LSSL 5332
Unit 2
Journal Entry #2
“During unit 2 we
will be discussing and learning about Dewey Decimal and organization of
materials in a library. For the Reflection Journal 2, discuss your ideas
about standard organization of library materials versus nonstandard methods
(genre etc). Discuss standard organization and standard cataloging (what
you know so far) and why it is important for students to develop information
literacy skills to be able to locate and access materials. In other
words, why is it important to teach them how to find materials rather then
'making it easy for them' to find books. How does
cataloging, particularly using standard methods of organization, support the
development of these skills? As you reflect, think about your role in
cataloging and how your decisions impact the development of life-long skills
for using libraries. Include specific
examples to illustrate your points and cite sources as appropriate.”
Standardized Organizations of Materials
Standard
organization of materials in a library falls under multiple categories, all of
which equally important. MARC 21 and AACR2 help catalog the material in the
computer database, but they do not necessarily organize them on the users’
level. Librarians have access to the records, understanding them with ease,
allowing them to find specific information on a book and then finding the book
faster. Within a library, most individuals do not know how to use the
cataloging system, therefore, rely on other ways to find materials. While I do
not necessarily think that every patron should be able to access and understand
the above mentioned records, I do believe that patrons should be able to find
materials they need in a quick, logical manner.
Specifics
such as the Dewey Decimal System help patrons find books. When librarians
decorate signs and hang them on the edge of the bookcase, much like in school
settings, children tend to peruse more than normal. Instead of finding a book
on the computer’s system, the child will walk around looking at the pictures as
opposed to finding the number associated with the book they actually want. This
has actually been an ongoing issue at my school, and the librarians are having
a difficult time of breaking the habit of the older students who want to wander
and find a book based off of the cover instead of finding one for what its
contents have. Honestly, I see it every time we go to the library. Students
have expressed to me that they just don’t want to read for fun and find it
difficult to find a book. Many students have to be prompted on a genre, author,
or idea and then we, the librarian and I, will guide them to a book they may
enjoy. It can be frustrating at times, now after these classes, to know how much
effort was put into organizing books in a library, especially one as large as
some of these are nowadays, and people not taking the time to use the
information and honor it.
The
Dewey Decimal System, as an idea rather than a full out concept, is explained,
in detail, to students at the beginning of the year in almost every grade to
make sure that students understand how to find a book and what to do when
replacing a book. Yet, even after hearing the same instructions for ten plus
years, students leave high school still not knowing how to find a book without
asking an adult for help. I truly believe that if students used the skills they
already had, along with the information given to them over the years, the
anchor charts, and computer programs within the library, they would develop a
better sense of what they enjoy reading and a deeper meaning of why they enjoy
it.
Students
need to be able to know what they enjoy and don’t enjoy reading because of the
rigor of our schools increasing each year, adding in more individualized,
self-sustained reading to correlate with reading and writing within the
classroom. As a seventh grade teacher, I am required to take them to the
library bi-weekly, but I do not have to require them to check out a book
because it is their choice. I can “require” them to check out a book, in Lame man’s
terms, but I can’t make them read when they leave the classroom. And, in all
honesty, I sometimes can’t even get them to read when they are in the
classroom. The constant struggle I face is students not knowing what they like,
therefore, they don’t choose books they actually want to read. When they don’t
read in class for fun, gaining those habits and asking deeper questions, they
definitely don’t read at home for fun. My go to quote is that one can only
better themselves at reading and writing if they practice it over and over
again. If a student isn’t practicing reading, inside or outside of the
classroom or library, they are not improving their literacy skills. If we
continue to sit here and give children books because they say they like
something specific, they are never going to branch out on their own and take
the initiative to find something new.
As
a current teacher and future librarian, I make it my goal to help guide
children to books, never giving them anything. I ask probing questions, pick
their brains, ask what they have recently read or watched, and go from there. I
make sure, after gaining enough knowledge of their likes, to give them a
plethora of genres and books to choose from instead of saying they should read
only one book because it fits all of their criteria.
When
a child can think for themselves about a specific kind of book they like,
choose a book for themselves based on their reasoning, and want to read
something on their own, without being told by an adult, is when I will finally
say I succeeded as an educator who engrained that reading can be fun.
Bibliography:
Intner, Sheila
S., Fountain, Joanna F., & Weihs, J. (2010). Cataloging correctly for
kids: An
introduction to the tools (5th
ed.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association Editions.
Teacher Comments:
Molly,
Great work on the reflection! You've noted key points in the why and how of cataloging. It is so important to help our users get comfortable with searching and understanding the organization. This is why the idea of varied genrefiying schemes are troublesome for me. I'm just not convinced they are best for kids.
Buffy
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