Changing Things Up A Bit

School libraries should be open and accessible for all of its patrons.  A library that is cluttered and organized makes for an environment that is hard to maneuver and difficult to find the resources that are needed. The problem with many elementary libraries is lack of space and the amount of resources and equipment that take up the space.  In my discussion this week I wrote about two thing that could help in providing access to my library for  students and staff  at my school.  In my future library I want it to be the hub of the school, always busy and important.

I believe that the creation of a library webpage is a very important aspect of a successful library. By going through the websites in this discussion and looking through the website of my own school I can see the benefits for students, staff, and parents of having a library website. A library website can provide access to the online resources provided by the district, access to the library catalog online through the You See More on the LS2 system, and activities and events that are coming up in the library.

The webpage for the library is fairly basic it has an outdated Bookfest page and some basic library information. If I had the chance to develop a website/blog for the library I would without hesitation. Having the chance this term to create my own blog and website has demonstrated to me that creating and maintaining a site would be something easy to do. It wouldn’t take long to create and updating could be done weekly or even monthly. Creating an enriching and attractive website would provide tools and information for all library patrons. 

Library Website Please

By looking through at that sample library websites and my fellow classmates websites I can see the benefits of having one in my future library.  In my discussion this week I discussed the importance of having a website and what I think should be on it.  I also discussed how it would provide better access to the library.

Discussion:
I believe that the creation of a library webpage is a very important aspect of a successful library. By going through the websites in this discussion and looking through the website of my own school I can see the benefits for students, staff, and parents of having a library website. A library website can provide access to the online resources provided by the district, access to the library catalog online through the You See More on the LS2 system, and activities and events that are coming up in the library.

The webpage for the library is fairly basic it has an outdated Bookfest page and some basic library information. If I had the chance to develop a website/blog for the library I would without hesitation. Having the chance this term to create my own blog and website has demonstrated to me that creating and maintaining a site would be something easy to do. It wouldn’t take long to create and updating could be done weekly or even monthly. Creating an enriching and attractive website would provide tools and information for all library patrons. 

Library Cataloguing The LS2 and Me

There is a love hate relationship between the Teacher Librarian and their cataloguing system.  In my district we used to use the L4U program which was old and antiquated, you had to do your own records for each book that you entered into the system.  The LS2 is the library cataloguing we now use at my school and in my district.Below I have talked a little about the LS2 program and what I see as some of its benefits.

The OPAC we use at this school is the LS2 system from TLC (The Library Corporation).
The student site is easy to navigate for students of all ages. The student search page has two options for students to search in. One is the basic search page that you would find in every other catalog with searching for your title, author, and subject. The second is completely student friendly that features a dog who when searching for the title, author, and subject chases a bone. I searched for novels such as The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Dinosaurs, and J.K Rowling. I found that searching this catalogue was easy and that students wouldn’t have an issue searching as long as they were given a quick tutorial from the librarian.

My experience with the administration features of the LS2 is limited to having Teacher Librarians showing me some of the features. I was able to see the TL input a student into the system and it seemed to be easy and quite straight forward. I was also able to see him scan a new book into the catalogue. After the new book is scanned into the system the catalogue updates each night adding all of the records to the catalogue. The LS2 has only been in use in our district for the last two years. I was in a library when it was first being introduced. Most of the TL’s that I have talked to in this district like this catalogue better than the previous L4U catalogue.

Cataloging, Putting it Together!

 Cataloging is only one of the jobs of a TL. It is however one of the most important jobs.  Being able put everything together by finding the learning resources and putting them into out catalogue for students and staff to use extenuates our importance in our schools. Below is the weekly activity where we explored operating  systems and purchasing.

In my district we have a centralized library cataloging system the LS2. Cataloging is done through this system by the school librarian. The only schools in this district to have any library clerk time is the high schools. At the elementary level we are looking at losing TL time , there are no clerks. With the LS2 there is a centralized database where all records are preprogramed based on isbn’s and book entries, it’s fairly simple to use. My districts just implemented the LS2 system two years ago and while the other operating services (OCLC) seem excellent they would not be purchased by my district. Most of the purchases in done by the TL in my library is done locally at a book store that gives a discount, the Scholastic book sale, and through online sites such as chapters. My school does not purchases s through Follett or ULS although I can see the benefits of library bindings in the wear and tear off books.

