Final Reflection

            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”:

1. Cataloguing can't be learned in a day.
2. Dewey is not a perfect system; not all books fit neatly into 1 number
3. Some books can legitimately be catalogued in several numbers; choose the one most appropriate to the curriculum and the conditions in your school
4. 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
5. Bend the rules to suit your local needs - Catalogue biographies based on district rules.
6. There are standard subdivisions that can be added to almost any number:
7. 03 = dictionaries, encyclopedias. ie. 503 for a dictionary of science; 610.3 dictionary of medical terms
8. 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.

The Library Catalogue

I think I actually get to be original as my school uses Alexandria for our cataloguing system and the version or system we pay for is not an actual OPAC system - meaning we do not have online access to the catalogue. The three elementary schools and my high school in Hope all use this system, however we are independent of each other. The system itself is excellent and based on my observations and research into Follett's Destiny, the two systems are very similar.

Students have access to our catalogue on one computer in the library - and honestly NO ONE uses it. One of the main obstacles is that the students have to log in to the computer and then access the catalogue, which just takes too long. I have considered making the catalogue computer accessible without a log in, but that means one fewer computer for student use and they are all used regularly.

As part of my assignment 3 I began investigating an upgrade to our system to allow for online access. I would need an initial outlay af about $1200 plus a yearly maintenance fee of $599. (Only 390 students in our school) This would give us the ability to have up to 10 concurrent users of the catalogue, which at this time, seems like more than enough. I have not compared this to what it would cost to change to Destiny - that is next on my "To Do" list for our catalogue.

In a previous course I did an extensive study of our system when analyzing one section of our non-fiction collection. I realized at that time that the catalogue is only as good as the information it is provided and that has only been confirmed in this course. In the student search feature they have several options - like some other students in the class, I find the visual of the search screen a bit dated, and in my case a bit "young" for my high school students. It is very easy to navigate and try different search parameters. The problem is, many of our resources have not been entered correctly. For example, a search for titles with the word "Canada" nets 6 results - really? We only have 6 books with the word "Canada" in the title? And a search of the subject "Canada" only gives 4 results - and 2 of them are not the same as the title search. Yikes!

Managing the system from the main library computer is not difficult. The system has a very clean visual look and now that I know most of the keyboard shortcuts, moving between different functions is even easier. Since starting this course we have significantly improved the cataloguing of our new resources, and once I have finished the weeding of the non-fiction, we will begin recataloguing other resources. (I feel your pain Beth!)

I think some of the discrepancies in the catalogue have been the result of going from a full time TL with a full time aide 20 years ago, to just a TL who had to teach 1 or sometimes 2 classes as well. There just wasn't time to maintain the collection or the catalogue the way it should be. This being my first year as the TL, I have tried to be the observer. How is the library being used? How is the catalogue being used? Which features do I like? Do I need to change? or just upgrade what I have.

Like some others, I have played with reports on my system as well. I like being able to print off my monthly circulation to show the increases since last year, and I also like that I can see things like the average age of the collection.

One of the problems I have with our system is finding students for overdue items. When we originally started using the system, our school had a daily homeroom so this was where the TL could hand out overdue notices or give the homeroom teacher a list of overdues. We no longer have homerooms and the students' schedules have not been entered into the system as part of their profile. To send overdue notices I have to pick one of our 8 blocks and then manually search for the location of each student. One of the features I will be looking for when considering an upgrade to our system is an easy way to import student data when creating "patrons" so that my overdue notices can indicate the student's location.

Sources for Cataloguing, Processing, and Preparing

Because my district (#78 Fraser-Cascade - serving Agassiz, Hope & Boston Bar) is very small we do not have centralized library services.  I am provided my own budget each year and I do all of my own purchasing and cataloguing.  As this was my first year as the TL there was a steep learning curve for this process, especially considering we were desperately "behind the times" in the age of our collection. 

