Cataloguing internet pages and circulation

I like the idea that new catalogues will also add entires for websites (Libe465 lesson 11 the power of the catalogue).  I included websites in my  LIBE465 assignment 2 but I like the idea that this will take over my links on my library webpage which I currently manage separately.  This means I could update the webpage to be more about current events and book reviews, while taking off the links to websites.  Our catalogue is shared within our District so then good elementary and intermediate sites would be shared with all users, reducing the cost of entering and reviewing websites.  It would however require reviews every ~6 mos to ensure the online links are still valid and the content is still appropriate  for the audience and matches the subject keywords in the MARC record.  However until these pages are included in the catalogue, I will maintain them on the library website (http://schoollibrarywebsites.wikispaces.com/WebQuest+on+School+Library+Websites) for information access and delivery.

The first component of an effective circulation system has really fallen down in my school as teachers borrow items without signing them out!  Even the self-checkout isn’t used.  To compound this no inventory was conducted last year.  I think my strategy will be to post inventory date on teacher folder, then peruse teacher classrooms for library resources, then do the inventory so my missing items list is as short as I can make it.  Any other suggestions would be appreciated, I don't like being the Dragon teacher-librarian but this rule definately needs enforcing.

Lending new materials prior to cataloguing

I have already had to make this decision in my library, I found it quite easy to decide.  For teachers or for students who have requested or need brand new resources for projects, I will lend new resources before cataloguing.  The Bellingham public library talks about minimizing physical, intellectual and time barriers as part of access(http://bellinghamschools.org/department-owner/instructional-technology/library-collection-management).  Cataloguing is done by our District Library and can take 1-2 weeks if it is a “rush” but up to a year if they have to create a MARC record for an unusual item.  Therefore if I have purchased a resource for a particular teacher or students for a research topic I will let them have it right away and then send it for cataloguing on return.  I keep track with a sticky note on my wall, but I also remember since it doesn’t happen very often.  If they like the resource I end up with great reviews and good future demand for the item. 

Last year I bought a DVD from an American music/dance teacher for teaching the life cycle of the butterfly that was reviewed in the School Library Journal (http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/893076-312/caterpillar_to_butterfly_adventures_in.html.csp).  I lent it out to the K teacher upon its arrival in May and at the end of the school year sent it for processing. This was particularly important since the DVD was purchased from an individual who wasn’t even aware that they would want to offer a MARC records.  I knew if I sent it for cataloguing the K teacher would not have the resource for their butterfly unit that year. I notice in the catalogue that it still isn't catalogued (http://prin.ent.sirsidynix.net/client/drc ). I got a great review and an excited teacher already planning to plan around the resource more in the following year!

Voicethreads experience

So I have started on my second assignment and decided to explore voicethreads (www.voicethreads.com)   I really like the idea of narrating your own story.  I signed up, loaded up a couple of images and started to lay down the story.  I did at least 3 takes, each time adding on details and removing hesitations and poorly pronounced words.  Then I realized what I really needed was a storyboard where I could organize and build my script and attach and arrange the images.  I want a storyboard, so I have a script for when I create my final project.  And voicethreads does not have this capability, so I fell back on my old standby - powerpoint (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/)- where I can create the story in the notes section, place the images and key points on the slides, layout the framework of the story and fill in as I go along.  Powerpoint will let me  edit and rearrange until I like the story and have all the details included, now I sound like an ad. Then if I have time I may return to voicethread.

I see voicethread a bit like facebook (https://www.facebook.com/login.php) where you can use it to just blurt out your ideas, unedited.  To use for a presentation I would want it to be much more scripted.  I can see using it with students for book reviews, after they have printed the book review for my eyes, then they could make a voicethread to go with the cover.  This would also avoid the issue of using student photos.

tagging

I dipped into Delicious (www.delicious.com)  and also Library Thing (www.librarything.com) .  But much more strongly this discussion reminded me of using tags [1] to create an excel database (or catalogue) of "grey literature" that my husband had collected on hydrology and I on silviculture that we wanted our staff to be able to access.  I had sorted my  grey literatue (http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_g.aspx#grayliterature) into file folders by self-selected subject headings and on the whole I could find an article later that I remembered or an article that was related to a current project.  Sometimes I may have to go through 2 to 4 file folders (subject headings) but often that found other related articles.  My husband had sorted his articles by author, because he had created his original collection to complete his masters.  To find articles in his collection which didn't have subject headings was difficult since only he was really familar with the authors. Many of the researchers had done several articles on their research topic so they would be adjacent articles could be relevant; and you could identify other relevant authors by reading the research paper bibliography list but this would be much more time consuming. Which is important to consider when professional time is what your business is selling. 

So when I created the Excel database (now I would call this our catalogue) creating and using subject headings was important so our staff could use the database to find relevant articles quickly.  I found this task easier by repeating the same subject heading "tags".  So I quickly created a list so I could repeat the tags, just like the controlled consistent vocabulary noted in Lesson 8 of our LIBE465 course notes. 



