katalogu

Katalogu is the Albanian word for catalog, a structured list of items that includes descriptive data and identifiers to identify, locate, and access those items. In broad use, a katalogu functions as an organized index or inventory that supports discovery, retrieval, and management across libraries, museums, archives, retailers, and digital repositories. The concept encompasses both physical and digital formats, from printed card catalogs to online discovery systems.

The term derives from Latin catalogus, via Greek katalogos, and its use in Albanian mirrors the global word family for catalog and catalogue. A katalogu typically stores key metadata about each item, such as title or name, creator or author, date, format, and a unique identifier, along with relationships to other items or holdings. It may also include classification, subject terms, and links to full texts or physical locations. By organizing data with standard fields, a katalogu enables efficient searching, filtering, and navigation.

Different domains maintain specialized catalogs. Library catalogs describe bibliographic resources and media; museum catalogs document artifacts and works of art; product catalogs list commercial items with specifications and pricing; archive catalogs organize archival materials and records. Metadata standards such as MARC, Dublin Core, METS, and MODS, as well as authority files and classification schemes, facilitate interoperability between catalogs and systems. Digital catalogs often provide faceted search, online access, and APIs for integration with other tools, sometimes exposing data in schema.org, RDF, or JSON-LD formats.

See also: cataloging, metadata, indexing, collection management.