tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86383096131425548342024-03-12T23:12:46.262-07:00Blogging cataloguing!stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-67572055045074713972019-01-21T08:40:00.002-08:002019-01-21T08:40:17.775-08:00Cataloguers<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><rant on=""></rant></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ok, I admit, conversations over the last couple of months have been driving me a bit nuts! Well, lots nuts, if I'm honest!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A recent Tweet asked CILIP followers to say how long they'd been a member of the organisation, and I admit I was a bit shocked to realise I've been on the CILIP books since January 1979 - that's 40 years! How astonishing! And during that 40 years I've witnessed many changes to the profession - some good, some not so good. If you're really that interested you can read about my journey on an <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.com/2013/07/across-sectors-and-through-decades.html" target="_blank">earlier blogpost</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So, the realisation of the length of time I'd been in the profession, and some conscious changes in the workplace, along with some impromptu conversations led me to throw a bit of a wobbly!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I don't know about you, but over the years I've been aware of a myriad of job titles associated with librarians. Here are just a few examples:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Assistant Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Senior Assistant Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Library Assistant</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Subject Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Information Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Liaison Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Faculty Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Academic Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Repository Librarian</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Systems Librarian</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And then there are other roles that don't include the term "librarian", like:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Resource Centre Manager</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Library Director</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Team Manager</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Information Assistant</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Information Professional</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Knowledge Worker/Manager</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Metadata Specialist</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oh, and not forgetting <b>Cataloguers</b>!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now, what my recent conversations and discoveries have revealed is that if we don't have the word "Librarian" in our job title then other people do not consider us to be librarians. Hmmmm ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Part of the role of a cataloguer is also to classify resources. The classification scheme I'm most familiar with is DDC (although I've certainly used UDC, LC, NLM and BLISS) which is an hierarchical scheme where the top-level topic is sub-divided into more specific topics. I'm probably not explaining this very well, but then since you, my readers, are likely to be cataloguers, I don't really need to explain!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyway, the point is that to exclude a group of people from the top-level description "librarian" because they do not include the word in their job title is to misunderstand the range and breadth of knowledge, skills and experience that comes with the job. Exclusions from the "club" can also lead to alienation, disenfranchisement and strained relationships. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You might argue that the term "librarian" is a little out-dated, but in my experience this is still a term that is widely applied and understood by people outside the profession. That people within the profession are hazy about whether or not someone qualifies to be labelled (for that is what the term is, a label) as a librarian is a bit worrying.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I have in my head a hierarchy which begins with Librarian, and then subdivides into all those terms I've mentioned above. This, of course, might not suit, and might indeed upset those people who would not think of themselves as librarians, but I myself take umbrage at not being considered by others to be a librarian first and a specialist librarian second. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For my part, I consider myself a librarian, albeit a librarian with a specific set of skills honed over a long career. I joined the librarianship profession for many reasons, not least because I saw it as my way of helping people, of sharing with people, and an opportunity to carry on learning with people. The fact that I went down the cataloguing route makes me no less a librarian than any other person in the profession. I am proud to call myself a cataloguer and I am proud that alongside my specialism I have continued to develop my "readers advisory"/"reference interview" skills (20th century terms!), and my UX skills (21st century terms!), and have embraced the technology that comes with all areas of our work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So the next time you meet new folk and they ask you what you do (when really what they want to ask is "Who are you?" "What makes you tick?") will you be a librarian or a cataloguer? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I do hope in explaining how I see myself in the profession that I haven't offended anyone along the way!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><rant off=""> </rant></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-74894966604123639012018-07-05T07:02:00.001-07:002018-07-05T07:02:12.716-07:00It started with a move ...<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">... never thought it would come to this!! A rare blog post on, ummmm, cataloguing, well, librarianship, and all things related!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many years ago our cataloguing team were based in the library, until we were moved out to a nearby building: for the life of me I can't remember why, especially as I was on maternity leave at the time of the move. I do remember being told it was only for a year or so ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">9 years later we moved back into the library. It took us about 3 months of discussions, floor plans, moving desk / drawer / cupboard icons on bits of paper, before we came up with a workable office layout for our new office - in the basement of the library. What? Well, where else would you expect to find a cataloguing team?! Once we were installed, we made the space work or us and our processes. After a couple of years, we did some subtle move arounds when our "sister" team moved out. And it's stayed like this for quite some time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During our time in the basement, and as a result of many other things (including, but not exclusively, the <a href="https://highvisibilitycataloguing.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">HVCats initiative</a>, the preparation for the coming of RDA, the move from OPACs to discovery systems) it became [even more] apparent that few colleagues actually knew or understood what happened in a cataloguing department, and for cataloguers themselves, it was felt that the <a href="https://highvisibilitycataloguing.wordpress.com/professional-positive-advocacy/the-role-of-the-cataloguer-in-the-21st-century/" target="_blank">role was changing</a> somewhat. Even when we were based in that other building, we realised the importance of promoting ourselves and our work, and so we initiated the <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.com/search/label/open%20days" target="_blank">Open Morning</a> series of events which are still on-going today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our first foray into Open Mornings was a huge learning curve. It attracted a huge audience, and we found that some of our work was so complex that it took far longer to explain and do it justice than we had allowed for. To overcome this issue, subsequent events were themed, and the topics reduced, or targetted. Participants on our Open Mornings are always treated to something different: so in 2013 everyone received a party bag and copies of the <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.com/2013/04/opening-office-doors.html" target="_blank">READ-ability Initiative</a> and <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.com/2014/10/metadata-making-impact-cilip-cig.html" target="_blank">PIC Project</a> leaflets, whilst at the last event attendees received a #delaytheonsetofdementia -related item and swanky updated versions of READ-ability and PIC. Not sure what will the next event will bring, yet!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Where am I going with this? Ah, yes, to another building! Yes, cataloguing are again moving to another building, but this time we are in the good company of many other library colleagues. Open Mornings will take a different approach as some of our operations are split over two floors of the new building, and also in the library. Interesting times, as they say!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Interesting times also, happening over at the CILIP Conference. I must admit, I've surprised myself by feeling a tinge of envy of those who are in attendance. In truth, I haven't been to a full CILIP conference since about 2001, in Manchester (not a particularly easy place to get to), and I had great fun. I have more recently been to a couple of CIG conference (which I have to admit, were even more fun!!!) and had a thoroughly great time, but in all honesty, I haven't actually done much cataloguing since those exciting days when we moved to RDA. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When looking at this year's CILIP conference programme, I must admit, my out-of-work activities (gosh, that sounds awful!!! but what I mean is mostly my local history stuff - being on the committee of the <a href="http://ormandlahs.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society</a>, an Honorary Member of the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteers, a local tour guide, blogging weekly about <a href="http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Loughborough</a>, writing a <a href="https://www.amberley-books.com/loughborough-in-50-buildings.html" target="_blank">book</a> - as well as trying to keep reasonably fit, etc., etc., etc.) seemed to be occupying much of my mind and my time, and I really thought I was feeling less committed to the profession than I had been, but on reflection, I've found this really isn't the case! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes, the fact that we're moving to another building, changing our working practices (you'll be surprised to learn that we are finally going to go shelf-ready - and you'll be surprised we already aren't!), yes, we are finally doing away with bits of <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.com/2011/01/yes-we-use-coloured-slips-of-paper.html" target="_blank">coloured paper</a>, and we're taking on new services etc. have all been occupying my work time, as well as following discussions on RDA and other library-wide issues, so I am committed, and would probably still get a lot out of the CILIP conference, despite the slow, relentless crawl towards retirement! I still have much to learn (whoever stops learning??), but I hope I still have a little bit to offer the profession.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Talking of "little", according to my <a href="https://twitter.com/stjerome1st/status/1014178619927691264" target="_blank">Twitter replies</a>, a good boss is bossy and contrary, as well as being determined, wise and kind! I'm hoping this describes me, but feel I need to add the following little miss-tree:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-49840549971910469582017-11-07T07:47:00.008-08:002018-07-05T07:03:33.011-07:00Librarians, cataloguers and stereotypes<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hello
- again! Only a week after delivering my last post to you, I am here again.
And, I have to admit, I am feeling passionate. "Eh?" I hear you cry!
"Passionate? But you're a librarian, you're neither passionate nor
energetic, but rather, retiring and quiet" - apparently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
"Ah", say I, "I think you have me confused with that
stereotypical, nay, mythical librarian". For, there is no such thing as a
stereotype, as we are all unique, and if you are still living with stereotypes
then you are at best deluded, at worst guilty of discriminatory beliefs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
So what's this all about, you might ask. Well, I'll tell you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
I've just read an article in the THES regarding careers advice to librarians,
which is itself a review of a report produced by Sconul - "<i>Leading Libraries</i>".
The subtitle (stay with me, I'm a cataloguer!) of this report is enlightening,
if not significant: "<i>The view from above</i>", for the aim of this
report is to illuminate the path to a senior management position within higher
education for librarians, which it is expected is the holy grail for
librarians, but in many cases remains elusive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
The 62-page report makes for interesting reading, being almost like a
collective 360 degree feedback on how librarians are perceived by those folk
already in more senior positions in HE. I've no doubt the aims of the Sconul
"Leadership Task and Finish Group" <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"to
develop a range of initiatives to enhance the collective leadership capacity
across SCONUL and to support individuals and groups of staff in member
institutions in their leadership development"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">are
admirable, and perhaps I'm overreacting (having never had the opportunity to
take part in a 360 degree process) but I find some of the comments provided to
the Task and Finish Group by "senior members of the executive of a range
of [UK] universities" a bit hard to swallow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
As the THES report suggests:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Rightly
or wrongly, many senior managers seemed to buy into traditional stereotypes
about librarians ..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Too
darn right this is "wrongly"! Senior members of UK universities
suggest it's up to librarians themselves to disprove this stereotype, but I
believe that in a 21st century society which advocates for equality, diversity
and tolerance, the onus should be on the stereotype believer to operate more
objectively, or at the very least a meeting of minds in the middle would be
preferable. Hence my blogpost ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Let's be clear here that the profession is somewhat female-dominated, at least
in the hierarchy below senior management level, and there have traditionally
been many barriers to such progression. Hazel Hall, in an article published on
9th May 2017, reports on the Chartered Institute of Libraries and Information
Professionals (CILIP) and the Archives & Records Association (ARA)
Workforce Mapping Project, reveals that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
* nearly 97% of library and information professionals are white, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">*
over 78% are female, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">*
men in the profession earn more than women, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">*
there are more men in senior management roles,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">*
and 55% of the people in the profession are over 45 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
So, given these figures, it is possible that the white, male, senior manager,
aged 45+ might be able to crash through the library bookcases and launch
themselves into a career as a senior manager in HE. However, should he be
unfortunate enough to fit the perceived stereotype of a library and information
professional then his chances of tearing up the covers and pages of the book,
and turning them into something else are slim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
is much in this Sconul report that is laudable, much that is common sense, much
that is applicable to a person in any profession wishing to progress their
career, and it is organised into helpful sections, supported by quotes from
those senior executive members, and it's mostly good stuff. However, there are
some things that are almost offensive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
In relation to ambition, here's one quote:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Be
able to show passion and energy rather than the stereotype retiring and quiet
profile"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
raises a couple of eyebrows: one that says there is a place for the quiet and
retiring profile in any organisation and at any level, for they are the ones
whose words are most insightful because they [those words] are rare and
well-considered; the other that says all librarians are retiring and quiet,
which, in my experience is most certainly not true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
So the stereotypical librarian is quiet and retiring, but as one quote from the
section entitled: "The librarian within the institution", and
suggesting that significant opportunities for reinvention were around, says,
the lot of the cataloguer is that they are not only quiet and retiring, but
also never "go with it" and never capitalise on opportunities. Which
in my world of cataloguing is utter nonsense! I, as a cataloguer, am always
looking for opportunities for myself, for my team, for the library and for our
students. I simply don't understand the comment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And in the same section, we [cataloguers] are encouraged to put ourselves out
there and raise ourselves 'above the parapet' - like we hide behind the library
shelves, or something! Coming up with creative and innovative solutions also
requires the same parapet activity. Oh c'mon! Librarians, including
cataloguers, are renowned for their creative and innovative solutions and
interpretations - there are hundreds of examples of this out there on the
internet, available for all to share including Clare Sewell on <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/ClaireSewell/engaging-students-with-research-data-management-the-modular-approach">Research
Data Management</a> for postgrad students and other researchers, Kaye
Towlson & Julia Reeve over at <a href="http://writingpad.our.dmu.ac.uk/2017/07/31/lego-serious-play-a-research-student-perspective/">Writing
Pad East Midlands</a> aimed at engaging students and researchers with
their assignments, and creative training methods for new cataloguers over at <a href="https://highvisibilitycataloguing.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/hvcats-at-npid12/">HVCats</a> -
ok, I'll give you that, that last one's a bit cataloguing-specific, but if such
creativity works in this situation, it's likely to work in other areas of HE.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Following these excellent examples, let's end on a really positive note: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"
... some library-related skills and strengths ... [are] ... useful ...
Analytical approaches are valuable ... " <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fantastic!!
