Dewey

Dewey.

No, wait....Not him.

Nope.  Not that one either.

This one.

Melvil and his Decimal System.

As you know from my previous posts, my first real period of time with this system was from Tomes and Talismans.  (Yes, there are many more episodes out there. Disturbing.)

While reading Chapter 5 about the Dewey Decimal system, it brought back memories of some of my favorite books when I was a developing reader.  I enjoyed presidential history, including a book that I ordered from a Scholastic book fair in 1^st grade that had all of the presidents through Ronald Reagan, who was still in his 2^nd term.    I  loved all of Matt Christopher’s sports books, including The Kid Who Only Hit Homers and Catcher with a Glass Arm.  I also enjoyed reading and re-reading Judy Blume’s The Pain and the Great One, as well as Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  I only read the first Boxcar Children book by Gertrude Chandler Warner, but it was my first real chapter book that I could follow along.  I have no idea why I didn’t try to read the rest of the series.

As for the text in Kaplan about the DDC, it was a bit confusing at first.  I have been using the DDC for so long that I took it for granted.  I know how to look up a book in a database, find the number on the end of the aisles, and then find the book on the shelves.  I hadn’t really thought about where the numbers came from until I read Chapter 5.  I knew there must be some reasoning behind the numbers.  I just hadn’t had to think about it since I was in secondary school.  Now, I know what the numbers mean. 

The Constant

My all-time favorite television shows in descending order:

(793) Tomes and Talismans.

Please don't watch past the first minute. You just need to witness the acting.  Truly terrible.  And why is that guy wearing a thin, multi-colored headband?  Looks like he should be in "Xanadu."

(543) Mrs. Cabobbles Caboose

Yes, thank you 5th grader teacher for forcing us to watch this show.  What better way to show our patriotism than in this episode.  Truly, truly terrible show....but especially bad when you are in 5th grade.

 (542) Full House
This final curtain call should have happened after the first episode aired.

 (2) Saved by the Bell.

So many memories.  Tough episode with Kelly and Zack breaking up.  A momentous day on Monday after it first aired.  Everyone was talking about it.

(1) Lost.

I miss Lost.  It was a creative show that, despite some flaws and some mishaps that are bound to happen, I thoroughly enjoyed.  I loved the characters, especially Ben Linus and Desmond.  My favorite episode was "The Constant."

I thought of this episode while reading in Kaplan’s Catalog it!. In Area 7 about notes to add to a MARC, it said that “display constants” are codes “given to the computer so that it will automatically display a word or phrase when the record is retrieved from the OPAC….(and) it saves us lots of time typing.”  I’m not sure I understand constants, but anything that helps to make the library system just a little easier, I’m all for it.  Plus, this passage gives me the opportunity to link to my favorite show.  

Other thoughts for month 3 in LIBS 6120.  I feel comfortable with blocks now, and I’m starting to feel better about MARC.  All of those dollar signs and “a’s”, “b’s” and “x’s” really threw me off until I got a closer look and was able to really see that it’s just plugging the block information into the MARC.  It’s not nearly as confusing as I thought it was going to be, especially since a lot of the bewildering items are usually not utilized in school libraries.  But, it’s still good to know that I can come back to my Kaplan for answers in the future.

Also, Berenstain Bears?  Ber-en-STAIN?  For my entire literary life, I also said Ber-en-steen!  When I was filling out my MARC for the graded practice using Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat, I noticed the discrepancy.  In shock, I showed my wife and mother-in-law and they also had always said Ber-en-steen.  Maybe that is the correct way to say it.  I do know that Berenstain Bears No Girls Allowed was my favorite book of the series when I was a little guy.