teachers' notes - auckland libraries' online catalogue
TRANSCRIPT
7/29/2019 Teachers' Notes - Auckland Libraries' Online Catalogue
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/teachers-notes-auckland-libraries-online-catalogue 1/5
1
Lesson Plan
Auckland Libraries’ Online Catalogue
Basics
Today’s Date: ___________________________
Library Instructor: _______________________
Course Name: Auckland Libraries’ online catalogue / Dewey Decimal System
Blog Page: http://kiwi-high-school-information-literacy.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/auckland-libraries-online-
catalogue.html
Instruction Date / Time: ___________________________
Number of students: ______________________________
Instructor Assignment / Other Information: This blog page is aimed at students in Years 7 to 10 (i.e. the
11-15 age range). Answers and possible discussion points for each exercise are outlined below.
Information Literacy Outcomes
After this instruction session, the students will be able to:
Explain the principles of the Dewey Decimal System and how it is used to organise non-fiction
collections in libraries.
Describe the differences between keyword and subject searching with reference to Auckland
Libraries’ online catalogue.
Carry out a successful search for library material on a specific topic using the online catalogue.
Information / Concepts to Cover
Definitions of fiction and non-fiction
Overview of the Dewey Decimal System
Using Auckland Libraries’ online catalogue to search for books on a given topic
Library membership (if applicable)
7/29/2019 Teachers' Notes - Auckland Libraries' Online Catalogue
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/teachers-notes-auckland-libraries-online-catalogue 2/5
2
Active Learning Exercises
Before getting stuck into catalogue searching, it might be useful (particularly for students in Years 7 and 8)
to briefly review the concepts associated with the Dewey Decimal System. (This could be done in class,
prior to visiting the computer lab).
You’ll need:
10 x Dewey Decimal Posters
Blu Tack or sticky tape to attach the posters to your white board or wall (if desired)
A selection of 10-15 non-fiction books (on different subjects) from your school library. Choose
books whose topics can be fairly easily deduced from the information displayed on the front cover.
Use the Dewey posters (pictured below) for the following ‘refresher’ activity. (Larger versions of the
images are included at the end of this document, on the Lesson Plans blog page).
Posters created by Waitakere Library & Information Services, Auckland, 2008. Used with permission.
Exercise 1: Fiction and Non-Fiction
There are two different types of books in the library: fiction and non-fiction.
Questions to ask students:
What’ s the difference between fiction and non-fiction? Fiction books are imagined stories (e.g. novels)
and non-fiction books generally contain factual information. (There are a few grey areas around this
definition. For example; fairy tales, myths and legends are shelved in the non-fiction area of most libraries,
and the 800s section – which was originally created to accommodate all aspects of literature – now
contains only plays and poetry, which clearly fall under the definition of fiction).
7/29/2019 Teachers' Notes - Auckland Libraries' Online Catalogue
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/teachers-notes-auckland-libraries-online-catalogue 3/5
3
How are fiction books organised on the shelves? Books are arranged in alphabetical order, according to
the author’s surname.
How are non-fiction books organised on the shelves? Non-fiction books have labels on their spines with
numbers on them. There are different numbers for different subjects, so books are arranged in numerical
order, according to topic. (These numbers are referred to as “call numbers” in most library catalogues).
What is the name of the numbering system libraries use to organise their non-fiction titles? The DeweyDecimal System. It’s called the DDS because it was invented by an American librarian called Melville Dewey
in about 1876. He decided the non-fiction books could be divided into ten main groups.
Exercise 2: Dewey Activity
At this point, you might like to hand out the 10 Dewey posters (000-900) and call on individual students to
come up to the front of the room and hold up a poster each. Alternatively, just stick the pictures to your
white board or wall. Give the class some time to look at the information on the posters before continuing
with the activity.
Pick a few examples to explain briefly. (Choose the Dewey sections that are most
relevant to your current topic of study). For example, “In the 900s we have books
about the history and geography of different countries, information on the First
and Second World Wars and biographies of famous people.”
Now, you’re ready to use the pile of non-fiction books you’ve gathered from the
school library. Hold each book up in turn (covering the spine label/call number as
you do so) and ask the class to decide, by looking at the cover and at the Dewey
posters on display, which section the book would most likely be shelved in, e.g. in the 900s, 700s, 500s andso on. Ask them to justify each decision. They might not get it right 100% of the time, but that doesn’t
matter. The purpose of the exercise is to get them thinking critically about how books are categorised.
7/29/2019 Teachers' Notes - Auckland Libraries' Online Catalogue
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/teachers-notes-auckland-libraries-online-catalogue 4/5
4
Exercise 3: Blog page
Move to your computer lab (if you’re not there already) for this part of the lesson. Ask the students to read
through the blog page and watch the video, which shows them how to use Auckland Libraries’ online
catalogue.
After they’ve all watched the demonstration, ask your pupils to repeat the search (i.e. a keyword
search using the words “influenza pandemic 1918”). Instruct them to choose one of the titles from the list of results and click on one of the
corresponding subject headings, as shown in the example below:
By clicking on the above heading (i.e. Epidemics – Children’s nonfiction), searchers are shown a list
of results which includes the following title:
Questions to ask students:
At first glance, do the books in the subject search list seem more or less relevant to the topic?
Students’ individual results will vary, depending on the title they choose.
7/29/2019 Teachers' Notes - Auckland Libraries' Online Catalogue
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/teachers-notes-auckland-libraries-online-catalogue 5/5
5
What are the benefits of a subject search as opposed to a keyword search? E.g. keyword searches
are useful when you don’t know the subject headings the library catalogue might use. Subject
searches can help you to find other material that is relevant to your topic, etc.
If appropriate; discuss your own classroom topic:
In which area/s of the Dewey Decimal System might you find books on the topic in question?
Ask the students to come up with some keywords for a catalogue search.
Experiment with keyword and subject searches on your topic. What kind of results do you get?
What are the relative benefits?
Discuss library membership, if appropriate.
Assessment / Evaluation of IL Outcomes
The students will demonstrate learning by successfully completing the exercises outlined above, and
participating in class discussions.