A skill I particularly associate with cataloguers and others involved in
operational processes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Having commented upon some of those things that I found difficult, I concede I
am at least grateful that someone in a senior management position in HE knew
that cataloguers actually existed!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
References:<br />
Reisz, M. (2017) <i>Career advice: librarians 'must defy stereotypes' to
climb ladder.</i> [Online] London: Times Higher Education. Available
from: <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/career-advice-librarians-must-defy-stereotypes-climb-ladder#survey-answer">https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/career-advice-librarians-must-defy-stereotypes-climb-ladder#survey-answer</a> [Accessed:
6 November 2017]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Baker, D. & Allden, A. (2017) <i>Leading Libraries: the view from
above.</i> [Online] London: SCONUL. Available from: <a href="https://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/LL%20View%20from%20above.pdf">https://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/LL%20View%20from%20above.pdf</a> [Accessed:
6 November 2017]<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hall,
Hazel (2017) <i>Diversity and Equality in libraries: as services, as
workplaces.</i> [Online] Available from: <a href="https://hazelhall.org/2017/05/09/diversity-and-equality-in-libraries-as-services-as-workplaces/">https://hazelhall.org/2017/05/09/diversity-and-equality-in-libraries-as-services-as-workplaces/</a> [Accessed:
6 November 2017]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-47832860915871976272017-10-31T03:55:00.000-07:002017-10-31T03:55:50.666-07:00Ethics and cataloguing<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">Application of Library of Congress
Subject Headings (LCSH)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">to metadata associated with items
in library stock<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">In September 2014 I was lucky enough to attend the CILIP Cataloguing and Indexing Group <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/metadata-making-impact-cilip-cig.html" target="_blank">conference</a> entitled: "Metadata: making an impact", at which Ruth Jenkins delivered a lightning talk "Improving subject-based metadata for LGBTQ related young adult books." At the time this was an interesting view on an area that, to my knowledge had received little previous discussion </span><span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">[do let me know if you know otherwise], and was perhaps suggesting that young adults might benefit from being more easily able to discover resources that might reflect their own life experiences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">In September 2017 the
ALCTS ran an eforum entitled: “<a href="http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/e-forum/090517" target="_blank">Power that is moral: cataloguing and ethics</a>”,
which was based on a session discussing cataloguing ethics at the ALA Annual
Conference in June 2017. The ALA Code of Ethics was created in 1994, and ALCTS
created a specific code for their members in the same year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">Up for discussion was
the widespread use<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px; line-height: 16.8666667938232px;"> </span>of LCSH in cataloguing records, how these terms are based on a Western code of
ethics, and how appropriate, or otherwise, their usage is today, particularly in relation to
equality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">Following up on this
discussion I discovered <a href="https://splinternews.com/meet-the-undocumented-students-who-got-the-library-of-c-1793855917" target="_blank">an article</a> about a small group of students in the US
who felt that the use of the LCSH “Illegal aliens” was inappropriate. They got
together with library and information professionals and were successful in
persuading Library of Congress to withdraw the use of the term.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">So, this term is no
longer recognised in the up-to-date LC database, however, as with any changes
to cataloguing and classification standards, there remains the problem of
legacy records – records already in a system, which retain the use of
out-of-date practices. The dilemma for most under-resourced cataloguing
departments is, do we spend time amending our metadata retrospectively, and if
so, how much time can we afford to divert from the cataloguing and
classification of new stock. Certainly here at DMU, our previous approach has
been to accept that there will always be a quantity of metadata that is
outdated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">However, there are
times when evidence of past practices need to be eradicated: this is one of
those times. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">With a view to improving
our cataloguing and classification practices to better reflect current thinking
and provide better access to our resources for our customers, a search was
performed on the library catalogue using the term “Illegal aliens”. This search
produced a disappointing 12 results, disappointing because the outcome was
greater than zero. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Delving slightly deeper into the catalogue
revealed that the term “Illegal aliens” was picked up by the search as it
appeared as an LCSH, and a</span><span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">s a result of these search results, cataloguers
began to investigate and amend the use of this particular LCSH.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , "sans-serif";">The consideration of
this particular LCSH is the start of a bigger project to look at the
application of subject headings more broadly, particularly in relation to
equality, whilst at the same time allowing for those involved in the academic
study of a discipline to still be able to identify relevant resources
easily. </span></div>
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stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-29196234454456426262017-05-05T02:13:00.003-07:002017-05-05T02:13:41.915-07:00Building trust<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well, here I am back at the blog posts again, and managing to make it back within the 18 months I mentioned on my <a href="https://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/i-dont-know-about-you-but-i-often.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> about communication!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">During the past 15 months, there have been many blog posts written - mostly in my head, but one or two have made it to draft form on here, but none have actually seen the light of publication! I'm sorry about that! I'm sure you've not missed my ramblings, but I'm genuinely disappointed in myself for not making the time to share my cataloguing thoughts with you, although in reality there haven't been many thoughts about the act of cataloguing, nor about RDA, nor hardly about the future of cataloguing, as I've been distracted by so many other things recently!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, I've just read a call for papers for a local conference, the topic of which is centred around that of trust. An interesting topic, which I believe is relevant to all of us, which made me think about my own approach to building trust. I don't think it's something I consciously do. It's a bit like my approach to <a href="https://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/i-dont-know-about-you-but-i-often.html" target="_blank">communication</a> I was telling you about in the last blog post - something that is such an integral part of me, and the way I think and operate, that I simply automatically live by these rules - if you want to call them rules!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I could not talk at a conference for 40 minutes on the subject of building trust, because I only have six golden rules that I try to live by, so that would probably only take about six seconds!!! For what it's worth, here they are:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Always put other people first</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I suppose this is actually about supporting people, in whatever way I can. For me, life is about human relationships, and it's those relationships that build the world. There is simply enormous satisfaction to be had from supporting people to develop and achieve, to grow and to succeed, and being effective at supporting them helps to initiate and cement trust.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Make time to listen to people</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">People are invariably most interesting to listen to. Each of us is unique, we've all had different experiences, and we all have so much to share and to learn from each other, that to not listen to others would mean missing out on so much. Listening to others, and being interested in them helps to develop trust - both ways.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Never promise more than you know you can deliver</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bit of a customer service mantra, this one, really, but I think it applies in many situations where people are involved! I guess it's about managing people's expectations, so they are not left disappointed, angry or sad, as such negative emotions can lead to a breaking down of any trust that has been built up - and it sure is a difficult hill to re-climb.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Always deliver what you say you will</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yes, agreed, this one sounds rather like the previous one, but it is subtly different in emphasis. So, you've not promised things that are not within your gift, but equally, you won't let anything get in the way of the things you have agreed to deliver, so you can keep that promise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Never bitch or gossip</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Eek, I didn't much like writing either of those two words, but it is so very important not to be drawn into the grapevine, the rumour machine, the office politics. It would be easy to do, but quite catastrophic for a relationship with work colleagues. If people tell you something in confidence, don't be the one to break that confidence by sharing with others - at least, not unless there are lives at stake - </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and never let yourself be drawn into judgmental conversations about colleagues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Show people you're human</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The place for being the real you is at home, with your loved ones, who accept you for exactly who you are, warts and all, as a friend of mine used to say! But, there is absolutely no harm done, and probably lots to be gained, by showing yourself to be human at work, now and again. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that one should show one's vulnerability at every opportunity (if indeed one was that vulnerable), but occasionally it's good for people to understand that we're all people, and we're all in this together, and a little bit of trust and support goes a long way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, that's my thoughts on building trust. As ever I'd be pleased to hear your views, and what you do to build trust between yourself and others, after all, we're all different and all have our unique ways of doing things.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">See you next time!</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-76933779117435262412016-02-11T03:51:00.000-08:002016-02-11T03:53:19.792-08:00Communication<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I don't know about you, but I often engage in distraction activities!! Today I have been trying to focus my thinking on project management, ahead of the CIG e-forum tomorrow, but I find I've been side-tracked into thinking about communication in general. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, realising I hadn't blogged for well over a year (well, that's not true, I have blogged weekly over at <a class="" href="http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">lynneaboutloughborough</a>, I just haven't blogged here recently), I thought I'd share my thoughts about communication with you. And then, whilst looking through my list of blogs, trying to find bloggingcataloguing, I found one of my others (<a href="http://stjeromeslibrary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">threebooksinalibrary</a>) and got engrossed in reading some of the posts on that, and realised that that particular blog was probably the one to use for sharing aspects of my life unrelated to my cataloguing work and my tour guiding (à</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> la </span><a href="http://findingursula.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span class="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">findingursula</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But, back to communication ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For me, life is all about relationships with others. In order for those relationships to work properly, I need to communicate, regularly and in different ways. I suppose, thinking about it, I have a number of, well, rules I guess, that I try and live by, particularly when I'm engaged in face2face communication with people. As I said, these are my rules, and are very personal to me, but you might be interested to know what they are:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Never make assumptions about anything -</b> don't assume that people know what you're talking about, why you're talking about it, why you're talking about it now, why you're talking to them about it, nor that they will feel the same way as you do about it ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Never talk in riddles -</b> for me, this includes colloquialisms, adages, idioms, metaphors, abbreviations, acronyms, management-speak etc.. Obviously, there are some exceptions I would apply, so, for example, I would use RDA in conversation with my cataloguers because I know they know what this means, but in conversation with other library colleagues I might simply say "the standard that governs the way we catalogue". Of course, by applying this idea to my own communication, it often turns into "Lynne-speak" which is probably off-putting for others, and can mean that I will go into minute detail, giving far too much background information! My personal experience of hearing phrases that seem to be in regular use is usually one of embarrassment because I might have a vague idea of what it means, but not a complete idea, which means I have to ask. While for me it might be mildly embarrassing, for someone with less confidence (gosh, are there really such people out there?!) asking for clarification would not be an option, and as a result, the meaning of the communication could be lost. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Never use, and certainly never accept, "you know" - </b>for me, this is like the "um ..." in a presentation - a simple expression that might tell the listener a lot (or, at least, can lead the listener to jump to conclusions and make certain assumptions). If people use this phrase when talking to me, they're likely to hear "hang on a minute, no, I don't know: have you got time to explain it to me in more detail so I can understand more" - or something similar!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Always communicate more than you think you need to, whilst at the same time avoiding overload - </b>there are times when it's really important to communicate regularly for a while, for example, at a time of change (err, so that's all the time then!), or during the lifespan of a project. Other regular communications could be a staff newsletter, or updating service, and, in my opinion, such communications should appear on same day/time each week/month etc. so that people will come to expect it receive it and look forward to it. And, there absolutely those times when communication needn't be regular, and can probably be more effective because they are unexpected.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hope you have enjoyed my very personal, unofficial, probably wacky ideas on communication!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">See you back here soon - well sooner than 18 months, I hope! </span><br />
<br />stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-29272315373052853572014-10-02T08:36:00.001-07:002014-10-02T08:38:47.505-07:00Metadata - Making an Impact, CILIP CIG conference<br />
<h3>
CILIP Cataloguing & Indexing Group Conference 2014</h3>
<h3>
Metadata - making an impact
</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9hAJQKEE8RJ41IR5CikASfn210VpNVbJL8Fyx-9Fa8N1TZ5h8eTVGXJX-oq1KzSXv_iZLnHveFF1zpYXnxpLpJvvpOi46ypxiHrwgzgaks5Fby_m1S6cpD7PT8MmMMjL0efQu5nZ0Lql/s1600/DSCF1360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9hAJQKEE8RJ41IR5CikASfn210VpNVbJL8Fyx-9Fa8N1TZ5h8eTVGXJX-oq1KzSXv_iZLnHveFF1zpYXnxpLpJvvpOi46ypxiHrwgzgaks5Fby_m1S6cpD7PT8MmMMjL0efQu5nZ0Lql/s1600/DSCF1360.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Certainly made an impression on me!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am very conscious that I haven’t blogged about cataloguing
for over 6 months now, which does disappoint me somewhat. My only excuse is
that I’ve been rather busy blogging weekly over at lynneaboutloughborough, and
since the beginning of April I’ve added the role of part-time Team Manager for
Service Development and Delivery (User Experience) to my existing part-time
Team Manager of Bib Services role, and as we know, two halves make more than a
whole, so time to blog has been in short supply.<br />
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However, the Cataloguing and Indexing Group conferences are
always so inspirational – and this year’s (2014) is no exception – so it’s well
worth me taking the time to blog about it, so here goes …</div>
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This was my fourth CIG conference: I dipped my toe in the
waters way back in 2000 when the conference was held in Hereford, but found the
lure of small children (aged 8, 6 and 3 at that time) was too great for me to
take in much of the conference content. Time, as they say, flies, and it wasn’t
until 2010 that I was able to make it to another conference, but I sure am glad
I did! It was inspiring: It was beyond inspiring!! The people, the conference
content, even the location was inspiring and eye-opening, even though being
