Copyright Office Launches Virtual Card Catalog Proof of Concept
Issue No. 702 - January 24, 2018


The Copyright Office today launched the proof of concept of the Virtual Card Catalog (VCC). This proof of concept contains images of two indexes within the Copyright Card Catalog: 1955–1970 and 1970–1977. The indexes contain 6,500 drawers of cards, with approximately 1,500 cards in each. Users can open a virtual drawer and browse through images of the cards on screen. Clicking on a card displays a larger image along with the next fifty cards for easy scrolling. The images also show metadata of the index name, drawer name, and card number.


Users have the option to save up to twenty-five cards to a folder during their browsing session. Cards in the user’s folder are shown in the order they were saved, and they are scrollable as well. The cards can be printed, with metadata displayed, or using the right-click button they can be saved locally to their device, with no metadata displayed.


This proof of concept is not a final version of the planned Virtual Card Catalog. The purpose is to validate the VCC’s feasibility and to verify its potential use for the public. The images are presented in a similar filing order as found in the physical card catalog and may contain filing errors and corrupt images. We are working to identify technical issues to update and improve the overall functionality. A feedback link and optional survey will allow members of the public to provide input into improving the VCC. https://vcc.copyright.gov/