Last assignment to do.

I am currently travelling through north America and as such do not always have ready access to internet or a suitable place to complete my work.

Currently I am trying to get my last ever task done, on Dewey Decimal classification. Which is tricky as they have given us about 4 weeks to do what should be 4 months worth of learning imho.

I am not overly worried though, I just got my results back from Ass 2A and I have already passed this subject. I am hoping to pass Ass2B so I can at least get a Credit.

After that, it is trying to get a real job time!

But First I have three days in Ontario to complete this last piece of work, and then back to real life.

In other news, My blog had 45 views yesterday, Again, I don’t know who you are, or why you are looking at a library students blog, but thank you, and I wish us both good luck.

SCIS Connections Term 3 2012

Some good stuff in Issue 82 of Connections from the School Catalogue and Information Service.

The information on Creative commons and how we can use it was useful, but I found really interesting the article on Using the School library information systems in I.T. classes as a practical example.  http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/issue_82/articles/practical_curriculum_opportunities.html

The First paragraph is genius and points out two things of great importance, 1) Library as a haven, and 2) We are not just a place. \

The school library as place and space

The school library is often viewed by staff, students and the school community as a dedicated physical space that provides access to a physical collection of quality resources, teaching spaces and spaces for quiet academic study. However, it is also a community space for teachers, students and even community members to pursue individual leisure activities; as a safe haven from the terrors of the schoolyard; and for senior administrators to use as a venue for meetings or other gatherings such as staff professional development. Increasingly, the library is also a portal to virtual resources and services, where the teacher librarian (TL) provides curriculum design and teaching support for the integration of ICTs and online resources into curriculum programs across the school. As a space, the library is now fragmented into physical and virtual, real time and asynchronous, providing unlimited boundaries for the community it serves.

Finally, and most importantly for my Library masters was the article on Scis Subject headings… SCIS IS MORE…

which talks about the process for adding new headings as well as that we are switching to DDC 15 abridged. Which I have just ordered.

 

A Story of Cataloguing. By Anne Dowling

A  story of cataloguing – big picture, simplistic, no jargon: with apologies to the Brothers Grimm

Once upon a time there were a number of books belonging to a particular owner and all were known to the owner, had been read by the owner, and could be recognised and remembered by the owner. But gradually more and more books were added and the owner couldn’t remember them all and didn’t know whether to add particular books because he/she might already have them. Other people wanted to read the books too and the owner couldn’t be sure who had what book.

So the owner made a list by the title of the book. Very soon more and more books were added and the owner was interested in finding the books written by different people. So he/she made a list of the works by the name of the author. Now there were two lists in book form. But the number of books grew and it was time consuming to look through the lists and the owner also wanted to know more about the books so he/she could organise the books placed in her/his rooms. The catalogue was created using first a book form and then a card form. Cards were placed in drawers (in a piece of furniture) under all the words that the owner thought he/she would use to find a book.

Other owners made their catalogues and all were different. One day an owner decided that instead of there being different catalogues a set of rules should be developed so that all books would be described in the same way and “libraries of books” could be used in the same way. This set of rules became AACR2.

The rules applied to books because this was the way information was recorded. However, new formats for recording information like microfiche and cassette tapes were developed and the rules could not describe some aspects of these.  A new chapter was added to the rule book (AACR) for each type of new resource as it was developed.  The rule book became large with a general section of rules that applied to all resources and separate chapters for different types of material (carriers) and chapters on how to record names, rules for punctuation, capitalisation and abbreviations. It became a complex standard that needed people with specialised training to understand and use it.

 Rules for describing websites were added but internet users and some librarians did not want to use such a complex system to give access to websites so they took the concepts of AACR and developed other standards called metadata. This standard applied to items that were available on the net and so no descriptive record was needed just words to find and access the item. No description is developed to represent the item. Users may search the metadata without even knowing they are.

Now there were two approaches to cataloguing. But could the new metadata standards be used for libraries?  Could a standard be developed that covers all material, is easy to use and brings together the different versions of works produced in different formats.  Libraries still have books and other resources that are not available digitally and so there still needs to be a description to represent these resources. Resource Description and Access (RDA) was developed.

