"Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit." ~William Pollard
I usually consider myself to be an organized person. And if you sauntered into the tiny (yes, tiny by high school library standards) library that I manage two days per week, you'd hopefully get the impression that it was organized. Organized...as in a neatly arranged, mostly dust-free, and somewhat logically ordered collection of resources.
But, is my library organized for maximum patron access? Alas, (sigh) I don't believe it is. Which is why I need this course! I'm looking forward to assignment #3 and its very practical application to my specific situation. Prior to now, I hadn't an inkling of where to begin the organizational process in a school library. Vaguely, I knew I needed some better signage...
Already, my narrow definition of "cataloguing" has been expanded: its purpose being clarified as "a process that requires various techniques and resources to place a resource in the right place in a library." And in my tiny library, I've already experienced how "any mistake can literally "lose" an important resource for the library...(denying students and teachers) a useful resource for teaching and learning." How many times have I come across the "perfect" resource...only after it was needed? I dare not count.
Over the past year and half of being a "learning-on-the-job" teacher-librarian, I've come to understand the importance of becoming intimately familiar with all available library resources. It's extremely satisfying to know exactly where to find a resource required by staff or a student. But cataloguing, by this course's definition, is much broader than that. Our cataloguing "Big Picture" must include information literacy models such as Eisenberg's and Berkowitz's Big6TM and Stripling/Pitts Research Process model that require students to "Find, analyze and evaluate" sources themselves. These skills are vital in the "Information Age". If we don't teach our students to "tread water", they'll drown in the vast sea of information.
As school librarians, it's our job to stock our shelves with carefully selected resources. But our efforts (not to mention budgets!) are wasted if these resources aren't used. As Intner and Weihs state, "high quality, standardized information gives better responses to searchers' queries," and this leads to collections being explored and used more effectively.
Finally, it was with relief that I read this line in our text: "The authors believe it is not difficult to do high-quality standard cataloguing. It just takes the right knowledge, a little confidence, and practice."
I usually consider myself to be an organized person. And if you sauntered into the tiny (yes, tiny by high school library standards) library that I manage two days per week, you'd hopefully get the impression that it was organized. Organized...as in a neatly arranged, mostly dust-free, and somewhat logically ordered collection of resources.
But, is my library organized for maximum patron access? Alas, (sigh) I don't believe it is. Which is why I need this course! I'm looking forward to assignment #3 and its very practical application to my specific situation. Prior to now, I hadn't an inkling of where to begin the organizational process in a school library. Vaguely, I knew I needed some better signage...
Already, my narrow definition of "cataloguing" has been expanded: its purpose being clarified as "a process that requires various techniques and resources to place a resource in the right place in a library." And in my tiny library, I've already experienced how "any mistake can literally "lose" an important resource for the library...(denying students and teachers) a useful resource for teaching and learning." How many times have I come across the "perfect" resource...only after it was needed? I dare not count.
Over the past year and half of being a "learning-on-the-job" teacher-librarian, I've come to understand the importance of becoming intimately familiar with all available library resources. It's extremely satisfying to know exactly where to find a resource required by staff or a student. But cataloguing, by this course's definition, is much broader than that. Our cataloguing "Big Picture" must include information literacy models such as Eisenberg's and Berkowitz's Big6TM and Stripling/Pitts Research Process model that require students to "Find, analyze and evaluate" sources themselves. These skills are vital in the "Information Age". If we don't teach our students to "tread water", they'll drown in the vast sea of information.
As school librarians, it's our job to stock our shelves with carefully selected resources. But our efforts (not to mention budgets!) are wasted if these resources aren't used. As Intner and Weihs state, "high quality, standardized information gives better responses to searchers' queries," and this leads to collections being explored and used more effectively.
Finally, it was with relief that I read this line in our text: "The authors believe it is not difficult to do high-quality standard cataloguing. It just takes the right knowledge, a little confidence, and practice."
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