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Media in an Athletic Academic Resource Center

Consideration of a wide variety of settings where print and digital media are organized in order to reach a specific audience, is certianly one of the main goals of our class discussions.  Patrons of our library media centers and related environments should be taken into account before the creation of policies and procedures are put into place.  Furthermore, the collection of materials, as we have stated before should be tailored to the individuals using the media center as well as those professionals who use them in their daily work and instruction.  Finally, the different types of technology implemented in these settings must be governed in a way that allows the best acceptable use while still giving students the freedom to create and utilize them to their potential.  The Academic Resource Center has become a very en vogue hub of a university that has been implemented to serve the specific needs of students in their core classes (Intro Math, Intro English and Arts & Sciences classes).  Spearheading the concept that educational media, tutoring and profesisonal instruction can be combined to achieve the best results for interested students, the ARC can be constructed in a multitude of ways to suit the student population.

Given my past experience as both a college baseball player and head manager, I was given an inside look at the operation of a mid sized Athletic Academic Resouce Center which brings its own idiosyncrasies and challenges.  The first challenge is building, organization and weeding a collection of resources that could be consistently changing from year to year as print materials are updated.  It is widely popular that to keep the athletic department a cohesive unit to give students the best opportunity to excel in their specific sports, ACCESS to print materials is given within a Lending Library attached to an Athletic Academic Resource Center.  These lending libraries primarily consist of classes which students may encounter in their first two years of academic study in core classes.  Reason behind this is that to control the flow of students in the resource center, if they maintain a certain GPA they are eligible to cut back on mandatory study halls that are usually two or three times per week.  Problems behind the control of the collection are obvious, because most of these "libraries" generally do not have an automation system, or organization system at all besides broad subject or class headings.  This can lead to books being "checked out" eternally throughout a semester when other students may not need the book for that long and need it for reference.  Instituting a workshop to introduce all student athletes to the policies of the lending library might give students a better frame of reference for when they must check materials back in or schedules times to utilize them with a resource center learning professional.

Furthermore, the implementation of digital media and technology into these Academic Resource Center's has been spurred on by the popularity of electronic database's, paper submission software and other digital resources that could be part of the collection.  These resources incur many dangers such as misuse and tampering to academic dishonestly.  Generally these issues are met with an acceptable use policy that covers everything from inclusion of print material in papers and discussion board posts, to the use of Flip Cameras for video blog submission (something else that creates collaboration between resource center).  As these resources could be utilized on road trips, or taken away from the center adequate training and information should be given regarding the penalties behind misuse.  Not matter the resource in question, a specific organization method must be instituted in order to properly assist students in acquisition of materials relevant to their areas of study.  Proper research should be done through a Collection Analysis to portray the strengths and resources of the academic resource center, so that secondary and supplementary resources provide a different layer of application.

Your Collection Should Speak To You

One of the single most aggrevating parts of visiting a library is when you were certain would have a plethora of a certain topic and you find out that it is in fact the exact opposite case.  This can prove even more frustrating to an educator who is trying to properly utilize their own school's library media center to maximize the efficiency of a lesson or group of lessons.  In several experiences within elementary school's there have been times where I have seen or taught a single lesson or group of lessons following a brief period of browsing in the library only to wish I had more available resources on my topic, or that the resources were age appropriate in regard to my own specific class.  A problem such as this is familiar to both Library Media Specialists and Teachers alike on a variety of academic levels.  Understanding that a collection must be flexible and match the specific needs of students and teachers throughout a school is the first step in recognizing the importance of Collection Mapping in a School Library Media Center. 

Having measurable a measurable standard is something I have spoken about before in regard to acquiring MARC records, however it is equally important to align your library's collection with the state content standards in as many subject areas as possible.  This allows teachers to call on print and digital resources from the library, ask questions about their incorporation into the classroom and collaborate with a school library media specialist.  Collection Mapping is a practice that allows a school to examine a collection and directly compare its contents with state standards and school district curriculum initiatives.  Of course, libraries are going to have a certain collection of books that are classics and reside in every school library and most of which have stood the test of time in terms of if they are appropriate for the setting you are providing them in.  However, Collection Mapping goes as step further and gives broad or detailed reports about the balance, reading level, subject relevance and biases within your school library.  An example of utilizing Collection Mapping is if there is a district initiative like I have experienced to create an interdisciplanary unit on "Multi-Culturalism and Historical Figures in American History" there should be appropriate amounts of books on historical figures such as Maya Angelou, Cesar Chavez, Barak Obama, Al Jolson etc..  Having an idea of what is IN your particular collection will most likely reveal what you have left OUT. 