away from home for the first time in yonks was rather daunting (and, if I’m
honest, I’m still not hugely keen on being away from my family). The 2012
conference was no less inspiring, and despite RDA looming overhead (and the
knowledge that our OPAC would not be able to cope with changes to fields) I
managed to take away such a lot from that conference, so much so that I ended
up with a huge “to do” list, and am still, today, working towards achieving
some of those things!</div>
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To 2014! As ever, the conference was well-attended, the
programme interesting and varied and the location excellent! More than 70
cataloguers, librarians and a variety of other information professionals
gathered at the University of Canterbury for three days of intense debate and
discussion around the cataloguing and related issues of the day.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVs8p2qHOltza3Qo_9LopD-ZIxCLy-rA7P2rz-Aj2zFp3eiaAWHdibp1Qghuzrst8HWgDbO_sYSgUZ0550ikEBYpc2h9m_QnM5gsp9Pb3VBTWIPVq0Rzx6p5yPRqcWTeLrQbR5YU_Flt5/s1600/DSCF1379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVs8p2qHOltza3Qo_9LopD-ZIxCLy-rA7P2rz-Aj2zFp3eiaAWHdibp1Qghuzrst8HWgDbO_sYSgUZ0550ikEBYpc2h9m_QnM5gsp9Pb3VBTWIPVq0Rzx6p5yPRqcWTeLrQbR5YU_Flt5/s1600/DSCF1379.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The university library extension</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--[endif]--><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRhTvrJwURrj0VXvXFXx13zB2rwbShhxC4fZEK_EBUrVZvGot_iK_Ip6v-me2Y5x03UXkmoBzHMCVCLM4X9-xQNpCseAFr-jTUAi0saiFKGSucYfNymjQP5nY-sXYjul4QQHsQAc_hSl4/s1600/DSCF1805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRhTvrJwURrj0VXvXFXx13zB2rwbShhxC4fZEK_EBUrVZvGot_iK_Ip6v-me2Y5x03UXkmoBzHMCVCLM4X9-xQNpCseAFr-jTUAi0saiFKGSucYfNymjQP5nY-sXYjul4QQHsQAc_hSl4/s1600/DSCF1805.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFHNDrfHT0kOIpE3p5jjZm00hBNyKWwp7CD4MBnhya6wZzmtSPe3Nf5qqf_SNBfjEKVUwlDSjhwqGrN2rNPrHK0YZABaIKNZn8xMuLnx6UI3lgMW_Rx1iHqiaGMozmYURDhPXPq7vSuny/s1600/DSCF1806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFHNDrfHT0kOIpE3p5jjZm00hBNyKWwp7CD4MBnhya6wZzmtSPe3Nf5qqf_SNBfjEKVUwlDSjhwqGrN2rNPrHK0YZABaIKNZn8xMuLnx6UI3lgMW_Rx1iHqiaGMozmYURDhPXPq7vSuny/s1600/DSCF1806.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
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If there was ever any doubt about the contribution and
impact that cataloguers, metadata specialists, or whatever you wish to call
people who work in this area of our profession, make to the overall experience
of the library user, then this doubt was completed expunged by the talks that
were presented and the discussion that were had at this CIG conference,
entitled: “Metadata – Making an Impact”. This three-day event, taking place on
the beautiful campus of Canterbury University, was divided into four themes:<br />
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1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span><!--[endif]-->Impact
of Metadata Standards</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span><!--[endif]-->Impact
on the Organisation</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span><!--[endif]-->Impact
of Metadata on Users</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span><!--[endif]-->Impact
of Metadata Professionals</div>
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and the presentations within these themes were a mixture of
full-length papers, and shorter, lightning talks, with a selection of poster
sessions on the afternoon of the 2<sup>nd</sup> day.<span style="color: magenta;"> </span><span style="color: black;">The hard work of
participating in the conference was punctuated by the fun quiz on the first
night, the conference dinner on the second, and a choice of activities on the
final afternoon, including a demo of <a href="http://www.marcofquality.com/wiki/rimmf/doku.php" target="_blank">RIMMF</a>, a visit to the University Archive to see the <a href="http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/" target="_blank">British Cartoon Archive</a>, and a
visit to Canterbury Cathedral Library.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Attendees came from all walks of
library life – academic libraries, National libraries, public libraries and special
libraries – and also included suppliers of services to libraries. This meant
that there were opportunities to network with colleagues from many backgrounds
during the breaks – and boy, did we network, well, I certainly did, having
chatted with almost exactly half of the people who came along!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">To review each of the
presentations in this blogpost would be too ambitious: It would make for a very
long read, and my time is limited. So, I shall try and pick out what were the
highlights of the conference for me: These may well be different from your own
highlights, so I’m looking forward to reading about your experiences too! I
believe presenters’ own write-ups of their presentations will be appearing in
an issue of Catalogue & Index, later this year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Impact of Metadata Standards<span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->So, we were worried about the impact of RDA on our work. We
spent many hours reading and learning about it, discussing it and being trained
in it, and now we’ve adopted it. So just when you thought it was safe to come
look out from your RDA bib record, along comes something else to scare you:
BIBFRAME (and just in case you thought I was shouting, I’m not really, this is
how the phrase appears on LoC website (amongst others)). </div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->Thomas Meehan, from UCL went out of his way to explain to us
exactly what <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/orangeaurochs/the-impact-of-bibframe" target="_blank">BIBFRAME</a> is and to put our minds at rest and reassure us that it
really isn’t as complicated as we might have thought! I love the idea of
triplets, for it appeals to my musical inclination, but I also love the idea of
linked data and all the opportunities that this brings to our world. It was
announced at the conference that Thomas was the well-deserved recipient of the
Alan Jeffreys Award for his fantastic work on demystifying linked data. Follow
these links for a very basic description of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIBFRAME" target="_blank">BIBFRAME</a> and for a <a href="http://www.loc.gov/bibframe/" target="_blank">more detailed introduction</a> to the concept and its applications. </div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->Chris Biggs from the OU talked to us about the challenges
that were faced when trying to combine metadata from many different sources to
create the OU Digital Archive (OUDA). His description of adding various fields
to MARC records struck a chord with me, and it was somehow a relief to know
that I am not alone!</div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->The focus of the next two talks was on RDA: Great to hear
that there are moves afoot to simplify the standard!!!</div>
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<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 20.85pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 20.85pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Impact on the Organisation<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">Gosh, who’d ever have believed all
the work that goes on behind the scenes of television screens! Listening to
Laura Williams, we learned that the metadata managers at the BBC certainly have
their work cut out in making sure that every little bit of filming is easily
retrievable, because you just never know when someone might want it! And the
very idea of persuading other, non-metadata, staff to provide good quality
metadata in the first instance is simply admirable!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">Your library service may well
contribute your serials holdings to <a href="http://suncat.ac.uk/search" target="_blank">SUNCAT</a>, but did you realise how much work
goes on to get your data into a suitable format for sharing?! I know I
certainly didn’t, and, if I’m honest, I’m somewhat ashamed, listening to Natasha
Aburrow-Jones, of what little attention our serial records actually get. They
deserve more: Metadata matters. Food for thought for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">As cataloguers we all want to get
it just right, but I’m sure none of us are under such pressure as Arwen Caddy
to get it right first time: As soon as she and her team have created a record
it is locked down, and can never be edited!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t know about you, but in my cataloguing team there is a certain
degree of checking of work that goes on: Hopefully, there is not (and I’m sure
there isn’t!) a culture of “it’s ok to make mistakes as they’ll be picked up
later” but rather a desire to ensure we also get it right first time! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">Before the start of sessions
pertaining to the third theme of the conference, there was a panel discussion
on e-book metadata. As you might imagine, there were many chestnuts here, old
and new, including use of ISBNs and eISBNs, overwriting of records, de-duping,
the repeated 020 field and $z, and the use of 035, 040 and 590! The overall
messages were: Analyse feedback from users; and we need to shout louder!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Impact of Metadata on Users<span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">In a fit of pique I recently
deleted my own <a href="https://about.pinterest.com/en-gb" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> account, but learning from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ClaireSewell/cig14-presentationclairesewell" target="_blank">Claire Sewell</a> about the use
Cambridge libraries make of Pinterest, I now wish I hadn’t. Well, actually,
maybe now would be a good time to create an account for my own library, or even
hook into our <a href="http://uk.pinterest.com/dmuleicester/" target="_blank">institutional account</a>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Claire has also produced a <a href="https://storify.com/CILIPCIG/cilip-cig-conference-2014" target="_blank">Storify</a> of the conference. </span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">Ruth Jenkins gave us an absolutely
fascinating talk on her analysis of the use of <a href="http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html" target="_blank">LCSH</a> and social tagging to help
in the retrieval of sources based around LGBTQ issues – so, perhaps novels
aimed at the teenage market, where the central character is lesbian. There is
so much that can be learned from reading about people’s experiences, but this
can only be done if the reading material can be easily retrieved in the first
place. C’mon cataloguers: We have a responsibility here, to be inclusive! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">We may think all our library
systems work just fine together, but what does a real researcher make of them?
Anne Welsh described the many frustrations she found, particularly with output
from our catalogue to our referencing software, whilst she was researching for
her PhD. Words I would use to describe Anne’s experience are: Gobsmacking;
Shocking; Probably preventable! Anne questioned the validity of feedback from
users: How do we know how representative those views are? [And I’d add,
particularly when those views come from a tiny proportion of our users.] She
asks, do we know what users are actually doing or trying to achieve when they
sit staring at a screen? Probably not, but shouldn’t we?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSV-LTgkFgCROXvj3eACEJf9GUIy6MiLRiRh9j0ofRWiSW_V24muyTmMEBEeXa5mExTysrg_3I9MeXqMmU6EwfVFDoF7yt-1_jh3mC9E4KXgEirr_NAsfpravpNMrr7SHEscS0U7bboHO4/s1600/DSCF1809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSV-LTgkFgCROXvj3eACEJf9GUIy6MiLRiRh9j0ofRWiSW_V24muyTmMEBEeXa5mExTysrg_3I9MeXqMmU6EwfVFDoF7yt-1_jh3mC9E4KXgEirr_NAsfpravpNMrr7SHEscS0U7bboHO4/s1600/DSCF1809.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">Anne’s presentation was a hard act
to follow - brilliant content, fantastic use of pictures: I thought I’d blogged
about our PIC Project, but on looking for the link I find I have made reference
to it, but never actually written the post! How disgraceful! So, very briefly,
our <b>P</b>rotecting the <b>I</b>ntegrity of the <b>C</b>atalogue Project was
about ensuring that our catalogue accurately reflected what was on our library
shelves, and what we had access to. Activities undertaken that helped to PIC
included stockchecking, physical re-classification, withdrawing, binding,
repairs, relocations etc.. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">There followed the poster session.
This was held just outside the lecture room, and quite frankly, I was staggered
and so envious of the creations, which were just soooo visual. I’m afraid I
didn’t take any photos, so I’ll just list the titles of the posters from the
conference programme:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 23.65pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 23.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black;">Using metadata from the
Institutional Repository for the REF submissions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 23.65pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 23.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black;">Metadata quality checking:
Integration of workflows in relation to reading list software<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 23.65pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 23.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black;">The impact of
reclassification<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 23.65pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 23.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black;">Changing positions: New roles
making an impact<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 23.65pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 23.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black;">The impact of RDA in
Cambridge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Impact of Metadata Professionals<span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">If you’re using RDA at the moment
it’s likely that you learned this after having been trained to use AACR. But
what of those folk new to cataloguing who are starting their cataloguing
careers, and RDA is their first encounter with a cataloguing standard – digital
RDAers, perhaps? Deborah Lee set about analysing results from her experience of
training of two, new cataloguers in using RDA: How much training was needed?
How did this training differ from training that had previously been offered?
Some useful conclusions shared, and definitely something to think about when
embarking on training for new cataloguers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgospmd5RvxuUILPqANZE3aTWC4ZZbYNN5N8NAxYNsbUFkhZktJjsK4HdCUsCgPb9tPH0Tu9tdC3nOiflzVheS5KHY5FGoNOkPSzkUDIC9WW2lnESeFVuUAiWIK2i1sCqCYP4UIfeE9mOQo/s1600/DSCF1808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgospmd5RvxuUILPqANZE3aTWC4ZZbYNN5N8NAxYNsbUFkhZktJjsK4HdCUsCgPb9tPH0Tu9tdC3nOiflzVheS5KHY5FGoNOkPSzkUDIC9WW2lnESeFVuUAiWIK2i1sCqCYP4UIfeE9mOQo/s1600/DSCF1808.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My best attempt at being visual!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">So, mentions of the <b>READ</b>-ability
Initiative abound on my blog, but I realise I never got round to sharing the
whole thing! <b>R</b>ecord <b>E</b>nhancement to <b>A</b>id <b>D</b>iscoverability
was about improving LCSH, authorising name headings, re-classifying, separating
e-books from their hard copy records, submitting bib records to the
institutional repository, and acting upon Typos of the Day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">I have written phrases in my
notebook like: “rigorous application of project management methodology”;
“appetite for appropriately managed risk”, but I can’t do justice, in this
short blogpost, to the talk given by the Chair of CIG, Robin Armstrong-Viner,
in which he wowed us all with his complete turnaround of backlogs of incoming
stock, changing the way this was handled. With the systematic introduction and
application of project management skills (and a generous supply of money) the
work of the metadata department has become a shining example of what can be
achieved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">The theme of project management
was continued by Celine Carty, who explained how she had applied the principles
of project management at Cambridge. She stressed the importance of
communication , especially with staff involved in doing work towards the
project, particularly if they were unsure of the benefits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">The final speakers of the
conference were from the university of Canterbury. Josie Caplehorne and Clair
Waller who explained how they had come from different library backgrounds to
work at the university and how their new role as metadata assistants was both
challenging and rewarding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, this
was a very uplifting and positive end to the conference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">It would be totally out of
character for me not to apologise, so, having avoided the temptation at the
beginning of this article, I will do so now: Please accept my apologies if you
feel I have not done justice to your presentation: This is entirely my own
failing, partly because my capacity for actually writing notes for the duration
of the conference was not as great as in previous years, and the delay in me
writing up those notes has meant that some hieroglyphics that made perfect
sense at the time, are now completely unfathomable!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">My final activity of the
conference was a visit to <a href="http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/conservation/library/" target="_blank">Canterbury Cathedral Library</a> where we were treated to
some really choice items! Look, but don’t touch was very much the order of the
day, and we did! We peered through the glass with awe at the collections of
material the librarian had kindly unearthed for us: And were thrilled to be
able to touch some of the bookcases that so very, very old! Many thank to CIG for
organising this visit, and to the cathedral librarian for taking the trouble to
show such a large group of us around!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black;">As I stepped out of the cathedral into
the busy town of Canterbury, a plan formed in my mind: A cataloguing plan?
