renee's blog

In my last post, I brought up some lessons I learned from my failed attempt at a summer reading program. For this post, I bring to you lesson number two - Programming and Promotion. Programming In relation to last week's post on planning, programming will take a lot of time and, hopefully, collaboration. You will need to think about themes, topics, classes, outreach and more. I would have liked to have my summer reading program based on a theme with a book selection that promoted the theme. From that, it would have been cool to offer special programs on open library days. Say the theme was graphic novels - I could have held a session on design, animation, or character development. Again, this all goes back to planning ...and starting early. At least I have a start for next year! ALA has many great ideas on Summer Reading Programs Promotion I feel I really dropped the ball, too, when it came to promoting my summer library hours. I did make a really neat poster which I wi...

My observations included an elementary and a middle school librarian, and academic librarians in the IT, reference, and circulation departments. I have been working in some capacity in a library setting for some time now – 10 years – so, I approached my observations as both a student and a colleague. The questions I asked were from a position of someone who is in and knows the profession, but is curious about other perceptions of the job. Additionally, I took this opportunity to learn from my colleagues, focusing on areas in which I know I need a polishing up. My first question to all librarians was, ‘do you feel your job is rewarding?’ I have found this question to open up conversation as to whether or not people like their jobs, what they do and don’t like about them, and so forth. Of the five librarians I worked with during my observation, four found their work to be rewarding. I found that to be very affirming. When pressed on what they found rewarding about their jobs, most m...

My experiment with opening the library to students over the summer has been ... not so great. I am sad to report that not a single student came to visit the library this summer. Keep in mind, the idea to open up the library during the summer was definitely a last minute one. In fact, there were only two weeks of school remaining when I we first approached the subject. The last two weeks of school . Even my most avid library visitors barley feigned interest, and I know they only did that to appease me (they're so good). Even still, who can blame them for not being excited to come back to school during the summer? This is the first time our school has done something like this (at least that I know of). For the students, summer meant vacation from school. Not more school. Oh well. So, while I was able to complete a lot of needed work around the library, and plan for the year ahead, I did not check any books out to my students. However, I am taking this to be a learning experience. ...

For my first observation, I visited a small, public elementary school library. I knew I was going to assist the librarian in developing curriculum for her gifted students. As I have been working with the gifted teacher in my own school, I took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions specific to working with gifted students. 1. How does teaching gifted students in the library differ from other students? 2. What are some ways in which the library can best support gifted students? 3. Does the library host resources especially for the gifted students? The librarian had answers for all three questions, but I did do a little research on my own after the visit to follow-up on my own professional curiosity. Much of my research backed up the actions and beliefs of the librarian. For instance, when addressing differences between gifted students and other students, the library pointed to the seemingly endless curiosity of the child. She also said that they typically like to read muc...

Since I started taking this course, I've been checking out professional catalogers' blogs. It's been new to me as I've never really paid attention to the cataloging world and really didn't know much about catalogers - except that they love mahjong. Anyway, I recently started reading this blog written by a Canadian cataloger. It's clever and interesting and actually makes cataloging interesting - but, that's not why I'm bringing it up. I read one of her older posts about what makes a good cataloger and within the discussion a British colleague wrote something about job candidates shooting themselves in the foot by mentioning that they catalog with Dewey. So, I've been thinking about that. What gives? I get that larger libraries use LOC, but this librarian is British, so that can't be it. Maybe England uses a different cataloging standard? I could look it up, but I'm too exhausted (more on that later). Or, is Dewey just an antiquated system ...

There comes a point during a semester where everything kind of clicks. The “aha” moment, I believe Oprah calls it. I think I’ve finally achieved that clarity in cataloging. I guess it has something to do with the way I learn. I almost need to see the bigger picture before I can start to understand the details – or appreciate why they matter. Approached the other way around and I get hung up on little things, not understanding how it all fits. Now I see the bigger picture. And, thank the library gods because I was starting to go a little bonkers. I’m still hitting snags with the details – I’m not sure how great I did on the access points quiz I just took- and I foresee having to tote along my AACR guide when cataloging, but at least I understand how it all fits together. Now I’m starting to think more about cataloging in the library world. What does it mean to be a cataloger? Are they simply recorders of bibliographic information - preoccupied with spelling, punctuation, and Dewey’s dec...

This is my first post for LIBS 6120 Cataloging & Classification. First thoughts: In the beginning, I hated it. That sounds horrible. But, hear me out. This is my first online course. I'm a very hands-on type of learner - and embarrassingly traditional. I need people around to teach and learn and motivate. This, I suppose, is normal. Anyway, this all online thing has been new and trying, but I'm getting there. Mostly it’s about creating a schedule and sticking to it. Still, I'd like to have a few study pals. About cataloging, I'm thinking this may not have been the best course to start out with. I feel this way for two reasons; a) because tackling the whole first-online-course thing on top of all of the details(!) of cataloging has been extremely time consuming, and b) because it's so demoralizing. I guess reason b is because of reason a, so maybe there is only one reason. Anyway, it's hard to stay motivated about a new career path by starting out tackling th...