I’m old enough to remember card catalogues. I never really got the hang of them, although I did and do think they’re pretty neat. A small part of the local national archives I regularly use is still card catalogued (due mainly, I think, to chronic and perpetual under-funding rather than the inherent awesomeness of cards) and it’s quite interesting to browse through it - I’ve had quite a few serendipitous moments reading the extra info recorded on those cards.
One thing I do miss is the return date stamp flap in the back of library books. I constantly lose the little receipt thing they give you now, and it was also neat looking at all the stamps and imagining all the previous readers.
