Circulation Procedures

I worked in a classroom this year but last year in a library. I am going to explain the circulation procedures from my previous school.

CHECK-OUT:
Books are circulated weekly, but can be renewed if there are no holds.
K - 1 books
Primary - 2 books
Intermediate - 3 books
Library check out was done by the teachers
Library check in and reports was done by the teacher librarian

CHECK-IN:
I would take a cart first thing in the morning to empty out classroom library bins. This needless to say was a very small school.

HOURS OF OPERATION:
Only open during the library blocks that were assigned to classes.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS/ Assistants:
Parent volunteers where the backbone of the school library. They would come into put away books and put up seasonal decorations.
Our school was lucky enough to have a library clerk that would catalog books. Since she had been cataloging for years she had a very good understanding and I was able to rely upon her knowledge.

NEW BOOKS:
New books were on display for one week so all the students would get a chance to see them before they were signed out.

HOLDS:
Students were able to place holds on books that they wanted to read. If there was a hold on a book the student in possession was unable to resign it out. I found that allowing holds really put the books in the hands that students wanted to read such as Bones. It also added an excitement element to going to the library to see it your book was in.

MATERIALS:
The library was divided in 6 main areas:
-Picture books-Novels
- Parent Resources
-Computers
-Non Fiction Book
-Teacher Resources

OVERDUES/FINES:
Overdue notices were sent home as reminders to bring the book back. There was no fines for overdue books.

Reading through my fellow class participants posts on this subject matter it seems that these procedures are fairly standard. What I have found in most Elementary school libraries I have worked in is that these procedures are posted nowhere. It seems that everyone is just suppose to know. When I took LIBE 461 we spent time talking about how important it is to have polices and procedures in place. For instance if the teacher librarian is sick for an extended period of time it is useful for the replacement teacher to quickly be able to find and read the information. Second it also gives the library a vision of what sort of place that this is. When I build the school library website I am going to add a section that includes this information of procedures and policies.

Summing it all up

To be honest it has been awhile since I completed the 5 required activities for the course. I tried to get them done and out of the way early on so I could focus on the assignments for the course. I did write a few reflection blogs based on the activities, but I have decided to sum up my learning from all these activities in one post. It will remind me of how far that I have come and what I have learned in the process.


Activity 1 -Introductions

I was the first person to post my introduction on the class discussion board. The introduction was meant to introduce ourselves, the general who, what, why, where, when and listing your experience and knowledge of cataloging. This was my second library course and I did not have any expectations for this course when I first started out, nor did I have any previous cataloging experience. What became evident to me as the first week progressed was how green all my fellow classroom participants (myself included!) were to the world of cataloging. Most of us had a taste working in the library, but only do the basic tasks to insure that the library doors remained open. Cataloging was a complete unknown and perhaps as I reflect on the latter end of this course a good thing. Little did I know that cataloging is so very complicated.

Part of the activity was to discuss how cataloging occured in our school districts. Cataloging in the district I work in is done through the program Follett. When a new book arrives in the library it is scanned and automatically added into the school collection. This is a new process in the school district I work in. In previous years books were cataloged on site by Teacher Librarians and Library technicians. However as the library jobs have been slashed down to minimal positions this process has been very daunting. Unfortunately it use to take up to weeks for new books to hit the shelves. Now new books can be added to the inventory with the click of the button! Reading through other classmates posts this method of cataloging books seems to be very common in British Columbia.

Activity 2 - Library Websites

For this activity I had to search the web to find more about book cataloging and library standards. I was a tad apprehensive prior to starting this activity. The course readings from the text book I had done had left me feeling very overwhelmed. I was starting to think that perhaps this was not for me, but after activity 2 I had a new sense of optimism that perhaps I could learn.
What stuck me first after searching on the web was the amount of material there is online regarding cataloging. With the click of a button anything can be found in seconds. After browsing a few websites I began to understand what I was unable to grasp in the textbook readings. I saved the links that I found to my blog along with other links that fellow classmates found. I am now glad that I did, some of the sites have proved to be very useful to complete other activities and assignments.

