So, I'm finally at Thing 23. I've enjoyed it, parts of it have been very useful and I've discovered online applications I wouldn't have otherwise.
Next - finish my distance learning course, consider a chartership.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Thing 22: "Volunteers... attenshun!"
The subject of volunteers is a tricky one. At one level, it is a fantastic way to improve your C.V. and do some networking at the same time. However, it is also a tool currently being used by councils to cut costs. I'll tackle the good side first:
Good:
I've been volunteering at a copyright deposit satellite library for about a year. I bumped into an ex-colleague at the lib@cam conference, who happened to be looking for assistance with a serials cataloguing backlog in her department, caused by several libraries merging some time ago. Although the material is on the catalogue, the records are short and occasionally incorrect. What I do is:
Here endeth the CDP23 part. This next bit is a rant.
Bad:
Libraries cost money. But they are vital to our communities, the education of the nation and just generally A Good Thing. I know some people are against them (see here about that), and that cuts *apparently* need to be made. A solution is apparently making all qualified librarians redundant, and using volunteers instead. If the building hasn't been sold off for housing. I know some tasks can be done (and are done) effectively by volunteers, but the actual nitty-gritty needs to be done by a professional. The books don't just magically appear on a catalogue or on a shelf.
A sign of how important libraries are can be seen from Twitter during this year's National Libraries Day #NLD13.
Good:
I've been volunteering at a copyright deposit satellite library for about a year. I bumped into an ex-colleague at the lib@cam conference, who happened to be looking for assistance with a serials cataloguing backlog in her department, caused by several libraries merging some time ago. Although the material is on the catalogue, the records are short and occasionally incorrect. What I do is:
- Pull all appropriate boxes from the shelves
- Check the issues are in chronological order
- Compose a paper finding list (title, classmark, place of publication, bib and ISSN number, then a list of each volume and issue, with spaces for those that are missing).
- Find and update catalogue record
- Re-box and label issues
- Reshelve.
Here endeth the CDP23 part. This next bit is a rant.
Bad:
Libraries cost money. But they are vital to our communities, the education of the nation and just generally A Good Thing. I know some people are against them (see here about that), and that cuts *apparently* need to be made. A solution is apparently making all qualified librarians redundant, and using volunteers instead. If the building hasn't been sold off for housing. I know some tasks can be done (and are done) effectively by volunteers, but the actual nitty-gritty needs to be done by a professional. The books don't just magically appear on a catalogue or on a shelf.
A sign of how important libraries are can be seen from Twitter during this year's National Libraries Day #NLD13.
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