Carved in the nave of Sterling Memorial Library are 10 commeorative reliefs depicting scenes from the history of Yale's library. Martha Conway, catalog management librarian, holds a photograph of the model used for one of those carvings, titled "The First Catalogue, by President Clap." (The Reverend Thomas Clap was Yale's first president.) The photograph is part of the "This Old Catalog" exhibit.

Exhibit traces the history and evolution of Yale library catalogs

In his introduction to "The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library: A Guide to the Collections," Ralph Franklin wrote "to the making of catalogs there is no end." Indeed, Yale's librarians have been making catalogs for more than 250 years, with no end in sight -- as illustrated in the exhibit "This Old Catalog," which was recently installed in Sterling Memorial Library. "This Old Catalog" depicts the history of the Yale Library catalog from 1742, when the first catalog was created, through 2002, when most of the activity associated with the library's current retrospective conversion undertaking will be complete. (See related story) The focus of the exhibit is the physical format of the catalog and the influences that shaped its evolution from a "rather loose," handwritten listing of about 2,600 volumes to a dynamic, interactive database that in a few years will contain well over 6 million records. As "This Old Catalog" shows, technology has always played a decisive role in determining both the form and the function of the library catalog, especially since the turn of the century. The traditional purpose of a library catalog is to provide readers with the location of a particular item in a given collection. Although that purpose still holds, new purposes abound in today's increasingly electronic and highly networked environment. In many of today's catalogs, including Yale's, the reader is led from a bibliographic record describing a particular item to the actual item itself, which may or may not reside in the library's collection. This transformation of the purpose of the library catalog reflects its ability to integrate the old with the new and to put information in the hands of the reader. "This Old Catalog" will be on display through the end of October in the Sterling Memorial Library, 120 High St. -- By Martha Conway T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S University Library begins major expansion of its Orbis database 'Communications mogul John Malone offers advice to students: 'Be willing to take risks' Nursing School venture will help elderly residents to stay healthy Shalala stresses importance of keeping Medicare healthy Pataki applauds virtues of 'compassionate conservatism' Serving society must be a central goal for universities, says Rodin Edelman recalls mentors at Yale and elsewhere in new book Student seeks to raise awareness about scoliosis through book City and Yale managers learn new leadership skills in joint program 'Mesmerizing' drama about marital infidelity opens at the Rep Drama School stages German play that has been likened to 'Hamlet' Scientists' test screens for a newly discovered tick-borne disease The 'amazing' human eye is the focus of the 'VISION' exhibit Yale center testing drug to prevent cancer-causing infection New test offered at Yale identifies women at risk for cervical cancer Enhancements to Orbis-on-the-Web make it faster, more detailed Exhibit traces the history and evolution of Yale library catalogs Health students will describe their research overseas Divinity School fellowships honor individuals' work for social justice Campaign aims to reduce bike thefts Engineering program honors John Malone and Robert Grober Meeting to focus on libraries' future renovations Union meetings for United Way . . . In the News . . . Campus Notes Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus| Calendar of Events|Bulletin Board Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page