Expanding this idea further, Collection Mapping should be a tool that is utilized not in an isolated manner but collaboratively between Library Media Specialists and Teachers.  If one department within a school is really lacking in certain topical subject matter, it should be both the Library Media Specialist and Teacher's job to work together to remedy the situation and see which materials are already useful in their collection.  If materials are present that have not been utilized in years and are out of date in relationship to updated digital or print material, this can be addressed at this time.  Whether in need of organization, recongnition of materials or a simple review of materials http://www.flr.follett.com/index.html or Follet is a automation system that has Collection Mapping built directly into its product available at no charge.  Since this service is a integrated system you can see how your particular library stacks up to libraries in charge of students in the same age bracket.  Graphs, reports and charts are all available to visualize areas of improvement and how grade and subject appropriate and up to date your individual collection is.

On the "MARC" In A Modern Library Setting

Creating a standard by which all libaries organized their collections, large or small was the specific intent behind the implementation of the MARC standard.  Of course we have the inclination to be comeptitive with one another when developing our own specific libraries collections, and this is the driving force behind local, national and global expansion in the holdings of individual libraries.  However, this expansion is should be marked with a distinct understanding that although we have our own ambitions, the primary objective of creating a an expansive collection to serivce the needs and requests of our patrons.  In this regard, using MARC record allows those searching for a specific piecce of material whether it be print or digital to encounter a distinctly uniform organizational technique across many different libraries.  It is better that we understand each others collections under one standard such as MARC, and appreciate its ability to allow individual libraries to acquire catalogue data that is uniform and streamlined.  Opening up lines of communication is an ever changing, ever present topic of discussion when library automation systems not only organize collections but can allow a simple request to borrow through Inter-Library Loan.  I know from my own experiences that this is an invaluable tool if the library you most frequently visit does no have a resource.  The importance for having a uniform language to communicate from one library to the next is seen when this request is required.


Furthermore, the distinct features of library automation systems such as Mandarin Library Automation allow the application of the MARC record to easily organize and catalogue library materials. 

http://www.mlasolutions.com/products/m3-cataloging.php

Taking a quick look at Mandarin M3 will show that it supports MARC 21 Format and holds it as standard for all record types digital or print.  There are in fact a variety of MARC record compatible automation packages, and they should be evaluated based on need, location, customer and budget.  MARC standard also offers the flexibility of modern technology which is employed by these automation systems.  Peripheral components such as barcode scanners, computer databases and touch screen kiosks depending on library use the MARC record as their primary form of record keeping and retrieval.

Finally, it is important to also incorporate tools such as MARC record convertors in your LMC to keep up with the advancing and exponential growth of digital resources.  http://amazon.libcat.org/cgi-bin/imdb2marc.pl?kw=kings+speech allows users to create and include MARC records of materials such as movies into their own collection if their automation system package does not allow this.  Make certain you understand the terms and conditions of your agreement with an automation system so that optimal use of MARC is integrated into your LMC.

Reference List

Fister, B. (2009). The dewey dilemma. Library Journal, 134(16), 22-25.

Hamilton, V. (2007). No difference. School Library Journal, 53(10), 13-13.

Hogsett, N. (2006). Teaching dewey. Library Media Connection, 24(4), 28-31.

Lynch, S. N., & Mulero, E. (2007). Dewey? at this library with a very different outlook, they don't. New York Times, , 7.

Prescott, S. (2001). If you knew dewey.. School Library Journal, 47(8), 50.

Shorten, J., Seikel, M., & Ahrberg, J. H. (2005). Why do you still use dewey? Library Resources & Technical Services, 49(2), 123-136.

Stauffer, S. M. (2008). Dewey-or don't we-classify? Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 6(2), 49-51.

Whelan, D. L. (2007). Arizona library ditches dewey. School Library Journal, 53(7), 14-14.

