#upmainlibrary

[strawberrieatthelibrary]

So, how did we do?

I enjoyed my stay at the Main Library although there were definitely times I didn’t go to duty on time. Despite this, I felt I was able to accomplish what was asked of me and I tried my best not to screw things up, luckily I didn’t so Hooray! :))

The Midyear Term went so fast that I never felt it was almost at an end. I did learn a lot, but I felt that if given more time, I could actually learn more. especially at the Cataloging Section. The blame shouldn’t be put on them, really, but everyone had been really busy especially when meetings here and there are called for and they have deadlines and quotas to reach.

Salute to the librarians at the UP Main Library! :)) Thank you very much for sharing your expertise and some of your food and baon with us. hehe :) See you around po! :)

[strawberrieatthelibrary]

To stand or to sit? You choose

For my last week of OJT, I spent the first 2 days continuing with my USL Filing. HUHU I feel sorry for my legs and feet. But we were able to finish the tray assigned to us anyway so it was okay. :)

There were only two things to choose from when you’re assigned at the Cataloging. It’s either you stand all day (the filing) or sit and stare at the computers all day (the cataloging part). Guess you’d get a dose of both whichever you choose anyway.

Before leaving the cataloging section last Tuesday, Ma’am Annie gave us an assignment regarding assigning Cutter numbers. It wasn’t really that easy nor was it very difficult. Some resources were provided anyway so it was bearable.

The next day, we continued with the activity and this time we have to assign catalog numbers to the titles given on the answer sheet. And it was intense. I wasn’t able to answer 2 items and I wasn’t actually sure with my answers. HUHU Ma’am was at a meeting so Sir Eli briefed us regarding cataloging using iLib. There were so much MARC tags to remember and so much things to take into account, good thing a sheet with the process flow was given to us. At least we wouldn’t get lost or anything. 

I was able to finish cataloging 11 books which wasn’t so bad really and I finished filing hundreds of titles too. Yey!

[strawberrieatthelibrary]

“Save me, please?”

So what did I do this week?

Half of my first day was spent continuing my duties at the Bindery, I was able to finish binding one more book and was able to sew another book to be ready for binding.

That afternoon, I went back to the archive’s depository and was directed downstairs to the Data Center and was briefed regarding the scanning of archive materials. After that, I went back up and started scanning a 500+ pages of the Philippinensian 1938 (a UP yearbook). I kept myself amused by reading most of what I’m scanning. Everything was cute HAHA! It was a struggle to finish the material because of the extent but I was able to finish it after spending a little over 13 hours for it. and it wasn’t really that difficult for me since I’ve been scanning and scanning materials when I was an SA at the Econ Library.

I thought that since I’m done with my duty at the Indexing Section, my indexing career would be long gone. But I was wrong! I was wrong! HUHUHU LOLJK I was given a compilation of 2010 Philippine Collegian (Student paper) to index. YEY! *cries*

The entirety of the duty hours I had left to spend at the Archives was spent indexing. My experience with using the IPN (Index to Philippine Newspapers database) was the same as my experience with the IPP and yes, I did have the same issue regarding the search bar. They probably have the same developers which wasn’t a surprise since only the color schemes (IPP was blue while IPN was a light green) and the content were different.

Part of our Archives duty includes manning the circulation desk. However I wasn’t able to get my share of it. So instead, I just asked how it works but the staff there just told us that they’d be the ones to get the materials needed if ever the users would approach and that we shouldn’t bother anymore... It was weird really but I think if Ma’am Eimee was there we would be able to learn something about the arrangement of the materials there. Oh well.

The afternoon of Friday I was able to transfer to the Cataloging Section and the first task Ma’am Annie gave me was to file Universal Shelf List cards. It was easy but it was definitely tiring because it requires you to just stand, pull out a shelf, remove the metal thing that holds the cards together, insert the card/s, put the metal rod back properly, push the shelf back, walk to next shelf and repeat. But despite this I still had fun. :)

[strawberrieatthelibrary]

Terms, terms, and more ter-... Hey, What’s that smell?

Usually, I dread indexing (next to cataloging, of course). Not because I don’t know how, but because I’m always so unsure if what I’m doing is correct at all. But it isn’t so difficult, really, especially when authority lists are available.

So... this week, I spent 4 days at the Indexing Section and was able to finish a good number of articles. I’m quite glad that when we got there all the scholarly journals, periodicals, and articles were already done and what were left were mostly magazines. At least indexing magazine articles are relatively easier than indexing scholarly ones.

We were told to create P-slips of the articles we are indexing just so we know how they’re created even though an online database is already available. We encoded the indexed articles after creating P-slips for them, too, just so we could familiarize ourselves with the Index to Philippine Periodicals database.

The database was easy to use once one gets to understand the function of each part. The database was pleasing to the eyes, too, which was why it wasn’t so hard to work with it. Although, I had issues with the search bar for the Headings list. It doesn’t work like the search bar for browsing articles which was why I found it a little bit irritating (just a tiny bit). I hope they’d work on that function but all in all the database was superb! Thumbs up!

