The Card CatalogThe index to the collections of books in the Library is the card catalog. It consists of trays of alphabetically arranged three by five inch card listing the books and materials in the Library with such information as title, author, subject, place and date of publication, publisher, physical appearance, special features, and call number. A guide label on the outside of each catalog tray indicates the part of the alphabet it contains. The letters serve as an index to all the cards in that particular tray.

Kinds of Catalog CardsFor each book in an average library, the

card catalog contains three (3) entries :

An Author card A Title Card A Subject Card

This three(3) entry system enables you to locate a book by looking under its author, title, or subject.

Kinds of Cards Author Card

It contains: the author’s complete name on the first

line, surname first, which may be followed by

the date of his birth and death if he is no

longer.

P 90 Harms, Leroy Stanley .H2 Human Communication : The New Fundamentals, New York: Harper &

Row, 1984. XIV – 384 p. 24 cm.

the title of the book, and the subtitle. the edition, if it is not the first the translator or illustrator, if there is any ; the imprint which includes the publisher, the

place and date of publication; the collation composed of the number of pages, volume, illustrations, and the size of the book; the subjects with which the book deals; and the call number on the upper left-hand corner.

Title Card

The title card contains the same information as the author card except that the title of the book appears on the first line above the authors name. This is done for filing purposes to enable you to locate a book by the title as well as by the author. Generally a title entry is filed for a book which has a characteristic title.

Human Communication : The New Fundamentals P 90 Harms, Leroy Stanley Human Communication : The New Fundamentals, New York: Harper &

Row, 1984. XIV – 384 p. 24 cm.

The title cards are arranged in the catalog drawers alphabetically according to the first word of the title. However, the articles A, An, and The are disregarded in filing. The abbreviations Dr., Mr., Mrs., are alphabetized as if spelled out in full as Doctors, Mister, and Mistress. Titles beginning with numbers are filed as though the numbers were spelled out as One Thousand One. But initials standing for names of organizations are generally filed as initials.

The subject card contains the same information as the author and title cards. The only difference is that the subject with which the book deals appears on the first line.

Subject Card

Communication P 90 Harms, Leroy Stanley Human Communication : The New Fundamentals, New York: Harper &

Row, 1984. XIV – 384 p. 24 cm.

DIAGRAM

Y

N Y

N Y

N

Y

N

Start

Look upAuthor Card

Look up the

title Card

Look upSubject

Card

Is Author card

found?

Is Author card

found?

Is Subject

card found?

Try to ask the

librarian or library staff

Make a complete note of the ff.

Call number Author’s Name Title of the

book

Consult on the OPAC

Can you find the book on

the shelf?

Proceed to the

Circulation Desk

End

“Strive for excellence not

Perfection”

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

Thank you very muchAnd

WELCOME

Prepared by

Ms. Leth Lubao