July 6th Learning Update

Here is where I am currently at for LIBE 465.

1. I just finished taking a deep breath and delving back into the UBC online library catalogue. I was determined to find some more articles related to cataloguing, as I was frustrated that I couldn't find them back when I was completing Activity #5. This time around, I did manage to find gazillions of journals that dealt with the library, but it took awhile (and I'm still not sure if I could find them again). I realized that my main problem was that the search function I was using was the wrong one. I had to search by subject first, but when I went to "Browse Journals by subject" it didn't give me a choice that really applied to the library. I (by chance) clicked on "online indexes and databases" and on that page there was a different link for "subject guides" which had a category for "Library, Archival, and Information Studies". From that collection I was able to find every journal that had been mentioned by other students on the discussion forum. I dug further and found an interesting looking article called "A user-centred and evidence-based approach for digital library projects" in "The Electronic Library" (Vol. 27 2009). It was really really long so I didn't actually read the whole thing, but I may return to it because it discusses how current library catalogues were never designed for (and are therefore not meeting the needs of) the "net" generation which has now entered the age of their post-secondary education.

2. Last week I marked by last final project from my Literature 12 class which was a literary/research paper discussing the relationship between Oscar Wilde's personal life, and his characters in the novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray". The paper was handed in by one of our top academic students (who was also our valedictorian). I have never assigned a research paper before, but I was shocked at the limited references, and almost non-existent documentation in the paper. In summary, it was "Oscar Wilde meets Wikipedia". It was a blatant example of the very poor job our school is doing in the instruction of information literacy skills.

3. I went down to our IMC (district Informational Media Centre) with the hopes of discussing the cataloguing process at the district level. I also wanted a quick tutorial on the OPAC (which is offered on the district website) but alas, the centre is closed until August 31st.

4. I just completed the readings for Week 10 of this course, and I had a great idea. As it is likely I will inherit the library at our school in the next two years, I thought that I would ask our T-L if I could personally be responsible for the cataloguing, shelving and maintenance of all our grade 12 literature circle novels. This would familiarize me with almost all of the elements of this course, (from ordering, to cataloguing, to putting on the labels, to protecting and binding the books, to completing inventory and shelving, and tracking missing items). It would get me familiar with the computer system, and it would help me keep track of my English novels (which will save our English department money). I'm actually quite excited about the prospect, and I'm pretty sure my T-L will let me do it, because it should not be much of a hassle for her. I could even shelve the books in my own classroom, but I'm not sure if that would be desirable for her or not.