Friday this week, was also my first day of duty at the archives. I was directed to the Bindery and I spent my whole day there.

When you enter the Bindery, a really weird stench would overwhelm you. Apparently, that was the animal glue called ‘cola’ (I’m not entirely sure, because no one spelled it to me and I guess I didn’t bother asking. HUHU sorry) being cooked.It is the adhesive used for binding the books sent to the office. It smells really weird but once you’re used to it, it doesn’t really matter much. It’s an effective adhesive, too, although Ma’am Emma Rey, my LIS 173 professor the previous semester told us that this adhesive is usually the food of certain insects and pests that lead to the deterioration of books. I did bring it up, but I knew as well that methyl cellulose (the adhesive we used during 173) was quite expensive.

I got to use the machine for putting lettering on the book covers. IT. WAS. AWESOME!

I really must say that this part was one of the most fulfilling parts of my OJT. It is because I get to bind a book (or a couple of books) on my own!... well, with assistance of course. XD

I finished binding 2 books that day. I’ve sewn them myself, too. And I’m telling you, sewing books was really difficult! XD

[strawberrieatthelibrary]

“Is there anything you need?”

Yo! So I started this week off by continuing my duties at the SocSci Section meaning more covering of books, and books to cover (I told you, they wouldn’t run out of these XD). My duty at the SocSci was done by 12 noon of the 24th.

Afternoon of the same day, I went to the next section on my list: the General Reference Section. There we were given a list of things we’re supposed to experience: cataloging of e-books, encoding new entries for the Index to Philippine Biographies, encoding annual reports of the main library or the different unit libraries, manning the Internet/Computer Desk, and manning the Reference Desk (answering emails and telephone calls, mostly). However, during my stay, I wasn’t given the IPB-duty. I was told that they ran out of IPB’s to give me for encoding so instead I encoded an additional Annual Report (I continued Clara Mirabueno’s work, finished one Annual Report of the Main Library, and was able to start encoding an Annual Report of the different Unit Libraries from Archi Lib until the Engineering Lib) Wooh! That was a lot of typing! XD

Maybe the reason why I was able to get to finish these was because I had enough spare time after encoding 15 e-books assigned to me. I did encounter some difficulties from the encoding, though. One should never, ever open another iLib account tab in a single browser. Good thing the errors were resolved sooner. Yey!

During my “Reference Desk” duty, I really wasn’t seated at the Reference Desk. But I did answer emails including an inquiry from a fellow SLIS student who was having is OJT at a different institution, Chito (huhu I forgot what his surname was). I did answer telephone calls, too but most of them were just calls from different offices looking for the librarians at the GenRef. However, I did encounter one that left a message for Ma’am Elvie. :) The part I really enjoyed doing at the GenRef was manning the Internet/Computer Desk. Though it was a bit overwhelming especially when students start to clutter at the desk, either to rent a computer, to get their IDs back, to have something printed from the printing terminals, or to get permits for photocopying materials taken from the GenRef. But it was such a thrill all the same! Too bad I had to leave so soon since I only need to spend 25 hours of duty there. LOL

[strawberrieatthelibrary]

Gettin’ social

Hey! It’s me again. Been a while, wasn’t it?

This midyear term would be the second part of my On-the-Job Training and I got to spend it with The UP Main Library. I know it’s another academic institution since I spent the first part with the Rizal Library but I had been planning on doing my OJT part 2 here and luckily I was allowed to.

Each of us who chose the UP Main Library were grouped and assigned to the different sections of the library: General Reference Section, Social Sciences Section, Indexing Section, Cataloging Section, and the University Archives and Records Depository. I was part of Group B together with Patricia Garcia and Jerard Dalisay and the first section we were assigned to was the Social Sciences Section.

So what did I do during the first few hours of my 25-hour stay at this section?

First-off we were briefed about the section and the different functions they do. They seem to be ‘a library within a library’ since they serve as the library for the Social Sciences and Philosophy students and faculty. Just like any typical library, they have a Reserve and a Circulation Section. They have the Cashier as well, since payments for printing/scanning, computer-use and fines of the users are accepted at the SocSci Section. We were taught how to do things there such as: operating the cashier, counter-signing IDs, covering of books, making book cards with a typewriter (Wooooh! XD), encoding materials in an Accession Inventory List, doing materials inventory, manning the reserve section, and fetching circulation books from the stacks.

Most of these have been my duties for the first 2 days of my OJT except for operating the cashier since it would be the librarians’ duty and it involves money, too. Bulk of my time was spent at the Reserve Desk and book covering and I did enjoy most of it since I never ran out of books to cover. I even taught some of my co-OJT’s how to do it. Fetching books at the stacks was a different story though, since the stacks was a little creepy and the silence was deafening. Yiiieee. The creeps. XD