Assignment #2: The Final Chapter

Ok, I have just submitted assignment #2. I'm a little worried. While I feel much better than I did at the beginning of the assignment, (when I felt like I had NO idea what was going on), I still don't feel like I'm understanding the point. I am trying desperately to grasp how this all fits in to cataloguing in a high school library. I still have not gone into my own library to take a look at the books, or ask my T-L how she does it (in my defense it has been a ridiculously busy time). For the assignment I think I did save a lot of time by reading the discussion posts of the other members of the class who were in front of me. I was saved a lot of time and frustration on items such as "Jiggajump" because others had suffered before me. It was also reassuring to realize that I was not the only person who was struggling with these concepts. While I am too insecure to post any questions on the forums (because I seriously don't seem to get even the most basic concepts we are learning), I have learned a lot from others, and appreciated their honesty and humour.

I do feel that I have a better grasp of what MARC records are, and I think I am getting a feel for the idea of access points, descriptive and subjective (right term ?) cataloguing. Basically the idea is always to find out how to organize your materials so that your library patrons will be able to find it the most easily. The closest analogy I can make to this course is trying to organize my own binders for teaching my courses. If I have a review sheet for a certain unit, do I put it with the subject binder of the unit itself, or do I put it in a binder with all my other review sheets (no matter what the topic)? I guess the more important question is, where will I be the most likely to LOOK for it when I need it again?

On another note...I have finished "The Time Traveler's Wife." Many kleenexes were required. I also passed over a library position at the middle school next door to us, which has made me reflect upon my current studies. At the moment, I am just very happy in the classroom.