By exploring the jobbers and all of the bibliographic options out there from the readings and activities this week I can see the benefits of the programs and options that are out there. Being that my district has the integrated LS2 model I’m not sure of the options that the individual TL has or if there is a budget to use anything other than what is provided for you since I’m not the TL. In regards to purchasing books and supplies I know that TL’s have full autonomy and if I was the TL I would explore the book purchasing and binding supplies further.

DDC and ME

In going through this weeks lesson and browsing through the class discussion I have realized that learning  the DDC can be fun.  In my discussion post I talked about two activities that I have done in the past.  I also liked two of the websites posted by Jane Leslie.  I will now post my discussion post for this week and the two online Dewy Decimal games to play.

Online Games:

http://quizlet.com/8431990/dewey-decimal-categories-flash-cards/

https://jeopardylabs.com/play/the-dewey2

My DDC Discussion Post
Last year during job action when we were instructed not to administer the FSA's my principal took my class and I took the grade 5's from another class and did library training with them. I made up two activities for them around the DDC.
Activity 1 DDC Pictionary: Just the same as regular Pictionary but with the clues being DDC numbers and subject headings. The class was divided into teams and they took turns drawing out their clues. The students had a really fun time and seemed to retain the main categories.
Activity 2 Draw the Library: Students drew a map of the library and then labeled each section and sub section section with drawings including the Non Fiction section with DDC subsections. The result was beautifully creative maps that described the DDC in a fun way. 

Delicious, Not So Tasty ;)

I have experimented with delicious in the past when I was teaching at a high school but haven’t looked at it much for a while.  A few of my past colleagues were obsessed with this site and showed me some great stuff for my Socials and English classes.  What I remember from back then was all of tags and sorting of information, it gave me a headache and I didn’t continue using this site.

Going back to delicious now I searched for some of the topics that I am working on now I can see the need for consistency.  In keeping with the theme of fairy tales and fractured fairy tales, that is what I searched online.  A lot of the sites that I have explored in the past came up in my search.  However, there were also lots of other things that came up that didn’t have anything to do with what I was looking for.  I can see that being consistent with tagging be it on an online site like this one or in a database is an important thing, otherwise who knows what is being called what?  So to me delicious is not so tasty ;)
 

CIP, MARC Records, and Assignment 2

This has been a busy week with this weeks readings and assignment on CIP and comparing it to MARC records and working on Assignment 2.  Below I have posted my thoughts and post for week 7 finding that both CIP and Marc have their purposes and that if I had to create my own record I would use both to help in the process.
Working on Assignment 2 this week has been a delight thus far.  I'm enjoying my topic Fairy Tales and Fractured Fairy Tales.  I did a unit on this topic at the end of last year and can't wait to do it agin with my class this year.  I hope that I've picked a diverse enough collection.  I have DVD's, picture books, teacher resources, and websites.  I hope that by Wednesday everything comes together in a nice little package.

Week 7 Posting CIP and MARC Records

I used the VPL to look at the MARC records for my three books.  The three books that I chose were off of my book shelf and I will be using them in assignment three.  The three books are Peter Pan and Wendy, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Jack and the Beanstalk.

Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie the Centenary Edition is the first book that I compared with the MARC records and fount hem to be quite comparable.  One thing that was missing from the MARC record that was found in the CIP inside the book was that all proceeds of the book went to Great Ormand Street Hospital. 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is the second book that I compared and like Pete Pan the records compared well, which is to be expected since they are from the same publishers and the same information is found in the CIP page of the book. I’m finding that more information could be given in the CIP documentation as the MARC records seem to have more data on them.

The last book that I looked at this week was Jack and the Beanstalk retold by Ann Keay Beneduce.  The only difference I found between the MARC record and the CIP record was the CIP had all of the different publication companies and cities while the MARC only stated New York and Philomel Books.  I can see the difficulties of placing all of the different publication citied and companies in a database record but should they not all be listed?