12.10.2009

Do Kids Know What Dewey Decimal IS ANYMORE??? {Vintage Thingies Thursday}

Really....do they still teach that in schools?  I miss card catalogs.  I love them.  They are just so gorgeous and they literally hold the map to knowledge...I mean, just think about it for a second.  Within those tiny little labeled drawers you can find treasures of all kinds!  Wild adventures over the Mississippi River, Brave New Worlds, Magical lands with fawns and light posts, robots who dream of sheep, and wizards catching tiny winged, golden balls.  All of that can be found in the map that is a card catalog.  Yes, I know you can get that info on the interwebs, but it feels as though some of the magic of discover is lost.  Maybe it's the smell - that fabulous musty smell you inhale as you open each drawer of that old, dusty catalog.  I'm not really sure what it is...I just know I love it.  So...I have a little something at home that reminds me of it and lets that archaic form of cataloging ISBN's, titles, authors, and genres right here in my very own home.

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No, I don't know if it really was for a library.  Due to the size, I pretty much doubt it, but it is so reminiscent of that type of file box.  I picked it up at a little second-hand boutique near my office.  That boutique burnt to the ground later on last year.  She has re-opened, but it made me even more happy that I had rescued this fabulous file box before it was reduced to ashes.

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I think the twisted handles are kind of neat.  They don't look like others I've seen.  I also love the label holders on each box.  I don't have labels in them because I am afraid I will destroy the vintage look.  I should probably get over it, but you know....I don't get over things easily.  LOL!  If you have any ideas of what I could do for labels, please leave them!  I'd love some good thoughts on that!

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I particularly like the inlay around the edges of the front panel.  It is so pretty and just a wonderful finish to the file box.  I love it.  It makes me happy.  As you can see, I keep my BIA, my heat gun and a few decorative things on the box.  Inside I have fabric scraps, dollar stamps, BIA supplies, and my metal embellishments, each in their respective drawers.

So, there you have it.  A tiny little piece of literary happy right in my scrapbook room.  I love it.

For More Vintage Thingies Thursday posts check out Colorado Lady!

28 comments:

  1. I love a library...I love all the organization! That is an awesome piece. I think I would love to be a librarian...all those books...planning special things to get kids reading...sounds perfect for me. I even have my own summer reading program on the farm!

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  2. You could make vintage labels by cutting up an old manila file folder and typing on them with an old typewriter.

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  3. Love it!!!
    Living it up at Lakewood,
    Cindy

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  4. Very, very cute!! Love those handles too!

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  5. That's a beautiful piece. I'm happy you saved it too!

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  6. wow, I love that... Its a beautiful piece. I would totally have wanted it

    happy vtt!

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  7. Yup they still teach it! I know this bc one of my (Ex) friends is a middle school librarian :)

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  8. Good job on the rescue
    What a great find!! I always love things that are fun and functional too!

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  9. I LOVE that and have always wanted to find one at a yard sale or flea mkt. So pretty.

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  10. Love that! Every time I go to an auction I hope that 1)there will be a library card catalog there and 2)no one will outbid me.

    Hasn't happened yet, but doesn't stop me from dreaming!

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  11. I visited my new library recently, and I could not believe that they have done away with "Dewey". Nothing stays the same. Great post!

    Cheers,

    Jo

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  12. What a nice find! I love those fuky handles! :)

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  13. LOL - - - my students BARELY know what a book is!!!!

    Can you IMAGINE what they'd think of a card catalog????

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  14. I'm soooo jealous!! I've been on the lookout for something like that. So cute!! The library still uses the dewey decimal system, it's just all in the computer now. I used to be a library aid back in the day!

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  15. What a cool piece! I agree with the previous poster who said to use an old manila folder and a typewriter. I'd take it one step further and distress the label using Tim's Distress Inks to give it that nice aged look.

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  16. This is just a beautiful little piece. The file drawers are so different. Love it. And you're so very right about all you said about card catalogues! It made memories of working in a library one summer come flooding back! It was exciting fingering though those cards and finding what you wanted!

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  17. What a neat piece...you could use that to store so many things in, I love the detail on the wood. Very pretty. Happy VTT!

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  18. I love that card catalog! They are way cool. I'd love to find one like it, too. I love old libraries. I can still remember the smell, LOL.

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  19. First things first..I think "Dewey" is a part of history. We have 7 kids and five are teenagers still at home and they haven't mentioned "Dewey" (I'd kinda forgotten him myself!
    Gorgeous new library! Looks like it will be a nice, sturdy piece and hold LOTS of goods!
    Love your blog and have become a follower :)

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  20. WOW what a fabulous treasure..love those unusual draw pulls!

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  21. Wow what a find I love it! You find the neatest things!
    hugs
    Brenda

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  22. How about getting some old journal paper and typing the info on it? will give it a vintage look if you ask me? hugs from Conroe, tX!

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  23. They do know the Dewey Decimal system, but not what a card catalog in paper is...I love this!!! It's so cute! You could type labels on inked aged cardstock in a typewriter font...Don't forget to write letters like G with glue gun written underneath.

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  24. I used to love to go through those old drawers in the library. Such treasures.

    Jocelyn
    http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

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  25. o.o. i have one too!!! it is painted a light green and it in in my bedroom. Just tall enough to set next to the sitting chair and put books on. love it!!

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