History and ordinary objects / No. 010

Before Search Bars, We Pulled Handles.

By The Boring Drawer Company

Before entering a title into a search box, a library user could look through catalogue cards arranged in drawers. The Library of Congress reports that its card catalogue grew to more than 22 million cards in 22,000 drawers before its last card was added in 1980. [1]

That is a search interface with a significant woodworking requirement.

Finding something was a physical activity

The catalogue supplied information that helped a reader locate material. Its drawers held records, not the books themselves. That distinction matters; otherwise this article would quietly turn a library into an exceptionally cramped furniture showroom.

For anyone who remembers using one, the experience had a particular rhythm: find the right section, pull the drawer, work through the cards, write down what you need.

No loading animation. Some walking.

The useful idea was consistency

The historical facts above belong to the Library of Congress. The following lesson is our own interpretation: a storage system is easier to use when its labels and arrangement mean the same thing from one compartment to the next.

Consider workshop hardware. If one drawer is labelled by screw diameter, the next by brand and the next "good ones," finding a part requires knowing the preferences of the person who put it away.

That person is inevitably out for lunch.

Labels are part of the design

Choose categories that match how people look for the contents. Use specific names, keep abbreviations understandable, and locate labels where they can be read without opening every drawer.

If multiple people use the storage, agree on the categories together. A system that makes perfect sense to its creator can still be a private joke at everyone else's expense.

Test the arrangement with an ordinary task: ask someone to retrieve three objects without coaching.

Where they hesitate is useful design information.

Make room for the exceptions

Some objects will not fit the standard compartment. Give those a defined place instead of allowing them to distort the entire layout. Reserve space for growth where possible, and use inserts that can be adjusted when the collection changes.

The goal is retrieval, not the satisfaction of owning matching labels.

This also affects drawer dimensions. A shallow drawer can suit small visible parts; another collection may need height. Measure the contents and available cabinet space before deciding that every drawer should be identical.

A small tribute to a large amount of cabinetry

Digital searching has changed how many of us find information. The old catalogue remains an excellent reason to notice the relationship between a box, its label and the thing a person is trying to accomplish.

We make boxes. We are therefore unusually susceptible to this line of thought.

If you are planning workshop or office drawers, tell us what people need to find and how they will use the space. The dimensions will follow a more useful conversation.

Please put the pencil back when you are finished.