Final answer:
Before OPACs, bibliographic records in libraries were organized using card catalogs and classification systems like the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress systems. Fiction was categorized by author, while non-fiction used numerical or subject-based codes. Annotated bibliographies were usually alphabetically ordered, and printed indexes were important for locating information.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before the advent of Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs), bibliographic records were organized through several traditional methods, including the card catalog system. In libraries, records for fiction books were generally filed alphabetically by the author's last name, whereas non-fiction materials were cataloged using classification systems such as the Dewey Decimal system or the Library of Congress classification system. Both of these systems were designed to organize books and other materials efficiently so that library users could easily locate them.
For the Dewey Decimal system, each non-fiction book was assigned a unique numerical code pertaining to its subject matter, allowing for the organized shelving of items and facilitation of search through card catalogs. The Library of Congress system, which organizes materials based on subject categories, was used to keep track of the vast collections in the Library of Congress and has been widely adopted by research libraries. Card catalogs provided an alphabetical or subject-based index to these records, offering a physical means of searching before the digital revolution enabled the OPACs we utilize today.
Annotated bibliographies, which served as a scholarly resource and reference, were traditionally ordered alphabetically according to the first word in the citation, commonly the author's last name, or sometimes by topic. To find information in these older systems, researchers would utilize card catalogs or printed indexes. The non-electronic nature of these resources meant that users often relied on thorough alphabetical or subject indexes found at the end of bibliographic publications.