But how should be it be developed? Reasons for developing a catalogue have been worked out many times but the latest was called Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Description (FRBR pronounced furber). This model became the basis of the new standard.

There were still many questions to answer.  Should RDA be based on the carriers of information like videos as AACR was? Should RDA focus on content?  What is the content? What is a work? WHAMME I have it RDA can use WEMI (work, expression, manifestation and item) as the basis for describing content.  What is this? Will this mean that all versions of a resource can be found together? Will I be able to find a “core” record for a work like Macbeth and then be directed to different versions like the books in different languages, a  DVD of a stage version, the Braille version,  adaptations?

Should we throw out our current catalogue records and start again? Should all catalogues look the same? Do we all need to use the ISBD format in our catalogues? Do we still need to save space and leave out all authors but one if there are more than 3 and leave out parts of titles if the title is long. Do we need library jargon like ill., and et. al. and v.? What do students think (sic) means after a word that is misspelt? How are the records going to be coded? Using MARC? Will the catalogue records be able to be shared by all libraries and digital repositories? The answers to these questions and others are in the modules, the study guide and the readings and are the basis of the second part of the first assignment.

Unlike fairy tales this story does not yet have an ending. RDA has not yet been implemented, though we expect it will mid next year. Also the forms in which information appears continue to evolve, and in some cases merge, creating new challenges for those who provide access to it and this includes you. You are becoming part of this story.

 

(Taken from CSU ETL505 course website to help with ass.1)

ETL505: Module 1; The need for information resource description.

Information organisation, I like this term ( much more than Cataloguing or Bibliographic organisation considering our current digital aquisitions).

Study task: Think about infomration organisation. Well, I will compare my lovely library, which is nicely organised ( provided you remember which books are graphic novels and which aren’t etc) to say, the search engine for clickview… AAARRRGGGHHHH!!! Learn to use proper search terms you clickview idiots.

In short, a well organised anything is easy to use, a badly organised search makes life tricky.

Now, time to read the text. Even if it means we are skipping ahead 😛

Hider, P (with Harvey, R) 2008, ‘What makes information retrieval systems effective?’, in Organising knowledge in a global society, rev. edn. Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, pp. 21-23.   

Study task

What do you consider to be the main points Hider (2008) is making in the above reading? You are invited to share your ideas on the module 1 subforum.

It looks to me like Hider is saying that the system must work, and be used by many organisations so there can be efficiency and familiarity accross a standardised way of doing things. If the system doesn’t work people won’t co-operate in it anyway, so it will have to be user friendly, give the best results etc, but I guess co-operation and all is time and money saving.

Who organises information?

Read

On the web you will find a  paper titled ‘Electronic information and the functional intergration of libraries, museums and archives‘ by W. Boyd Rayward, History and Electronic Artefacts. Edited by Edward Higgs. Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1998, pp207-226. Read the section entitled ‘The traditional collecting institutions’.

Study task

Having read the Rayward paper, try to decide what the main differences are between libraries, museums and archives, and how these differences might affect how information is organised and retrieved. Think about the following questions and post your comments on the forum.

• What information is each dealing with?

I am finding this tricky, I was concerned more with the purpose of each and how they deal with info. MY first attempt at this question would be that Library deal with access to information through storage and retrieval, as does an archive, just specific information, for say a government, but not for often retrieval, and Museums have information for display, but I sense this is not what the question is asking.

• How different is it?

well in some cases it’s pretty obvious, when you compare a novel to a dinosaur at a natural history museum, but an electronic government record to say, a webpage? Ultimately to me, it is all either information or a thing ( or information as a thing according to Buckland 😛 )

• How does it change what information we might want to organise and retrieve?

I don’t think it does, I think its the same info, just in different forms.

