Walked into a library that still uses card catalogs and felt weirdly at peace

I stopped by the main branch in Portland last weekend and there was this old wooden cabinet with actual index cards still in it. Does anyone else think we lost something when we swapped those out for digital search?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlescraig2d ago

Nah, the digital search is way better for actually finding stuff. But I get what you mean about the vibe.

nancyn692d ago

Hard disagree tbh. Digital search is great if you already know exactly what you want, but it kills the whole browsing experience. Like when I go to a record store, I find stuff I never would have looked up online because the cover art catches my eye or it's next to something else I like. The algorithm just keeps showing you the same stuff over and over based on your last clicks. Physical browsing has that random magic that search engines can't replicate.

murphy.aaron2d ago

@nancyn69 nailed it with the record store comparison. Physical browsing has that accidental discovery thing digital just can't touch.

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