Activity 3 - Basic Cataloging

Had I labeled this post before I did the second assignment I think I would have called this activity cataloging. But after working my way through assignment 2 I have realized this activity was fairly easy even though I did not feel so at the time. Further evidence of my growth in this class!

When I first looked at this activity I was completely perplexed. I had no clue where to begin, in fact I did not even understand what this activity was about. I can't even begin to tell you how elated I was when I saw the activity examples that other students had completed. I am a visual learner, and once I get the hang of something I can do it, but with this activity doing the reading might have been reading French. I used the table that a fellow classmate created to organize the information I found. The table also was a great help as I could see what I needed and what I was missing. I found that the first few items I classified were difficult. Partially because I was navigating through several unfamiliar websites and I was flipping through several websites and Microsoft word. However once I found the websites that broke down the Dewey Decimal Classification numbers and the Library of Congress Classification numbers and found my rhythm the assignment got easier as I went on. What it felt like was learning a new language and seeing and understanding the patterns.

At the time when I initially finished the activity I posted on the discussion board that "I don't really have a preference of either system. The Library of Congress system appears to have more sub categories so books are in specific areas." However know that I have a greater understanding of the system I do have a preference when it comes to which classification system I would want to use in a school library. I prefer the Dewey decimal system.

Reasons I prefer the Dewey Decimal Classification system:

1. Numbers are easier to remember then combinations of letters
2. I found it easier to classify books as compared to the Library of Congress

Activity 4 - Website Reviews

http://www.scotch.vic.edu.au/Library/Library.htm
http://www.nobl.k12.in.us/media/NorthMedia/index.htm
Byng Secondary Library

For this activity we had to review the above school library websites. I have spent a fair amount of time looking at school library websites. During a previous LIBE course I had to research and comment on two library sites that I enjoyed. I spent about four hours looking at library sites trying to find two that appealed to me. While I can't remember the websites that I found (If I had kept my comments in a blog I would be able to find them easily) I do remember what I found makes a good website.

My top 3 website criteria

1) Layout is appealing - not too many things on the screen, use of colour schemes

2) User friendly - easy to navigate!

3) Current- updates are done on a regular basis and few broken links

As to the why of having a school library website I feel that there are many reasons. First it creates advocacy about the programs and services that are being offered. This was one of the key messages when I took LIBE 461 last fall. It also creates a portal for students, staff and parents to use. Links to programs that students can access from home such as Riverdeep that my school district in particular subscribes to. Websites can be a powerful tool in schools if they are designed in a way that is appealing and user friendly. But most importantly they need to updated frequently!

For my last assignment I have decided to built a school library website blog (see how far I have come!) and I have found that this activity invaluable as I will be able to incorporate the website guidelines.

Activity 5 - Current Issues

For this activity I had to find 3 current articles pertaining to issue of cataloging in school libraries. I found the task of finding an article relatively easy. I had saved a link to the from a fellow student from the first activity so I just looked it up on my blog links! In reading the articles regarding cataloguing I realized that it is a changing job (just when you thought some things stay the same). In the past 15 years libraries have gone from card cataloguing to computer records. Even the types of material processed has evolved from primarily books to include a wide expanse of media. At my own public library the catalog has expanded from solely books to include DVD's, CD's and even video games! The introduction of computer software and the ability to link library catalogs has some to believe that the days of individual libraries cataloguing books is almost over. This is it self has some advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of central cataloging ensure that all books are cataloged the same regardless of the library that you visit. The flip side is that it does not allow individual libraries to catalog books in the way that suits their collections. Personally I think that central cataloging or systems like Follett are invaluable in school libraries. I know of two school libraries in the district that I work in whose library catalogs are a mess. Both schools catalogs are a mixture of the Dewey Decimal Catalog and the Library of Congress Catalog. It makes it very difficult to find the catalogs complete section area of books. Having central processing ensures that this does not happen. As the job of cataloguing books continues to evolve I suspect that we will see even more changes.

