Genre Allocations (for labels)

Fortunately, I have done this in two previous schools, but I am working through the fiction collection in my current school to determine genres for each fiction item.

In 2018, I did an entry on this topic.

I have decided to do it because the fiction books don't have genre labels at all, and have felt that it has stopped students from selecting books that they wish to read. I was told it had been based on the need for students to be able to locate and select books independently. Having labels was seen as an "impediment".

Unlike in 2018 at the school in question at the time, I have seen here that there is an even greater need for it. Students have indicated that they don't know if a book belongs to a particular genre. I observed it recently with Year 8 English classes visiting the library to borrow fantasy books - Several students asked me to find out if it was a Fantasy book or not, searching for it on OLIVER. This was time-consuming.

Do I still hold the same views in 2023 from what I wrote in 2018 - yes.

Also, there are no labels for the Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) featured, whether its on the spine or inside the cover, causing more difficulty for those participating in PRC. 

Am I doing this with formal genrefication in mind - I will explore it but that will come later. 

Schools Catalogue Information Service

To date, I have not posted about Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS).

In recent times, I have had to rely on it to have a number of older items in the library collection catalogued. Generally, they have made it easier for us as school library staff to catalogue items by virtually ending our need to manually catalogue an item. 

I have had to search their catalogue to determine if they have data for the resource, then transfer either the SCIS ID or ISBN into the data entry in the catalogue (Available on OLIVER), then either enhance or overwrite the existing data. 

If it has not been listed, then I place a request with SCIS. 

I am impressed by the service that allows us to photograph key sections containing information about a book such as the cover page, copyright details page etc, fill in key details and forward onto SCIS. The book does not physically have to be sent unless SCIS request it. 

Whether the book was published yesterday or many years ago, don't worry about having to catalogue it yourself. It does take a little time to take photos or scan the pages you need and fill in the online form, but it will save hassles later.

Also over time, if SCIS updates details and the data was obtained through SCIS, it will update it on your catalogue. 

Is your library collection really ageing? - Progress Report + ClickView and OLIVER

Last week, I completed the list of books without publication dates to determine the age of the books in my library collection, and the final figure reflected an estimate that I took back in November when using a spreadsheet; I applied a formula from the Awful Library Books Blog and OLIVER got it to within one year of the estimate.

Now, I will have a date to start aiding me in weeding an ageing collection and target books that are older than that date before shifting to books past that date. 

But I also discovered a fault in OLIVER that was keeping my collection appearing younger than it should be - Clickview Items were appearing as books in format. It meant that in OLIVER I had to change the format to video to ensure that only books were listed as format and change. 

Another opportunity arose as well, updating catalogue records on SCIS as well. There are a number of items that are not linked to SCIS, which means extra work, but I feel that it is important to ensure that each book in our collection is correctly catalogued but also with the correct data. SCIS is integrated with OLIVER which means data can be automatically updated. 

Is your library collection really ageing?

As a member of the Management Committee for the School Library Association of NSW (SLANSW), I wrote a feature for their blog on determining the average age of books in your library collection.

Being a members-only article, I will not post it here in its entirety, but I will provide you with a link to the Awful Library Books Blog if you want to read up about the process, as it was a source that informed me in preparation of the article

I have found it useful as a starting block to weed books, especially if there are a lot of books to weed. It means that books that are not as old face the chopping block first.

Responses to OZTL_NET Messages on Recess and Lunch Supervisions

I would like to express my thanks to those who responded to a request for information relating to recess and lunch supervisions in the school library.

I would like to keep the comments as anonymous but also present a summary of points that may need to be considered based on how schools manage it or individual perspectives.

• Check your award to see what breaks you are entitled to - It is likely you have the same expectations as a regular teacher relating to break times and duty expectations unless explicitly stated otherwise. 
• There are federal laws that mandate the length of breaks for an employee that they are entitled to. 
• If you have problems with securing breaks for lunch etc, consult your union if you are a member and speak to your school leadership.
• I know this from experience myself, but was reminded that in some schools, regular teachers provide the recess and lunch supervision either to give the teacher librarian an opportunity to have a break OR to supplement existing supervision to comply with supervision requirements. This can be seen as a workaround for a teacher librarian who is placed on a full teaching load, but there is a risk, would regular teachers be willing to undertake the supervisions if asked to do so and if complies with the conditions of the award in relation to playground supervision. 
• Every school will have its expectations. Some schools will be happy if the library has to close during recess or lunchtime to allow for breaks e.g short, staffing

2023 Starts - What am I up to?

The last time I placed an entry in this blog was in August 2022, sharing an article about how COVID-19 and remote learning in fact led to more children reading, which was encouraging news.

I start the year much more settled and more in control than last year. Twelve months into a permanent role has thrown its challenges and did take up a lot of energy. That is why I stepped back from posting entries and even forewarned it. 

The past few months also gave me ideas on what I could post or share. I think some of the decisions I made are starting to yield some results as well. I still think it will take time.

One area of interest for me professionally has been library procedures and policies. It may feel like it takes time from our teaching role or even attending to what happens on the library floor itself, but without procedures or policies, how can one manage the space properly. I have created a basic collection development policy. It will need refining, but I need a foundation to start on. I can update or add to it over time. 

As a Arts major in Economics, the use of money and resources is of big interest. It affects the decisions we make and what we do in our libraries. If one does not have processes and systems in place, how can one advocate for resources and for funding, and then when the funds arrive, spend it wisely. I have set myself the challenge of creating a budget policy and processes to help me and whoever succeeds me in the future.

Finally, I requested some information last year relating to work breaks and library supervision during break times on the OZTL-Net forum. My next entry will be on this topic to thank those who provided their responses.