How do I organize a home library card catalog

To organize a home library card catalog, pick one main filing order (author, subject or call number) and put that sorting key at the top left of every card. File the cards in that order behind labeled guide cards, and keep the box near your shelves so adding and pulling cards takes seconds.

What should the sorting key be?

Whatever you put in the top left corner decides where a card goes. Libraries call it the heading or the call number. In Card Catalog Generator it is the Entry / Call Number field, and it prints exactly as you type it.

• By author: type the author's surname, or a short code like "AUS" for Austen. Simple, and it matches how most people remember books.
• By subject: use Dewey numbers such as 641.5 for cookbooks or 813 for American fiction. With Dewey selected, the generator's "Look up book details" button suggests a rough starting number from the book's category plus the first three letters of the author's surname, which you can edit.
• By your own system: choose Custom / Your Own System and use codes that make sense in your house, like "LR-3" for the living room's third shelf.

Choose one and stick with it. A box that mixes author cards with subject cards is hard to search.

How do librarians file cards?

A few old filing rules make a home catalog much easier to use.

• Skip "A", "An" and "The" at the start of a title. The Hobbit files under H.
• File numbers before letters, and compare decimals digit by digit, so 641.5 comes before 641.59 and both come before 642.
• Treat "Mc" and "Mac" the same way every time. Pick one rule and write it on a note in the front of the box.
• Surname first, then first name. The generator's Author field already expects "Last, First".

Where do guide cards go?

Guide cards are the taller tabbed cards that stick up between sections. Put one at each letter of the alphabet, or at each hundred in Dewey (000, 100, 200 and so on), or at each room or genre in a custom system. Leave a little slack in the drawer. Packed cards are hard to flip through and the edges wear quickly.

How do I keep it up to date?

Make a card the day a book comes home, before it reaches a shelf. When you lend a book, pencil the borrower's name and the date on the back of its card, and turn the card sideways in the drawer so it stands out. Once or twice a year, walk the shelves with the box and pull any card whose book is gone. The person behind this site keeps her own home library on printed catalog cards, and a small habit like this is what stops a box from drifting away from the shelves.

FAQ

Should I make more than one card per book?

Libraries made separate author, title and subject cards. At home, one card filed by your main key is usually enough. Add a second card only for books you often look up a different way.

How many cards fit in a drawer?

It depends on the drawer and the card stock, so test with a stack of blank cards. Leave a finger's width of room at the back.

Do I need a digital backup?

It is optional. A phone photo of each drawer every few months is a quick safety net if you ever lose the box.