Hit: choosing classification scheme & OPAC

[Ngan Shuk Ying <yfsyfong@HKSTAR.COM>]

Hi everybody,

I am really thanks for your responses.  Here are the mails targeting
choosing the classification scheme and automation system.


Sally S.Y. Ngan
A new graduate


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        I would choose Dewey because the students are more acquainted with
        it than with LC. I have also chosen to have a mix of Sears and LC
        subject headings so that there are more "points of entry" when
doing
        a computer search.

        We use Dynix Scholar because it works well over the WAN, it was
        nearest to our "ideal" when we were ready to automate (Follett was
        still not ready with Unison).
        Advantages: will do almost anything you want; service is great (at
        least it has been for me but I've heard a number who don't feel
the
        same way.)
        Disadvantages: Cost (high!); reports are designed more for a
public
        library situation than a school, so you have to spend a fair
amount
        of time customizing them.

Joyce Conklin                      jconkli@ed.co.sanmateo.ca.us
Hillsdale High School
San Mateo CA  94403-3819

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to be honest, I would spend more money on purchasing books (how many
students are there?) for the library before I did much in the way of
automation.  USing the 20 title per student ratio, your collection seems
to
be rather small.  I would rather put the automation money into purchasing
titles.  Regards,

Trish Feld <tfeld@waterbury.k12.vt.us>

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Generally schools and small libraries use Dewey, with Sears Subject
Headings.  That's pretty much the standard, so I'd advise you to use that.

We're automated with Follett's Unison Circulation, Alliance (a CD-ROM
database), and Catalog, and will soon be adding the Telnet version of the
catalog.  We really like the features of the program, but it does have an
awful lot of stuff in it that takes time to learn.  The screens are user
friendly, and the support from Follett has been good.  Best of luck with
your project.

Kathy Graves                            kgraves@sisnet.ssku.k12.ca.us
IMC Director/Librarian                  phone: 916-842-8427

Siskiyou Co. Supt. of Schools           FAX:  916-842-8436
609 South Gold Street
Yreka, CA 96097

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We use Dewey. That was the system that I inherited and what our children
have grown up with (me, too), so we will stay with that system. It works
fine for small collections.

We use MOLLI. It works very well for us, but I understand the Windows
product by the same company is even better. It is called Athena. They
have been working out of Canada, but their home offices recently moved
(or are moving) to Austin.

Betty Hamilton, LRS             |    |                701 Cub Drive
bhamilt@tenet.edu           ____|*    ~~~~~~.         Brownfield TX 79316
Brownfield High School      \               |         (806) 637-4523
                             \_/\        . /
                                  \     {
                                    \  }
                                      ~

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Use either Dewey or LC.  Both have their good and bad points.  But, your
users will get used to either.  The main thing is consistency.  What are
the
other schools using, if anything?  There may come a time when the district
will go to a union catalog, not soon maybe, but 10 or 20 years down the
road.  It would be a major task to reclass a collection then.  What if
anything does the state Board of Education have as library guidelines?

Be consistent and full in your cataloging.  Use full MARC if you can.  If
not be sure to include the LCCN, ISBN, and ISSN in each record.  That way
when the time comes for a retrospective conversion you will have the
numbers
to match against.

Another consideration is subject headings.  LC or Sears.  LC is a stronger
contender here, much more widely used.  But, again what are the other
schools using?

You have many other decisions to make starting with a new collection.
 Subject headings for fiction? (I suggest yes)  How to treat AV, computer
files, and other nontext materials.  I suggest go with local, state or
national standards to the greatest extent possible.  That way you have to
make the least amount of changes to records you get from outside.

MARCIVE in San Antonio is a good source for cataloging records.  It is
less
expensive than doing it from scratch yourself.  They do have nice clean
records.

David Bigwood
bigwood@lpi.jsc.nasa.gov
Lunar & Planetary Institute


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I'm partial to Dewey--it's easier to make sense of.

Name: Linda Kelso Hicks
E-mail: lhicks@dodo.crown.net (Linda Kelso Hicks)

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This is a hard decision...  Look at the schools feeding into your school.
What system are they using?  Look at the schools your students will be
going to (higher ed.) in your area.  What system do they use?  It will be
easier for your students to move through your school with the same system
they are used to or will use in the future.  If they are different (Dewey
in one and LC in the other) then the choice is harder.  What system are
other high schools in your district using?  Interlibrary loan will be
easier on "like" systems.  I would tend to stay with the majority rather
than be a loan wolf in your district system.


>What online system you are using?  Their advantages and disadvantages.

