The Card Catalog

October 1, 2017

Beautifully designed and executed, this work by the Library of Congress examines cross-sections of several histories: of the library itself; of the science of cataloging, from cuneiform tablets and bound bibliographies to automated card production and, ultimately, the card's replacement by machine-readable formats; and the cards themselves as aesthetic objects. Interspersed throughout the text are images to delight book lovers--covers and title pages of classics from Shakespeare's First Folio to The Joy of Cooking, often first editions from the library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division, with their accompanying cards. These are wonderful eye candy but also, on close reading, fascinating records of the cataloging process, complete with revisions, corrections, marginalia, and name changes. This volume is particularly strong on the politics of cataloging within the library, from Thomas Jefferson's original collection (geography titles were listed north to south) to early Librarians of Congress's resistance to involvement in cooperative library activities to the library's explorations of early computer systems and eventual adoption of MARC; the catalog was officially "frozen" in 1980. VERDICT Knowledgeable but not dry, this visually appealing offering will please most bibliophiles and library lovers.--Lisa Peet, Library Journal

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2017
Even those library patrons who remember card catalogs will be amazed to learn of the fascinating story behind the creation of these sturdy oak cabinets and the printed three-by-five-inch cards that were contained in them. Peter Devereaux, writer-editor for the Library of Congress, praises the card catalog as one of the most versatile and durable technologies in history in this lively, superbly well-curated, and handsomely illustrated celebratory volume, graced with a foreword by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. A vivid history of the Library of Congress reveals the chaos of its ever-increasing collection and the inadequacy of its bound catalog during most of the 1800s. After much debate, the library embraced the card catalog along with a revolutionary approach to classification developed by Melville Dewey in the 1870s. Under the direction of Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam, the Library Bureau began manufacturing card catalogs and printing cards to supply libraries across the country. By the 1960s, the Library of Congress' card catalog ran to more than nine million cards crammed into 10,500 trays. Enter computer programmer Henriette D. Avram, who devised the first automated cataloging system in the world, machine-readable cataloging, or MARC. More than 200 images from the Library of Congress' priceless holdings fill this enlightening volume, including page spreads pairing first editions of such classic works as Little Women and Invisible Man with their original catalog cards, handwritten notes and all. An irresistible treasury for book and library lovers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)