This module introduced the Dewey System. I have always liked the Dewey System – it makes sense and keeps the library organised – no I don’t use it at home with my own library collection! I enjoyed teaching it to the students to get them to understand and find resources they were looking for. 

As part of assignment three we were required to search through WebDewey and work out the different classifications of resources. It was an interesting task, some followed an easy path, some required a little more thought and the use of tables (I had no idea these existed). We were also required to compare the difference with that of the Trove records. Sometimes the Trove record classification made more sense. When I asked the librarian and technician to look over my assignment, they made the comment that they like the format that I had presented it in and wished there was a website that could compare the SCIS record and the Trove record and then as the librarian you could make the decision as to which classification you could follow. 

This whole subject is based around metadata and with the comments from the library staff, it had me thinking, why don’t we have access to things like this to make our jobs easier? Each library may do things differently and that should be ok. The discussion about genrefication came up again – I am still on the fence. One thought of discussion was genrefying the fiction and non-fiction together. This could potentially be a good idea, but what happens with some fiction books that may not necessarily have a particular genre they align to, or would rather be kept separate. Only time will tell what happens with this discussion. 

I have only touched the surface with Dewey and I feel there is still plenty that I need to learn. I just have to wait until I am in the role to continue practising and learning.

This module covers the vocabulary used when locating resources. When searching the terms controlled vocabulary and natural vocabulary come into play. Also keyword searching is another relevant term. All three terminologies play a part in helping the search link with terms used by the author to find the resource they are searching for.

Several websites were investigated, such as the Library of Congress, SCIS and ScOT. It is very interesting to begin to understand the process of searching and what vocab is used to help the user find what they are looking for. On the other hand it is very full on to understand and I feel out of my depth and really need to see how this works in action in the library. 

The Library of Congress website will still take me some time to understand. I am finding that it is very American based and the resources on there show that focus. I was completing searches regarding ‘flamingos’ and they are predominantly American. I even used the Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM) and there were only 14 results and all based on American pictures, artworks and statues. 

I like the use of SCIS and how well the results are presented. ScOT was an interesting website to use, it doesn’t seem as easy as SCIS, but really it is only needed to find the headings that could relate to the topic searched for. These ScOT headings are also displayed in the SCIS results, so I question how often the need to use the ScOT website is needed. 

Overall I need to investigate further into how our library uses this in order to aid in searches. I know that we use the SCIS data with our records and it automatically makes the new record easier to input, but do we use ScOT of the Library of Congress? What keywords are recorded on the record, if any, to help make the search process easier? Do teachers and students complete searches, or do they just come to the library and ask – do you have this? 

I never thought that cataloguing was so in depth. This module explains the history of cataloguing and how it has developed over the years. Not having further experience in the last few years, I feel completely out of my depth. There appears to be so much and even understanding the process that a user goes through when searching for a particular resource. It didn’t occur that this could be something that was measured and then the library catalogue systems were based around it. 

FRBR – Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records

The five elements based around FRBR as described by Hilder (2018): 

• Find
• Identify 
• Select 
• Obtain
• Explore 

I find these elements tricky to understand. When searching for a resource, these elements just naturally come into play. So when having to justify or explain an example of which of these elements is in play, for me is difficult. 

FRAD – Functional Requirements for Authority Data. 

Both of these are based around analysing bibliographic and authority data (Oliver, 2010). 

RDA – which is Resource Description and Analysis. When cataloguing, the format is different and  it is designed to provide some general rules and options and exceptions (Welsh and Batey, 2012). 

All of these metadata standards have their own differing set of qualities. It would be essential to see which works best in your own library. From memory, a lot of the work was already done and the process appeared to be quite easy. I don’t remember having to go into this much detail when cataloguing. 

And then there is MARC – Machine Readable Cataloguing. It is used to encode records to make it easier for computers to read them. I wonder whether MARC creates more work or is the information readily available? 

I feel that this topic is quite overwhelming for me at this stage. I wonder how often I will need to use these systems, though I do understand the importance of having this knowledge. It will be interesting to see what is used and what is already automated. 

Hider, P. (2018). Information resource description: Creating and managing metadata (2nd ed.). Facet. 

Oliver, C. (2010). FRBR and FRAD in RDA. In Introducing RDA: a guide to the basics (pp.13-36). ALA Editions. 

Welsh, A., & Batley, S. (2012). Bibliographic elements. In Practical cataloguing: AACR, RDA and MARC 21 (pp.17-48). Facet Publishing.

During this module, there appears to be resources available in order to ensure the library is organised and this in part is essential to the library running well. 

The process of cataloging was interesting. Many years ago, when I was working in the library I was shown and particularly enjoyed putting new books into the system. To now see the background information and the how and why we catalogue gives further understanding of the process. 

Investigating the website Trove, I was impressed with the presentation of the search results. I searched the topic ‘family’ and all the results are grouped into their categories, which in turn makes it easier to find what you might be looking for in comparison to Google, which just lists all the results in order. 

I would like to look further into how our school organises digital content. Our current TL only deals with the primary students but how do the secondary students and teachers use and organise this content. Are they left to their own devices, or does each cohort share and organise together? 

It is only Week 4 and I am certainly feeling a little overwhelmed and out of my comfort zone with regards to all this new information. Hopefully this will change and make more sense when I can put what I am learning into practice. 

After completing the first module for this subject it appears that it will roll on nicely from ETL503. This subject will focus on the field of Information Organisation.

One of the first questions that was asked was ‘Why is it necessary for a school library to organise information?’ Without some form of organisation our students and or teachers wouldn’t be able to find the resource that they were looking for. And when we go to put the resource back on the shelf, how would we know where to put it? It would be a total mess and nobody would know where anything was. This would also relate to online resources and having previously learnt about resource lists, this is a great way to keep resources organised whenever a teacher requires it.

The module states that the teacher librarian’s role is “to ensure that appropriate and efficient means of retrieving the information held within the collection are in place and meet user needs” (Rowe, 2022).

After reading chapters 1,2 and 4 of the text, there is lots of descriptions about information resources and in particular ‘metadata’ which is essentially data about data but it is only effective if people understand it and use it.

It was interesting to read how over a period of eight years, the rise of the metadata librarian and the fall of a cataloguing librarian. This may apply in bigger or more commercial libraries where this is predominately their job. A library technician in a school may be involved in more than just cataloguing. I know in our library, they are partially involved in the deciding and purchasing and also the budget. There is also the borrowing and returning of books.

I am always a little apprehensive about the start of a new uni subject but the fact that this one follows on from the subject I completed last semester, it will be rather interesting and may give further information into the role of the teacher librarian.