Teaching Cataloguing and Classification at the University of Pretoria: Thinking Preferences of Second Year Students

Abstract

The information profession has changed drastically in the last few years. The core requirements for information workers have also changed because the workplace needs specific qualities and skills. The necessity of continuing to teach cataloguing and classification is questioned, and many library schools have discontinued teaching these subjects. Many experts, however, believe that cataloguing and classification are still among the basics of information work. The subject still forms part of the curriculum at the University of Pretoria. At the beginning of 2000, funds were obtained to use the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument to establish the preferences of the second year Library Science students taking cataloguing. The result showed that their preferences do not really correspond to those of cataloguers. They specifically do not like the analysing and mastering the technical details required in cataloguing. As these skills are required for cataloguing, teaching methods will have to be adapted to equip students for the workplace. IntroductionThe library and information profession as a whole and the work of cataloguers in particular has changed significantly in the last few years. There are a number of reasons for these changes. Among these are the increase in electronic publishing, digitising conventional library materials, the advent of the Internet, the availability of information in many new formats and the extensive use of technology in the organisation and retrieval of information, as well as in most other operations in library and information organisations (Ayres 1999, 3). All this seems to make cataloguing if not superfluous then less important than before.Information workers also had to adapt to meet the information needs of a varied clientele. Sheila Corral, as quoted by Garrod (1999, 194) argues that, in the hybrid library of today, "content professionals", who specialise in information handling, as well as "conduit professionals", who specialise in IT (information technology) and computing are needed. To discover how the information professional of the future must be educated and trained, it is essential to look at the environment in which these future professionals must function.

Time Allocation as Correlate of Undergraduates’ Academic Achievement in Cataloguing and Classification in Library Schools in Southern Nigeria

“…In a course of study like cataloguing and classification which is practical oriented, there is need to ascertain whether there is time for practicals. In cataloguing and classification teaching in the University of Pretoria, South Africa, De Boer, Coetzee and Coetzee (2001) [5] found that traditional content like cataloguing and reference work, are still taught although time allotted to them has been reduced. If the time allocated to teach a course like cataloguing and classification is short or reduced, it may have negative effect on the undergraduates' achievement in the courses.…”

Constructing a Comprehensive Learning Style Flexibility Model for the Innovation of an Information Literacy Module

“…However, the model was not constructed based on this quantitative data only. Through different qualitative methods, such as text analysis, observations, student feedback and interviews, used in different contexts, we as authors extracted from our own work (De Boer and Van Rensburg 1997;De Boer and Van Aardt 1998;De Boer and Steyn 1999;De Boer, Coetzee, and Coetzee 2001;De Boer and Van den Berg 2001;De Boer, Steyn, and Du Toit 2001;Horak, Steyn, and De Boer 2001;Du Toit and Vandeyar 2003;Maree and De Boer 2003;Coetzee, Munro, and De Boer 2004;Du Toit and Van Petegem 2005;Du Toit 2004, 2008a, 2008b, 2009 and students' work (Oosthuizen 2001;Voges 2005;Scott 2006; Van der Watt 2008;Von Maltitz 2010;De Jager 2011;Tembe 2011) the ideas that helped shape the model. A constructivist approach as proposed by Burton and Bartlett (2005) was followed as it is embedded in the process of action research.…”

Education and Training for Cataloguing at the University of Botswana Library: An Overview

“…17 At the University of Pretoria, DeBoer sees a change in the information profession, as well as in the core requirements for information workers, only because the workplace needs specific qualities and skills. 18 DeBoer further says that the necessity of teaching cataloguing and classification is questioned, and many library schools have discontinued teaching these subjects. 19 It is, however, noted that many experts believe that cataloguing and classification are still among the basics of information work.…”

“…The material would then be labelled on the book card, book pocket, and on the spine by Assistants. In 18 Education for Library Cataloging: International Perspectives addition to proofreading, the Cataloguing Coordinator was responsible for database management to ensure quality. This role of Subject Librarians changed when the Library changed its TINlib system and began using Innopac in 2000.…”