Closing Thoughts

Starting this blog in it self was very daunting. I have never had a blog before and have never seen the value in maintaning one. Having this blog has proved invaluable for this course. I am able to access regardless of where I am and I have all the useful links in one easy organized place (normally they are scribbled on bits of paper that I tend to misplace!). I will make use of this blog in future courses or create a new one. This blog has been a way to sum up my thinking through conversations with myself. I can see my growth by reading my old posts. Although it has only been 2 and 1/2 months since the start of the course I feel that my knowledge regarding library cataloging has grown in tremendous. I can walk into any library and find books quickly! Towards the end of the course I have been able to talk to my school librarian in a knowledgeable and confident manner in regarding the library. My knowledge is no where near that I feel I have mastered this knowledge area, but I feel I have the framework now regarding cataloging that I can use if I end up in working as a teacher librarian.

Current articles regarding Libraries

In reading the articles regarding cataloguing I realized that it is a changing job. In the past 15 years libraries have gone from card cataloguing to computer records. Even the types of material processed has evolved from primarily books to include a wide expanse of media. The introduction of computer software and the ability to link library catalogs has some to believe that the days of individual libraries cataloguing books is almost over. As the job of cataloguing books continues to evolve I suspect that we will see even more changes.

The Impact of Social Cataloging Sites on the Construction of Bibliographic
Records in the Public Library Catalog
Spiteri, Louise F. (2009). The Impact of Social Cataloging Sites on the Construction of Bibliographic Records in the Public Library Catalog. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly; 2009, Vol. 47 Issue 5, p52-73, 21p. Retrieved 05/30/09 from Academic Search Complete.

This article evaluates sixteen popular online cataloging web sites to determine whether or not they should impact the way that books are currently catalogued.

It goes on to discuss that because online library cataloging sites are popular “we should study social communities such as MySpace to understand what makes them so successful and what they are doing to encourage knowledge sharing (Spiteri, p. 53).” While some of the sites that were analyzed such as DVD spot only catalog DVD’s, others cater to book cataloging only such as Library Thing. Spiteri notes that users of the cataloging sites “tend to share universal behaviors in the ways in which they tag the same resources (Spiteri. p. 54). The biggest advantage noted in the article is that cataloging systems such as Library Thing allow users to provide feedback, to rate books and to suggest other great books on a similar topic. Unlike traditional cataloging systems that only provide content about books. However, concerns about privacy need to be worked out as users of online catalog site leave a trail of information that leads back to them that cannot be allowed in a public based library system.

This article concludes by recommending that public library catalogs incorporate the features that make the online catalogs popular among users to take advantage of what makes them so popular among online users.

They Will Use It, If You Buy It!: Results of an Expanded Survey on the Use of Classification Web.
Ferris, Anna M. (2009). They Will Use It, If You Buy It!: Results of an Expanded Survey on the Use of Classification Web. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly; 2009, Vol. 47 Issue 5, p427-451, 25p. Retrieved 05/27/09 from Academic Search Complete

This article summarizes the results of a survey that examined “the extent
to which working catalogers use Classification Web, the Library of Congress’ online resource for subject heading and classification Documentation (Ferris, p. 427).”

Classification Web is a subscription service that institutions can purchase. The survey was completed by various types of institutions including Academic and Public libraries from mainly North America, but noteworthy a few libraries from around the globe. It found that catalogers use Class Web because they found it was convenient and saved time. One of the biggest advantages of Class web is it correlation feature. The correlation feature allows libraries to link on to other library sites to see how a particular book has been cataloged at a different library. Further development of Class web would be to provide personal options that are specific to an individual libraries needs. Out of the 510 respondents who have Class Web available to them an overwhelming 96% use Class Web weekly.

Ferris concludes her article by stating that given the success of Class Web thus far it will improve cataloger’s ability to catalog books in a digital environment.

