Card Catalog Collage

Online Card Catalog prior to the Year 2000

You can now search our card catalog files right from your computer in the comfort of your home.

The project was spearheaded by the Library and Museum Committee under the direction of Clarence Spohn in conjunction with the Ephrata National Bank. Approximately 33,000 cards contained in the Society’s card files were scanned in PDF format and are now available on their own page on this site for you to peruse.

The cards in the file represent the photograph, manuscript, and library collections of the Society cataloged, for the most part, prior to the year 2000. (A few books continued to be entered in the several years that followed.) Beginning in 2000, the Society adopted digital cataloging and now uses the museum software PastPerfect, which allows for more detailed and sophisticated cataloging and easier searching. We may someday be able to place our PastPerfect records online; for now, keep in mind that the cards do not represent the entire collection.

When browsing the cards, take note of the numbers in the upper right-hand corners. Numbers prefaced with “MS” denote manuscript items and numbers prefaced with “P” denote photographs. Occasionally you may find a number prefaced with “CV,” which denotes an object. Cards for books carry call numbers in the upper left-hand corners, and vertical file materials have no numbers.

If you are interested in seeing or obtaining copies of any of the items in the catalog, or need more information concerning them, please contact the Society’s librarian, Cynthia Marquet, by calling the Society at 717-733-1616 or sending an email to hscv@cocalicovalleyhs.org. Enjoy your searching!

This first set of files are for the Society’s Col. George S. Howard collection. Col. Howard, a native of Reamstown, was named Conductor of the newly-organized United States Army Air Force Band in 1943. In 1947 the Air Force became a separate service and Col. Howard subsequently became the founder and first conductor of the United States Air Force Band as we know it today. He retired in 1963.