Reflection: ETL505 Assessment 2 and Life

My second assignment for ETL505 was due and submitted on the Monday just past. I have been very busy and have not had a chance to write about it until now (and can't really afford to dwell too much now, as I need to get stuck into the next module!). I tend to immediately forget/block out assignments after I have submitted them, but I actually rather enjoyed this one so it should not be too hard to remember what I did for it. In fact, I would say it is the best time I have had completing an assignment that I can remember - even though I know that thinking that may make me a strange  person! I know a lot of people had trouble with the concepts - and I'm not saying I thought it was easy and that I am confident I got a perfect mark (I am fairly certain I didn't!), but most of the concepts just clicked, and even when they didn't, it was like a puzzle trying to figure it all out. It has made me realise once again that there are so many paths this course could take me down. I could actually picture myself working for SCIS one day, as a part of the team who come up with these subject headings. I think that I would enjoy that.


cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo shared by B G

I have opened so many doors of late, and this course has only encouraged me to do so. In hindsight, this is rather surprising. I think if you asked me two years ago what I thought I would get out of doing a Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship), I would tell you that I would expect to become a qualified teacher librarian, that I would be better at teaching library concepts, and that I would be able to run the administration side of a library as well. The things I have gotten out of the course have been quite different to what I expected. I am now working in a library two days a week, and am having to learn a lot on the job as far as teaching (though I have lots of big ideas and understand the important concepts like information literacy and digital citizenship that I need to encourage/teach), and definitely as far as running the library goes, but I feel that I am a more well rounded person from this course. I feel that I have learned important skills that I did not expect to gain: leading from the middle, how to create an engaging PowerPoint presentation, how to create an effective weekly plan, and perhaps most useful of all: I have realised that my options really are endless. This course does not narrow my options to fit with the study I have completed, but broadens them.

I am currently working in a school libary on a temporary basis, working in a public library system on a casual basis, and teaching on a casual basis, and I would be happy doing any of these things and others along this spectrum of information and people related career paths. The only thing I know for certain that I would like to have in the near future is for it to be one job, full time. I feel that that day is coming, and I am excited to see what I end up doing, and how much I enjoy it.

ETL505 has been such a different subject to the others that it has made the variety of colours peeping through all those different doors I have started to open seem even more vibrant and exciting. I wonder which door will open fully first...

ScOT or SCISSHL?

After completing 5.10 of Module 5, I have an understanding of what ScOT and SCISSHL are, but I'm not sure I feel any closer to knowing which one is going to last us in the long term. ScOT terms seem to be more simple than SCISSHL ones, and that makes me suspect that it is more likely to be the long term option - people tend to like simplicity. But I am not sure that that is the best way to go. Simplicity feels like the best option in regards to a search, as I am worried some of the SCISSHL subject headings might not come up when someone does a search, particularly someone who does not have a good understanding of them, but then the ScOT ones often feel like they are too broad, they do not give a good idea of what the item is about, and perhaps too many items would come up when you want to do a more narrow search.

I am undecided, and I would say still a little too ignorant to make the decision anyway - but I am interested to see what happens in the long term.

Review of subject headings

The final exercise of 5.8... Wow, quite the sense of achievement!

I will check the answers to these ones as I go, and put thoughts and comments in brackets.

Exercise 20

Assign the pertinent subject headings for works on the following topics.

a. A street directory covering the cities of Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong in New South Wales.
Sydney (N.S.W.) - Maps
Newcastle (N.S.W.) - Maps
Wollongong (N.S.W.) - Maps
(Forgot to put heading: Road maps, which could be found as a 'broader term' in "Melbourne (Vic.) - Maps)

b. A street directory covering all the cities and major towns in New South Wales.
New South Wales - Maps (Based on "Victoria - Maps", and limited to NSW because of limit of 10 subject headings - see 4.6 of Guidelines)
Road maps

c. 100 experiments exploring and explaining key concepts in Science and Technology
Science - Experiments
Technology - Experiments (Experiments is a restricted subdivision, 6.5.2 of Guidlines. There is also a specific example note (SEN) when you look up "experiments" in SCISSHL explaining this.)
Science (should I include this as well? Or is it too general - we need to be specific remember... Answers say not to include it. But I got the other two right :))

d. The early European explorers of inland Australia.
Explorers, European
Australia - Discovery and exploration
Australia - History - 19th Century (Apparently there is no need for this last one - that is being too specific).

