One of the things that has so impressed me in the Teacher-Librarian diploma program at UBC is the practical nature of the courses. After 19 years of teaching I find my patience for “theory without practice” is very limited. This does not mean that I don’t like reading about or discussing theories in education, however I appreciate learning the skills and information I need to make my library a better place to learn by actually doing those things.
In reviewing the objectives for the course I feel confident that I have met the criteria. I have learned about the organizational systems of my library, I have considered how I will improve these systems and how I will communicate the changes to my school community. I have practiced and created records, created online resources, considered the how, not just the what, of improvements to my library, and I have taken steps to improve my library’s catalogue and access. I have documented my learning in my digital library, in my discussion forum posts, in my plan to make my library a learning commons, and in my learning blog.
In our first lesson we were asked “Can we truly have a strong Library Program in a poorly organized school library?” On the page I wrote, “Yes! Just need to work toward that organization.” My library was poorly organized in many ways, and I knew I had a huge task ahead of me before I became the TL this year, but I also felt I could begin the process of creating a strong library program and a positive environment for the staff and students of my school. This course has given me many of the tools I need to make this happen.
We began by talking about organization and access – which interestingly is also what we were talking about in our last lessons. I realized right away that the access to the resources of my library could use some significant improvement. I needed to weed my collection, improve the catalogue entries for better search results, and I needed to better plan my budget to meet the needs of my library.
Our lesson on metadata and search engines was also invaluable to me. I love that I can now actually explain to my students what happens when they try to search for something on Google. I also appreciate that I now have search options and am a much better researcher because of it.
In Module 2 we began our journey into cataloguing. I was especially interested in these lessons because I knew this was an area where I had a lot to learn. Cataloguing is one of those library functions that looks deceptively simple, especially now that our systems are computerized. The problem is, and this was my experience, we follow along filling in the information in our catalogue system without really understanding the importance of the information we are inputting. Before learning about cataloguing I had been blaming the librarian who preceded me for our catalogue issues, but I now realize that I was making many of the same errors, the biggest being not entering subjects and search terms. Although our lessons on MARC made me a bit insane, I know that they were important in my learning experience. I do all of my own cataloguing, and most of it is “copy cataloging,” but that does not mean that I don’t have to create some of my own records. I also need to know how to read the records I am copying so that I can tailor them to the needs of my library.
One of my “AHA” moments was in lesson 4 when we were introduced to ODLIS. This has been a tool that I have referred to often since this lesson. I even included a link on my library web site for quick reference.
Comparing the records of various library resources was very interesting. Because I now knew what the information meant, I could compare with a more critical eye. I realized the importance of the information that I had not been including when cataloguing, thanks to my new understanding of the ISBD areas. I also liked seeing how other institutions, like the Vancouver Public Library, catalogued the resources I was comparing.
And then there was MARC. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I will not be having any more children and that my husband wasn’t set on the name “Marc” or “Mark” because we would have issues. When we first began “playing” with MARC records I was frustrated and quite honestly, a little angry. Why were we doing this? My system creates these records. When will I ever need to do this myself? I still have these feelings but without the intense resentment. Although I will probably never have to create my own records I can at least read them and actually understand what I am looking at. I can also see what information is relevant to my school, or, if I am copy cataloguing, I can see where I might want to add information.
When we added Dewey to our lessons I felt a bit more comfortable. I really liked the “Classification Rules to Remember”:
- Cataloguing can't be learned in a day.
- Dewey is not a perfect system; not all books fit neatly into 1 number
- Some books can legitimately be catalogued in several numbers; choose the one most appropriate to the curriculum and the conditions in your school
- Always put a book in a number where it will get maximum usage; move good books if they don't seem to be used in your school library
- Bend the rules to suit your local needs - Catalogue biographies based on district rules.
- There are standard subdivisions that can be added to almost any number:
- 03 = dictionaries, encyclopedias. ie. 503 for a dictionary of science; 610.3 dictionary of medical terms
- 09 = history and criticism. ie. 809 = criticism of literature; 385.09 for a history of railways
These “rules” made me relax a little – and feel more confident about my decision to create a BIO section for biographies and move them out of the 920’s.
In the last module we considered how our cataloguing is done and by whom, as well as the systems we use. I do all of my own cataloguing (and much better now) and our system, Alexandria, needs to be upgraded for online access. Our OPAC is working very well but if I want to improve access to resources we need to move it forward. This also links to the importance of our library homepage and web site. I am excited that I am moving the library forward through our website and I hope to add access to our OPAC for the fall.
In our final lesson and in our third assignment, we considered how we can improve the access to our resources. I love that I now have a vision and plan to make this vision a reality. I also feel good about the progress I have made this year and that I now have the knowledge to back up the future changes I know will improve my library.
Like all learning processes, there are some things I would have improved about my performance in this course. I know I could have been more consistent in my discussion posts so that they more accurately reflected the continuous learning I was doing as a result of the lessons. Often I would get caught up in reading others’ posts and working on the lesson activities that I would miss posting. Sometimes I also struggled to find something to add to the discussion that hadn’t already been said 30 times. Having said that, I learned so much from my classmates’ discussions – something that has held true for all of the courses I have taken toward my diploma. I feel very comfortable with the VISTA platform and I like being able to share ideas and respond to the comments of others.
I have amassed a considerable amount of knowledge and resources as a result of this course. I know that it will help me make my library better organized so that I can have a strong library program.
