The Evolution of Catalog Tools

While completing our class assignment on MARC records, I was able to update my understanding of the current system of organizing the bibliographic records of library resources. In addition, however, this assignment caused me to reflect upon the past processes, and as well, look towards the future and consider how technological changes will affect the way we organize information for easy access and retrieval.

The predecessor of MARC records was the card catalogue system. It wasn’t so long ago that the card catalogue provided library users with a satisfactory means to accessing resources. It certainly served our needs at the time, helping users navigate their way through the libraries resources, and in doing so, promoted the traditional values of “stability, dependability, reliability and quality” (Thomas, 2000, p. 4).

However, advances in technology created a demand for change in the standards for the organization of information. “In the 1960’s, the first MARC format was designed at the Library of Congress...to enable bibliographic records of books to be entered into properly programmed computers and, once encoded and entered into a database, to be transmitted electronically to another computer programmed to receive them” (Intner and Weihs, 2007, p. 209). Clearly, understanding MARC records, how they are presented and utilized, is important in understanding how searches are done in the online catalog. It is also important to understand how the online catalog searches differ from internet searches, so that we can facilitate the searches of our students, who may not comprehend the difference between these tools.

As technology changes at an extremely rapid pace, so too does the amount of information that becomes available. How, then, do we organize information in the future, complex in amount and diversity of form? For students to be information literate they must be able to function successfully within this new environment. There is, therefore, a growing need for libraries to facilitate access to information and to assist students in locating resources that are reliable. We are dawning on a new era, with increasing challenge and unprecedented volume of information. It is therefore likely that we will continue to encounter an evolution in the standards of the organization of information.

Bibliography

Intner, Sheila and Weihs, Jean (2007). Standard Cataloging for school and public libraries. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Thomas, Sarah E. (2000). The Catalog as Portal to the Internet. Retrieved July 1, 2009 from http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/569/01/thomas_paper.html.

School Library Websites: the possibilities are endless!

Intner and Weihs (2007) write about decisions to shelve the libraries resources in their book, Standard Cataloging For School and Public Libraries, that “It is entirely up to the local library to decide what works best for all its staff and provides the best service for its patrons” (p. 16). I would argue further that many other aspects of a library are guided by the needs of the employees and the users of the library. One such example that reflects this statement is the set up of the school library website, both how to set up a School library website and what to include within this website. School library websites can provide an excellent opportunity to improve and enhance access to information. However, the libraries users ultimately determine what kind of layout and what type of resources should be included in this website. In addition, the teacher librarians, whose experiences vary in relation to technical expertise and time available for creating and updating school library websites, also determine the features of the website.

The creation of a school library website increases the accessibility of library resources. Library users can utilize and access resources from any computer, whether at school or not. Therefore, it is in the best interest of students that each library has one. However, as seen in the websites reviewed in Activity 4, library websites can greatly differ from one another. For example, the Scotch College Library website includes such things as a research link (including sections on research skills, essay writing skills, study skills and bibliography writing skills) because it’s users are at the college level and are heavily involved in the writing of research papers. Another example is the North Elementary School Library Media Center Website, which includes many links that would be useful to students, teachers and parents at the elementary school level. Within this elementary school website there are a variety of age and content appropriate links to other websites that can be very helpful for elementary school students. Many users, young and old, can become overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information available (in libraries and on the web). Therefore, a web page, such as these examples provided, can help to guide students to helpful and appropriate resources that will support their learning. To include a cohesive collection of information and resources all in one location, saves its users the time and effort necessary that it would take to have to locate this information separately on their own. The Scotch College Library web page, won the IASL School Library Technology Innovation Award -2007 because above all it “provides a free flow of information and ideas, and promotes the school library services.” This should be the goal of all library website creators, keeping in mind, always, the intended users of these libraries.

However,consideration for the creators of these library web pages must also be taken in consideration. The creation of a website does take some technical know-how, not to mention time in which to create the website. While websites, such as the two previously mentioned, demonstrate well developed examples of sites that enhance access to information, it needs to be acknowledged that there may have been numerous people or money invested in order to produce these sites. For the teacher librarian, who does not have access to these resources and may be limited on time, websites of this caliber may not be easy to create all at once. A teacher librarian who lacks the technical knowledge in this area may have to seek out professional development opportunities in this area in order to accomplish this task. In addition, before one takes on this task, they should take the time to view many other school library websites to get an idea of the possibilities and choose options that suit the needs of their particular users (as already mentioned). While sites, such as the one for Lord Byng Secondary School, may look mediocre in comparison to the previous two mentioned it may be a good example of a place where someone with limited experience and time can start. This library does not have its own website, but instead has a page within the school’s website. In addition, this library has its own blog, accessed through the library’s page on the school website. Theoretically, a person could create something on the school website or create a blog, where additions could be added over time to improve access to information. For example, web 2.0 tools could be incorporated into the design in order to promote information literacy skills for students and teachers. As well, there are many links that could also be added to a school library website that could also enrich access to information and also connect users to curriculum related sites that they may find useful or interesting. However, regardless of process of website development, the goal is to enhance information to access and to support the users of your libraries. With this in mind the possibilities are endless.

