Re: How far do you go? (Adding your own subject headings)

[Joan Kimball <jkim@BORG.COM>]

What an interesting question, Gail!

I don't know the answer, truly.  I have only been automated for five
months, and already, as of July 1, I've retired, so I won't be able to
decide such things any more, but it intrigues me.

Here's my opinion.  After assigning the official subject headings to start
with, and finding them inadequate, I'd go ahead and cautiously use an
additional very "needful" heading.  I'd keep some documentation either
entering it in Sears or in some file of your own.  Scary stories sounds
like a needful heading to me.

Most of us used the headings Word processing and Whole language long before
they showed up in Sears.  I used Self-esteem in place of Self-respect
before Sears made the change. I kept the term Multiage grouping when Sears
shifted to the term Nongraded schools. I use Human body even though Sears
says I should use Human anatomy.  I used Fairy tales---Variants and Fairy
tales---Parodies as headings in the card catalog though they weren't found
in Sears.

But even if Sears never catches up, we need to think of our own younger
patrons.  I remember in library school that the professor told us that the
younger your patrons the more subject headings you needed. That sounds like
an invitation to carefully add headings suitable to the age level.  I'm
sure it's not a license to make up out of thin air any heading any time.

Let me know what you think.   Joan


>I have often wondered how fast and loose to play with the extra subject
>headings. Sometimes I'm torn between convenience and teaching kids to
>use the catalog the standard way. I mean, how many of us have students
>whose first instinct is to look up "scary" stories. Do any of you go in
>and add the subject "Scary stories" to these items' records, or do you
>just keep suggesting to students to look under things like Horror
>stories, Ghosts--Fiction., etc. I want to make it easy for them, but I
>do want them to know that there are other ways to do this.
>
>Joan Kimball wrote:
>> I add subjects from my school's curriculum as I check a new
>> book, even though the book has already been cataloged by a vendor.  I >
>>save hours helping kids find things if I glance through the new book
>and
>>assign it 3-5 extra headings under which my students are most likely to
>>search. (I'd use 1-2 extra headings if not automated.)
>
>*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)
>Gayle Hodur
>District Librarian
>Soledad Unified School District
>ghodur@redshift.com
>
>Snail mail:
>Main Street Middle School
>441 Main Street
>Soledad, CA  93960
>
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>UnGayle (IM and ichat)
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Joan Kimball, Librarian, Writer, Storyteller. Clinton NY.
   retired from Hart's Hill Elementary School Library, Whitesboro NY.
E-mail:  jkim@borg.com

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