[DCRM-L] Tarot decks: "books" or "visual materials"?

[Rebecca Flore]

Hi Samantha,

My impulse is also to treat them as visual materials. OLAC's Best Practices for Cataloging Objects Using RDA and MARC 21 includes instructions and sample records for cataloging card games. I've found these a helpful starting place whenever I've had to catalog card decks.

Publication info here: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/olac-publications/1/
PDF here: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=olac-publications

If the purpose of the deck is fortune telling rather than a game, some of the following access points might come in handy depending on which controlled vocabularies your library uses:

650 _0 Fortune-telling by cards.
or, depending of specificity,
650 _0 Tarot.

650 _0 Divination cards  |v Specimens.

655 _7 Tarot cards. |2 lcgft

655 _7 Fortune telling cards.  |2 gmgpc
or
655 _7 Tarot cards.  |2 gmgpc

655 _7 tarot cards. |2 aat
Best wishes,
Rebecca
______________________________
Rebecca Flore, PhD
Special Collections Metadata Librarian
The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
The University of Chicago
Regenstein Library
1100 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637
T 773.702.7602
rflore at uchicago.edu<mailto:rflore at uchicago.edu>
lib.uchicago.edu/scrc | additional info

From: DCRM-L <dcrm-l-bounces at lib.byu.edu> On Behalf Of Samantha Garlock via DCRM-L
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2026 9:55 AM
To: dcrm-l at lib.byu.edu
Cc: Samantha Garlock <sgarlock at colby.edu>
Subject: [DCRM-L] Tarot decks: "books" or "visual materials"?

Hi all,

I have several tarot decks on my "to be cataloged" shelf, and I can't decide whether to catalog them as "books" or "visual materials." I tried browsing through existing OCLC records to see how other institutions have treated similar materials, but it seems almost evenly split. I also noticed that some records seem to focus on the instructional booklet rather than the actual deck, but others focus on the deck and treat the booklet as an accompanying material. (My instinct is to center the cards rather than the booklet).

So, I decided to ask you all! When you come across tarot decks (or other fortune-telling cards), how do you approach cataloging them? Do you take a different approach if there's an accompanying instructional booklet?

Thanks!

Samantha

--
Samantha Garlock
Collections and Engagement Librarian
Special Collections & Archives
Colby College Libraries
5103 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, ME 04901
Pronouns: she, her
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