CARD INDEX. A method of filing which has the great and peculiar advantage of enabling a list of records to be kept in perfect alphabetical order even while its contents are increased or diminished.
Each name or subject is entered on a separate card, and the cards are arranged alphabetically in a suitable drawer or series of drawers. If a record becomes obsolete it is literally discarded. If a new record is needed, a fresh card is made out and placed in its proper alphabetical order. If and when the entire list grows beyond the filing cabinet's capacity, fresh drawers can be added. Thus, the untidy, unsightly and misleading character of a much amended book-list is avoided. The card system has been applied to bookkeeping. "Looseleaf ledgers" are now popular.
Within wide limits, the size of the cards may be varied to suit the needs of the records required. So simple is the arrangement that no particular inventiveness is needed to give it effect, but many sorts of appliances are sold for the convenience of different businesses. The system was extensively employed in the prepa ration of the ENCYCLOPIEDIA BRITANNICA.