Learn Basic Library Skills Second North American Edition

Book excerpt: Learn Basic Library Skills Second North American Edition A Practical Study Guide for Beginning Work in a Library or Other Information Agency This combination text and workbook describes skills needed by anyone beginning work in a library or other information agency, whether at a professional or paraprofessional level. It explains tasks performed by library trainees; aspiring library technicians; librarians starting their training; clerical, temporary, and volunteer staff; and others with no relevant education or experience. Written by a team of international librarians and library educators, it covers all areas of library work, including the types of materials collected by libraries; bibliographic records and tools; cataloging; acquisition and processing of materials; circulation systems; collection maintenance; shelving; damage; and inventory. Plentiful, clear examples and practice exercises help the reader master the basic skills needed for working in public, school, college, corporate, government, and special libraries. Learn Basic Library Skills is one of nine study guides in the Library Education Series. Please see the back of this book for a complete listing, or visit www.totalrecallpress.com for more information. Elaine Andersen has taught library studies at Canberra Institute of Technology in Canberra, Australia. She has worked in several special and public libraries, especially in acquisitions and reference work, and has taught a wide variety of subjects, including client services, acquisitions, and loan services. Mary Gosling is a reference librarian and library educator who has taught reference and basic library skills for many years. She has been coordinator of the Library Studies Program at the Canberra Institute of Technology and is now a senior reference librarian and manager at the National Library of Australia. Mary Mortimer has worked in libraries in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Britain in many capacities. She has taught library skills in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia. Mary McConnell is Associate Director of Libraries and Cultural Resources at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Trina Grover is a catalog librarian at Ryerson University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. She has taught cataloging workshops and courses. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 1. Basic Library Skills 2. Bibliographic Records 3. Assets and Access 4. The Catalog 5. Other Bibliographic Tools 6. Circulation Systems 7. Collection Maintenance 8. Shelving 9. Damage 10. Inventory Answers Glossary Bibliography Index