Organization
Organization is an essential part of the library and information profession. Organization involves the basic principles of selection, acquisition, organization, storage, retrieval and use in regards to information resources. I obtained knowledge of these principles throughout my MLIS degree, but these principles were most emphasized in the following courses:
In LIS 502, I gained an understanding of basic epistemology, communication, retrieval, vocabulary, relevance, precision, recall, specificity, exhaustivity, consistency, Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs), classification, tagging, bookmarking, and cataloging. After completing a digestive paper, I solidified my belief that knowledge, information, and communication are vital concepts in librarianship. This can be realized when one considers how perspective and biases can affect one’s interpretation of information, which can directly affect how one classifies said information.
In LIS 518, I completed a presentation on collection development, selection policies, and related topics for comics and graphic novels. However, many of the concepts can be generally applied to all materials in a library collection.
In LIS 536, I gained knowledge of information retrieval and databases with a focus on the electronic or digital. For example, I completed a comparison of Google, Yahoo, and MetaCrawler, which are incredibly useful search engines for finding and retrieving relevant information online. I also completed a comparison of Scopus and Web of Science, which are extremely valuable databases for navigating scholarly literature, researching into specialized subfields, identifying citation patterns, and finding and retrieving relevant information online.
In LIS 538, I learned to evaluate and create digital libraries. Especially valuable is the understanding that one must consider one’s audience when creating a digital library in order to maximize use and benefit to users. For example, if one were to create a digital library for economists it would make more sense to utilize economics terminology in the fields, but if one were to create a digital library with similar content for average people with virtually zero understanding of finance it would make a lot more sense to use simpler lingo. This example highlights an organizational benefit of digital libraries. Digital libraries offer the ability to change and add fields easily (when compared to a traditional physical collection) as one’s audience, materials, and other circumstances change.
When completing my practicum at Rutherford Library I wrote a literature review on 21st century reference collections. While doing so I learned the importance of weeding a collection in order to improve use and facilitate serendipitous discoveries. Weeding also relates to the preservation of materials, as one must decide what should be preserved and what should be removed. I learned the primary factor when deciding what to weed is use. The last thing a librarian wants to do is remove works being used and valued by patrons.
In LIS 591, I learned how publishing could impact the selection, acquisition, and organization of resources. For example, relying on a few large publishers could lead to less acquisition of underground texts. The ease and low cost of digital publishing could lead to more works being published in this manner and/or an increase in patron demand for help publishing their own works.
In LIS 598: Systematic Review Searching, I learned the importance of organization to the entire systematic review process, which emphasizes maximizing recall of relevant materials and makes use of controlled vocabulary, text words, Boolean operators, multiple databases, filters, and limits.
During my time at Jake Epp Public Library, I had the opportunity to help with the selection and evaluation of library acquisitions. This experience was invaluable and taught me the importance of consulting reviews, co-workers, patrons, and other resources to inform one’s selection decisions. I realize librarians and information specialists play an important ethical role in our society. They help to ensure information is high quality, help users evaluate information, assist with information filtering, support keeping information accessible to all, assist the public with becoming informed, and help to ensure controversial materials remain available.
- LIS 502: Organization of Information
- LIS 518: Comic Books and Graphic Novels in Schools and Public Libraries
- LIS 536: Digital Reference and Information Retrieval (IT)
- LIS 538: Digital Libraries (IT)
- LIS 590: Practicum (Rutherford Library – University of Alberta)
- LIS 591: Publishing
- LIS 598: Systematic Review Searching
In LIS 502, I gained an understanding of basic epistemology, communication, retrieval, vocabulary, relevance, precision, recall, specificity, exhaustivity, consistency, Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs), classification, tagging, bookmarking, and cataloging. After completing a digestive paper, I solidified my belief that knowledge, information, and communication are vital concepts in librarianship. This can be realized when one considers how perspective and biases can affect one’s interpretation of information, which can directly affect how one classifies said information.
In LIS 518, I completed a presentation on collection development, selection policies, and related topics for comics and graphic novels. However, many of the concepts can be generally applied to all materials in a library collection.
In LIS 536, I gained knowledge of information retrieval and databases with a focus on the electronic or digital. For example, I completed a comparison of Google, Yahoo, and MetaCrawler, which are incredibly useful search engines for finding and retrieving relevant information online. I also completed a comparison of Scopus and Web of Science, which are extremely valuable databases for navigating scholarly literature, researching into specialized subfields, identifying citation patterns, and finding and retrieving relevant information online.
In LIS 538, I learned to evaluate and create digital libraries. Especially valuable is the understanding that one must consider one’s audience when creating a digital library in order to maximize use and benefit to users. For example, if one were to create a digital library for economists it would make more sense to utilize economics terminology in the fields, but if one were to create a digital library with similar content for average people with virtually zero understanding of finance it would make a lot more sense to use simpler lingo. This example highlights an organizational benefit of digital libraries. Digital libraries offer the ability to change and add fields easily (when compared to a traditional physical collection) as one’s audience, materials, and other circumstances change.
When completing my practicum at Rutherford Library I wrote a literature review on 21st century reference collections. While doing so I learned the importance of weeding a collection in order to improve use and facilitate serendipitous discoveries. Weeding also relates to the preservation of materials, as one must decide what should be preserved and what should be removed. I learned the primary factor when deciding what to weed is use. The last thing a librarian wants to do is remove works being used and valued by patrons.
In LIS 591, I learned how publishing could impact the selection, acquisition, and organization of resources. For example, relying on a few large publishers could lead to less acquisition of underground texts. The ease and low cost of digital publishing could lead to more works being published in this manner and/or an increase in patron demand for help publishing their own works.
In LIS 598: Systematic Review Searching, I learned the importance of organization to the entire systematic review process, which emphasizes maximizing recall of relevant materials and makes use of controlled vocabulary, text words, Boolean operators, multiple databases, filters, and limits.
During my time at Jake Epp Public Library, I had the opportunity to help with the selection and evaluation of library acquisitions. This experience was invaluable and taught me the importance of consulting reviews, co-workers, patrons, and other resources to inform one’s selection decisions. I realize librarians and information specialists play an important ethical role in our society. They help to ensure information is high quality, help users evaluate information, assist with information filtering, support keeping information accessible to all, assist the public with becoming informed, and help to ensure controversial materials remain available.