What are some different types of U.K. catalogs?

United Kingdom catalogs are available for mail order businesses, universities, large libraries and the National Archives. Catalogs contain itemized lists and can be in print or accessed online.

Major universities in the United Kingdom such as Leeds, Oxford, Cambridge and the London School of Economics offer online course catalogs. Catalog listings are sorted by subject and include course summaries, relevant dates, course length, prerequisite classes and teacher information.

The National Archives offers a catalog service for 2,500 U.K. archives and millions of individual records. The online search tool available on NationalArchives.gov.uk offers a simple keyword search that sorts catalog records according to relevance, historical date and archive location. The service offers the ability to download many records directly.

BritishCatalogues.co.uk offers a list of more than 40 popular U.K. shopping catalogs. The service links to each catalog online and offers options for requesting print delivery. The shopping catalogs are predominantly related to clothing and fashion with a heavy focus on women's fashion. Many catalogs offer first-time discounts for new customers, free shipping in the United Kingdom and wide selection.

A catalog differs from a magazine in that a catalog is an itemized list and not a publication of articles or stories. The first mail-order catalog was published in 1661 in the United Kingdom by William Lucas, a gardener, advertising seeds. In addition the first modern mail-order catalog was published in the United Kingdom by Pryce Pryce-Jones in 1861. He sold household goods and delivered his magazine using the new railway system and national post service.