Resource cataloging is the practice of recording what resources are available, where they are, what condition they are in, and how they can be matched to need [@nelan2016; @relieftoolkit2022].
Within emergent disaster response, the term matters because supplies are not usable simply because they exist. They have to be made visible and legible to the people coordinating response. Nelan’s work on donations shows how alignment and adaptability matter in relief supply chains, while the Relief Toolkit is an explicit attempt to document and connect resources, lessons, and needs across decentralized disaster efforts [@nelan2016; @relieftoolkit2022].
Resource cataloging is a form of practical documentation. It sits at the boundary between logistics and knowledge management.