Well, yes, but also a plan to re-visit Canterbury as a tourist rather than a conference-goer!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Looking forward to CIG16 – wherever that may be!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br /></div>
stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-79593604137265080132014-02-27T01:21:00.000-08:002014-02-27T01:21:14.193-08:00Getting used to a new catalogue interfaceIf you’ve been used to using the same catalogue interface
for the last 10 years, the idea of learning the vagaries of searching a new
catalogue interface could be quite daunting. <br />
<br />
This was the position I recently found myself in. I wasn’t
daunted, but I was conscious that our new catalogue didn’t quite operate in the
way as our old one, and often didn’t produce the results I would have expected.
So, I wondered how other library staff were getting on with it: Did they find
what they were looking for? Did they find searching easy? Did they wonder about
their unexpected results? Were they frustrated by anything? Did they like the
new interface? Did they think our users would find it easy to use?<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->So many questions!! Wouldn’t it be good if we could pool our
knowledge and share our searching hints and tips with each other, to minimise
the re-inventing of wheels, and to give all staff access to the same knowledge.
How would this best be done? A stand up and talk lecture? Booking a lecture
theatre and allocating each member of staff a pc on which to try things out?
Compiling a written list of hints and tips, and circulating this to everyone?
Hmmm. And then it came to me!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->The cataloguers had spent rather a lot of time using and
getting used to the new interface in relation to the changing cataloguing
standards (i.e. from MARC21 to RDA) and so perhaps we were the ones
best placed to host a sharing event! So we did! And it worked really well!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->This is what we did: We offered an open day with a
difference!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->We sent out an email invitation to all library staff:</div>
<br />
<div style="border: 0.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 1pt 4pt;">
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear All,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On <b>Tuesday
11<sup>th</sup> February</b>, the <b>Bibliographic Services Office</b> will be
hosting a</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Catalogue interface familiarisation event</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This event
will take the form of an </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">open house</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, between the hours of <b>10 and 4</b>.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You are
invited to come down to our office on Tuesday 11<sup>th</sup> Feb, anytime
during the hours of 10 and 4, when you are not on front-facing duties, and
bring your catalogue queries and questions, likes and gripes with you! </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You will be
able to share any worries and concerns, as well as any comments and questions
you may have, with any member of the team. We will do our best to address any
concerns and answer any questions on the spot, but in the event that we don</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">t know the answer we will
investigate and get back to you as soon as possible after the event as we can. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you are
not at work on this day, or you work evenings/weekends, I will be available to
answer your questions on the evenings of Monday 10<sup>th</sup> Feb (5-8) and Wednesday
12<sup>th</sup> Feb (4-6.30), in the LGF Office.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We look
forward to seeing!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lynne </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
And followed this up with a reminder at 10am on the day of
the event:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 1pt 4pt;">
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just a
quick reminder that this event opens today at 10am and continues throughout the
day until 4pm. Everyone is very welcome!! </span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lynne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
Each member of the Bib Services team was available between
the hours of 10am and 4pm to answer any questions that anyone who came down
brought with them. We also invited one of our colleagues from the library IT side of
our operation to come down and help answer questions. Having an extended
drop-in time meant that most people were able to come along, and could fit
their visit around their scheduled front-of-house activities without having to
excuse themselves from the rota, and likewise Bib Services staff could still
undertake their own rota duties but there would still be some of our staff available
throughout the event. Front-of-house duties can be a difficult obstacle to
overcome when sessions are offered that are potentially of interest to all
members of library staff – someone has to staff the desks/counters! </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->So, the idea was that when people arrived in the Bib
Services office they could chose who from the Bib Services team they wanted to
talk to, and they could chose if they wanted to do this on a one2one basis or
as a small group (no more than three people to a group). This meant that people
could choose to talk to people in the team who worked at a similar level (e.g.
Information Assistant to Information Assistant), or to people they already had
a good relationship with, or people who they thought might be better able to
answer their questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->Also, when visitors arrived, they were greeted by a member of
the team who gave them a sheet of hints and tips that had already been
compiled, and offered them bribes, sorry, I mean sweets! Each member of the
team also had a plate of biscuits or a bowl of sweets from which visitors could
help themselves. In the event that no-one was immediately available to greet,
there were also some games and things to do on the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“welcome desk” so that no-one needed to feel left out.</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cYJAmA35eJx8eW0QVi1S9kxo39v7Qj3lWZCf7tKRLn1u5cohY5JBYK_trvsOupQ_ywqXGxw_rWeyBBomfVeb4wveruWPKTUTcGwC-KAzhvos14uK0ihadBrXZNDt_tFR_AR3Ja5cVUu1/s1600/DSCF0334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cYJAmA35eJx8eW0QVi1S9kxo39v7Qj3lWZCf7tKRLn1u5cohY5JBYK_trvsOupQ_ywqXGxw_rWeyBBomfVeb4wveruWPKTUTcGwC-KAzhvos14uK0ihadBrXZNDt_tFR_AR3Ja5cVUu1/s1600/DSCF0334.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Reception desk" - a couple more games were added later!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As well as the email publicity, we placed a poster on the
staff noticeboard, and a poster on the office door, and a welcome poster above
the “welcome desk”. One member of the Bib Services team very kindly offered
to go around all the other offices and remind people that the event was taking
place, and personally inviting them down to take advantage of our offering.
This actually proved to be the most successful part of the advertising: Nothing
quite like the personal touch!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
We also sent out a reminder at about 2.15pm:</div>
<br />
<div style="border: 0.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 1pt 4pt;">
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just a
reminder that the catalogue familiarisation event finishes at 4pm today, but
there’s still plenty of time to come down and share your likes and gripes with
us!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hope to see
you shortly if you haven’t already come down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Lynne</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->For the whole day there was a buzz in the office like I’ve
never witnessed before! And, judging by the feedback forms we received after
the event, it seems most people not only had their questions answered, and
learned a bit more about the new catalogue interface, but they also seemed to
enjoy the event!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Some of the strengths of the event, as evidenced by the
feedback included:</div>
<ul>
<li>
one2one attention</li>
<li>the informality</li>
<li>convenience of drop-in</li>
<li>expert help and advice</li>
<li>ease of asking questions</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->We had about 25 visitors over the day, and received about
68% of feedback forms returned, and out of a possible score of 340 points we
received a healthy 298. </div>
<br />
At the end of the event we sent out a thank-you message, and
a suggestion about what might happen next:<br />
<br />
<div style="border: 0.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 1pt 4pt;">
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear
All, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many thanks
to those of you who came down to the LGF Office and took part in the catalogue familiarisation event. As I suspected, we in Bib Services learned a lot from
you, and I hope you learned enough from us to make your visit worthwhile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you had
any queries that we were unable to answer on the spot, these will have been
passed to me and I am currently working my way through them, and at the same
time using your questions as a basis for extending the FAQs we had already
compiled. This may take me a little while though, so I hope you will bear with
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you came
to visit us, I’d be ever so grateful for your feedback, and I have attached a
feedback form in case you didn’t get one on your visit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many thanks
for your support,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lynne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->A couple of days later I was able to email out to all staff
a list of questions and answers that had been received on the day of the event.
Where there were unanswered questions, or questions that needed further
investigation, these questions were included with suggested action points. </div>
<br />
Following the familiarisation event, a number of further
questions were received and answered via email. But, I wanted to go further! In
our world, the world of cataloguing and technical services, we are used to
taking part in e-forums, and this was what I wanted to do next, to give people
another opportunity to find out more about the new library catalogue interface.
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->Unfortunately, the timescale was too tight to create an
email group of which all library staff would be a member, although the
advantages of such a group would be that the email list would include an
archive accessible to all. In the end, I used my own email account, and
advertised that I would be at the end of my email to answer any catalogue
questions, during a two-hour period on a specific day. As you know, with the
ALCST and CIG e-forums, these are structured around a specific set of
questions, but I decided against any specific format, and simply accepted any
questions that were posed of me.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->The event was publicised on email:</div>
<br />
<div style="border: 0.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 1pt 4pt;">
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear All,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a
follow-up to the library catalogue familiarisation event of last week I would
like to offer you a different opportunity to share your comments and queries
about the catalogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
Wednesday 19th February, between the hours of 10am and 12 noon, I will be at
the end of my email to answer any questions you may have, and to take your comments on the new
library catalogue interface. As these emails will be coming in along with all
my other regular emails, please adopt the subject line “library catalogue
comments” so I can easily identify your email and respond quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you are
not able to participate tomorrow, please do send your comments to me at any
time to suit you, but be aware that, although I will respond, it may not be
immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I look
forward to hearing from you tomorrow,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="xmsonormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 1em 0cm; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Lynne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->In the event, we had about 5 different library staff
emailing a total of about 8 different questions. I answered all the questions
myself apart from one, which I referred to the only other cataloguer who was in
the office at the time. Again, all questions and answers were recorded and
issued to staff, like the results of the previous events. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->As with the previous event, questions were received after
the scheduled event, and these were also answered and included in the feedback.
Again, staff seemed pleased to be offered the opportunity to ask their
questions in the knowledge that someone was listening and likely to provide
them with an answer.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->As a result of all this activity, the Bib Services team is
planning to create an extended FAQ for library staff in the use of the new catalogue
interface, based on the questions and answers that were received at the various
events. I am also going to suggest that we create a new library email list that
can be used like an e-forum, for discussion about new services etc..</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->Overall, I think the two activities were quite successful, and I would hope to run similar events the next time we move to a new service.<br />
<br />
PS The box labelled “Open me!” on the “welcome desk” contained loads of different quotes about libraries, catalogues, and cataloguers!<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-8476729637960553082013-11-25T08:48:00.001-08:002013-11-25T08:56:56.007-08:00Not for the want of ideas ...<br />
<br />
Please accept my humblest apologies for it being ages since I last blogged. As the title of this post implies, it's not for want of ideas, but more due to lack of time, or, I suppose, if I were being honest, I've chosen to spend my time on other activities - like my other <a href="http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/loughborough-lichfield-lincoln-and-more.html" target="_blank">blog</a>, going to lectures and events and generally trying to spread myself as thinly as possible!!<br />
<br />
So, some of the things I thought I might blog about included:<br />
<ul>
<li>annual development reviews</li>
<li>one2one meetings</li>
<li>evaluation (or so it appears, having read my last but one post!)</li>
<li>RDA - adoption of, or lack of adoption of!</li>
<li>volunteering in public libraries</li>
<li>local studies collections</li>
<li>my team's READ-ability Initiative and PIC Project</li>
<li>process reviews</li>
<li>project work</li>
<li>how cataloguers are a public good</li>
<li>the super-library concept</li>
<li>CILIP involvement</li>
<li>library budgets</li>
<li>customer service</li>
<li>e-book collections</li>
</ul>
<br />
but I'm having difficulty choosing and honing in on just one idea! So, what shall it be? For a blog entitled "Blogging Cataloguing" I seem to be veering away from the topic, but that could be because I actually haven't done much cataloguing for quite a while now, as our backlog receded and the cataloguers are generally able to keep up. Having said that, I have been reliably informed that we have doubled the number of orders we would normally place in November, this year, so I'm expecting a flood of new books to come in, and I might just have to dust off my Dewey login, and update my RDA knowledge!<br />
<br />
Actually, new books have already started to roll in to the office, and are causing quite a stir. The "holding" shelves are stuffed, the trolleys are teetering and there are enough cardboard boxes to build a substantial dwelling.<br />
<br />
The way we work is to split the acquisitions/cataloguing process into small parts, and have staff working on different bits at the same time, in order to ensure a steady flow of new books through the office. However, if one person is opening boxes, then this person can't also be doing spine labelling, or if another person is paying invoices, they can't be jacketing new books. So, we're ending up robbing Peter to pay Paul, and then robbing Paul to pay Peter, clearing a blockage in one part of the system and then creating a blockage in a different part of the process! <br />
<br />
Still, it's only a temporary blip! We seem to be keener than ever to spend our money as quickly as possible, so I'm sure it'll soon run out, and we will be able to reinstate all those database maintenance jobs that we try to do in the background, those little things that can make the user experience so much better. Things like, improving the quality of LCSH in our records, improving the quality of our name headings, updating our classification numbers to reflect the latest edition of Dewey, ensuring that all our hotlinks still work and generally improving the quality of our bib records.<br />
<br />
As you might expect, all this frenzied activity on the new book front is coinciding with other work which is to do with upgrading our OPAC, introducing a discovery product, introducing new software which will help to improve our ways of working, particularly in the field of ordering, and working out how best to integrate a new-to-the-team, but established operation, and the staff associated with it.<br />
<br />
Personally, although it's still November, I'm looking forward to the Christmas vacation!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-1705365783507480762013-08-03T07:19:00.000-07:002013-08-03T07:19:57.982-07:00Fun, games and objectives!<div class="MsoNormal">
Or: The Team Away Day</div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
On the last Friday before I went off on holiday for two
weeks we had a team away day. When I say “team” I really mean the service area
of which my team is a part, not just my team. It was quite a last-minute
decision, so there wasn’t much time for planning, but we knew the focus of the
morning would be setting the aims and objectives for the coming year! Hardly a
topic for people to get excited about, but a real necessity, in the current
climate, to articulate what we wanted to achieve over the next year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the first time ever, we went off-campus and hired a
relatively inexpensive room in The Phoenix. This was a controversial decision:
Some colleagues were appalled at the very idea of wasting time walking to the
venue, others didn’t understand what the benefits of going somewhere else could
possibly be, while others were ambivalent. To say anyone was excited by the
prospect would be a gross exaggeration – except for me!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As it turned out, the hired space was almost ideal, with
three large round tables, an interactive whiteboard, coffee and tea on tap,
and, best of all, patio doors that opened onto a decked area furnished with
picnic benches and tables, which provided a break-out space for group
activities.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t know what you think, but I find objective setting
meetings can be quite hard to run: It’s sometimes difficult to get people
engaged in the activity, to see how what they do on a day-to-day basis
contributes to the aims of the service as a whole and to the aims of the
institution, so over the years I’ve tried different ways of involving people. I
still remember the year I got it right and was rewarded with a bunch of flowers
from the team: Never quite reached that level of success since, but it did give
me the impetus to carry on doing things in my own style, so each year I try something different!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, this year, I had a couple of days to come up with something new and different to complement the aims and objectives setting part of the meeting – and that was a tall order! I thought about things that had motivated me over the years, and tried to translate this into fun activities that would work for the team and get people enjoying themselves, but at the same time in the mood to consider their objectives.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually I settled on a couple of games and a quiz, so we
did two of these fun activities before settling down to consider our
objectives, and then we finished off with the third one. And, during the whole
of the morning, people were working on another quiz!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At first I think people were a bit sceptical about taking part
in daft things, that seemed to bear no relation to their work, but once they’d
relaxed into it, I think they could see the relevance and had a good time to
boot. What worked particularly well was that there were three tables of eight staff, which was fortuitous as I’d already decided to divide the team into
three groups, and rotate the games round the groups. It was interesting how the
groups had divided themselves, and I felt little need to interfere with the
composition of the groups. So, we had a table of men, with one woman, a table
of women with one man, and a mixed table! All tables had a mixture of people
from the three different teams that were represented at the meeting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The three activities and the individual quiz were:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 20.85pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 20.85pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->The
<b>picture match</b> where I provided a random set of pictures and each person in the
group chose a picture that they think was most like them and each explained in
turn why they thought this. The rest of the group were then allowed to agree or
disagree with the choice, and say why. The aim of this was to help people who
didn’t necessarily work together often to get to know each other better, to
foster trust and an appreciation of diversity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 20.85pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 20.85pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->A
<b>word game</b> where the group divided themselves into two teams and each team
taking it in turns to define either a big word or a small word, big words
earning a bigger score. This was a competitive game, and the aim was to help
people appreciate the versatility of the English language and that whatever
words they used for their annual development review were as valid as any others. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 20.85pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 20.85pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->The
<b>quiz</b> was designed to discover people’s learning style so that, like the first
game, people could appreciate that we are all different, but are working
towards the same goals. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 20.85pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 20.85pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->The
<b>individual quiz</b> was simply a list of acronyms for which the answer was the
spelled out version of the name. Of course, the acronyms were all related to
our area of work, or our organisation. A small prize of a memory stick was
awarded to the person who scored the highest: The winner got 35/45.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The objective-setting part of the morning, led by the head
of our teams, proved quite effective too. A list of suggested objectives,
together with a brief description and the names of the lead people, had been
circulated to staff earlier, so at the away day, people were asked to identify
where they were likely to be involved and to suggest changes and additions to
the aims. I am pleased to say that there were a number of changes and additions, and I think everyone
came away with a clear idea of what their part in the team’s aims was.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Overall, I think people appreciated being away from the "office" and felt able to forget the day job and devote a period of time to what is fundamentally an important activity. For my part, I felt that sandwiching the objective-setting between some fun activities allowed people to relax into the objective-setting and feel more involved and able to participate fully. What we ended up with was a fairly comprehensive, but achievable list of things to do over the coming year, and hopefully, we each also gained an insight into what made each of us tick.<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-66407514322608332362013-07-09T11:17:00.001-07:002013-07-09T11:17:29.032-07:00Across the sectors and through the decades<div class="MsoTitle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I qualified as a librarian in the early 1980s and during the course of my career I have been fortunate enough to work in public libraries, industrial libraries and academic libraries, gaining different experience in each sector and being able to bring ideas with me from one sector to another. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b>The public sector</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started my career in public libraries, initially working
as an assistant on the issues and enquiries desk. I travelled to different
branch libraries and experienced life on the mobile library, as well as
shadowing the reference and children’s librarians. After a while you got to
know your customers; the same people would come in on the same day each week,
and would be looking for similar reading matter each time. Even in a busy town
library it was possible to develop a rapport with the regulars and provide them
with the service they expected. I thoroughly enjoyed the mass 9am shelves too!!