Why I Would Use Dewey

          

In particular to my own vision for how libraries and their resources should be utilized presently and in the future, I think that the Dewey Decimal System is a suitable, adaptable and workable system that can be instituted. The means by which we are teaching this method on a variety of levels seems to go from lacking to non-existent. As educators, library media specialists and collectors and evaluators of resources, if we plan to implement a specific method such as the DDC in our library we have to educate our patrons as to its proper use. There seems to be evidence that there is a distinct lacking in this department across the United States which consequently means that as library patrons grow older, they become increasingly confused with the seemingly complex nature of the Dewey Decimal System. Without proper information, the system seems so disconnected that of course the numbers are imposing and confusing leading planners to look elsewhere for organizational guidance. Pruitt-Annisette (2007) notes, “Dismantling Dewey simply removes a structured approach to the access and evaluation of information and implies that students in the 21st century have no need for understanding what they are doing, how it is done, and why it is necessary”(p.13). However, we must understand that the hierarchy is built to facilitate the academic purpose of libraries, and as educators first and foremost we need to make this clear. This fuels my decision to use the DDC above all else. I prefer a very structured and organized method to my research, and the DDC builds that hierarchy for me and can refer me to further resources related to my subject matter.


As a professional planning to eventually make a home instructing at a university or working in an academic resource center setting, organization of materials and giving students the tools to approach the resources provided to them is paramount. The fore mentioned evidence suggests that students need several different layers of education with visuals, hands on activities and exposure to the Dewey Decimal System at different levels within their educational experience. Even at the University Level, there is a minimal amount of education about how to properly browse our library and make the most use of the resources available. The history department does have a Historical Research course but there are very basic principles introduced and no real workshops on how to use the actual call numbers within our library is ever introduced. Expecting students to educate themselves on an organizational method is simply unreasonable. I can also refer to library classes at the elementary level simply turning into a time where students walk around and browse and pick the first interesting book they come across, with no real knowledge of why it was located in a specific area.


Finally, it is important to round off this educational effort about the Dewey Decimal System with some strategies to apply this method to our own situation. For instance, if in fact we are working in a large scale academic library perhaps using the system and coupling it with a computer database is not enough. Once students leave their computer and search into the stacks themselves, it is important to have maps for specific sections also indicating which number coincides with a subject area. A system of color coding or mapping could also be put into place to further emphasis the hierarchy. In contrast, working within the confines of an elementary school setting brings other issues to the forefront. Simply understanding that, “Most elementary students have no clue what the terms ‘social sciences’ and ‘generalities’ mean…”(Hogsett, 2006, p. 29), means that while leaving the decimal system in place we may have to alter the names of subject areas to more kid friendly terms. The Dewey Decimal System already provides a means by which it updates itself to current trends in resources, however the problem with current society is that we want this system to adapt to us. This is further proven by the movement to get rid of Dewey and institute a more user (customer) friendly method of organization such as Book Store. While I cannot deny that it may be more democratic in nature for a many books to be on display, the functionality of the DDC trumps its competitors when put to academic purpose. My suggestion is that we go “old school” and institute real library classes into schools starting at an early age to prepare students for the DDC and research they will extract from its use later in their lives.

Inherent Prejudices Behind Dewey

        

I think it important to evaluate any type of research tool by the principles that are proposed in thorough research. Since the Dewey Decimal System was created to facilitate academic research and academic library browsing with its established hierarchy, the principle of bias should be taken into account. Although Dewey is fairly straight forward, there is one area in particular that is of particular concern regarding the DDC and its bias towards some types of resources.


In regard to bias, every library is going to have a certain type of resource that they may specialize in simply because of the type of patronage they have to their establishment. Another factor that may play a role are the administrators, collectors, curators and library staff that run the said library and their particular educational background. As I have made mention of before, Melvil Dewey was the product of up-state New York in the mid 1800’s and would have been very Western-Centric. This was a time period where American’s believed in manifest destiny, or the belief that God destined our country to expand across the globe. This combined with the collection Dewey had at hand at Amherst College to experiment with his new categorization method, led to some inherent bias in the DDC. Lynch and Mulero (2007) elaborate further noting that, “…Dewey had a strong classification bias when it was created. There was an emphasis on topics like Christianity and American history, for example, and not enough on Eastern religions and on history outside of the American experience” (p.1). Keep in mind that the emphasis they speak of is not on the literature itself, but on the hierarchy that was established. Unfortunately, this bias is reality and has changed over the twenty revisions made the DDC since its creation. Systems are the product of the time period they were created and the people who devised them, and the Dewey Decimal System is a perfect example of this.