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Radical Cataloging : Essays at the Front, edited by K. R. Roberto

Not a new book but one I’ve been working on (we will get to that) since it seemed essential for expanding my knowledge as a new cataloger. What better way to learn about the field than through reading experienced catalogers discuss their work and the related successes and struggles.

This book has had one of my bookmarks in it since…well UMich finally locked me out so I can’t check my account, even though I still have this and a Spanish vocab book–hey they let me have my master’s degree so, sadly, they must not be too concerned about my two library books still checked out (though my undergrad never would have let me have my diploma if I had had books checked out then). It’s been at least since December this book has been in my possession and slowly but surely my bookmark has inched it’s way forward but remains stuck on 209 of 303. Usually the last hundred pages are a cinch for me–it’s where all the action is, the story is coming to a quell or close, and resolution is ever nearing. However, this is not the case with this book because, as the subtitle stipulates, it is a collection of essays.

The essays are, on the whole, enjoyable and intellectually stimulating but perhaps that is part of my issue with the work right now. I have been a student for 19 consecutive years–no preschool for me, just daycare. Con-sec-u-tive. And why, in my last semester of grad school did I decide to pick this work up?: to better myself as a cataloger and get up-to-speed on the issues and highlights so far. It’s a great collection of essays to do so with, just every time I picked up the book, it took effort to pick up where I left off and finish an article though it was more work, sometimes, to start the next. And that wasn’t just once but nearly every time I removed my bookmark in an attempt to proceed.

Why such problems getting through this book? Well, maybe I should answer why I didn’t just stop and return it months ago when it was clear that my desire to read it did not outweigh the roadblocks read it presented: I do not abandon books, no matter how much I dislike them. Okay, this is no longer true but was until last year when I realized, perhaps in a moment of salient adulthood, that life is too short to struggle through a work I didn’t enjoy, that it didn’t matter how many other people enjoyed the work if I didn’t, that it was okay to not finish a book–blasphemy! Don’t let my inner little girl hear that–I forced myself growing up to read every stinking word on a page before I could start a new, better novel. Since last year, I’ve put down The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. The Life of Pi is boarder-lined but remains on my bookshelf with its bookmark still calling me to resume my place, for now. Sadly, this essay collection might be the next outcast on my, sadly, growing “started-but-didn’t-deem-worthwhile-to-finish list”. Perhaps I’ll pick this one back up later to finish it when I’ve had time to gorge on novels.

Reasons Excuses for not finishing:

1. Having just finished my master’s degree, this feels too much like schoolwork than enjoyment.
2. LC bashing makes me cringe–most essays don’t have any or much but some are rants and a couple really grated on me with the rashness with which they were clearly written. Since I spent a week with the lovely people in the Policy and Standards Division at LC (yup, they write the red books and hold the infamous weekly meetings!), I feel most criticism is unwarranted but critique can be useful if done in a productive and constructive manner. Opinions are always valid, I just prefer more tact.
3. Some essays are very specific to the point where it’s hard to relate and care if you don’t catalog the same materials or topics.
4. Though organized into sections, there really is no cohesive organization to the book which makes for a jumbled reading from very separate and specific essays to more general to vague to well-cited to literature reviews to op-ed essays. There is no storyline nor logical progression.
5. Right now, I want to devour all the novels waiting for me that I now, supposedly, have time to read since I’m a full-time worker who doesn’t work overtime, doesn’t bring home work, and has free weekends.
6. Change is coming (whispers of RDA blow past my ears every now and then). Will these criticisms and issues still be relevant if a new metadata schema is implemented?
7. There will always be problems and kinks with standardizing subject headings, or any fields for that matter. People will write and create works on new topics in new ways, combining information, making “messy” items that won’t fit into a rigid structure.