This was a real bonding experience and helped to get one familiar with the
library stock. It might also amuse you to learn that the public library had
just moved from the Browne issue system to an automated one – Plessey light
pens and barcodes had just been introduced, and we were excited to be part of
the IT revolution!! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>*Most remembered book: the westerns of J T Edson!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My second role in public libraries took me behind the scenes, where I supervised a team of retrospective cataloguing assistants. This role was very much out of the gaze of the public, but nevertheless, one had to be mindful of the users when deciding what areas of stock to re-catalogue/re-classify next so as to cause minimum disruption. It was during this role that I gained experience of a couple of things that I now realise were extremely important in furthering my career and my love for that career: cataloguing/classification was fun, interesting and rewarding and we became intimately familiar with library stock; supervision of a team was the stepping stone to managing a team; and you can never quite sit outside the hierarchy! This particular role was interesting, not just for its cat/class operation, but also because the project was run by the staff at County Hall, so my training and overall direction came from them, but working on the ground in the town libraries I had to liaise closely with the town and district librarians! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>*Most remembered book: In and out of the box (a biography
of Robert Dougall) <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was quite glad when the time came to move from public
libraries, not because I didn’t like the sector, but more because I got fed up
with the train commute and was lucky enough to secure a job about a mile away
from my home.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b>The industrial sector</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Industrial libraries proved to be very different from what I was used to in the public library, the only similarities being with the smaller public library, as the firm’s library was quite small and it was great to develop a professional relationship with so many of the staff. The huge difference, of course, was in the information needs of the staff, so much so, that the service was actually divided into the Library, staffed by a librarian, and the Information Service, staffed by information scientists.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an assistant librarian I was responsible for ordering,
receiving, cataloguing, classifying, processing and shelving all the new books.
I issued books, stamped newspaper and also helped out with inter-library loans,
and occasionally journals work when necessary. Staff would come into the
library for a variety reasons, and as in the public library it was easy to
recognise their information needs, as they would come in regularly, often to
consult the same journal or resource. They were all specialists in their field,
and it was my role to help them with their “quick reference” enquiries, often
referring to the Merck Index, the BP (British Pharmacopeia), Martindale or the
BNF (British National Formulary), but I made sure to steer clear of Chem Abs!!
I was not allowed to do any in-depth enquires: these were assigned to the
information scientists, the staff who had first degrees in biochemistry etc.,
and experience of using expensive dial-up information tools, like Dialog!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my proudest moments was producing a series of leaflets for staff outlining the services offered by the Library and the Information Service. I was keen to get people who didn’t normally use the library to realise we had something to offer almost everyone, and this was one way of drawing them in. I was also involved in helping to develop an automated in-house library system; remember, we are still talking early 1980s here, and computerised library systems were still in their infancy, and although we looked at ALICE, even that was too grand for our purposes. I also remember having in-depth discussions about the principles of AACR2! However, at this particular firm there was limited scope for career progression so I eventually secured a post in an academic library.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>*Most remembered book: The chemistry of heterocyclic
compounds (series)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b>The academic sector</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And once I got there I realised just how similar the
industrial library and the academic library were. It had never really occurred
to me before, but I had got used to dealing with people with doctorates and
people whose interests lay in the chemistry of heterocyclic compounds,
anti-oxidants, free radicals, anti-coagulants etc., all areas that had never
entered my vocabulary until I took up the post in the industrial library: My
father was an industrial chemist, working with nylon, but I didn’t even do a
chemistry “O” level!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The interaction with the users was, however, somewhat
different as initially I was dealing with issue desk functions - arguing about
fines (we didn’t have those in the industrial library), claims returned items
(we never lost a book in the industrial library!) and people activating the
security alarm (we didn’t have a security system in the industrial library!) I
soon got fed up of that, so I moved into cataloguing!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I moved from a one-person cataloguing (and doing everything
else) operation to a department of cataloguers! That was one BIG difference! We
ordered humungous amounts of books! We checked in thousands of journal issues a
week, and the inter-library loans department was incredibly busy! We all took
turns at staffing the enquiry desk – where I should say that being in the
cataloguing department was tremendously helpful in knowing about new resources
– but relied on the subject specialists (librarians, not information
scientists) to do the complicated, expensive dial-up research. These days, of
course, this doesn’t happen: Users input vague words into discovery systems and
out pop millions of potentially useful references! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Both positions I held in the academic library – at the issue
desk and in the cataloguing department - were at team leader level, so my
experience of supervising staff in my earlier roles, proved to be a great
foundation on which to build. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>*Most remembered book: Kotler Principles of marketing<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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In summary, in my experience the principles of librarianship are remarkably similar, regardless of the sector in which they are being applied, as are the principles of management. But it is the application of these and other principles that can highlight the difference: UDC is perhaps not best suited to a public library collection but may be common to both an industrial library and academic library; the buying power of a small industrial library is never going to match that of a huge county library service, nor a large academic library; journals/periodicals/serials do not feature much in the public library, but are primary research material in the industrial and academic sectors; selection of material may, however, be quite different in all three sectors, as a public library service may rely heavily on publishers’ lists, the industrial library may simply buy stock that is requested by its staff, and an academic library may purchase stock requested by the academic staff and by the specialist subject librarians; to name but a few. </div>
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I’ve spent 32 years in the profession, and after 26 years, I
am still at that same academic library. There have been enormous changes during
that time – automated library management systems that included issue functions,
an OPAC, and inter-library loans; dial-up information sources; databases on
CDs; the internet; electronic resources; student fees; tightening budgets etc.
– but the principles of helping people find the information they need, by
organising it properly and being able to retrieve it easily, have remained a
constant, not only through time, but also across the sectors. </div>
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stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-49972066992501069882013-05-16T03:10:00.000-07:002013-05-16T03:11:13.446-07:00Learning outcomes<br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Any of you who know me will know that I'm a sucker for doing courses in things that interest me, so you won't be surprised to learn that I've recently added "tour guide" to my list of qualifications. Luckily, the taught sessions fitted nicely around my working week, but a friend who was also doing the course was not so lucky, but did manage to get given some time off work to do it. In these straightened times, there is a need to justify much of what we do, so in order to prove the potential value of the course to her employers, I helped my friend think about her expected <a href="http://cataloguers.wikispaces.com/file/view/Leicestershire+guiding+course+learning+outcomes.pdf/431163548/Leicestershire%20guiding%20course%20learning%20outcomes.pdf" target="_blank">learning outcomes</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Learning outcomes can be quite a tricky thing to get to grips
with, especially if the training or course you are doing is very short, for
example over a half day, when you could spend a large proportion of the time
considering what you expect to get out of the session etc. thus shortening the time you have to actually learn on the course! The course we were
undertaking was spread over a period of 5 months, and a detailed plan was issued
before the start of the course. This meant we had plenty of time to consider
what we might be taught, what we wanted to learn, what we expected to learn and
how we would put this learning to good use after completing the course. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">For me, I found this in-depth consideration of what I expected to get out of this course extremely useful, and it focussed my mind on how to get the best out of the course, what transferable skills I already had that I could improve upon or those I didn't have that I could gain, and how I might use these skills, and my new knowledge, in the future. So, what was important to me was not that the course lasted for 5 months, but rather I wanted to concentrate on the outcomes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">You may be wondering where I'm going with this ... so am I! There's something niggling at the back of my mind ... I recently read on the CILIP website that the current qualifications - chartership, fellowship, accreditation, revalidation - are being somewhat revamped under the <a href="http://www.cilip.org.uk/about-us/future-skills-project/pages/new-framework-of-qualifications.aspx" target="_blank">Future Skills Project</a>. Excellent: It's always good to keep things fresh and up-to-date. However, what struck me most was the following statement:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">"A revised model for <b>revalidation</b> will be implemented
which has a stronger focus on inputs (amount of time spent on CPD) than outputs
(impact of CPD). " <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Now, if you know me well, you will know that I do have a habit of making literal translations of things! So, to me the above statement says: Spend more time doing CPD activities, but don't worry if you don't learn anything along the way. It seems odd to me that in today's financial climate one is expected to undertake lots of CPD, often with an associated high cost, and that the rationale one has to produce in order to persuade one's organisation to pay for your attendance at any training event is no longer of any relevance to your professional body! Personally, I would have said that the outcomes were far more important than the amount of CPD you do. That said, this is not a criticism of CILIP, merely a comment on my preferred way of doing things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I suppose, for me, it’s a bit like if you don’t have a plan, how do you know when you’ve reached your goal, or achieved anything, so having a set of learning outcomes allows you to see what you expected to learn and then you can see if you’ve learned this and more, and thus, provided you have learned something, you feel you’ve achieved something!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Well, that’s all for now! Call back in a little while for the next post which, if I remember when I come to write it, will be about evaluation … !<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-8789360480120188802013-04-09T08:33:00.000-07:002013-04-09T09:26:54.203-07:00Opening the office doors<br />
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Just before Easter the Bibliographic Services Team opened
its office doors and invited staff from other parts of the library to come and
see what actually goes on in the team: A little bit of demystifying can work
wonders for cross-library working relationships!</div>
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Our Open Day advertising was based around our
READ-ability Initiative and our PIC Project, and ensured that we focussed on
showcasing many of the things we do that other library staff perhaps didn’t
realise we did! Previous open days have usually been based around the route of the
book (from order to shelf), or journals work, so this latest venture was a bit
of a departure for us. </div>
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Here’s the blurb:</div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Down in the
fusty, dusty basement, cataloguing staff have their noses in great tomes of
wonder - the manuals of AACR2, RDA LCSH and MARC21 and the Dewey classification
schedules! True? Well, yes, at least partially!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We do indeed live in the basement, but it certainly is not fusty and dusty! We have windows – although they don’t actually open, and look out on to the pavement – and because of the fast throughput in the office, there is little in the way of dust! Although cataloguers by name, we do so much more, and we shook off our old mantle years ago – where were you when we moved to online manuals and online Dewey schedules, got involved in Twitter chats, mashdmu events and raised our heads above the parapet?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So come on down
to our office and learn about:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>our <b>READ-ability
Initiative</b> - committing to improving the experience of students and other
library users when interacting with the library catalogue and the library
stock, helping them to find that elusive piece of information they need. It is
about articulating and understanding what we do and how it can help users, and
telling everyone!<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>our <b>PIC
Project</b> - pulling together much of the work performed around cataloguing in
Bibliographic Services, and recognises that much of this work helps to <b>PIC</b>!!
