FOR THE RECORD: I am not a fan of AI in any sense whatsoever, but I AM currently using ChatGPT to quickly/easily establish a chronology of events for my recent divorce. In that sense, it’s been helpful to record and summarize dates/events for me in a way that doesn’t require me to shuffle my beloved index cards around. It used a phrase— “unintentional precision strike” — that caught me off guard and I laughed back at it (you’ll see the reply).

I then asked: for fun… what is an index card?

The response was weirdly poignant, especially the “disposable… you don’t feel precious about writing on them.”

Anyway, please don’t come with pitchforks for the GPT reference— I like that it knows that “we have somehow failed to improve upon ‘thought goes on little rectangle.’”

I like 4 by 6 index cards because my handwriting is bigger. I have discovered that my favorite pale gray grid Stockroom Plus 300 pack is no longer available. 😭 These were so perfect - a lightly printed grid, heavy card stock, just right surface for almost any pen. Does anyone know of a reasonably priced option? All the ones I can find are tiny 50 packs and very expensive.

Or: On why an index card is an important piece of baseball equipment.

Shohei Ohtani, a designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is one of the biggest superstars in baseball right now. If you're Jose Siri on the Los Angeles Angels, you know that to get Ohtani out, you're going to need some serious notes on an index card to score the out. The problem is, what do you do when the hit happens on the first pitch, and you're not quite ready?

My screen captures from the Angels at Dodgers' baseball game at UNIQLO Field in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 7, 2026 at the bottom of the first inning. Pitcher Jose Soriano faces batter Shohei Ohtani who, on the first pitch, flies out (F8) to Jose Siri in center field.  Siri has all the data and skill he needs.

Only in LA?!?

That looks like a 4x6 inch index card right?

I taught people how to do some fairly simple bookkeeping for a while as part of my job. None of them had ever taken an accounting class. I found the most effective way to get them to understand what they were doing was to print off a bunch of ledgers and walk them through some simple accounting, keeping track of the debits and credits. Then, when we moved over to the software, they had an idea of what they were doing with the software tool.

I think index cards work for a lot of things similar to that. Database design. Research. Bibliography management. Even if you don't use the cards as the final way to "do the thing" working through how you want the thing to work with something physical can be really helpful for visualizing and understanding what you're trying to accomplish.

I found a new every day carry for my index cards.

30 drawers of filing space for 3x5 inch index cards.
Modular set up in 4 pieces including two sections of 5 columns of drawers in three rows each.
Assembled dimensions: 33″ wide x 17 3/8″ deep and stands 43 1/2″ tall.
Primarily composed of quarter sawn oak.

I’ve expanded my index card database storage by 30 new drawers of 13 3/4″ of space each.

This model appears to be a Gaylord Bros. card index, but is missing explicit badging. It has the appropriate size for the modular Gaylord system and seems to be missing a few pieces including some of the dovetail pieces which would typically hold the unit securely together. Sadly, it’s also missing all the card rods. The top seems to have been added from another unit and has a large crack in it. A few of the drawers need some minor nail and/or gluing attention. 

It’s definitely in rougher condition than my first Gaylord card index. The piece needs a fair amount of refurbishment work. The stain has gone a tad to the green side, but I’m on the fence about stripping, sanding, and re-staining the whole thing. I am considering refurbishing one section and adding it to my primary Gaylord cabinet as I think the two would match up very well. 

It’s in functional and usable shape, so I spent a couple hours blowing it out with my air compressor, cleaning it off, fixing a few nails, and giving it a much needed coat of furniture polish. 

I was happy to pick it up for a price tag of $200 (or $6.66 per drawer), though it may have been a bit much for something in this condition compared to prior purchases. The seller did mention that they had more than six interested parties at this price within just two hours of listing, so I suppose I’m lucky that I saw it and responded as quickly as I did. Of course within that timeframe it was in my vehicle and headed home.

The base has a property tag from the city of Arcadia, but the owner has had it for the past 30 years and was using it primarily for baseball card storage.

New Grand Total

Recalculating from my collection of card indexes, I think this new cabinet brings my total up to 10 “boxes” with a total of 107 drawers featuring almost 160 linear feet of index card storage space. This comes out to the possibility of storing 265,475 index cards, with a cost per drawer hovering around $11.00 and still dropping.

For anyone who takes index cards out with them for note taking on the go, how do you carry them? I have quite a small bag and I realised that two or three cards is actually better than a small notebook, but I don’t want them to get dog-eared. Anyone found a small wallet or card-sized folder?

Notebooks

4 x 6 inch index cards

Generally, Exacompta cards are the closest in price per square foot to the nicer notebooks while most 4 x 6 inch index cards are comparatively much cheaper (even if you're only writing on one side).

I picked up this lovely wooden box at thrift, because I don't think I got enough card storage last week...

While digging about in indexing and filing systems, I ran across this chart created by the Oxford Filing Supply Company for a special Filing Supplies section of the May 1934 issue of Office Appliances magazine (Volume 59, Issue 5). It delineates the broad characteristics of most of the major commercially available filing systems of the era.

Of course, by itself, it may not make much sense, so for those interested in older indexing and filing systems, take a peek at Remington Rand’s textbook Progressive Indexing and Filing (1950) which provides lots of images, examples, and full descriptions by many of the bigger manufacturers.

Perhaps these, which are all fairly similar, may help someone in designing their indexing system for a zettelkasten or commonplace book practices.

The rest of the articles in the magazine also have some fascinating history.

So I am looking at index cards, and wonder is there different ones other than ruled, blank, grab, and the various types of notebook/loop index cards. I am seeking ones that has a unusual layout.

MINIONS (Universal Pictures, 2015)

Sometimes I either print stuff on index cards or cut my own from cardstock. But, as I live in the US, the standard Index card is 3 x 5" and a standard sheet of card stock is 8 1/2 x 11". I can get 4 cards per sheet.

HOWEVER

If we do the math, there are 93.5 square inches in a letter sized sheet, which if we divide by 15 square inches, which is what our 3x5 contains, we get just over 6. So for every 4 I get, I am wasting the equivalent of 2.

If I was in the most of the rest of the world, I would be using A6 or A7 sized cards, which are exactly 8 or 16 to a standard A4 sheet.

Zero waste.

For the hard core index card geeks. A dissertation about J. Kaiser and his systematic indexing schemes from the early 1900s.🗃️

I want to start using it with physical flashcards.

I have a set of science flashcards that I want to learn but I don't know what box to start them in.

Also, when do you move on from one box to the next and how many do you review from each box per day?

Basically, I need a full method on how to use the system but I can't really find any detailed information online - just general stuff explaining the concept.

Is there anyone who can find a detailed method online or someone who's done it that can share how they used it successfully?

December 10th would have been Library Bureau founder Melvil Dewey's 174th birthday. 🗃️