Stellman the Librarian

If OPAC had a flag, this definitely would not be it. These past few weeks have taught me that I had not spent ANY time prior to this experience thinking about cataloging, but that librarians spend a TON of time thinking about it, and also how to bend the Dewey Decimal System to their will. For example, in this week's discussion, several of my classmates discussed the intricacies of where fairytales should go, and if fractured fairytales should go in the same spot. As a future librarian, I totally get it. During my days at a publishing house, my colleagues and I would deeply discuss the use of hyphens, come to a conclusion, and then CONTINUE to DISCUSS HYPHENS at happy hour. We all knew that readers wouldn't give a darn about the hyphen, but it was important to us. But as a library patron...? Eh. No. Perhaps I am of a minority, but I find books by looking up the title or author's name, write down the call number (because my mind is like a darn sieve) and then...

*Who Knew Librarians Loved Acronyms? Well, phew! Back in a simpler time (last week), I had a very halcyon view of cataloging. I pictured a librarian receiving a book, following some three-digit organization system that might require a moment of thought, then adding the first three letters of the author's last name, and ta-da! All set! If I had given it a few moments of thought, it would not have made sense, but...details. I've been picking up (and putting down, and picking up, and putting down...) the third edition of Catalog It!: A Guide to Cataloging School Library Materials . The writing is surprisingly engaging for a textbook, but it's slow-going as it feels like I'm reading a foreign language and typically I'm tackling it around 9:30pm nightly. In that regard, here is my acronym cheatsheet for the first three chapters of Catalog It! RDA: Resource Description and Access Provides information on WHAT should be recorded, but not how to do it The fou...

This week was pretty fun - we turned our eyes toward leading professional development. Library Media Specialists are in a prime position to lead PD on tech topics. Social media can be a fabulous spot for professional learning communities. It can also provide a wealth of information on assessments, classroom activities, feedback, worksheets and more. In that regard, if someone says they "don't do" social media, and they've never tried it, they're missing out. In my current role, I've trained several people on how to use Twitter. They began our session very hesitantly. However, these people are now skilled and confident, and enjoy using social media to promote their schools. My presentation, called "That Gosh Darn Social Media," is intended for people who are not comfortable with social media, but are open to learning more. I totally understand how awkward it is to travel outside your comfort zone. In fact, I used Google Slides to create the pr...

Top 5 Apps...funny story, earlier this week I googled "Easy Halloween Apps" and...the first page of results was filled with Halloween apps for the computer. I guess google knows that I'm more likely to look for a computer app than a food app recipe!  ( I ended up with this mummy brie, and it was a hit! ) My top five apps change every five minutes, but here they are ATM, in no particular order: Facebook: While I sort of hate Facebook, I love staying on top of the topics that Librarians Care About, via groups like ALA Librarian Think Tank and The School Librarian's Workshop Animoto: Angels sing from on high, as this video app is SUPER easy to use. Also, they offer non-profit pricing, so my office purchased a subscription for less than $300 annually. Totally worth it, and it makes creating student videos extremely easy and fun. Screencast-o-matic: I haven't actually had to use this yet, but I LOVE that it exists. Formerly, in order to make a tutorial, I ...