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>the more
traditional activities associated with a thriving Bibliographic Services
operation, like journals work, ordering, financial controls and much, much
more!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Intrigued? Want
to know more? Then abandon the arena of user activity and bound down to the
basement to learn about the creation of metadata and keyword consistency to
ensure discoverability of our resources!</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We made an early decision to limit the number of
participants to each open day to 15, given that there were five major topics we
wanted to cover, and each demo would be around someone’s workstation. We also
decided to go the speed-dating way – five groups of three people stopping at
each of five demos, each demo being no more than 15 minutes long! This meant we
could show more of what we do, but in less detail, so nothing should have been
too technical! </div>
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The idea of only being able to share tiny snippets of what
we do may sound a bit limiting, but the initial greeting and the final goodbye
stressed the idea that nothing was too much trouble for us and if anybody
wanted to know about more detail about anything they’d seen then we were happy
to get a phone call, an email or a personal visit and would go into as much
detail as required! Also, if there was something we hadn’t covered at all, we’d
be happy to do more tailored sessions. </div>
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Every member of the team who was available in the office on
the day of the open day (i.e. not on a service point, on leave, poorly, or not
scheduled to be at work) had a part to play and showcased some part of Bib
Services work to the visitors. My own role was simply to keep an eye on the time
and make sure groups moved on as soon as their 15 minutes was up! That proved
quite challenging and I’ve since invested in a handbell!</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgElGyJAcR5vYcRsg8fCMgepSBxmOLQHdNwripJGKjkay753qovySoDV74agJnorlflwYSvzoCo1tSyKjhkDY0IV3uZibUS2JMIxmWzSa302ZisOGJqpkq5htnSjPTZA18nIm5GI5na0HM/s1600/DSCF0024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgElGyJAcR5vYcRsg8fCMgepSBxmOLQHdNwripJGKjkay753qovySoDV74agJnorlflwYSvzoCo1tSyKjhkDY0IV3uZibUS2JMIxmWzSa302ZisOGJqpkq5htnSjPTZA18nIm5GI5na0HM/s200/DSCF0024.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Party bag!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The office was fairly buzzing with activity and chatter for the 90 minutes of the open day, and it was pleasing to see people interacting and learning from each other. At the end of the session, each participant was asked to complete a feedback form and given a party bag – no, not a bribe, just a thank-you for coming gesture!</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Judging by the feedback we received, it seems our open day was successful! Of the 11 feedback forms returned, 10 rated the overall open day event as “excellent”. Comments on specific aspects of the open day were also very positive, and some of the suggestions made by our visitors are currently being considered by the team, before we offer our next open day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-37524208256260993732013-04-04T04:31:00.001-07:002013-04-04T04:31:48.418-07:00Post-31st March!<br />
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Hard to believe we are already into April 2013, when it
seems like the year only just started!</div>
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So, RDA is now longer coming our way - it has already arrived! With a bang? Well, no, not for us really, since some major bibliographic record suppliers have been providing records in RDA format since January of this year. What we have had to do in relation to our own cataloguing work is look at the RDA standard and see what we can and can’t currently adopt, due to limitations not in our cataloguing software, nor our cataloguers' abilities, but in our OPAC. </div>
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Decisions made at a cataloguers’ meeting earlier this year
will remain in place until our OPAC has the capabilities to display all the new
RDA-specific fields, and that, unfortunately, means that wherever possible, the
cataloguers will be avoiding importing RDA records. Where an RDA record is the
best record available, then it will be imported and modified to suit us, but
the resulting record will not be shared with the cataloguing community at
large.</div>
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Problematic fields for us include the new 264 field, so we will
not initially be adopting this, but we will retain fields 336, 337 and 338 if they are in the record. We
have had much discussion about 245 $h and have reluctantly decided to adopt this
practice, and are hoping that users will find the item-type icon acceptable as
an indicator of material-type, until our OAPC is improved.</div>
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This situation does, of course, mean that our knowledge, skills
and experience of using RDA will lag behind the rest of the cataloguing community,
though we are dipping in and out of our toolkit and looking out for suitable training.
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Here’s hoping for a speedy resolution to our display problem!</div>
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stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-68944089243257432272013-01-17T11:55:00.000-08:002013-01-18T02:45:10.838-08:00What's in store for 2013?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over the last couple of months I’ve written about half a dozen blogs – in my head, that is! Interesting topics keep whizzing into my head, but before I’ve had time to commit them to a blog, something else has whizzed in to replace it! Oh for more hours in a day, more days in a week, more weeks in a month etc.!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2013 is already proving to be a year of change, a year of development and a year of trying to keep up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have team open mornings coming up shortly, but before that we are considering (by which I mean evaluating and adjusting) our team delivery plan. This is no mean feat: in order to evaluate and adjust, we need to measure if we’ve come up to scratch against the current plan, and only once we’ve measured can we then think about evaluating (have we done what we said we would, and if not, why not, and what do we need to do to achieve our goals) and then adjusting if the plan seems unrealistic, i.e. overly optimistic or if we are considerably exceeding our goals!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once we’ve done that we can then use our <b>READ</b>-ability Initiative* and <b>PIC</b> Project* to draw colleagues in to see what goes on in a Bibliographic Services team: Some things they’ll be aware of, some they’ll know quite a bit about, but I’m pretty sure some of what we do will come as a big surprise!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And hot on the heels of all this comes our RDA planning, training and implementation! Not much to worry about there then!! Following the excellent CIG e-forum on RDA, we at least have a reasonable idea of what to expect with RDA, and our next cataloguers’ meeting will be an RDA-</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">themed</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> one, at which we will certainly have plenty to talk about! As for training, well, we have a plan for several layers of training: specific, detailed training for cataloguers; slightly less detailed stuff for other Bib Services staff, but with a specific focus for information assistants who directly support the cataloguers; and a session much more focused on changes to OPAC for colleagues in the rest of the library. Phew, we are going to be busy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That will probably take us up to Easter! I’m trying not to think beyond that; to do so would probably cause meltdown! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On a personal level, I’ve decided not to take part in the <a href="http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-staff/hot-topics/jan-2013/the-six-book-challenge.aspx" target="_blank">Six Book Challenge</a>. A recent <a href="http://woodsiegirlwrites.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/2012-reading-by-numbers/" target="_blank">blog post</a> from Woodsiegirl persuaded me that I really didn’t have to take part. Last year I read a trilogy that I had been meaning to read for about 30 years, and was so surprised/disappointed/upset as this experience completely changed my view of the area in which I grew up to the extent that I’ve almost stopped reading: I’m sure this wasn’t what the Six Book Challenge intended!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You may have noticed that the <a href="http://cataloguers.wikispaces.com/" target="_blank">cataloguers’ wiki</a> has only sporadically been updated recently. This is something I’m not happy about, but has come about for a variety of reasons: I’ve been finding interesting snippets to add whilst I’ve been using my tablet, but as yet, I haven’t discovered how to copy/paste useful links so that I can pick them up on my pc; work has been really busy, so finding time to update the wiki whilst at work has been almost impossible; and I’m doing a course at the moment which, as I’m sure you can imagine, is taking up more of my time than I anticipated. I am adding just a few links at a time, but do have every intention of updating more frequently soon. I’ve also reduced my Twitter activity a bit too as I was finding far too much stuff of interest and getting soooo side-tracked!! No doubt, I’ll soon start to miss the interaction, especially with those wonderful cataloguing chums who know all about RDA!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ok, that's all for now as I must go and do some research! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Planning to share more detail about these in a future post. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-3558702597327716682012-11-09T01:52:00.001-08:002012-11-09T01:52:20.467-08:00From Discoverablity to READ-ability<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enhancing records to aid discoverability</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my last blog post I was concerned with how users could
discover the wealth of information that is contained in the huge variety of resources
we have in our library, and suggested that the catalogue - be that the library catalogue, the institutional
repository, or the archive catalogue – could be the perfect discoverability tool!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This all lead me to thinking about what our cataloguers do
and resulted in the <b>READ</b>-ability Initiative, which I launched at out last cataloguers’
meeting just before the Leicestershire schools half-term. This was positively received,
and is now due for release at the Bib Services team meeting next week, before being
presented at more senior level. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will explain more about the </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">READ</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-ability Initiative in a future post, as </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this is not the topic of my blog post today!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I am
focussing on a Tweet I posted a couple of days ago that said something like:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Doing the
desirables often makes it easier and quicker to do the essentials. This makes
desirables often essentials.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can’t quite remember
what sparked off this thought, but when I thought about it today, I realised it
applied quite nicely to the <b>READ</b>-ability Initiative. So, having all our name headings
authorised, having copious, authorised subject headings, are all desirables that
we have not achieved (and, of course, probably never will because as soon as you
authorise one heading a new one comes into your system!)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, if we
have a programme of retrospective work that includes spending time authorising name
and subject headings in records for material we already hold, then this makes
the process of cataloguing new stock coming in somewhat quicker and easier because
the more authorised headings we have the more likely it is that the heading in that
record for that new book/CD/DVD etc. that has just been received is already in our
authority file, thus making the new stock cataloguing process quicker and more efficient.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hence the idea
that doing the desirables helps with the essentials and therefore desirables are
actually essentials!!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-31743435860093418212012-10-12T06:31:00.001-07:002012-10-12T06:31:10.886-07:00Discoverability<br />
<h4>
<b>Promotion is part of discoverability, but it is only a part!</b></h4>
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Libraries are vast sources of information, contained in a
variety of formats, shelved in a variety of ways and locations. So how do
[potential] users find the information they need? </div>
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In our library we have many different locations, from
collections housed in different buildings (including an off-site storage
facility), through collections in the basement (hard-copy journals, media
items, missing pages/offprints, the archive and the rolling stack) the ground
floor (short loan items), the first floor (reference section and Dewey sequence
001-615) to the top floor (Dewey sequence 616-999, oversize items, pamphlets
and vulnerable items in secure glass display cabinets). How on earth do we
expect users to be able to navigate through our valuable information resources
when we spread our stock throughout the buildings in jigsaw-like fashion? If
you have the picture, it’s easy enough to do, but if don’t have that useful
aid, what do users do, and how can we help them?</div>
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<b>The online catalogue</b><br />
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The catalogue is a huge part of the library’s public face;
it needs to be clear, accurate, easy to use and reflective of the information
resources that are available. At collection level, some of our resources are
discoverable through their site code on the online catalogue (e.g. Law Library,
Short Loan Collection), whilst some through their sequence (e.g. Reference,
Media, Special Collections), and most are discoverable by old-fashioned
serendipity – walking the shelves, finding something that catches your eye and
turns out to be relevant!!</div>
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But what of title-level discoverability, or content
discoverability? This is where, I believe, lies the strengths and skills of the
cataloguer. An online catalogue can only ever be as good as the cataloguers who
got the information onto it in the first place! If that information is wrong,
sloppy, or partial, or the access points are too few or badly assigned and
aligned then that title/content discoverability will be compromised. </div>
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As cataloguers in my workplace, we all recognise the importance of access
and consistency, but we know our catalogue is far from perfect, so we are
working on cleaning up our data, thus helping to ensure successful
discoverability for our users </div>
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We currently have a couple of projects on
the go to enhance the discoverability of our resources by ensuring that we have
adequate/copious/excessive authorised subject headings in our records, and that
all our name headings are consistent according to our chosen authority list. Our jury's still out on the value of the 505 and 520 fields (at least until we get an OPAC display we have more control over), but couple our enhancement work with cataloguers answering users’ questions when on frontline
enquiry work, and you have a recipe for success, at least for the regular stuff
– if you’ll pardon the expression! </div>
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<b>Other collections</b><br />
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However, not all our collections are catalogued on our
library management system, and therefore they don’t appear on our online
catalogue. The institutional repository uses different software, but, as
cataloguers are involved in helping to create entries, it is possible, to a
certain extent, to ensure discoverability through naming conventions, use of
consistent keywords etc., where possible using the same conventions that are
used in our catalogue records which can help to make more things more easily
discoverable. </div>
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The other area where information discoverability can be
enhanced is in our archive collection. Again, consistent naming conventions,
keywords and classifications all help users to find the information they are
seeking, and if these are consistent with records in our other systems then
this can help to link disparate collections of resources and therefore information.</div>
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And that’s what we want to do! Help our users to access
information held in our resources that will help them to achieve their degree,
their postgraduate qualification, or keep up with developments in their chosen
field.</div>
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As cataloguers, I get the feeling we do all this with little
thanks and little recognition, from colleagues, of the skills, time and effort
we put in. We may hide in the basement, and we may not shout out about our achievements,
but our work is omnipresent.</div>
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stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-74348037114846477332012-09-13T06:56:00.002-07:002012-09-17T07:40:00.962-07:00Quick post about CIG12<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">CILIP Cataloguing and Indexing Group conference,<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10-11 September 2012, Sheffield University<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The value of cataloguing</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The CIG conference this year was organised around a consideration of what was believed to be the value in cataloguing, and this, naturally, also covered the value of the cataloguer and his/her skills, and how these might be changing and developing. In these challenging economic times it was simply amazing to see over 100 cataloguers (a manifestation? Jardine) gather amongst friends, to consider their role.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The conference was a mixture of longer presentations and short, lightening talks, all on issues of interest to the cataloguing community. The four main themes in this 2-day conference were:</span></div>
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<ol style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Working with new standards</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Working co-operatively</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">New challenges for cataloguers</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Developing working practices</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Grouping talks into themes helped to ensure that a wide range of topics were covered. These included: </span></div>
