October 7th, 2009

I was moved to a new student desk in the cataloging department at the beginning of the semester; we have a librarian visiting from China, and she took over the space that I was using for my Assistantship. The “new” computer I use is so slow. It freezes up when there are too many programs open, and I have to keep a webpage, Connexions and Workflows open while I enter items into the catalog.

In the IARC, I pull items and search for them in WorldCat. It's easier to use the “Classic Version” because the results page gives me the information I need to determine if I have a matching item: a physical description of the book, and if it is held at UNCG. The newer version does also, but it can be harder to search because it does not have enough search fields on the first screen.

After I find a matching record, I write down the OCLC identification number (just in a notebook), and put the item aside.

In the cataloging department, I pull up those records on Connexions using the OCLC number. Or, if the item is held at Jackson, or is already in the IARC, I use WorkFlows to add a call number to the existing item.

This is an awkward method of cataloging because one is cataloging without the item in hand while physically entering it into the record. Mary Jane uses the university laptop in the IARC so that she doesn't have to walk back and forth. But, because I am more comfortable with the software set up on the computer in Jackson, I am choosing to not use the laptop.