can also select the type of material the card catalog will display. For instance, some of the options could be "visual media," "books," periodicals" and "music."

References

• The Library History Buff: Evolution of the Library Card Catalog