card catalogue etymology

Etymology and Meaning

The term "card catalogue" derives from two Latin words:

• Carta: Meaning "paper" or "papyrus"
• Catalogus: Meaning "list" or "register"

Hence, a "card catalogue" literally means a "list on cards."

Origin

The concept of a card catalogue emerged in the late 18th century as a way to organize large collections of books and other library materials. Prior to this, libraries typically used handwritten or printed lists or registers to keep track of their holdings.

One of the earliest known card catalogues was developed by the French author and historian Antoine Court de Gébelin in 1775. Gébelin's system used cards to represent individual books and allowed for easy sorting and searching by author, title, or subject.

In the early 19th century, card catalogues became widely adopted by libraries throughout Europe and North America. They offered several advantages over traditional lists:

• Flexibility: They could be easily added to or rearranged as the library's collection grew.
• Accessibility: Multiple copies of the catalogue could be placed throughout the library, making it easy for patrons to search the collection.
• Usability: The use of standardized catalogue cards made it easy to find and retrieve information quickly and efficiently.

Card catalogues remained the primary method of organizing library collections for over a century. However, with the advent of computerized library systems in the late 20th century, card catalogues have gradually been replaced by electronic databases and online search tools.

card catalogue relate terms

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  Etymology The word card derives from the Latin word charta which originally meant

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