Catalogul

Catalogul is the Romanian term for "the catalog," a structured list or register of items, often with descriptive data. The word derives from Latin catalogus, from Greek katálogos, meaning "a list" or "register." In Romanian usage, catalogul can denote a library catalog, a product catalog, an exhibition catalog, or any formal listing organized by category.

Library catalogs provide access to holdings through bibliographic records and fields such as title, author, date, and subject. They have evolved from hand-written shelf lists to card catalogs and, since the late 20th century, to online catalogs (OPACs) that are searchable on the internet. Product catalogs present items for sale with descriptions, prices, and specifications. Museum or gallery catalogs document works in a collection or on display, often with provenance and attribution.

Catalog records rely on metadata standards and controlled vocabularies. Common formats include MARC 21 for bibliographic data and Dublin Core for simpler resource descriptions, while FRBR models describe relationships among works, expressions, and items. On the publisher side, ONIX is used to encode product information.

History and role: catalogs organize information, aid discovery, and support procurement and research. They vary by domain (libraries, commerce, culture) but share a goal of providing structured access to items and their attributes. The catalog remains a foundational element of information infrastructure in the digital age.