Reasons for keeping the book this long and why I want(ed) to finish it–hey, had it been recalled, I would have returned it!:

1. Catalogers are important and do critical work for libraries and any collections (since I work for ProQuest as a Catalog Librarian, better give a shout-out to more than just “libraries”).
2. Standardization of terms is useful and necessary, even if it isn’t perfect. Tagging and folksonomies (<–just taught my computer this word!) aren’t any better and if anything they are more imperfect; at least with standardization, terms are decided and references are used. Now, a combination of both might get at topics in ways that subject headings are too clunky with right now, but also allowing LC-approved catalogers to help with creation of terms would speed things along and help right many wrongs/oddities. We catalogers are smart and caring, and more than willing to help explain and make things better–just check out AutoCat to see proof!
3. Most of the essays are informative, especially about niche topics and issues. I had no idea “women” were so marginalized in subject headings for the longest time, and how minorities still are, in some cases. I felt like I was really learning a lot about the history and progression and progress yet to be made in cataloging.
4. My inner little girl keeps nagging me to finish, especially since I have found such value in most of the essays thus far.
5. No one has recalled it yet so I might as well hang on to try and finish it until someone else requests it–though there is a flaw in this plan, since some people (me included) do not recall items but rather wait until they are returned and available. Minnesota-nice, in my case; don’t want to take some thing away from someone if they still need it.
6. One of the catalogers at LC recommended this book to me when I was there. Seriously, that’s how I learned of it. She said it was good food for thought and the essays were interesting. (Partly why all the LC bashing in some of the essays bug me even more than it might most readers).
7. I feel like a need another reason so my excuses don’t outweigh these reasons but it’s the summer and the internet at my place doesn’t reach the porch well so I have to sit at my desk inside tying this up, and I’ve been writing this post for a while (as you probably can imaging if you made it to this point), and all I want right now is some sunshine and Law and Order: SVU on the porch–funny how that works out there. My books tell me I shouldn’t have ordered Netflix but with a laptop and a sunny porch, it’s hard not to relax with a plot-driven, neatly wrapped-up storyline in just 45 minutes. I heart novels but it’s difficult to resist a smart, sharp tv show or movie. I’m all about story, and characters.

Alright, I’ve had enough and you (if you are still with me!) certainly have. Next time I’ll post about my favorite novels and story-driven shows and movies, since it’s summer we can do an enjoyable post right? Plus, I have another post idea lined up but want to work on it a bit before posting.

Last, what drove me to (finally) write this post? Meredith Farkas, librarian blogger of Information Wants to be Free. Her recent post about how to be a better blogger caught my attention and gave me to push I needed to get this post down and out. It’s certainly long and thoughtful, two checks in her opinion. Check it out–she’s a great librarian to read and keep track of, among others.

I’ll let you know if I do finish this book some time soon.

Lately life’s been up in the air. My husband and I, both recent MSI graduates, landed jobs but in different locations, which has meant a lot of extra work.

Today was my first day at ProQuest as a Catalog Librarian. The day went well and I look forward to working with all the wonderful people there and building my professional career. Cataloging is both an art and a skill that every place does differently, though there are some standards; I’ll enjoy learning all the preferences and methods used at ProQuest–nerdy, I know but hey, I’m a cataloger. They are bound to keep me busy, that’s for sure, but I’m more than ready for the challenge.

Steve had his second day as the Emerging Technologies Librarian at the College of Wooster today, which I’m sure went well since we have yet to talk today. Wooster is in Ohio and is an adorably cute town with local–as well as chain–restaurants and stores since it seems to be a mini-hub for the region. He’s in a nice neighborhood and it’ll be fun to get to know the town. Their Main Street branch public library is amazing, btw.

With Steve in Wooster, that leaves me in Ann Arbor. AADL received props for being a well-used library. We are all set when it comes to libraries, with great public ones and area college/university libraries. In wanting to both build our careers, we took the jobs in different locations and are three hours apart. That means weekend commutes to see each other and one huge perk is getting to know two great towns. As UM students, we ran around Ann Arbor a bit but now without homework, there’s no excuse not to enjoy this city to its fullest. Thank goodness for Skype!

So that’s what’s been keeping me busy this past month. Now that life’s finally settling down and a new routine is beginning, it shouldn’t be another month before I get a post up–then again, the weather is so nice that it’s hard to justify sitting at a computer during my free time…

Reviewing: This Book is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians can Save us All by Marilyn Johnson

A short, sweet, quick read about all the cool things and creative ways librarians are using to help patrons and provide better service to information. It’s a collection of vignettes, each chapter focusing on a different aspect of librarianship and telling individual librarians’ stories to convey the diversity in the field and approaches to serving patrons and accessing information. The Connecticut Four make an appearance, Second Life gets a cameo, and chap books collections get discussed.

