Allison G. Kaplan

In this 3rd edition, Kaplan provides the basics of what teacher librarians need to know about cataloging the various materials owned by the school library learning commons. There are examples and exercises of this work that is designed as a basic text for cataloging classes. Kaplan recognizes the OPACs need to respond much more broadly to queries by students than just author, title, or major subject heading. Rather, the system should respond to a search for dog books at a certain reading level or other characteristics that are desired. This book is fine for the traditional cataloging class that presumes that “owned” resources is the central foundation of a library collection. However, the concept of collection development and cataloging or information retrieval now seems to be at the heart of what students are looking for when searching for information. They prefer Google. They want instant retrieval of just the information they need. They don’t want to have to go down the hall to plow through the Dewey Decimal System to retrieve what they want. Yes, the appreciate browsing still, however collection development now needs to include connection development and the idea that the library learning commons not only provides access to what is owned, but access to the best of what is out there across the globe. Otherwise, the school library catalog as currently conceved condems the library collection into oblivion and irrelevancy. What can teacher librarians do about the multiple places to search: the OPAC, the databases, the Internet, and the enormous availability of great resources such as the Library of Congress, museums and galleries across the world, newscasts, etc. Perhaps there should be a conference of library educators, theorists, students, and educators that concentrates on the idea of connection development and retrieval systems for children and young adults. Will we ever emerge from our traditional cataloging systems into the real 21st century information world?… (más)

The Call Number in PolyU Library is Z693.K283 2009.
The author, ALLISON G. KAPLAN is associate faculty associate in the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
141 pages in total.
Written on the back cover "Individuals who run small, rural libraries, often without formal library education, will find this book invaluable in helping them make informed decisions about the organization of their library and the information it holds. This is one of the key tasks in any library. Though many librarians buy all of their items already cataloged, they may still need to catalog an item, change a subject heading, or tape a classification number to a book.
Kaplan explains the tools of the trade. Reading her book, analyzing the examples, and working through the problem sets she provides makes for an exiting introduction to organizing the library. The practice problems will be useful to workshop presenters teaching newly hired librarians, especially those who will be working, often unassisted, in small libraries. The book is also an excellent tool for staff development of paraprofessionals."
I have finished reading the whole book as at (Sat)22-8-2009.
CONTENTS
1. What you need to know about classification
2. What you need to know about subject and key word headings
3. What you need to know about description
4. What you need to know about MARC and automated systems
5. What you need to know about local cataloging problems
6. What you need to know to organize your collection… (más)