Hmm, scary point about how Libraries may only in future have no longer commercially viable information due to profesional data-bases (acting as subscription libraries). That would definitely make us more like museums.

the big question is >>> why would one wish to retain materials in printed form except for what they represent as atifacts if their texts can be cost effectively transferred to electronic systems which provide better storage and access capabilities?

(i.e. if we keep tham as artifacts, then we become like museums).

Ok, to teh next reading … You may also like to read part of chapter 1 (pages 1-24) of: Taylor, Arlene 2004, The organization of information. Englewood, CO, Libraries Unlimited   (not overly helpful in saying which parts to read. Oh well, I have 30 odd min I’ll skim it).

ooh, what is a digital library? good question. I am thinking project Gutenberg.

Ok, Information architect. New Term time. The Job is (pg 19)

1. Clarifies the MISSION and VISION for the sire, balancing the needs of its sponsoring organization and the needs of its audiences.
2. Determines what CONTENT and FUNCTIONALITY the site will contain.
3. Specifies how users will find information in the site by defining its ORGANISATION, NAVIGATION, LABELING and SEARCHING SYSTEMS.
4. Maps out how the site will accommodate CHANGE and GROWTH over time.

OKay, that is 2 hours straight of readings and I am done, Back again tomorrow from Page 4 of the Module.

 

 

Chapter 2: Introduction to Dewey Decimal Classification

The History of Melvil Dewey’s system, Odd to think that before books were classified by where they were. Also interesting to think that the original was 44 pages considering how big my Abridged Vol 12 is! I shall have to download it for free on my iPad. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12513/12513-h/12513-h.htm

Would love to get in on the panel that decides the new DDC numbers, I bet that gets a bit heated after a few Sherrys. Anyway, I can get to Dewey online these days via http://www.dewey.org/webdewey thanks to being a student, though i don’t want to know how much the subscription to that costs!

Ok, DEWEY

First Summary = the 10 classes   Second Summary = 10 Divisions  Third Summary = 10 Sections, and after the . Dewey’s Decimal 😛  you get EVEN MORE specific in the hierachy

NUMBER BUILDING ( i.e. the stuff I want and need to know)

Numbers are constructed by taking a number from the Schedules, and adding to it digits from the tables 1-6, or from another part of the schedules (pg 11) Ok, this is the bit I don’t get, the tables. We have some explanation on pg 12, but its only vaguley clearer than mud. I need examples! I vaguely get we can use table 2 to add a location after the decimal, but I need to know in what order we read the tables, what order do we add numbers, and can I look at the bits after the Decimal to work out what it means like I can before the dot?

The Relative index on the other hand makes sense, I will have to look at my copy of the DDC abridged for it, I know we have it for the SCIS subjects in a manner. (am using my town library’s copy, there are NOTES in it EVERYWHERE!)

Advantages of DDC (pg 13 and the Answer to the quiz 2.2 Q4 )

1. DDC was the first to use the concept of a relative location to organise materials on the shelf.
2. The Pure Notation (ie all Arabic Numerals) is recognised internationally.
3. The straightforward numerical sequence facilitates filing and shelving.
4. The Relative Index brings together different aspects of the same subject which are scattered in different disciplines.
5. The hierarchical notation expresses the relationship between the class numbers.
6. The decimal system theoretically enables infinite expansion and subdivision.
7. the Mnemonic notation helps user to memorise and recognise class numbers (hmmm)
8. Periodic revision keeps it up to date.

Disadvantages of DDC (pg 13 and the answer to Quiz 2.2 Q5 )

1. Its Anglo-American bias is evident in its emphasis on American, English and European language, literature and history in the 400s, 800s and 900s, Protestantism/Christianity in the 200s.
2. Some related disciplines are seperated: 400/800; 300/900.
3. Some subjects are not very comfortably placed: e.g – Library science in 000; Psychology as part of Philosophy in 100.
4. In the 800s, Literary works by the same author are scattered according to form: E.g. Shakespeare’s poems are seperated from plays.
5. Decimal numbering limits its capacity for accomidating subjects on the same level – There can only be 9 divisions (+ 1 general division)
6. Different rates of growth of some disciplines have resulted in an uneven structure: e.g. 300 & 600 are particularly overcrowded.
7. Although theoretically expansion is infinite, it doesn’t allow infinite insertion between related numbers, e.g. 610 and 619.
8. Specificity results in long numbers, which can be awkward for shelving on spine labels.
9. Altering numbers because of a new edition creates practical problems in libraries, e.g. the need for reclassification, relabelling and reshelving ( I wonder which DDC the SCIS uses for school stuff, I think it is 21, I shall have to check).