Recommended for: Anyone who wants to expand their understanding of librarians beyond the stereotypes—Giles, Marian the librarian…—but especially people considering librarianship as a career. First year library students, in particular, would benefit because it’s such a broad scope and encompasses such a variety, so that they know what’s out there.

*Note: This “Recently Read…” will be a new featured blog post that I plan to update with the current professional readings that I am keeping up with, as a way to engage what I’ve read further and to encourage discussion on it, as well as share finds with other library professionals. Hope you enjoy and please let me know if you have recommendations for me!

As a librarian, it is a given that access to information is part of the purpose for this career. Also, it follows that information literacy (if you like that buzz word) or good research skills (if you like it put more plainly) are important for assessing information and its sources. In my “Professional Practice” course this last term, I learned of Open Library and LibriVox, and began to pursue them both; volunteers can help to provide good, accurate, as well as access to, information.

Open Library is an open access catalog, part of the Internet Archive, that works similar to Wikipedia, meaning any volunteer can add or change records in the online catalog. Signing up is not required, edits can be made anonymously, but lets you build a name for yourself and become part of the community. Every bit of information counts. They are trying to create one webpage for every book ever published and provide links to other sources such as WorldCat and LC but also to full texts when available. My moniker is–what else?–ReadWriteLib but identifies me as Emily Alinder Flynn on my profile. Since I’ll be moving out of my grad apartment at the end of June, or sooner depending on when a job comes through :D, I am sorting through my many books and cataloging, or enhancing records, on Open Library as I go; it’s slow work but then I get to peruse my books and decide which to keep and read, and which need to be donated (Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in Soho, NYC, is a great place for that! Or ASB fundraising here at UM SI)–seriously, after toting them around for all of college and now grad school, if I don’t have a pull to read it after looking it over, the book needs to go somewhere else and allow someone else the chance to read it. Plus, you can get anything at a library these days, but I can’t give up all my books, can I? I could but I can’t…you know what I mean because you probably have a bookshelf or two of your own. So I’ve been adding information like toc and measurements, and correcting errors when found. Open Library believes the more information the better so since I have the time, at the moment, I’ve added in all that I can, including chapter titles because they can be very helpful and most records are pretty bare. This is one way to work on my cataloging skills further while helping to get better, complete information to people searching Open Library, and I feel that I am making a big difference in my small way.

Second is LibriVox which is a website that provides access to audio files of public domain books, all read and produced by the forum participants. I think this is a fabulous idea because people love audio books and public domain books are already available so why not make them audio files! There is a whole plethora of types of works–nonfiction, foreign languages, and of course fiction. I was lucky enough to get chapter 27 of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as my first contribution! And ironically it happened to be the chapter that I had left off reading on my iPhone–remember that Classics app, which iBooks looks a lot like? I forgot what a great adventure story it is and have now gone back to finish it since reading this chapter. You do have to sign up and get a test recording approved, and they have really good instructions and tips on their wiki page, but after that you find a work in the forum that you want to be a part of and request a certain chapter/portion. The fun part is reading. The hard part is editing and rerecording bits but it’s worth it. Again, my moniker is ReadWriteLib and this will show up in the catalog with this work when it is complete and available to listen to. The other day I resubmitted my corrections; others are still recording their chapters so the work is not complete yet. I had a lot of fun with this and will do more again…but first I need a little break and to get through all the books on my bookshelf with Open Library.

These are two great resources to know about, and help out if they sound appealing to you! I find it enjoyable to put my library and information skills to work through this type of volunteering, from anywhere and at my own pace while making a difference in my own way. I hope you at least check them out, and considering adding to them as well.

Change is constant in the world of flux that we live in, especially when it comes to technology and information. At the moment there is much change in my life and I’ve decided to seize the opportunity and act. Since LibraryLand embraces WordPress, from what I’ve noticed, I figured it was worth a shot–plus Tumblr ate a post of mine the other night and didn’t save any draft versions so it’s lost in the abyss somewhere.

My current vision is to keep this blog as my professional library blog, with posts related to libraries and librarianship. Fair warning–I’m a cataloger and tech services librarian, but many topics interest me. Heard of a little thing called #hcod lately? I wrote a term paper on it recently and am still keeping up with the issue, fascinated by the different stances and arguments.

Hope you return to keep up with me, and as my career unfolds as a new librarian. I’ll post links to new blog posts via twitter–check my Tweet, Tweet! in the sidebar or visit me @readwritelib.