A review by jennifermreads
The Card Catalog: Books, Cards, and Literary Treasures (Gifts for Book Lovers, Gifts for Librarians, Book Club Gift) by Peter Devereaux, Library of Congress, Carla Hayden

4.0

"A library without a catalog is as a ship without a rudder." -- 1897 Report of the Librarian

A fascinating, brief volume on the origins of the card catalogue, cataloguing itself, and the Library of Congress. Each chapter contained six-to-twelve pages of prose followed by a varied number of double-page spreads highlighting collection pieces with their corresponding catalogue cards.

While the history was intriguing and presented in a readable-not-textbook format, I was disappointed that no context was given as to the inclusion of the selected images & cards. They seemed to have been picked at random and were included without explanation as to the notations on the cards. Yes, some images did have additional information given in the captions. But any additional information did not connect the image to the preceding chapter nor offer insight as to the contents on the card itself.

But, despite the lack of context for the images, this is a book-with-books. So have your reading list handy because you will surely be reminded of a classic you have long meant to read—or learn of one you had not heard of. For me, I was reminded I have not yet read [b:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn|14891|A Tree Grows in Brooklyn|Betty Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883484l/14891._SY75_.jpg|833257] and I had not heard of [b:The Member of the Wedding|330244|The Member of the Wedding|Carson McCullers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403187223l/330244._SY75_.jpg|604941], [b:The Slant Book|2058305|The Slant Book (Peter Newell Children's Books)|Peter Newell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364139372l/2058305._SY75_.jpg|2063484], or [b:The Fire Next Time|464260|The Fire Next Time|James Baldwin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657560861l/464260._SY75_.jpg|1129041], all of which I immediately put on hold at my local library.