LIBRARY ORIENTATIONfor ninth grade English and/or Speech classes

LESSON 2 OF 7 - Organization of Knorvledge

Intended to last the entire class period. The general breakdown for each exercise isoutlined below.

Activiqv Length in minutes1. Scenario

a. Student think/co-op time 5b. Discussion i0

2. Types of cards 53. Card Game 104. On-line demo 105. Hands-on, browsing the card catalog l0

0bjectivesI ' For students to discover horv to find a book using the card catalog or on-line

patron access catalog, with 95?i, competency.

2' For students to uncover the type of specific information on a card fbund in thecard catalog, r,vith 90% cornpetency.

3' For students ta realize rvhere the information on a card,in the catalogoriginates, with 90oA competency.

4' For students to learn to distinguish the different types of cards filed in the cardcatalog, rvith 85 o/o cornpetency.

5. observe a demonstration of the on-line patron access catalog.

MaterialsAll students should have their TTHS LRC handbooks. The exercises for day 2 are

on pages 2"1 to 2:5 ' Extra copies of exercises are stored in file cabinet in head librarian,soffice.

ScenarioEaselLarge pad ofpaper on easelWide-tip color marking pensScenario worksheet

Types ofcardsOverhead projectorOverhead transparency with egcards (attached)or LCD panel, microcomputer rvith MsPublisher and egcard file loaded

Card Game7 ot 8 sets of old card catalog cards, each set should be a mix of differenttypes (subject, title and author) of cards, and contain no more than12cards in a set. Sets are already cornpiled and stored in microform filecabinet in rear workroom.

OnJine DemonstrationOverhead projectorLCD panel

Microcomputer emulated to OPAC databaseExercise: OPAC searches on page 2:5

BrowsingCard Catalog andlor OPAC terminals

ProceduresAs the students enter the library, they should be seated in the reference area. They'ivill sit in srnall groups of 3 or 4 students. Each student should be seated ll,here theboard and the screen are in plain view. After attendance has been taken, the librarian willask the students to turn to page 2:1 in their TTHS LRC handbooks. students wereassigned pages 2:l - 4 as homework. These pages cliscuss the different types of cards inthe catalog and provide background infonnation lor this da/s exercises.

ScenarioThis rvill be the first exercise. Students work in groups, each table with three tofour students is a group' These groups rvill remain togethir thioughout the period.

1. As the students read along the ribrarian reads THE scENARIo.

2' Instruct the students to compile a list of the specific information needed, askthem not to rank the rist this rvilr be done as a class.

3' Allorv the students to r,vork (think) in small groups for five minutes... rvork theroom and evaluate the input ofeach studentln the group.

4' When the students are ready or at the end of five minutes, begin discussion onthe lists.

a' begin with one group ask them to read the first few things on the list,get input from each group to build the rength of the list.

b' Write answers on easel paper with follorving illustration as guide

Items I Rank

c. Illicit different answers from other groups..e. Try to get the following information (or reasonable lacsimiles on the

list)Author's name (Last and first)TitleSubject(s)PublisherPublishing date(physical description)(surnrnary of contents)

Sample questions...

Does anyone have any other items other than {author's narne, or title or subject(s)}?

what if the customer knerv the book was poster size and had pop up pictures?(Try to illicit things like the physical descrrption of book or iti dimensions)

what if books rvith sirnilar titles are listed how can I tell them apart?(not knorving author's name.... the publishing date rnight help nariorv it dorvn, right?)

After an ample list is compiled ask the students to rank the items in order ofimportance Find out rvhat is important, r,vhen and rvhy. The point of the exercise is tohelp the students relate important infonnation about thl book to the infonnation on thecards in the card catalog. It is also to help the students realize that rnany search strategies',vill result in finding the same book.

Sarnple Questions.

What are the most important things about the book?

When is the Author's name {title, or subject(s)} important?

What are sorne of the strategies that could be applied to finding this book, either atCrorm or at the TTHS LRC?

This question is a transition from TFIE scENARIo to TypES oF CARDS

Types of Cards1. Ask students to turn to page 2..2 in their handbooks.

2. Simultaneously" place egcards on overhead

3. " ...The dilernma springs from distinguishing one card from another anddetermining horv to find thut book on the shelf.,'

4. Have one of the students describe horv Cror,vn books, or any other commercialbookstore is set up.

Answer: books are shelved by subjects, i.e. all books on computers aretogether, all books on home improvement are together, et cetera.

5. "that's pretty much the way libraries are set up, too. But in libraries, rveprovide multiple access points and rve have the extra burden of having to putthe books back in the same place.. so we devised a secret code which itung.tsubject into numbers... what's the code called?"

(Answer. Dewey Decimal Classification Systern )

6. As a class compare and contrast the order (importance of information) on eachof the different types of cards in the card catalog.

7. Examine how the inforrnation and the rank given in the final list compares tothe information on the cards.

8. Point out that all information remains consistent, only the top line varies.

9. Finally, ask if any students have any questions. Make sure each student iscornfortable with this concept because they're about to get a pile of cards tosort.

Card GameL Each group is given a set of cards.

2. Together, the group sorts the cards into title, author and subject piles.

3. The librarian, teacher and para-librarian will assess the students' understanding.Typical evaluation....Group A has three piles. The librarian should examine each pile to besure the students were consistent in their sorting If the piles are sortedproperly... the librarian asks the group to denote which are author, title orsubject.

On-line DemonstrationLibrarian introduces students to on-line patron access catalog by conducting

searches as or"rtlined on page 3:1 of the TTHS LRC.***Author Search******Subject Search***8**Title search***

IMPORTANT:Order of prirnary search statement -- 1 Walker, Alice

Be gentle, keys jarn and machines are sensitive...They don't like to poked rvhile rhinking (tNH)

Point out where the "ENTER" key is... is different from fypical locationFull bibliographic record

The luxury of printing out biblio's

Since this orientation is preemptive to a research project, the students arepermitted i0 minutes to browse for their research topics (or repeat exercisesdemonstrated) in either the card catalog or the OPAC. Theymighi also be permitted torvalk around the library to become more familiar with the layout and order of-books.

Prep for Day 3Assign section 3 of the TTHS LRC handbook. If tirne permits, perhaps they could

spend last five minutes readins.