Comments for SLWorkshop

Comment on A Librarian’s Legacy – Ruth Toor Honored with AASL Grant by Hilda Weisburg

Hilda Weisburg — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 14:31:06 +0000

You are so right Ginny. And as chair of AASL Advocacy, I am delighted to have this award available to acknowledge those who are continuing to advocate for school libraries and librarians, and to be able to share these ideas with others to replicate or adapt.

Comment on A Librarian’s Legacy – Ruth Toor Honored with AASL Grant by Virginia Connolly

Virginia Connolly — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 22:24:55 +0000

So happy to hear of this award and not the least bit surprised that Jay Toor is sponsoring it. He and Ruth were always advocating for school libraries. I worked with Ruth for many years and learned so much from her.

Comment on The Dewey Debate by Sabrina Carnesi

Sabrina Carnesi — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:39:03 +0000

The absolute longevity of Melvil Dewey’s Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC) is a key concept that not only is embedded in the history of school librarianship and school library programs, but is still an important part of today’s 21st Century library. The relevance, however, is being challenged. When Dewey developed this system in 1873, nothing in existence suggested there was a relative location and relative index for shelf organization. Since its initial introduction, the DDC has been edited and expanded 23 times, with the most resent abridged version’s 2012 publication. In recent years, some librarians, in an effort to address the needs of their patrons, have experimented with genrefication. Genrefication is a model of classification in which shelf location is determined by genres, a style used by booksellers. Critics have declared the new system a nightmare, while supporters love the browsability of the shelves. The 2013 Midwinter Conference in Seattle, presented a variety of pros and cons on the validity of DDC vs. genrefication at a Hot Topics discussion session called “Dewey vs. Genre Shelving in School Libraries.” This past Midwinter 2014, I heard people complaining that they didn’t want to hear another word on the Dewey question. You might think that this was a negative, but from my perspective , I view this as a positive. Normally, in an informal disagreement, when the opposing side begins to say they don’t want to hear another word, that usually means they are being worn down and/or can’t yet admit they see some relevance in what they initially disagreed with.

Because there is no centralized commonly acknowledged organizational approach to this new phenomenon, librarians interested in genrefying their stacks are using a variety of approaches. Some are blending their fiction and nonfiction by genre; some are using established databases that organize books by subjects; and others are only genrefying their fiction shelves. Signage for genrefying does not have to change DDC, but some librarians at the 2013 Midwinter admitted that they have gone as far as to change their catalog’s MARC records according to subject. Paige Jaeger blogged on the AASL Forum in December 2012 that school librians have always de-deweyed informational, poetry, fiction etc., according theme (http://www.freelists.org/post/ntalibdir).

My library assistant is also the cataloger for my district. Her perspective on this is that it makes sense to organize the fiction and even the story collection according to genre, based on the fact that the most common request for books in our library is genre related.
…continued on my blog http://tinyurl.com/nrrgeo9

Comment on “Chopportunity” by STREAMing into STEM | SLWorkshop

STREAMing into STEM | SLWorkshop — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 16:39:21 +0000

[...] being Math Awareness Month, I have STEM on my brain. If you recall a previous blog post on “Chopportunities,” we need to look at all challenges as being a potential [...]

Comment on The Dewey Debate by RonaGofstein

RonaGofstein — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 17:13:31 +0000

All good points and questions. Many are dealt with in the Knowledge Quest issue. Look for a more detailed view of the controversy in the February/March 2014 issue of School Librarian’s Workshop.

– Hilda

Comment on The Dewey Debate by Joy Fitzgerald

Joy Fitzgerald — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 17:24:29 +0000

This is a good discussion. I feel some of the key questions are:
1) What is the purpose for changing?
2) How will you change if you choose to?
3) Are you preparing your students/staff/users to be lifelong learners no matter where they go?
4) If you choose to change, who will pay for the time/work/etc.
5) If you change, what system/which and how many genres?
6) How easy will it be for any successor to take over your job when you leave/retire?

Comment on Failing Your Way To Success by Kate

Kate — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 16:10:07 +0000

Powerful insight Hilda. As librarians we always talk about success and hardly mention failure.

Comment on Is there such a thing as too connected? by Richard Hartman

Richard Hartman — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 01:59:04 +0000

Staying in touch” is often an excuse for computer addiction and it also encourages your short attention span. Select only the vital online sources to accomplish your work and to develop effective PR.. As for Social Media, select a vehicle to allow you to tell your complete message. Ideally your Social Media vehicle would also number, date and total the number of replies to your comments but I do not know if such a vehicle exists

Comment on Is there such a thing as too connected? by Mike Botham

Mike Botham — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:37:41 +0000

There most certainly is! The danger of “information overload” is ever present and very real. Neurological studies on the impact of communication technology on the human brain is showing that prolonged use of such devices is actually beginning to rewire the neural pathways in our brains. One implication already discovered is a significant reduction in the ability to read for deep meaning. Clever entrepreneurs are already marketing holiday destinations that are devoid of mobile reception so that guests are forced to “unplug” for a day or so. The human brain and psyche is designed in such a way that regular “time out” is necessary to stay healthy, mentally and emotionally. The perceived need to stay “in touch” 24/7 must be challenged at every turn… for our own wellbeing.

Comment on Is there such a thing as too connected? by Michael Hargreaves

Michael Hargreaves — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:21:55 +0000

The great irony of time saving technologies is that they end up consuming more of our time, particularly if we have a curious and enquiring mind. Worse still, if we are at least mildly obsessive when it comes to being informed and are 24/7 connected to the internet. To contain the prospect of information overload, I have found that it is absolutely essential to become very discriminating in the online knowledge that I wish to pursue.