“What’s a card catalog dad?”

My daughter just came in from school today (She’s a freshman in high school), and asked me about a lesson they had in reading today.  It was about the card catalog system.

I tried my best to explain to her what it was and how I used to use it doing my research in High School and College, and how I in fact still use it in the College of Law.  When she asked me how it looked like and what was written on it, I replied – “Google it.”

After a few moments, I quickly realized how the card catalog system has seemingly become obsolete, especially for this generation, because today google has all the answers.  Even parents like me, who grew up and went through school without google, would so easily refer to it and unwittingly teach our children to simply do the same.

I remember to have played games in school using the card catalog – a sort of treasure hunt facilitated by our teachers – where at the end of it all, after finding book after book, you find a reward, usually a piece of paper saying you get bonus points.  I’m not sure my daughter would still want to play this game or whether or not this game is still ever played in schools, but I hope, despite yahoo!, ask.com, google, and infinite other search engines, the card catalog survives.  After all, despite technology and its advances, nothing beats holding a good book in your hands and reading it.