Exercise 2.1 is something I do everyday at work, SO I am ok with that. Onto 2.2. The QUIZ

Q1) Describe the Overall Structure of the Dewey Decimal System.

The DDC is divided into 10 main classes, then 10 divisions, then 10 sections.

Q2) What is the purpose of the First, second and Third Summaries? When would you use them?

(ok, I am quoting the answer from the book for this one)

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd summaries list the main classes, divisions and sections with their headings. They are used to become familiar with the overall structure of the DDC, and to locate numbers which relate to each other. (I think the first reason is a bit of a stretch and not mentioned in the book!)

Q3) Why is the relative index so called?

Because it is an idex which relates like or related subjects. (So if a topic has several aspects, you can find the one best suited by looking at all the numbers)

Learn Dewey Decimal Classification (ed 22) has arrived! Chapter one.

Introduction to Classification.

I like the aims so far.

Purposes of library classification is to

1. Bring related items together in a helpful sequence.
2. Provide Formal orderly access to the shelves through browsing or catalogue searching
3. Enable easy re-shelving of material
4. Provide an order for the classification catalogue.

All good and well so far. the Features of a classification scheme are also pretty obvious. Interesting to hear the types of Classification schemes though.

• Enumerative- all of the subject concepts, e.g. LCC
• Synthetic –  A mix of single and composite subjects, e.g. Colon Classification
• Hierarchical – DIvision by subjetc, general to specific, e.g. DDC.

This of course makes me wish I knew more about the other classifiers, I am at least aware of Library of Congress, but not the others.

The Criteria for a good Classifcation scheme on Page 7 all make sense.

As for Exercise 1.2: My first choice would be geography, then climate, then species etc.

for 1.1. I went again with Animals, (I thought music was a bit general)

All in all though, I like the acknowledgement of the need of the user. If we are not meeting the needs of the user, we are userless and soon useless.

Revision Quiz 1.3

1)  Give 3 reasons for classifying a library

Easy enough, I already typed them in. To bring like books together, so that they can be found using a catalogue or by browsing. And for easy re-shelving.

2) What is the difference between Enumerative and synthetic classification? give examples. 

Enumerative classification tries to include all Single and Composite subjects required, e.g. LCC  whereas Synthetic lists numbers for Single concepts and allows the synthesising of numbers for composite subjects, e.g. Universal Decimal Classification

OK, I have a problem here, what exactly is meant by Single v Composite subjects, and I still need to find out about these other systems. 

3) In what orders are classification schedules arranged? Why?

Numeric? I am not sure if I should include the notation-index-number building part here or the Generalities class-form classes-form divisions. I think I have missed the crux of this question, time to check the back of the book Ok, they mean, in number order, so we can see the relationships between the numbers, I wonder if they mean close numbers, or when the DDC books talk about a number V another number.

4) What is number building? Why is it a desirable feature of a classification scheme? 

Using numbers already existing to build a new number for a subject not specifically mentioned, good for flexibility. Also allows to save space in the schedules, will this be relevant when the schedules are online and space is not that big a deal? 

5) What is Hierarchical classification? how does it work? 

Subjects are divided from General to Specific, E.g. DDC 500s for sciences, then broken down into branches of science and then specialties there in.

6) Why should a library consider the nature of its client group when it classifies its materials?

I would say our first job is making a library useful to its users, arranging items so they are easier for the students to locate would make sense. Not doing so would diminish our usefulness and waste everyone’s times. (though the book says something about classifications and numbers together to be most useful, which is what I said).