This again would be a hard choice.  Are you looking at IBM or MAC specific
systems?  Our whole district is MAC and all are using the Alexandria
Circulation system from COMPanion.  This makes sense as we are now moving
to wide-area networking and all schools will be able to see the catalogs
of
other schools.  This will stimulate interlibrary loan possibilities.  It
is
also nice to get together and discuss common problems when we meet in
coordinating meetings.  You get a lot of support when several people are
using the same system and helping each other - especailly as you start up
a
new system.

If your district is partly automated what are others using?  If they are
all one system, go with it if it is an acceptable system.  There are pro's
and con's with every system out there and each are scrambling to upgrade
and add features all the time.  If a company is not, don't buy from them.
You won't get the support you need from "the home office".

Gloria Stratton, District Media Specialist PH : (801) 796-3105
Alpine School District                     FAX: (801) 796-3110
490 North State Street, Lindon, UT 84042   E-M:
Gloria.Stratton@m.k12.ut.us

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        Having worked for 26 years in a small school library I would say
that
for a small library Dewey would do just fine.  You really don't need the
expansion capabilities of LC unless you plan on getting a whole lot of
books!!
Your  email address doesn't tell what state you are from.  If you are in
Ohio
we have INFOhio. Otherwise, I would recommend Winnebago because you can do
all
the text books in the school. (Which would be great!)  I was going to go
with
that and then 3 years ago INFOhio came on the scene and I decided to go
with
that.  NOW 3 years later we are just getting ready to go on line.  I just
did
the policies etc yesterday.

Good luck!  Wish I was starting over now.  I have finally got this one
just
about where I wanted to do it 20 years ago!

Tillie Jamison <NW_MJAMISON@mveca.ohio.gov>
Media Specialist
Northwestern High
Springfield, OH

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I would think that you should use Dewey and we are using Winnebago at the
elementary/middle school level.  If you use Dewey, you will be compatable
with most high school and public libraries.  Also there is very little
that
I have found to teach LC to students. If they come from the Jr. High or
Middle school they will already know this system.  You should have a shelf
list at least.  Who was in charge before you came?  Perhaps they could
tell
you what they used to set up the library.  I hope that this helps.

Bonnie Kammeyer <kammeybo@cmi.k12.il.us>

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Dewey is common practice in Hong Kong Secondary schools. It is easier for
teens to find information. LC is too big for this size of information.

"Michael Ming, Hung" <mmhung@hkein.school.net.hk>
Teacher-Librarian of SKH Bishop Mok Sau Tseng Sec School at TaiPo.
Chairman of the Teacher-Librarian group of the PTU.


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Useless you have a really large library Dewey is easier to work with.
I feel it is easier for patrons to understand and for you to teach.
Are you from Hong Kong.

LK <mediakee@isd.net>


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I always understood that small libraries (under 20,000) generally should
use Dewey.  That classification is best suited for a small collection.
We use Winnebago...have for many years.  Would not trade for anything
else.
Bonnie Baumann Harrison <bharriso@silver.sdsmt.edu>


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Ngan, with that small of a collection, I would definitely use Dewey. It
is so much simpler than LC. And I would also send off a list of the books
you need to classify, (including ISBN number) to a company like Catalog
Card Corporation.  They can do the work for you and send you catalog
cards.
That would also save a lot of time.  As far as an automated system, we use
Winnebago and like it a lot.  It can handle all the functions we need,
circulation, online catalog, inventory.  It has good support, also.  Why
don't you call several companies and ask them for some kind of demo or a
list of places close that you could go and observe a program in action.
Good luck.
Nancy Jordan at Palacios High School in Texas
njordan@tenet.edu

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For a secondary school system with 1000 books, Dewey would be the accepted
classification system.  LC is usually only used when the collection
numbers
50,000 books or more OR if you expect to reach that number.  LC is also
more widely used on the college level.  Many of the books you will be
buying will have pre-processing available-all cataloging and classifying
done for you-and mostly these services are available in Dewey.

*       Beth Pounds                             *
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*       Beasley Middle School                   *       The Library-
*
*       Snail Mail:  1100 S. 18th St.           *
*
*                    Palatka, FL  32177         *      Where Learning
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*       Fax:  (904) 329-0670                    *        Never Ends
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Dewey. LC is better designed for larger libraries with extremely large
collections in certain subject areas.

Dr. Patricia Braun
Center for Learning Resources
Wilmette Junior High School
620 Locust Rd.
Wilmette, Illinois   60091
PH:  1-847-256-7280
FAX:  1-847-256-0204
email:  braunp@newtrier.k12.il.us

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Is there a public library nearby?  It might pay to use the same system
they are using, so that you are actually teaching the students to use a
system they'll use once they graduate.

--

Kay Honaker, Media Coordinator
Timpanogos High School
Orem, UT  84057
Kay.Honaker@m.k12.ut.us