e. A novel which explores the themes of friendships, jealousy and honesty. The novel is set in Australia in the 1990s and won the Young Australians’ Best Book Award.
Australia - History - 1991-2000 - Fiction
Friendship - Fiction
Jealousy - Fiction
Honesty - Fiction
Literary prizes (this is not needed)
Young Australians' Best Book Award
(forgot heading: "Australian stories")

f. How animals and plants survive in Australia’s grasslands and wetlands (grasslands and wetlands are treated separately):
Animals - Australia
Plants - Australia
Grasslands (This does not have subdiv. geog., so cannot be subdivided geographically)
Wetlands - Australia
(I got the last two wrong, will fix after I've had a cup of tea...)
Okay, so instead of the general terms "Grasslands" and "Wetlands - Australia" I should have had:
Grassland ecology (which is an allowed term in SCISSHL)
Wetland ecology (which is a devised term in the SCIS OPAC, fitting with 6.2 of the guidelines).

I guess what I have learned from this last one, is to always search without the s initially, as you might get ideas from that. If I had searched for Grassland, then grassland ecology would have come up and may have given me the idea without me having to check the answers first. Ok moving on...

Multi-concept headings

Exercise 19

Check to see if the following headings exist or can be devised.

a. Japan - History - 1868-1912, Meiji period: This exists as an allowed heading.

b. Geology - Maps - Standards: This is an allowed heading, because Geology - Maps exists in SCICSHL, and standards is a standard subdivision (see p. 19 of SCISSHL Guidelines)

c. Military science - Terminology – Dictionaries: This is an allowed heading, as both terminology and dictionaries are standard subdivisions (I'm feeling a niggle about this one, that somehow it is not okay, but I am not sure why so it is time to check the answers... Ah-ha! you cannot add a standard subdivision to a standard subdivision... A standard subdivision must be used only after the first dash? That does not seem right either... but I think it might just be because I am bizarrely tired; time for bed. This heading would have to be broken into two: Military science - Terminology, and Military science - Dictionaries.)

Model headings

Exercise 18

Using the list of model headings on pp. 24-25 in the Guidelines, the subdivisions at these 11 headings in SCISSHL, plus the notes at these headings relating to their use as model headings, devise subject headings for the following topics.

a. Diseases affecting elephants: Elephants - Diseases (from model heading "Animals")

b. A history of Broken Hill in New South Wales: Broken Hill (N.S.W) - History (from model heading "Melbourne (Vic.)")

c. The climate of Papua New Guinea: Papua New Guinea - Climate (from model heading "Australia")

d. A critical analysis of the poetry of John Donne: Donne, John - Poetry - Criticism, interpretation, etc. (unsure about this last subdivision)(Did not need "Poetry" subdivision, so "Donne, John - Criticism, interpretation, etc.")

e. A bibliography of Australian literature: Australian literature - Bibliography (from model heading "English literature").

Only the one little mistake for this exercise :)

Period subdivisions

Exercise 17

Assign/devise subject headings for the following topics:

a. A history of the West Indies focussing on the 18th century:
West Indies - History - 18th century

b. Economic conditions in Queensland in the 21st century:
Queensland - Economic conditions - 21st century

c. Social conditions in the United States of America in the 1950s and 1960s:
United States - Social conditions - 20th century (this is because it says in SCISSHL: "Indexing Note: May be subdivided like Australia except for the period subdivisions of history", otherwise it would read: United States - Social conditions - 1950-1970.) (No, apparently I missed something, because the answer reads: United States - Social conditions - 1945-1974... Ah-ha! I get it. When you searh for "United States" in SCISSHL, it lists all the options for subdivision of that term, including all the history ones. The time frames are already chosen for us - we can't choose them ourselves - that is what the indexing note was referring to I think...)
So, United States - Social conditions - 1945-1974.