As a result of this course, I quickly realized some of the errors I had been making in the cataloguing of materials.  Luckily, my acquisitions had focused on Fiction, and the main area where my cataloguing was lacking was in subject and search terms/tagging.  I have slowly been working on adding to these records so that the search features of our system can be more effective.

I have several sources for acquisitions, and am not ashamed to admit that the best price has been the most important criteria for me in trying to bring our fiction collection into the 21st century.  I buy books at Costco, Walmart and scour used book stores for good quality used books - I found some great Manga and graphic fiction this way, especially since they can be so expensive to purchase new.  I know that I do not get library bindings but honestly, do I need the book to last forever?  I weeded over 500 titles in September - sure they were in great condition, but no one was reading them.

Now that I am feeling more comfortable in my library surroundings I am exploring the services of companies like Follett and ULS.  The librarian before me had been at our school for 20 years and never used jobbers.  A librarian at another school in the district told the Follett rep that I was new and he came right over to our school.  He was so excited as he said he was told not to bother coming by before.  Although I know he was doing his job, I was very impressed that he took the time to come meet me and then set up another time to come by and demonstrate Follett's services.  Before his return, I took the time to register with Follett and become familiar with their site.  In the 2 hours the rep spent with me on his second visit I was able to use their collection management tool and begin setting up possible purchasing lists.  I also loved that all this was FREE!  I do not use their cataloguing system and I did not feel pressure to purchase from them - but I did. 

There are lots of elements to their site that I like.  Of course free shipping is always good, they offer several binding options, I can create different lists and save them to add to or delete, and title searches also tell me if I already have the title or a similar title in my collection.  It is also very easy to order with a P.O.  I can have them do cataloguing services for me, but I have elected to do these myself.  So far this has not been too overwhelming.

As I said in a reply to Michelle's post, we often judge services and web sites as compared to our first positive experience, so Follett's site and services became my standards.

I have not used ULS...yet, but I hope to actually visit their warehouse in June.  I am not a fan of their web site.  I, like Michelle, find it "dull" and a bit confusing.  I believe this is mostly due to my visual likes and dislikes, not really because of the content of the site.  For both Follett and ULS I logged in so I was able to see prices and options.  ULS does not have as many visuals to accompany each resources and sometimes they only offer one type of binding, whereas Follett seems to always have at least 2 options.  I do like that ULS is Canadian but I do not find Follett "overly American" and my site, once logged in, has a Canadian flag at the top to indicate that I am in the Canadian part of their site.

In ULS I also have trouble narrowing my search to high school options.  In the "Best Books" selection list, I would like to be able to sort by grade.  Instead I have to scroll down to find the books for the grade levels at my school.  I do like their selection lists for First Nations books, Canadian authors, and award winners.

I agree with the School Media Specialist information on jobbers when it says that it is important to form a positive relationship with jobbers.  I know that ULS will be helpful so I want to get to know them better.  I think it is possible, and beneficial to use more than one jobber.  This may not be possible in some TLs' situations, but it can at least be a way to compare products, services, and prices. 

When copy cataloguing I use a variety of sources including Follett, ULS, Library of Congress and various public libraries.  Now that I am better at cataloguing I have my student TAs get the books ready for cataloguing by stamping, labeling and barcoding the acquisitions.  Sometimes I will have them start the cataloguing process and save the subject key word work for me.  This tends to be done within a week of resources arriving which I think is a pretty quick turn around.

As mentioned on the School Library Media Specialist site, purchasing locally is sometimes the best option.  Although I do not have a book store in my community, I do keep my eyes open for book bargains when out and about.  I also check the teen sections of Chapters and Kidsbooks and then look for their top choices at less expensive prices.

Because my library and school district are so small, doing my own cataloguing has not been overwhelming, however I do know that I have some re-cataloguing to do once the weeding of our non-fiction section is complete.  All of this however, is leading to a better organized and more efficient Learning Commons for our students.