Making Art From Old Catalogue Cards

Some people at the University of Iowa Libraries have put the cards from their old catalogue to very imaginative use (in particular, check out the Gallery section of the site):

"The cARTalog grows from the empty drawers of the University of Iowa Libraries' main card catalog, which was retired in 2004. A small community of library staff-motivated by both nostalgia and library subculture -- has come together to give the card catalog cards themselves a rebirth, in order to celebrate the role of this honorific icon within the world of libraries as well as the UI Libraries' sesquicentennial. Project organizers were able to salvage approximately only one quarter of the UI's card catalog for the cARTalog project; the remaining cards were hauled away to recycling. The UI Libraries is only one of several libraries that have sought to honor the waning card catalog with a lasting monument or ceremony".

"The active members of cARTalog are organizing larger scale projects, including:

• cardART in the schools (Iowa City community school district)
• Mail Art projects
• an exhibition of cARTalog projects at the UI Libraries
• permanent card catalog art installation
• a web page documenting the history of card catalogs and the cARTalog project"