Geographical subdivision (good old subdiv. geog.!)

Exercise 16

Assign/devise subject headings for the following topics:

a. Hunting in British Colombia (A province of Canada): Hunting - Canada; British Columbia (Canada)
b. Communism in Japan: Communism - Japan
c. School libraries in Australia: Cannot subdivide geographically, therefore: School libraries; Australia (?)

Let's check... The first two are right... I guess the third one is right? It does not say 'Australia' as a subject heading, but I think you could have it as a separate one. I will see if it says anything in the forum... Nope, it doesn't, so I'm going to leave it at that for now.

Restricted subdivisions

Exercise 15

Using the list of restricted subdivisions, and the notes given at their entries in SCISSHL, determine appropriate headings for the following topics.

a. Career prospects in Information Technology: Information technology - Careers
b. Aboriginal education: Aboriginal peoples - Education
c. Reviews of children’s books: Children's literature - Reviews

Yes, I got them perfect again (except for one little capital which I just fixed because it wasn't worth commenting on... and now I've commented on it anyway!).

I think I'm getting the hang of this! I hope I can do the right thing for the assignment... Just five more exercises to do and I will be finished this section - it's been pretty intense! Two days of teaching ahead of me now, so not much study time :-S Studying tomorrow night with my study buddy though, so hopefully will get a lot out of that for the assignment. I hope I don't hold her back by not having all these done. We'll see.

Maybe I'll quickly do another one before I go to bed...

Exercise 14

Using the heading ‘Bushrangers’, the list of standard subdivisions on p.19 in Guidelines, plus notes given at the entries for these subdivisions in SCISSHL determine appropriate headings for the following topics. Note that some of these headings may already exist on the SCIS database.

a. A novel about bushrangers: Bushrangers - Fiction
b. Folktales about bushrangers: Bushrangers - Folklore
c. An encyclopaedia of bushrangers: Bushrangers - Encyclopaedias
d. A set of maps showing where bushrangers roamed: Bushrangers - Maps
e. A collection of jokes about bushrangers: Bushrangers - Humour

Yay, I got them all right :)

Subdivided headings

Exercise 13

Identify the number of subdivided headings for each of the following headings in SCISSHL.

a. Private schools: zero
b. Science: Six (plus 2 non-allowed)
c. Mongolia: zero, but it does say you can subdivide it the same as "Australia", and there are HEAPS of subdivisions for Australia!

Note that subdivisions are always preceded by a long dash. Some terms existing as subdivisions in SCISSHL are also there as headings in their own right. Examine, as an example, the heading ‘Diseases’. The note at this heading indicates that it can be used also as a subheading to create subdivided headings such as ‘Blood-Diseases’.

It is important to recognise that the only headings in SCISSHL which can be used as subdivisions are those where there is a note allowing this usage. For example, the subdivided heading ‘Earth-Atmosphere’ cannot be created as there is no note at ‘Atmosphere’ allowing it to be used as a subdivision.

Note also that some terms only exist as subdivisions, they cannot be used as headings. See, for example, the terms ‘Policy’, ‘Safety measures’ and ‘Rules’ in SCISSHL.

Subdividing

Exercise 12

What headings would you assign to works on the following topics?

a. Hunting methods used by Aboriginal peoples: Aboriginal peoples - Hunting
Scope Note
Use for works on the methods and equipment used for hunting by Aboriginal peoples during the pre-contact period of Aboriginal history and those methods and equipment that continue to be used in some areas of Australia.

b. Educating Aboriginal children: Aboriginal peoples - Education; Children, Aboriginal

c. Aboriginal place names: Aboriginal peoples - Place names (I searched for 'place names', it said USE Names, geographical, this suggested the above as a narrower term (NT) - exactly describing what I was looking for.)

Note that not all headings relating to Aboriginal peoples are in this form, e.g. ‘Aboriginal peoples - Art’ is a non-allowed term, the heading being ‘Art, Aboriginal’.