Catalog Cards

 There was always something relaxing and satisfying about working with a paper card catalog. The nice little sound as you shuffled through the cards. The unexpectedly interesting topics found along the way to card you needed. 

I loved typing out the cards and getting the spacing of everything just right. I liked filing the cards.

The downside to these catalogs was that some people had no pen and paper or didn’t care to use them to find their book on the shelf. They just pulled the card out of the drawer and took it to the shelf. Perhaps the card became a bookmark next, because I don’t recall seeing any cards lying around in the stacks.

Also, I once volunteered evenings at a mental health facility, doing some cataloging, making new cards, and trying to keep the card files in order. A customer, fully known to staff, would spend quite a bit of time in the catalog drawers mixing cards around. They liked to do the same with books on the shelf. Discouraging!