Whew! Weeding!

ELIB 580
May 13, 2010
Fremont High School
6 hrs.
CCTC Standards 12, 16, 17, 18, 19

• Okay! I am officially a library nerd! I weeded a section of the library and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I weeded .004-.006, a technology section. There were some great books but most were WAY outdated. Weeding is really an art as well as a science. In this section in particular publication date is so important. There are so many innovations and changes in the tech world that it must be really hard to keep books on technology, computers, cyberspace, etc. current. I weeded everything from 2005 and before. There were a few exceptions such as dictionaries, which while not up-to-date have correct information. Also, some bios of tech figures and books with a more historical slant were okay regardless of the publication dates. The TL only questioned one of my selections for weeding and we decided that it probably should be weeded but we wouldn't this time since it was the only book on that particular subject. After pulling them off the shelves I learned how to delete the books in ACCENT (there were some glitches and I learned a bit of troubleshooting) and then removed or covered library markings. I offered them to the technology coordinator but he didn't want them as they were too old. I took the opportunity to get some titles from him to include in the order I am preparing. I explored TitleWave and started compiling an order of technology related books to meet the needs of our diverse student and teacher population. I still have to find books and other materials in Spanish, but I think I made a great start today
• I also helped several students with a social studies term paper. They had to research a variety of subjects and I guided one girl to books on the Jim Crow era and also Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. Another student needed information on German concentration camps and I helped him find information. Neither student knew how to use OPAC and I showed them that.
• I did some shelving, helped some teachers find books and chatted with another library student from a different program who was also doing fieldwork. Most service workers were absent because they have "senioristis" and the prom is on Saturday. So I only worked with a couple of the most responsible ones. They taught me a thing or two about the scanner and circulation! It felt really good to start getting hands-on experience with the nuts and bolts.