1. Noruzi, A. (2006). Folksonomies: (Un)Controlled Vocabulary? Knowledge Organization, 33(4), 199-203. Retrieved Oct 2012 from http://eprints.rclis.org/11286/1/Folksonomy%2C_UnControled_Vocabulary.pdf

Copy cataloguing

So I started the assignment on Copy cataloguing [1] off-task as usual.  I can even rationalize this starting point, as I choose something I was intimately familiar with,  also I can justify it by arguing that it’s my way of making new learning connect to my existing knowledge so I keep it longer, by adding to my schema (Piaget theories).  So I started by first looking for the book I published in my last career.  I liked most of the information but was disappointed that the subject topics chosen were not what I thought of as the best fit.  I wrote the book “Plant Indicator Guide for Northern BC: etc” [2] for use by field foresters and I think searching should include words they would use like “ecology, biogeoclimatic zone, site prescriptions” and not phytogeography which I had not heard of as a topic.  “Forest plants” works fine but it would be useful to also include “forest vegetation” since it’s an established industry word.  I realize I need to take this personal lens to my assignment.  If I am adding information to catalogue records for music resources, I should be asking my music teacher what terms she might use to locate the resource and so on for the different specialists and grade teachers in my school.  And when looking at aboriginal resources I realized I have to watch my cultural lens when adding resources.  (See also my LIBE465 Blog post Oct 19, 2012 about MARC records and cultural lens for book "Giving Thanks")

[1] Amicus Canadian National Catalogue.  Accessed Oct 19, 2012 at http://amicus.collectionscanada.gc.ca/amicus-bin/self_register?l=0

[2]

Beaudry, L., R. Coupé, C. DeLong and J. Pojar. 1999. Plant indicator guide for Northern British Columbia: Boreal, Sub-boreal and Subalpine Biogeoclimatic Zones; SBS, BWBS, SBPS and Northern ESSF. B.C. Min. of Forests, Research Section, Victoria, B.C. Land Management Handbook #46. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/lmh/lmh46.htm

Learning from BCTL conference

Wow, my brain is full of new ideas to try in the school library and also different approcaches I need to take to encourage students and teachers to use the Inquiry process, and teaching kids about how to find, sort and manage information. I really like to idea of making the library a sharing space where learning happens both out loud, with groups and online - ie move towards a Learning Commons (David Loertscher, The Learning Commons: Moving to the Center of Teaching and Learning, BCTL conference keynote speaker Oct 19, 2012).  In particular I realize I need to collaborate more with the teachers in the school,  and to find ways to make the library a more welcoming place.  My first will be to talk to my principal to see if I can change my duty time to open library time. 

I will be challenged to get use technological resources to support student learning (Creating Collaborative Projects with Technology Integration, Susan Henderson, BCTL conference Oct 19, 2012).  I can see I approached library as too much as a subject to teach and not enough about collaborating with the teachers to create a learning space.  I liked the suggestion of one presenter to make my library club leaders in this area and have them help around the school.

I did see a small ray of light that I had learned something about this all encompassing job when I could help a TL who was buying books .  We had been in a session together where she shared her challenges of poor funding and support.  I was able to tell her to buy books from booksellers who sold MARC records too!  It was easy for me to explain how cheap a $1.50 MARC record is compared to the 1 hour of her clerk time to entry a book in her database.  I knew she just needed to do a test run to make sure the records she was buying would match her system.  Right away she checked with her District Librarian and then paid for the MARC records for her purchase.  I realised I needed to be doing the same type of reflection - what processes can be done by someone else easier or cheaper so I can support collaboration between students for their learning.  I realise if I had more time I would have talked about all the free record sites we are learning about in class.

Reflections on MARC records

The overview of cataloguing from Saskatchewan[1] was very helpful for me to understand why our District librarian finds it difficult to recatalogue a book that is classified as Fiction to non-fiction.  I have been frustrated that the book “Tale of a great white fish: A Sturgeon Story” which is written as a mix of a story with non-fiction dialogue boxes of facts is classified as fiction.  Students doing research on Sturgeon don’t choose this book since it is classified as fiction.  I had wanted the District Librarian to change one copy to non-fiction.   From this article I can see that the District Librarian is limited by the rules set up during the annual MARC Committee meetings.  This book would just be a tiny blip in the overall meeting and for my District librarian to get the system changed would require me to submit a rationale to support two different entries for the same book, which defeats a system that is intended to create only one entry per item. 

This lesson also clarified why I will not get a quick resolution to my frustration with some of the school library materials that should be adjacent on a shelf but are separated (eg frogs) since some have a basic dewey decimal system number and some have extended ones which separates them from the basic books on the shelf due to other amphibian books.  From my reading (1, 2) I understand that this is due to a number of things including:

·         who you bought the record from,

·         the quality of the record and

·         consistency in use of call numbers,

·         the focus of the book on the topic if it is a general introduction or a primary level book or a more detailed look at the subject or a more intermediate level book. But due to the fact that different MARC record creaters deal with these levels differently they could be assigned basic or extended MARC records.

·         authors who are blending genres as a creative process but are ahead of database rules creation.

This has given me more sympathy for the District librarians who do our cataloguing as I understand they are restricted by the system.  I can see that I will have to find other creative ways within my library to help overcome this issue, including book displays, creating cards with lists of where to find books on topics, pulling books on topics to help students/classes with identifying resources to match their research topics.  I will also work on learning of other ways from my colleagues.

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[1] Accessing Information:Cataloguing Guidelines for Manitoba and Saskatchewan School Library Personnel,   Retrieved Oct. 8, 2012 from http://www.education.gov.sk.ca/Accessing-Information

[2] Library of Congress.  Understanding MARC . Retrieved Oct 8, 2012 from http://www.loc.gov/marc/umb/um01to06.html