[LM_NET] GEN: Creative Cataloging - Titanic thread

[Lynn Butler <Teri.Butler@SAISD.ORG>]

I have followed with great interest the cataloging questions regarding
Titanic.  I most agree with the librarian who wrote in that cataloging
must be functional and practical and the librarian has to know the
clients.  I believe in various ways most librarians practice creative
cataloging at one time or another.  Any time a librarian takes a group
of books and sets them apart creative cataloging occurs.  IMHO creative
cataloging is providing a service to our patrons.  The whole point is
not to skip any steps in the searching process but to make the process
more convenient.  As a librarian I would know to look in the 380 section
for Titanic books, the 629s, the 910s and perhaps a few other places.
The average library customer may not know that.  By the way, in my
school library all of the Titanic books are together in the 387s.  When
a patron uses the Destiny catalog to search for Titanic, 387.2 is the
call number that comes up.  No steps are skipped.  The patron still has
to search for the topic, and then go to the appropriate section to find
the books.  For example, I have all of the "American Girl" series filed
under AME in fiction and the "Dear America" and "My Name is America"
series are found on the DEA shelf.  The "Royal Diaries" series books are
found in fiction under ROY.  In all of these cases, the author, title,
and every other bit of information are correct in the catalog.  I simply
changed the call number and filed them on a different shelf to better
assist my students.  I pull sets of books periodically and place on
separate shelves or on tops of the shelves to draw emphasis to them.
Whenever I have books that are hot properties, I take them off their
proper shelf and house them somewhere more conspicuous.  The Julie
Murray "Animal Kingdom" books from ABDO publishing live on the bottom
shelf of my non-fiction cart during the school year.  Those books are so
popular there is no point in shelving them.  I know there are some who
may disagree with this and that is their right.  In the 15 years I have
been a school librarian though, I have never had a conversation with a
librarian who did not do this upon occasion.  Providing the best library
service possible sometimes may involve changing a few numbers.  Just my
few cents worth.


Lynn

Lynn Butler, Librarian
Lamar Elementary School
San Angelo, Texas
Teri.Butler@saisd.org
In pursuit of reading excellence!"


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