Just think: there used to be an entire industry devoted to building these specific types of card catalog drawer cabinets. Kinda makes you wonder if there are abandoned factories with all the necessary tools in place to build more.
@dreyfusslugado There was a period around 2000-2005 when I was still renting when lots of these (and Globe Wernicke glass-fronted legal bookshelves) were available on eBay, too.
@dreyfusslugado
I worked at OCLC for 23 years. We printed the catalog cards and shipped them to libraries. You’d think i’d have some connection that could hook me up with one of those beauties.
Fun fact: I programmed a Catalog Card word processor for an Apple II hooked up to a daisy wheel typewriter AFTER I promised to never work in computers again.
I really like it, but I do wonder why the cabinet is concave. That is much more complicated and expensive to make. There must be a good reason for this, other that visually pleasing and less monotonous.
Is the library in a giant round building?
The card catalog had its drawbacks, but it worked. It was far better for browsing a topic than any UI I have ever seen, too. I think it was the writer Nicholas Baker, in an article defending the card catalog and railing against computerized catalogs, who pointed out how much better it is for researching authors whose names are not standardized in English (like Doestevsky) - all the variants are right near each other, and you can see the ones that you did not even know about. I suppose replacement by databases and search engines was inevitable. But it was a brilliant pre-electronic technology, and it should command respect.
@thelonius I was a librarian in accessioning and cataloging for a few years. Even the master librarian would punt and say "at least the cards will be close"
I worked at OCLC for 23 years. We printed the catalog cards and shipped them to libraries. You’d think i’d have some connection that could hook me up with one of those beauties.
Is the library in a giant round building?