Cataloguing

After rushing to finish my second assignment before flying off to Mexico for a very good friend's wedding, I have a lot of catching up to do for this course...

This week's module was all about cataloguing.  This was a very useful lesson for me, as I know that everything I read about will one day be something I will need to make use of.  This lesson also was the first to cross-over material that I learned from my other courses toward this diploma.  Since this is only my third course toward becoming a Teacher-Librarian, I'm sure that I will find this happening quite a bit more over the next year or two.  One of the readings in particular, about ERAC, was one that had been assigned to me before, so I am reminded how important this organization will be for me when I am faced with the task of selecting and acquiring new resources.

During this lesson on cataloguing, it is beginning to make sense to me why we were learning in such detail about MARC records, CIP, and other mundane cataloguing procedures.  It seems to me that I will rarely need to create a MARC record from scratch, but just attempting to do so not only gives me a better understanding of how to read and use them, but also it shows me the value of finding a vendor or jobber that includes MARC records in their sale price.

One thing that I am still finding difficult for this course is not being able to work with what I am learning.  I am envious of the students in this course who can apply their new knowledge right away or use their experience to create more meaningful assignments.  I also fear that by the time I end up working in a library, what I have learned in these courses will not be fresh in my mind.  I do take comfort, however, in the knowledge that my district offers a mentorship program, and I believe that it is available to teachers in their first year or teachers who are in a position that is brand new to them.  I hope that I will qualify when the time comes!