Here is a recent article from The Daily Telegraph, where they explored the importance of fathers in reading to their children because it encourages more abstract thinking.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/why-reading-a-book-with-dad-is-more-important/story-fni0cx12-1227544210970?sv=c8dc7500c1dc4c401c3b8dd4b6bf8d4a
It made even think too about my work in girls schools to date as a Teacher Librarian and undertaking wide reading sessions. It made me think of the higher order questioning that I did with them. I remember one instance asking students about why the covers of a Harry Potter book had been presented in a particular way and why the covers were designed that way. It got them thinking, even if they weren't too short.
For us men, it even encourages us to work in girls only schools, as the girls do also appreciate a male perspective on reading and literature.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Friday, October 23, 2015
Stocktaking Time (ii)
OK, a week has passed since I looked at stocktaking and have attended the webinar by Softlink. It was a good afternoon to be briefed on the stocktaking processes associated with OLIVER.
I think that there is really little to fear, even for those in DET schools who are moving over from OASIS to OLIVER. The big advantage that OLIVER has over OASIS is the interface and that you can see 20 results on a page as opposed to one so it can actually help you sort out items that are missing or poorly catalogued.
A bit like cooking, there is preparation for a stocktake which must not be overlooked like undertaking a simple housekeeping procedure to ensure that everything in the collection is on the system and to help identify items that are catalogued incorrectly.
And I liked how you can scan in barcodes once you have imported them to account for unscanned yet available items!!!
Don't ever fear closing a library just to do a stocktake, like they used to!!!
I think that there is really little to fear, even for those in DET schools who are moving over from OASIS to OLIVER. The big advantage that OLIVER has over OASIS is the interface and that you can see 20 results on a page as opposed to one so it can actually help you sort out items that are missing or poorly catalogued.
A bit like cooking, there is preparation for a stocktake which must not be overlooked like undertaking a simple housekeeping procedure to ensure that everything in the collection is on the system and to help identify items that are catalogued incorrectly.
And I liked how you can scan in barcodes once you have imported them to account for unscanned yet available items!!!
Don't ever fear closing a library just to do a stocktake, like they used to!!!
Friday, October 16, 2015
Stocktaking Time
For school libraries, its almost (or perhaps already) that time of year again - stocktaking time.
I am going through the process of stocktaking for the first time and I've been quite amazed at the simplicity of the process. I thought doing something like was daunting with alot of steps involved. This was the case until I was delegated with a good challenge - create a set of procedures based on the system used by the school and how to do with the diverse collections available.
It might appear to be a little time consuming at times because of the checks that have to be made with error reports and the like, but at the end of the day, we as librarians have to account for every single item that forms the collections within the library.
A big plus, is that it gives one the chance to correct the errors that may have arisen in cataloguing an item/s. We are human at the end of the day.
I am aware school libraries where collections have been in a state of disrepair. This blog is not about naming them and shaming them at all. In fact stocktakes have not been done or if done not properly. It raises issues in terms of managing the broader library. The consequences can be massive with items simply "disappearing" (or missing in more technical sense) when they are on the shelves. I have discovered that for myself with one school.
I also was reading a post this week on the NSWTL message board (Available to those with NSW DET email accounts) and one question came forward. For those outside of NSW, OLIVER is being introduced to all NSW Public Schools as the main circulation system for school libraries. The Teacher Librarian had asked whether or not a stocktake should be done following the transfer of data from OASIS.
It comes down to when the last stocktake was done. If it was done right before the transfer, I would say "No". If the Stocktake is yet to be done for this year and would normally proceed this term, I would suggest "yes", provided you have the Softlink Manual. It is not really that complex after all from what I found and applying it to the school library. I'll admit I've made a few small modifications to my procedures as I have gone along, which has been good for eyeing out any problems.
For those out there especially in the NSW DET Schools who are struggling, please feel free to get in touch with me.
I am going through the process of stocktaking for the first time and I've been quite amazed at the simplicity of the process. I thought doing something like was daunting with alot of steps involved. This was the case until I was delegated with a good challenge - create a set of procedures based on the system used by the school and how to do with the diverse collections available.
It might appear to be a little time consuming at times because of the checks that have to be made with error reports and the like, but at the end of the day, we as librarians have to account for every single item that forms the collections within the library.
A big plus, is that it gives one the chance to correct the errors that may have arisen in cataloguing an item/s. We are human at the end of the day.
I am aware school libraries where collections have been in a state of disrepair. This blog is not about naming them and shaming them at all. In fact stocktakes have not been done or if done not properly. It raises issues in terms of managing the broader library. The consequences can be massive with items simply "disappearing" (or missing in more technical sense) when they are on the shelves. I have discovered that for myself with one school.
I also was reading a post this week on the NSWTL message board (Available to those with NSW DET email accounts) and one question came forward. For those outside of NSW, OLIVER is being introduced to all NSW Public Schools as the main circulation system for school libraries. The Teacher Librarian had asked whether or not a stocktake should be done following the transfer of data from OASIS.
It comes down to when the last stocktake was done. If it was done right before the transfer, I would say "No". If the Stocktake is yet to be done for this year and would normally proceed this term, I would suggest "yes", provided you have the Softlink Manual. It is not really that complex after all from what I found and applying it to the school library. I'll admit I've made a few small modifications to my procedures as I have gone along, which has been good for eyeing out any problems.
For those out there especially in the NSW DET Schools who are struggling, please feel free to get in touch with me.