Re: REASONS TO AUTOMATE

[Doug Johnson <palsdaj@VAX1.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>]

Hi Netters,

May I add a few brief words to the automation discussion:

1) Time time spent or not spent automating (at least after the first set-up
time) will be entirely determined by the degree of anal retentiveness of
the media specialist. A fuss budget will be able to kill tons of time, but
the less particular will use *much* less time than keeping up on
circulation and updating a catalog manually. At least I did with my
Winnebago.

HOWEVER...

2) More important than the time saved by the media specialist should be the
time saved by the searcher. Children are more successful in less time with
an electronic catalog. Less time searching = more time evaluating,
processing, using what they find. Teachers can quickly create
bibliographies and will be more likely to look for and use media center
resources, esp if the catalog can be searched from a networked computer in
their classroom.

3) The collection will get better use. A search on Egypt will yield not
just geography and history books, but also books about alphabets, cooking,
architecture, etc because of term searches in the notes field.

4) Automate because your students need whole life skills like boolean
search strategies which will be transfered to other electonic resources
like magazine and newspaper indexes (and public and university catalogs).

5) Automate so that one day you can share your resources with other library
patrons via interlibrary loan.  Huge percentages of our collections are
unique in the library world.

6) Automate so some of us don't have to silently sing the ABC song when
pawing through the card drawers.

Good luck in getting your funding...

Doug

Doug Johnson, District Media Supervisor | Never teach a pig to sing. It will
Mankato Public Schools, ISD77,          | frustrate you and annoy the pig.
Box 8741, Mankato MN 56001-8741         |               -Old Iowa saying
507-387-7698
palsdaj@vax1.mankato.msus.edu