Perceptions of the Future of Cataloging: Is the Sky Really Falling?
Ivey, Robert T. (2009). Perceptions of the Future of Cataloging: Is the Sky Really Falling? Cataloging & Classification Quarterly; 2009, Vol. 47 Issue 5, p464- 482,18p. Retrieved 05/30/09 from Academic Search Complete

In his article Perceptions of the Future of Cataloging: Is the Sky Really Falling? Robert Ivey discusses the changes that are taking place in the world of professional cataloging.
Prior to 2006 the amount of articles published on cataloging and the role of catalogers was and average of 3 a year. After 2006 the average amount of articles published on this topic has been about 15. Ivey attributes the rise to two main factors: the increased popularity of search engine sites such as Google and the mass digitization of library holdings.
The article opens by explaining the humble roots of catalog. Cataloging started back with Antonio Panizzi who penned the book 91 Rules for the Compilation of the Catalogue in 1841 (Ivey, p. 465). Cataloging reminded primarily a card catalog system until the early 1990’s when financial pressure on the old methods of cataloging. Ivey outlines the impact that some predicted in the 90”s that would occur in the future world of cataloging. Some stated that Libraries would have less books to catalog, an increased pressure to cut costs would cause wide spread outsourcing, an overall decrease use of the actual library because of online content, and an increase in the types of items to catalog. Ivey argues that out of the predictions only the prediction regarding the increase of the types of cataloging and lowered costs has been realized to date. Library catalogs have the same level of acquisition of materials, and only 28% of libraries out source cataloging.

Ivey states that considering the factors above the role of a cataloger is evolving, but not nearly as quick as some predicted. He also believes that catalogers will continue to exist but they will need to be versatile. This could include teaching courses to students to help them better understand the library and how to use it effectively when researching.

Library Websites

I have spent a fair amount of time looking at school library websites. During a previous LIBE course I had to research and comment on two library sites that I enjoyed. I spent about four hours looking at library sites trying to find two that appealed to me. While I can't remeber the websites that I found (If I had kept my comments in a blog I would be able to find them easily) I do remember what I found makes a good website.

My top 3 website criteria

1) Layout is appealing - not too many things on the screen, use of colour schemes
2) User friendly - easy to navigate!
3) Current- updates are done on a regular basis and few broken links

These sites talks about the best practices in school library website design
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/969

http://www.alia.org.au/~rhorton/library/index.htm

I like the rules that have been listed for wesite design.

1) Content is king! (Or queen.) Without books there is no library; without content there is no website.

2)Organize your content logically, and make your visual design reflect that organization — just like the stacks in a library.

3) Provide clear and consistent navigation (like the card catalog).

4) Label everything clearly — be literal, not cute. (The Dewey Decimal System isn’t metaphorical. Don’t you be, either.)

5) Use images, audio, and animations only when necessary, and always provide alternate content.

6) Keep your design clean and simple. Use a minimum of fonts (no more than two per page) and colors. More will distract from the content.

Listing of School Library Websites

http://www.school-libraries.net/

Here is my reviews of three library websites

Scotch College Library and Information Center
Upon first glance of the Scotch College web site I was impressed. The web designer who created this webpage has spent a lot of time on its development. The main page provides links to other pages, but it is not overwhelming. It is a collage of text and clip art that allows users to quickly identify what they need. The site contains what you would expect from a library web page; links to aid research projects, links for teachers and the ability to search the school’s library collection. It also contained a link to the school library blog, which is increasingly found on school library web pages.Students visiting this site have direct links to a handful of useful websites including Ebsco Host, Britannica Online. Under the literature tab there is links that showcase the many programs and celebrations that the library hosts. Of noteworthy notice is the Scotch Literature festival that provides students with the opportunity to hear speakers who come from all walks of life on a variety of topics including this year’s workshops “Building Character” and “So this is like where English is heading.” The school also hosts a Literary and Debating group. In particular I liked the opportunities that are provided to the students. Unlike many libraries in the district that I work in where they are only used as a place to sign out books. It appears that the library at Scotch College is used as the hub of the school with various programs offered to the students to enhance their experience. I don’t feel that there is anything that I did not like as it far supersedes any other school library site that I have seen.

