Lesson Plan Auckland Libraries Online Catalogue

Basics Todays 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-onlinecatalogue.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)

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). Youll 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: Whats 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).
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How are fiction books organised on the shelves? Books are arranged in alphabetical order, according to the authors 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 Dewey Decimal System. Its 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, youre ready to use the pile of non-fiction books youve 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 and so on. Ask them to justify each decision. They might not get it right 100% of the time, but that doesnt matter. The purpose of the exercise is to get them thinking critically about how books are categorised.

Exercise 3: Blog page Move to your computer lab (if youre 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 theyve 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 Childrens 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.

What are the benefits of a subject search as opposed to a keyword search? E.g. keyword searches are useful when you dont 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.