Wednesday, July 3, 2013

ETL 505 - final

This post is long overdue, but life has got in the way. I am now about to embark on my final subject for this degree. ETL 507, the practical subject is ahead of me, over two semesters and 3 assignments. Yikes!

ETL 505 was very difficult because it required total understanding and mastery of cataloguing rules. Readings in the subject area taught me to appreciate the real need for accuracy in cataloguing so that patrons could locate resources reliably and easily. So I do understand that concept. However, achieving high accuracy scores eluded me in the initial assignment and I only was able to achieve success in the subsequent assignment because of a high degree of lecturer support. This was incredibly helpful and very much appreciated as I learnt a lot and have been able to take this new knowledge with me into my workplace to use when I am cataloguing. I have also learnt to appreciate the work of SCIS cataloguers and the service that they provide in assisting schools to maintain consistent catalogue records.

It was also great to learn about the new cataloguing system to be implemented in 2013, RDA. Very interesting to read about why this new system is necessary (and I totally agree) and to see how methodically the changeover has been planned and implemented.

Since completing this subject, it is now mid 2013, and some of the changes are beginning to be practically applied in cataloguing records through SCIS. I would love to have the opporunity to attend a workshop to revise what my initial learning and to also learn more so that my understanding is more consolidated. I have enquired though Curriculum Corporation but have been told that they cannot run workshops in NSW. I need to approach NSW DET.

The actual course was very complex and from comments on the subject forum, it was apparent that many of the other students were also struggling. The concepts were deep and at times it felt that we were all trying to understand a foreign language in a very short time. I think that the subject delivery could be improved through more video/podcasts as the information was too difficult to absorb through readings only. Using more modes of information distribution could have helped so that various learning styles could be accomodated.

USEFUL REFERENCES

Introduction to the Dewey Decimal Classification. Retrieved from
     http://www.oclc.org/dewey/versions/print/intro.pdf

Mortimer, M. (2004). Learn Dewwey Decimal Classificatioin, Edition 22, Canberra: DocMatrix.

SCIS Standards for cataloguing and data entry (2010). Retrieved from
     http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/SCISCatStandards03Classification.pdf

Summaries DDC dewey Decimal Classification (2003). Dublin, Ohio:OCLC . Retrieved from
     http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/summaries/deweysummaries.pdf

WebDewey. Dublin, Ohio:OCLC. Retrieved
     http://www.dewey.org/webdewey/login/login.html;jsessionid=CF22FB71A8F8274DD05DFFF2FB9E36D






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