Not Enough Money in th World $$$

You could not pay me enough to be a full-time cataloger! 

Thankfully, as a school librarian, this will only be a portion of my job.  I do feel much calmer this month after realizing each step builds on the last and once I find the basic information I only have to format it correctly.  However, the formatting in each step seems to be more and more tedious.  The formatting also switches between the different areas we are studying!  However, this is not a difficult subject.  It simply requires time and attention to detail. 

I’m waiting to get to subjects.  After looking through the catalog record I work with, I realized this is where the most discrepancies lies.  The information we have used so far is pretty straight forward.  I don’t have to decide what the author’s name is going to be, I just have to put in the right place using the right format.  I’m curious if subjects are much the same way, or if I have to decide.  Also, all the information we have used to this point, can be easily found without actually reading the book.  How does one decide subject matter without ever having read the book?

Basically, though I am feeling much better about the class now.  The librarian I work with has enjoyed looking over some of the lecture notes and discussions, as a lot of this information was not covered in her cataloging class!

Kristy Boling

February 28, 2011

240 Words

I've been doing this completely WRONG!

I currently work as an assistant in an elementary school library.  As the librarian spends much of her time teaching classes, pretty much every thing else falls to me.  This includes processing and cataloging new books.  The first year I worked, I only did copy and paste cataloging and only from two websites the librarian preferred.  However, after I became familiar with bibliographic records and MARC tags, she showed me other sites she uses and what items may need to be edited.  She also showed me how to create a record from scratch.  I do this every week and it is a very simple process. 

Now I am taking a cataloging class and looking over all the codes, acronyms, and abbreviations I have to learn how to use.  Not to mention the amount of detail involved in each record.  The librarian I work for does not do it this way.  She is primarily in charge of her library and not really accountable to anyone else, so she can basically do what she wants.  The more classes I take in LIBS the more I realize how much she really does her own way. 

I'm a little overwhelmed right now, but I decided to quit looking ahead and pace myself according the assignments.  I think if I become familiar with each new piece of information in a step by step process, I will understand everything just fine.

Kristy Boling
January 31, 2011
235 words