Organization and Guiding Principles

It is important to have libraries organized so that people can easily locate resources when they are needed. Like many other elementary school teacher librarians, I am most familiar with the Dewey Decimal Classification System as a method in which to arrange the libraries resources. I find it to be user-friendly and easy to understand with its seven underlying principles: decimal division; classification by discipline; hierarchy; mnemonics; literary warrant; enumeration and relative location. It is, therefore, no wonder that the Dewey Decimal Classification System, as mentioned by Intner and Weihs (2007) in Standard Cataloguing For School and Public Libraries, “is said to be the world’s most popular classification” (p. 165).

However, over the years, I have noticed that even though school libraries are using the same system (DDC), as their guiding principles of classification, the placement of resources within each of these libraries was not necessarily uniform. It seems that the word ‘organized’ can mean different things to different people. For example, some libraries have created separate spaces for videos, soft cover book (fiction and non-fiction). Personally, I like to have a separate section for fiction books that are holiday related so that I don’t have to be constantly pulling them for teachers (and students). Also, in one school they did their home reading from the library. Therefore, I kept the levelled home reading (early reader) books in a separate place as well. Intner and Weihs (2007) state that “Applying an organizing attribute does not guarantee an arrangement is useful. The resulting arrangement must meet the needs and expectations of the public for whom it is intended” (p. 151). While the users of each library vary, so too do the choices made by teacher librarians. The organization of resources requires that we must keep our particular users in mind.

Keeping Pace With Information

While working as a teacher librarian in the first five years of my teaching career, I was able to experience the transition from a non-automated library to an automated library, with the installation of new computers and each book receiving its first barcode. Since that time, I have gone into the classroom to teach. However, I have continued to watch as educational issues arise, revolving around technological advances and the resulting abundance of information that continues to change our society at an increasingly rapid rate.

Perhaps the greatest issue for me has been how to adequately prepare students for a successful future in this fast-paced 21^st century environment. This feeling I have discovered is also shared by many other educators, as seen in the Youtube video, 21st Century Pedagogy. I often felt a disconnection between the ways in which I was teaching and the world outside of our schools: a world our students would inevitably have to function in. In order to meet these new challenges, I decided to pursue professional development opportunities through course work at UBC.

However, even as I’m nearing completion of my Masters degree, specializing in teacher librarianship, I am continuing to see the countless ways in which technology is reshaping school libraries. Although, I took part in the automation process at a school library, it didn’t occur to me to pay attention to the way that information was added to the computer, regarding the bibliographic records of library materials. After reading Chapter 12 in Standard Cataloguing for School and Public Libraries (Intner and Weihs, 2007, p. 207-223), I became aware that the computer coding had been created to present bibliographic data in a way that could be read by the computer. While I have probably seen this information on the computer screen many times before, I didn’t think to give it much attention.

In order to extend my learning from chapter 12, I continued to search for articles relating to Marc records and came across many articles on cataloguing issues arising from the changing information environment of this digital age. For example, Sally McCallum (2000) wrote an article called Extending MARC for Bibliographic Control in the Web Environment: Challenges and Alternatives (Final version), and David M. Levy (1995) called Cataloging in the Digital Order. What is the future of cataloging in light of ongoing developments in digital technologies? After scanning these articles and many more like them, I can see that the changing nature of information continues to transform how we catalogue information for future retrieval (see the YouTube video Information R/evolution). In 1951, John Phillip Comaroni, author of A History of the Dewey Decimal Classification: Editions One through Fifteen, 1876-1951, wrote that the DDC “was a giant step in the direction of keeping pace with knowledge” (Intner and Weihs, 2007, p. 166). It seems that “keeping pace” is something that we must continue to do, even today (and in the future) in order to continue to keep libraries relevant to the society in which it serves. I’m looking forward to learning more about MARC records so that I’m not left in the dark as technology becomes an increasing presence in our lives.

Cataloguing in the 21st century!

The last time that I had anything to do with cataloguing and MARC records, I worked in an unautomated school library, I viewed 'surfing the net' a huge time waster and did not even have my own e-mail address! The only cataloging tools that were used at the time were in book form. Oh boy, how things have changed, in what seems like a very short amount of time (less than 10 years). I now check my e-mail several times in a 24 hour period and the internet has become immersed into the fabric of my life.

In addition, while reading the postings of my peers listing/describing a huge number of online cataloging tools and standards, it also highlighted how ingrained automation and the World Wide Web has become in the sphere of the teacher librarian. While I was excited to see how technology has simplified, in some respects, the very detailed and sometimes very time consuming nature of the cataloging process, I was also reminded of the importance of cataloging in this increasingly technological era. Intner and Jean(2007)in their introduction to their book Standard Cataloging For School and Public Libraries writes "In the twenty-first century, local library and media center catalogs are more than just keys to the collections housed within local schools and community buildings. They are also gateways to the world that lies beyond school and town, with all of its rich intellectual resources" (p. 3).