Letters: Card Catalog Adventures

“Farewell Cards” in the Summer 2012 On Wisconsin was funny, informative, and poignant. As a UW student in the late ’80s, I now realize how lucky I was to get in on the final years of the card catalog system. I have wonderful memories of prowling the musty floors of Memorial Library, searching out odd and esoteric tomes in the stacks, and settling in some cool, half-lit cubby to read.

The card catalog was always the first stop on these “adventures.” Rows of apothecary drawers awaited, their tiny brass handles well worn by generations of students before me, packed with obscure, coded clues to follow — step by step — to some hidden text filled with arcane knowledge.

Chris Wadsworth ’91 Ashburn, Virginia

Published in the Fall 2012 issue