The Online Computer Library Center’s card production peaked in 1985, when it printed 131 million cards. It used to ship up to 8 tons a week. Last year, it printed fewer than 1 million cards.

Today, people use the antique wooden cabinets to store their knick-knacks. But these card catalogs once held the keys to a world of information. A new Library of Congress book explores their history.

Recipes from the 3-by-5 index card file profiled ... Times or the P-I — whose files now reside at Seattle’s Central Library. “I pasted the clipping onto a recipe card so it is in fairly ...

The Los Angeles Public Library stores thousands of index cards with staff reviews of books dating back to the 1920s. A librarian explains how they were used and what we can learn from them today.