So ... good news first! I got hired on full-time in the North Kingstown Library :o) Exciting ... I'm filling Maggie's shoes since she is filling Lexi's shoes ... Hope I make her proud! :o)
Bad news next ... I hate cataloging! I had heart palpitations reading the topic titles for this weeks articles, but I persevered and made it through! I think my overall reaction is that it is time the catalogs start to up the ante and are made more user friendly. Like Maggie already blogged about, the OPAC in RI is terrible and not flexible in any way.
I think the goal of the online catalogs now are to be more like search engines, which will also only be helpful if the catalogers "tag" the entries correctly when first setting up the items. It is easy to see how the concept of social tagging can influence an online catalog, and if they are treated similarly, then searching will probably be much easier for the user. Unfortunately, not many people know how to search "properly", therefore no matter what they are using (an OPAC, search engine, or basic info form) they use them the same way. This can make it difficult to use traditional searches because it just won't work.
I'm feeling a bit of relief that my next assignment in all my classes isn't due until April 1st, and even that is a short critique I'm working on with a partner. After that, all hell breaks loose. I think it is in my best interest to start the other projects now ... but where to find the time? I somehow went from being unemployed and being a 25 hour week intern (across 3 libraries) with classes, wedding planning and half-marathon training to working 50 hours a week with 4 classes, wedding planning, and half-marathon training. If my blogs start to sound garbled, my tweets non-existent and my Facebook status' erratic, please forgive me! I will be back to normal by the end of June. :oP
Congratulations on your new job! Sounds like you ARE doing a lot of running around, Book Runner!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your full-time job Colleen. Good luck with your schedule :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the catalog currently in use in my local public library. In my opinion, the only people who can use it correctly are people in the library profession. I have noticed, however, a slight improvement online, which offers a more user friendly catalog through an Encore program. It is certainly better than the old version, but I am curious as to why the new version is only available through oslri. Funding issues?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new job! I agree with you about cataloging. It can be a drag.
Congratulations! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new job! Good luck!!
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