CEdu 572 - 12/01/10

1. Have you had a chance to get a Titlewave account set up? (etc.)


I have Titlewave accounts set up for both of the schools I service.  Of the tools presented by the Follett people, the collection analysis tool was of the greatest interest to me.  It will be an invaluable tool when it comes to weeding, which given the age and condition of both of my collections, will be a priority.  What I find peculiar is the difference in the average age of my collection versus an eyeball test of what looks old and new.  The analysis puts my collections at 1998 or so, but with a Mark 1 eyeball, it looks much older.  In any case, I intend to use this tool (combined with circulation records) to determine which books to pull.


2. What questions or comments do you have about the Follett presentation or Titlewave as you start to explore it on your own?..."full processing".  Do you know what that includes?


Well, my biggest question that night (as well as today) is how can the Follett company combine the abilities of the Titlewave collection analysis with the circulation records of my collection.  Since I use Destiny, a Follett product, I would like to see an easy tool to combine these reports into one.  Currently, the order of the day is to generate both lists and cross check as you go.  I'm finding this to be fairly tedious, as both lists are VERY large.  Otherwise, I was very impressed with the Follett people.  I would say that I'm heavily inclined to work with them as a company.


Full processing is where the book company, upon purchase of a book, includes the shelf and barcode labeling on the book, as well as a complete catalog entry for said book.  I would absolutely pay more for this work to be done.  I've got enough things to deal with.


3. How is your Library Web Page progressing?  Any concerns, comments or tips that you have this week?


It's not. The only progress I've made is to determine that my Principal is a-okay with me making a library website for free, and that I don't have to use anything provided by my district.  My only concern is that I have yet to dive into this project.  And it's a big one.


4.  Does your district have a Selection Policy for library materials?  How would you rate it?  Why?


Well, I rated my own district's selection policy as part of my policy analysis.  While I would find it incredibly unlikely that anyone from my school district would find and read my blog, I am disinclined to comment on my district (good, bad or otherwise) outside of the classroom as a matter of disclosure and self-interest.  In short, I don't want to accidentally make the wrong people unhappy.


5.  Any questions or concerns that you've run into as you start to think about your Needs-Based Three-Year Improvement Plan?

Not yet.  In fact, I'm pretty darn excited to complete and then use this plan in my library (one of them, anyways).  My only concern is that I may run out of time faster than I think.  You know, I just quit my second job and it feels like I have LESS time than I did!


6.  Please describe 3 things that you found out about at the Milwaukee Public Library on Saturday, Dec. 4.


  A) The children's collection there is beautiful, massive, and everything I would want my libraries to be
  B) Trying to fit in the children's reading lighthouse as an adult is harder than it looks
  C) At one point, the Milwaukee Public Library housed a lion.  A real life "I am going to do horrible things to your anatomy" lion.


7.  Discuss 2 features of the Stritch Library that you really liked on your December 4th visit.


  A) The donated children's library at Stritch is nothing short of amazing.  The sheer volume of books is staggering.  What was even better than that was the archive of "not-yet-processed" books which included some eccentric and old books.  I like eccentric and old books.  While the professional Librarian side of me understands the need to weed out old and out of date books, my personal side finds them to be my favorites!
  B) I like that I can check out a book from the Stritch Library and have it delivered to my home.  That's pretty awesome, dude (I grew up in the 80's; a rogue "dude" is bound to show up here or there).  Having to either return it by hand or ship it back is a little daunting, but that's okay.  At least it's one trip, not two.


8.  Louis Question.


There wasn't a Louis Question posted, and being a slave to doing exactly what I'm told, I'm not going to answer it.  So nah, nah, na-nah, nah.  Though in total honesty, I would just re-hash the things I've written above since I've already talked about what I've learned and what I plan on using in my Library.  So I guess I've already answered it.  So why am I still blogging about it?  So it's early, and I'm getting punchy.  So.