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<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">RDA; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">cataloguing in times of change and in times of austerity; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">institutional repositories; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">collaborative working; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">historical perspectives on cataloguing; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">shelf-ready; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">re-classification; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">high visibility/marketing of cataloguing and cataloguers; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">the changing role and the development of cataloguers; </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">special library work. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As you might imagine, I have made copious notes and it is going to take me quite some time to work through them all, but I think it will be well worth me reminding myself of things that were said that, for me, ranged from being interesting, through useful, to vital! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, really I suppose I’m using this particular blog post as a *note to self* and to serve as a reminder of the main things that struck a chord with me, and things I want to follow up. If I get time later, I will report back on selected talks in more detail. So, there are loads of things I want to read up about, there are hundreds of things I want to think about (see my previous <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/reflections-on-reflection.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> on my learning style: This will explain my need to procrastinate!), and there are some potential quick wins, things I think I can start to do more or less straight away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My action points are to:</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Read the JISC Impact Data blog (I should have done this already as we were a partner institution in Phase 1!)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Check our new books listing is working and appropriate</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Investigate that stats course!</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Make sure no.3 child uses the library before he goes to uni and it’s too late!</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Decide whether or not to upgrade legacy records when convert to RDA (or maybe the LMS supplier will be able to affect this automatically?)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Refresh self by reading up on Cutter/Paris principles, FRBR</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Consider the (hidden) cost of (not) implementing RDA</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Consider the cataloguing axiom (discoverability rather than rules) and importance of cataloguer’s judgement</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Investigate Google Refine, Web 3.0</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Consider the rhizome!</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Consider the weeding of videos (in relation to rarity)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Checkout membership of COPAC</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Participate in the CIG RDA e-forum</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Check progress of our order for toolkit, checkout the “essentials” webinars, the RDA website (LC training is available to us) and Lauren Bradley’s googledoc checklist</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Look out for CILIP VLE, CIG NACO funnel, cat23 (take up that offer of podcasting training)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Discuss RDA with lots of different people (e.g. suppliers (records, shelf-ready, LMS and RDN), partners, colleagues and library management)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Checkout library typos of the day</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Consider the idea that “Good enough isn’t good enough”</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Investigate automatically getting our theses records from DORA to the library catalogue</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Get our process instructions onto wiki/libguides etc.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Measure the “backlog” in book costs (£s)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Avoid smug tweaking of catalogue records</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Consider the idea that global changes equal consistency</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Consider turning our team delivery plan into a service-level agreement</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Consider the idea of the “do something different day”</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Remember that cataloguing is about increasing access and discoverability</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Remember that implementing RDA is the first step on a road that will lead our data to “play nicely” with other data.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Checkout the LMS user groups/meetings</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Re-investigate OCLC Classify</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Think about inside-out cataloguing – promoting stuff that our institution produces</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gather usage stats for streamed videos</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe I'll have managed to do all this by the time of the next major CIG conference in 2014! See you there!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Post Script: Remember to check those useful RDA links!</span></div>
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stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-22521588215152219072012-07-31T01:31:00.002-07:002012-07-31T01:31:21.136-07:00A personal Belbin<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What Belbin means to me</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On returning from my first maternity leave all those years
ago, I found myself wondering who I was, what I wanted, where I was going - and all those other confusing feelings
experienced by new mothers returning to work! Shortly after this return, the
library merged with various departments within the university and a series of
training courses was set up, with a view to networking members of the new
Division of Learning Development and providing essential staff development
sessions, and it was at one of these courses that I first encountered Belbin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I’ve always been interested in personality type quizzes and
was game for having a go at the Belbin quiz. Interested yes, but mostly they
didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know about my personality! Belbin was
different though, being less about personality and more about working styles.
For years I despaired of myself in working situations – why would I sometimes
have loads to say, other times nothing, why was I sometimes positive, other
times negative, why did I sometimes take charge, other times hide in the
corner? I’ve no idea how other people viewed me, but I certainly saw myself as
a moody cow! Till the day I did the
Belbin quiz! It was so enlightening I remember rushing into the office after
the course exclaiming that I’d finally found out the meaning of life, the
universe and everything! Let me explain!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are 8 [in 2012 there are now 9] basic Belbin types; if
you get a high score for a type this represents your predominant style, while a
low score indicates a type that you rarely use. So, like most people I was
expecting to get a high score, a low score and lots in the middle, so that I
could honestly say that I was one particular type. However, things just didn’t
turn out like that! While other people doing the quiz revealed their scores to
the group – highs, lows and lots in the middle – and usually found they agreed
with the results, I was sitting re-calculating my scores, hoping they’d come
out a different way, because I couldn’t quite work out why they’d gone wrong –
except they hadn’t! My scores range from a massive 12 to a very low 4! (Just as
a comparison, some of my team have done this quiz more recently and one
member’s scores range from 0 up to 32!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My score of 2 x 12s, 2 x 11s, 1 x 8, 2 x 6s and 1 x 4 had me
perplexed. What was my dominant style? Interestingly, I don’t seem to have one
– I could almost equally be any of the Belbin types (except perhaps for the
type that scored 4). Great – so I’m a Jack of All Trades, and master of none!
Wow – I’m a wishy-washy, fickle type who flits from one type to another! On the
flip side – I’m versatile, I suppose. This explains how I can be so different
in various situations – instinctively I will fill in the gap and be the missing
type in a meeting, or, I will choose to be a particular type for that situation
– not moody at all, just responding to the other types around me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of course, the dilemma is how do I improve my score of 4? As
I see it the only way to increase that score is at the expense of some of the
other scores, which, given that they are all so low, makes it a difficult
decision – have I ever had the urge to be more extroverted, enthusiastic,
curious or communicative – nah. Probably not worth it then!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As for the three clusters of types, my average scores
suggest that I fall into the <b>ACTION</b>-oriented roles firstly (average score
11.5), followed by the <b>CEREBRAL</b>-oriented roles (average score 8.5) and finally
the <b>PEOPLE</b>-oriented roles (average score 6). The typical features of my 2 x 11s
is quite contradictory – highly strung, dynamic and outgoing, compared to
sober, unemotional and prudent – as are some of my other close scores. Goodness
me, no wonder I get confused sometimes!! And no wonder, also, that you never
know quite what you’re going to get when you enter into a discussion with me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At our recent team away day, we again looked at Belbin, and
initially I was surprised to find that my scores had changed a bit! The range
is greater: I now go from a 4 up to a 15. Nevertheless, the scoring is very
similar to previously and again, they are all very close (4, 5, 7, 9, 3x10, 15)
meaning I am still a jack-of-all-trades! Interestingly, now I think about it I
think I can see that my 15 has increased because the person I work most closely
with at work scored a 0; our styles are complementary, and as long as we both
recognise this then we can work together harmoniously, with only the odd moment
of despair!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Again, interestingly, I still fall firstly into the
<b>ACTION</b>-oriented roles, although the average score dropped from 11.5 to 10.5.
However, <b>PEOPLE</b>-oriented roles has moved from last to second place, its average
score going from 6 to 8, and, therefore, <b>CEREBRAL</b>-oriented roles have moved to
last place, the average having gone down from 8.5 to 7.5 These are not huge
changes, but they are enough to make me reflect that these really are based on
working styles and some of these I have adopted because of the way my role at
work has developed and changed over the years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For more info on Belbin team roles you could look at this <a href="http://www.belbin.com/content/page/49/BELBIN(uk)-2011-TeamRoleSummaryDescriptions.pdf" target="_blank">website</a>, for more on the categorisation of the roles, this <a href="http://www.teambuildingportal.com/articles/systems/belbin-team-roles" target="_blank">summary</a> is good, and for an update, the <a href="http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=1" target="_blank">Belbin website</a> is great, as is their <a href="http://www.belbin.com/content/page/5596/A%20Comprehensive%20Review.pdf" target="_blank">comprehensive review</a>, showing the latest thinking, and the actual questionnaire is also available from <a href="http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=400" target="_blank">them</a> (for a charge).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'd be very interested to hear from you if you've know your team role preferences - especially if you're a cataloguer!</span></div>
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<br /></div>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-81748907449997903762012-07-12T04:09:00.001-07:002012-07-12T04:09:06.292-07:00Reflections on reflection<br />
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If you happened upon my previous post about my personal
thoughts on <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/reflections-on-competence.html" target="_blank">levels of competence</a>, as discussed by <a href="http://cpd23.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cpd-in-your-later-career.html" target="_blank">Sheila Webber</a> in her blog
post on cpd23, then you will see where I am coming from with this post!!</div>
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Although I realise I lack confidence in my ability to do
just about anything, this is really the only self-awareness that I have gained
over the years! Rather pathetic really, because, if I was more self-aware then
I’d be able to work on those areas where I’m not so good and become a better
person.</div>
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Over the years, however, there have been illuminating
moments where I have realised a bit more about myself. The first of these was
when I did the <a href="http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8" target="_blank">Belbin</a> team-working questionnaire and realised that I really had
no preferred role and so was really a bit of a Jack-of-all-trades (I thought I'd blogged about this but can't seem to find it now, so perhaps I didn't!). </div>
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More recently, I have done another short questionnaire that
has helped me to become a little bit more self-aware. Now, please don’t ask me
why, given my lack of confidence, but I decided I’d like to investigate what it
meant to be a mentor within the profession, and to that end I enrolled on the
<a href="http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/personnel/about/pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">CILIP PTEG</a> mentoring course. This was a day-long event that concentrated on the
skills needed in order to mentor a CILIP chartership, or ACLIP candidate, and
along the way we did a short questionnaire on learning styles. </div>
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I’ve done learning styles questionnaires before, but those
were to do with whether you were an aural or a visual or a kinesthetic learner;
the one we did on the mentoring course was along the lines of the <a href="http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/training/resources/teaching/theories/honey-mumford" target="_blank">Honey and Mumford</a> one. Now, this was illuminating! Although, if I think about it hard
enough, it shouldn’t have been illuminating, I should already have known what
my preferred style was!</div>
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Anyway, in short, it turned out I was 4 parts reflective, 3
parts theorist, and 0 parts activist or pragmatist. I’m sure I’m not breaking
any confidences if I say that the room was full of about half and half – that
is half reflective/theorists and half activists/pragmatists, with one or two
folk having a sole predominant style – and, knowing this, it was interesting to
be more aware of how we all interacted. </div>
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As I said above, this was one of those light bulb moments
for me! It helped to explain how and why I find it difficult to work with
people who make snap decisions; I can feel wrong-footed, steam-rollered over,
lacking in intelligence and unworthy. However, I now recognise that really I
ought to work towards being less reflective/theoretical as sometimes it’s
important to make decisions and take action rather more quickly than I do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That led me onto thinking about change, and my attitude
towards it. I’ve always said I don’t much like change, but actually, it’s
probably more to do with being given enough time to think about the specific
change and the implications/ramifications/consequences/impact the change might
have on me, on my work, on my workplace, on my colleagues and on the users! If
I feel I haven’t had enough time to reflect on it then I can feel threatened by
it and overwhelmed. Trouble is, there isn’t always time to think too long and
hard; some changes have to be made quickly, either in response to something or
to pre-empt things. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As with most things, I guess it’s all about balance,
self-awareness, and not letting styles get in the way of working, and not
letting styles become levels of unconscious competence that drift into levels
of unconscious incompetence – meaning yes, it’s good to think and reflect, and
yes, I’m quite good at it, but if I think too long I’ll miss the action and
miss the chance to get things done!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, I can always find something that vindicates the
way I am! <a href="http://www.generalphysics.co.uk/divisions/clutterbuck-associates/meet-the-team-and-consultants.shtml" target="_blank">Clutterbuck</a> (2004) said: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“people … have less and less time to stop and think deeply
… Deep, reflective thinking is as essential to the effectiveness of our
conscious brain as REM sleep is to our unconscious. In both cases we become
dysfunctional if our minds do not carry out the essential task of analysing,
structuring, organising and storing.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.microphilosophy.net/" target="_blank">Julian Baggini</a>, in an <a href="http://www.microphilosophy.net/?p=1300" target="_blank">interview</a> on Radio 4’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006r9xr" target="_blank">Start the Week</a>,
is also an advocator of procrastination as a way to achieve things. Contrast
this to Malcolm Gladwell and his <a href="http://www.gladwell.com/blink/index.html" target="_blank">Blink</a> theories, and maybe somewhere in between
is the perfect solution!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
References:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clutterbuck, David. (2004). Everyone needs a mentor: fostering
talent in your organisation. 4th ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-1058113959994518512012-07-06T04:19:00.001-07:002012-07-06T04:19:20.212-07:00Reflections on competence<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Between Thing 9 and 10!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During her between Things post on cpd23, <a href="http://cpd23.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cpd-in-your-later-career.html" target="_blank">Sheila Webber</a>
talked about cpd in your later career, a topic that really grabbed my interest,
not least because I’ve been in the profession a long time (31 years, if you
must know!), and there have been many life events recently that have caused me not only to reminisce, but also to look forward!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Way back in the ‘70s when I started at university, for many
of us this was the first opportunity to experience working with a
computer. Actually, as I remember it, we were all terrified in our first couple
of weeks when we had to do a test actually using the terminal (remember them?
