I was introduced to cataloging this week! The staff members I worked with showed me how they edit information on the records for items in the library’s collection, and what that process looks like when they receive new books (or other materials). We also discussed some of the ethical considerations that go along with categorizing items under subject headings, particularly those used by Library of Congress and other controlled vocabulary resources like Homosaurus. It was fascinating to talk about trying to use up-to-date, inclusive language while maximizing the searchability of whatever is being categorized to that it’s easy for people to find. I feel like I learned so much, and I’m excited to dive deeper into cataloging soon as I start to go through and update the records for items in my mini-collection.
I also had the pleasure of talking to one of the department’s current student workers, and it was so cool to hear about all the different projects they’ve worked on throughout their time in RADS. I was able to get a sense of how essential student work is to the day-to-day operations of this department in the library, especially for things like sorting the mail, or making sure webpage resources work like they’re expected to. As a fellow student worker, and one who is still relatively new to RADS, I really appreciated getting some insight into that perspective.