North Elementary School
This website is a bit overwhelming at first glance. Every link is provided on the main page and they are mainly text with no icons it is visually unappealing. Aside from the design the web page did contain some useful information. Located on the main page of the website were grade level resource tabs. Users clicking on a grade level tab are provide with a list of links and information that are specific to their age level.I was impressed by the links that were available to teachers. Under the link planning resources teachers have the ability to see links that that are available to plan unit and to see what corresponding books are available in the North Elementary School library catalog. Another link was the teaching books.net link. It provides online resources for teachers and students to learn more about authors and resources for exploring children’s literature.Suggestions that I would offer to create a more user friendly website would be to limit the amount of links that are offered on the main library web page. Instead the links could appear if a topic was highlighted. As this is an Elementary site I believe that it needs to contain more icons that help users quickly identify what they want. Icons also create a visually appealing website.

Byng Secondary Library
What can be said about this website. I spend a few minutes looking for the link to the library website and then I realized there was no link and this was the library website. For a High School Library website I would have expected a lot more. I could list everything that is missing, but there is nothing that is noteworthy and the lack of effort and maintenance on this site is clearly evident. Much limited comments equal the amount of content on the Byng Secondary Library site.

Too long gone

Wow has it really been that long since I last posted! It is amazing how fast June flew by, but all considering with all that took place in June I should not be surprised. Writing 33 report cards, packing up my classroom and finishing the cataloging assignment. I will do a further post on that activity later. I am off to do grocery shopping. Something I have avoided as I have been working on a paper for a different course.

Week 4

I just finished the readings for the fourth lesson. I am feeling very overwhelmed! As I have previously stated, learning about the Dewey Decimal System and the Library of Congress Cataloging system is like learning a new language. But it is a language that I have been surrounded by for years. I think back to how many times that I have been in a library and I have looked at the numbers and letters on the spines of books. I never paid much attention to them. Most times I am simply relieved that I am able to find a book that I have been looking for. Now that I have a basic, no a very basic understanding I am a bit intrigued. I am sure that there are people out in the world that have a very high level understanding of cataloging and that if asked they could decifer any book label given to them. I don't think I will ever accuire that type of knowledge, but I am sure on my next visit to the library I will be looking closer at the numbers and letters, seeing if I can read a bit of it, like the french on the side of my cereal box.

Week 3 Activity 3

YIPPEE I am finally done activity 3! I now fully understand what my fellow course participants were talking about when they said that this activity was time consuming and difficult. This activity was a dousy and took about 4 hours from start to finish. Having no prior experience with library cataloguing I felt that I was learning a new language by looking at the Dewey Decimal Numbers and the Library of Congress Classification Numbers.

The first few books that I looked up were difficult to catalogue. Partially it was difficult as I was navigating my way through unfamiliar websites and search engines trying to find the best resources to complete this activity. However by the fourth book I really felt that I had got "the hang of it" and I was able to understand the "language" and I had a basic understanding of the cataloging process.

I don't really have a preference of either the Dewey Decimal system or the Library of Congress cataloging system they both have their advantages and disadvantages. The Library of Congress system appears to have more sub categories so books are in specific areas. For example a book about Education in Europe has its own category in the Library of Congress. In the Dewey decimal system the same book would end up in the category of either elementary or secondary education. A typical School library does not require a cataloguing system that in-depth. I can understand why schools tend to use the Dewey Decimal system. It is more user friendly for the student and for the librarian who has do all of the back of the house duties. Upon completing this activity I do however have a greater appreciation for cataloguing and for the people who fully understand how to do it. It is a very time consuming complicated process that requires a lot of information and knowledge to complete.

Websites I found useful:

To look up the Library of Congress Information, under the full listing you can find the Dewey Decimal Classification number
www.catalog.loc.gov/webvoy.htm

To find the Library of Congress Headings
www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/

To understand the Dewey Decimal Classification
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dewey_Decimal_classes