dumb terminals connected to a mainframe!) I’m not sure, but I got the feeling
we were going to blow it up if we got the answers wrong!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, from those early days, the developments in IT have
just kept on coming and coming and coming, as
- by a mixture of luck, judgement and training - have our capabilities
to use it. However, I have always felt that there was something (well,
actually, lots of things) that I didn’t know about but felt I should, but
trying to identify what I didn’t know and get the training I needed to get to
grips with these things has always been difficult. I’ve blogged in an earlier
post about our team <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/keeping-up-with-new-technology.html" target="_blank">new technologies day</a>, which went some way to providing some IT knowledge for team members, and I've <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/its-time-for-cpd23.html" target="_blank">blogged</a> about why I took part in the original
cdp23 programme, and it’s really for this reason, to keep up with IT developments, that I am keeping an eye on
<a href="http://cpd23.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schedule-for-cpd23-2012.html" target="_blank">cpd23 2012</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reading Sheila’s post, I was quite interested in the four
levels of competence. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">unconscious incompetence - w<span style="background-color: white;">hile
I was </span><b style="background-color: white;">sure</b><span style="background-color: white;"> I’d passed the first level (no realisation that I was
not good at something),</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">conscious incompetence - I <b>thought</b>
I might have passed the second level (realisation that I was not good at
something), </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">conscious competence - and
really <b>hoped</b> I’d got to the next level, which was stopping being
not good at something if I really put my mind to it! </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">unconscious competence - I
quaked a bit when I read about “unconscious competence”; this suggests
that one is brilliant at doing something without realising it, or having
to think about it. Given my levels of confidence (i.e. complete lack of
self-confidence) I thought it unlikely that I had reached this level of
competence, but of course, I couldn’t help contemplating that maybe others
thought that with the length of time I’ve been in the profession I really
ought to have reached that level and therefore I needed to beware that I
wasn’t slipping into competence level 1 in the eyes of others!</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taking Sheila’s advice, I should force myself out of any
comfortable habits by self-evaluating, joining a peer-review scheme, or talking
with critical friends, as well as setting up mechanisms to keep myself updated.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sheila also wrote about the work of one of her PhD students,
Eva Hornung, on how one’s view of cpd changes over time, and I am quite sure
that I am in the stage that views cpd as lifelong learning! As far as I am
concerned, life is one long life-long learning event, as my colleagues at
<a href="http://librarymashups.our.dmu.ac.uk/tag/mashdmu/" target="_blank">mashdmu</a> will confirm! Never a day goes by when I don’t learn something, but
that doesn’t necessarily mean that I am constantly reviewing what I’ve learned
and putting it into action. If this were the case, I would spend so much time
reflecting that actually, I’d never get anything done!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hmmm, now that’s made me think ... ! Reflections on reflection ...</div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-23404259065249649622012-05-18T08:06:00.000-07:002012-05-18T08:06:12.713-07:00ALCTS - eforumsI've discovered how to check and see if any of my blog posts are being read and whilst checking I've noticed that my post headed <a href="http://bloggingcataloguing.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/alcts-eforum.html" target="_blank">ALCTS-eforum</a> seems to appear regularly in the list of posts consulted, but I have a feeling this may be for the wrong reasons, or at least, I haven't been specific enough in the heading of that post.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ala.org/alcts/" target="_blank">ALCTS</a> hold regular eforums and that post was a report on the forum specifically devoted to looking into catalogue research, following research that had taken place in 2010 - the Year of Catalog Research.<br />
<br />
Since then there have been several eforums on topics of great interest to me and I have found them to be very helpful in demystifying several issues. So, from now on, if I report back on any of these eforums, I will be a bit more specific in my headings and tags so you don't get here and feel short-changed.<br />stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-86134084575130375152012-05-18T07:10:00.001-07:002012-05-18T07:10:40.215-07:00cpd23 2012!cpd23 is running again! How I wish I had time to do it all over again - technology is constantly changing and it would be so good to be able to keep up and be well-informed (and so able to make better decisions about its use).<br />
<br />
If you didn't manage to do it last time round, or if you only got so far through it, do give it another go as it's a very rewarding way of learning!<br />
<br />
If you've missed the link, <a href="http://cpd23.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schedule-for-cpd23-2012.html">here it is</a>!<br />
<br />
Good luck!stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-58432812917876184352012-05-18T07:06:00.002-07:002012-05-18T07:06:27.353-07:00Training for cataloguing<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been off-air for a little while as I've been busy with lots of things: Busy? I think I mean overwhelmed! Something that might be of interest to cataloguers out there is the work I've been doing to help some of our library staff achieve the NVQ level 3 Unit 5 Organising Information.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, don't get me wrong, people from the team have been involved in this before, but the training hasn't been documented, other than in the NVQ candidate's portfolio of evidence. So, me being me, and being very fond of written procedures etc., I've set out to compile some, what I hope will be, helpful notes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm a great believer in having things written down (which doesn't necessarily mean printed out on bits of paper and put in a ring binder!) for several reasons:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's an opportunity to compile a record of everything that needs to be shared with the learner </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It acts as an aide-memoir just in case I forget to mention something</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a record of what information has been shared</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a record of a programme that can be used again, or adapted</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's an aide-memoir for the learner too</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a easy way of sharing useful web links</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having decided what information, skills, and knowledge needs to be shared it makes it so much easier to devise a timetable and to allocate specific staff to specific training sessions, especially when experts can be identified.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd like to share some of what I've done with you, but it's a bit lengthy for a blog post, so pop over to my <a href="http://cataloguers.wikispaces.com/Training+of+cataloguers%2C+The+NVQ3+Unit+5">cataloguers' wiki</a> where you can see some of the documentation in full. Be warned, however, it is very basic, and may well miss whole swathes of stuff that you think is important!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638309613142554834.post-91685967036369825702012-03-23T06:13:00.007-07:002012-03-23T06:38:53.519-07:00In relation to thing21 - job hunting<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; ">In relation to thing 21 - job hunting</span><br /><br /><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; ">Introduction</b><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Job-hunting in the electronic age seems so much more difficult than in the era of pen, paper and snailmail. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the job market, but have recently been helping no. 1 son with a search for suitable employment. To date, we have been unsuccessful, so whilst some of the observations below might be worth reading, my singular lack of success could well lead you to dismiss my advice!</span></span><br /><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">The job market today is frighteningly similar to that in 1981 when I graduated and found myself looking for a job. The Library Association Record Vacancies Supplement, as it was then, amounted to one side of an A4 sheet, and after six months, during which time I worked as a Christmas cashier in a high street newsagents, volunteered at my local tourist information centre, and ran a pilot community library one day a week in a local secondary school, I eventually found a cataloguing role funded by the Manpower Services Commission.</span></span><br /><br /><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; ">Job-hunting in the digital age</b><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Given the similarity of our situations, and the fact that I sift through completed application forms as part of my job, I thought I knew what I was doing helping no.1 son hunt out a job, but, so much has changed in the intervening 30-odd years that my skills / knowledge are a bit out-of-date!</span></span><br /><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Of course, we regularly look in the local newspaper, the local shops, the local job centre, etc., but so much these days is online, which brings its own problems. There really are so many online job sites that it can get a bit overwhelming! Some of these sites are quite clever and have some good search facilities, which, if you take the time to explore properly, can save you a lot of time, and help you target your searches so you’re shown stuff that is mostly timely and relevant. Some of the ways you can refine your search include things like specifying and searching by:</span></span><br /><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; "><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Geographic location (down to town, area or region, and within a specific radius)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Salary expectations (quite helpful if you are just starting out on a career and not yet ready for that director position!)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Newly posted jobs (some even allow you to search for jobs posted in the last hour!!)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Specific job titles</span></li></ul><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Also, there are specialist job sites for different industries, so if you know you want to work in a specific trade or profession, or have qualifications for specific areas then searching these sites can be quite fruitful.</span></span><br /><br /><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; ">Problems with online job sites</b><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">But, online job sites can also present problems that can drive you to distraction. So you may find that:</span></span><br /><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; "><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Same job are posted numerous times on the same website, or on many different websites</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Jobs are still posted even when the closing date has already passed</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Jobs are re-advertised every week</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Unreal jobs are advertised</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Training courses are disguised as jobs</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Jobs are advertised that you have to pay to take</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Commission only jobs are advertised with salaries</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Jobs are posted that are located “anywhere”</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Jobs are posted that are located where you want – as well as dozens of other places – but often turn out to be unreal (meaning there are no specific vacancies available)</span></li></ul><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; ">Organising your information and records</b><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">On top of the difficulties you might encounter with searching online job sites, I believe that in this digital age you have to be even more organised than ever before. In my day, you sent off for, or telephoned for an application form and further details and these arrived in the post some days later. Then, if like me you were not particularly confident, you’d get a sheet of A4 paper and write out and tweak your further information before copying it out for real on the application form. Then you’d file it away with the job details and the ad, all in the envelope that you received. Ok, that’s a bit long-winded, but at least that way you had a copy of what you’d written.</span></span><br /><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Nowadays, the application process is often online too, so you click on a link to get more details and a separate link to actually apply for the job. You type in your details and your further information and you click apply/send. Great. Job done. However, when you get that email that invites you for interview, you can’t remember what you wrote in the further information section, and you can’t check back to see what the job required because the online details are usually no longer there, as the closing date has passed! There are some sites, however, that do store your details so that you can re-use them when you apply for another job using the same site.</span></span><br /><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">So, you have to be incredibly well-organised to ensure you are able to give of your best in the interview.</span></span><br /><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">We haven’t quite got this right yet, but we’re getting there. At the very least, I’d suggest, that you need to save a copy of:</span></span><br /><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; "><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">The job description</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">The person spec</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Whatever information you provided in the further information section and the covering letter</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">The contact information, including the website you went through and the company details</span></li></ul><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Do this by either creating some easily identifiable folders on your pc, or using a USB dedicated to job applications, or even print everything out and store in a filing cabinet or paper folders, just like in the old days!</span></span><br /><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Another tip is to create your further information in a Word document and then copy and paste it into the application. This way you get the benefit of the automatic spellchecker (although, of course, you should never rely solely on this), you have something to hand that can easily be amended for the next application you do, and it’s easy to scroll up and down to check what you’ve written (so many online forms seem to give you a tiny box to write in that it’s hard to navigate and check). During the recruitment process I have seen many printed copies of online applications where sentences have accidentally been repeated, line breaks are in funny places, and numerous other little things, but now, seeing it from the other side of the fence, I can understand how this happens, and be more sympathetic!</span></span><br /><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">A belt and braces approach to keeping track of where you are at and what you have applied for and written would also see you creating a spreadsheet in which you record details of each job application. We haven’t actually done this, but if we did it would include columns for things like:</span></span><br /><ul style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; "><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Job title,</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Company name,</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Website where advert was found,</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Date of application,</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Name of file(s) where you have saved the job description, your further information etc.,</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Closing date,</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Published interview date</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Contact details in case of a query</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Outcomes (rejection, interview, job offer)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Feedback / notes (yours and theirs!)</span></li></ul><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; ">Conclusion</b><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">I recently <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17363798">read</a> of someone who had applied for over 1600 jobs. This makes job-hunting a fulltime occupation in itself. Indeed, if you are as highly organised as I think you need to be to find that elusive job, then you are well on the way to a career in office administration!</span></span><br /><br /><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; ">Afterword</b><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">I don’t know why but rather than use the web browser’s favourites, or bookmarks, we have copied links for useful job searching sites (with our criteria saved) into a Word document and then opened this daily and clicked each link to check for new jobs. This means that we can annotate the list with the latest search date, just in case for some reason we don’t get to check every day.</span></span><br /><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Below I’ve listed some of the more general job searching sites that we’ve found useful when looking for any job we could possibly do!</span></span><br /><ul><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; "> Newspaper ads, e.g. <a href="http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/jobs">local ones</a>, or <a href="http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/">national ones</a></span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "> Council jobs, e.g. <a href="http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/jobs-and-careers/recruitment/ourcurrentvacancies/">individual authority ones</a>, or <a href="https://www.eastmidlandsjobs.org.uk/">regional ones</a></span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">University jobs, e.g. <a href="https://jobs.dmu.ac.uk/webrecruitment/">local ones</a>, or <a href="http://www.jobs.ac.uk/">national ones</a></span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://jobs.civilservice.gov.uk/company/nghr/jobs.cgi">Civil service</a> jobs</span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/">NHS</a> jobs</span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Jobs through agencies, e.g. <a href="http://www.reed.co.uk/">Reed</a></span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">A selection of other sites, like, <a href="http://www.fish4.co.uk/">Fish4</a>, <a href="http://jobsearch.monster.co.uk/jobs/">Monster</a>, <a href="http://www.indeed.co.uk/jobs">Indeed</a>, <a href="http://www.totaljobs.com/">Total jobs</a>, <a href="http://www.jobsite.co.uk/?src=ql">Jobsite</a>, <a href="http://www.randstad.co.uk/find-jobs/jobs/job-search-results.html?r=true">Randstad</a>, <a href="https://candidate.manpower.com/wps/portal/GBCampus/jobs/Search-Manpower-Jobs/">Manpower</a> etc..</span></li></ul><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Examples of specialist job search sites:</span></span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "><a href="http://www.lisjobnet.com/">lisjobnet</a> - for jobs in the information profession</span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://www.caterer.com/">caterer</a> – for jobs in catering and hospitality </span></li></ul><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">And, finally, don’t forget to search all those local companies in your area, and all those national companies who have offices in your area and the professional press!</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Good luck with your own job searching!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br /></b></div>stjeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358079860710812787noreply@blogger.com0