LIS 5043: Organization of Information

Description, Analysis, & Reflection

Description 

The catalog description for LIS 5043: Organization of Information states 

Organization of internal and external sources of information; information services and tools; basic concepts of information storage and retrieval systems; design and structure of information systems; identification and organization of knowledge resources such as expertise, skills and competencies; knowledge organization methods such as classification, cataloging, taxonomies and metadata; search strategies and information retrieval (Escobar, 2022). 

There is a lot going on in that description.  The course objections help to provide some clarity, stating that the course will give students with the opportunity to  

1. To acquire a comprehensive understanding of the principles, methodologies, and practices fundamental to information organization and knowledge resources; and 

2. To become familiar with issues, trends, and key people in information organization and knowledge representation (Escobar, 2022). 

My artifact for LIS 5043: Organization of Information is the course’s final project, the Organization System.  For this assignment, we were to design an organization for a collection and explain the intended/potential users.  This was easily my favorite part of the class because we were given the freedom to come up with the idea for the collection and not limited to anything currently in existence (that we know of).  When I made that realization, I decided to incorporate one of my great passions in life, music, into my academic work.  The result was The Punk (and Punk Adjacent) Records Library.  I created an organization system for a collection of physical music (i.e., records, CDs, cassette tapes, etc.) that is from, influenced by, an off shoot of, or a reaction to, the punk music scene of the 1970s.    

Analysis 

When I started LIS 5043: Organization of Information in Spring 2022, I already had nearly eight years of collection management experience as a Library Associate at the Noble Public Library.  At the time, I felt that I had a decent handle on how items appear in the catalog.  This course introduced concepts like the MARC record which is a standardized format used to hold information relevant to the particular item (ISBN, language, call number, etc.).  Seeing the MARC record and what information it included helped me understand what is displayed in both the online public catalog and in the SirsiDynix program WorkFlows that we use at the Pioneer Library System (PLS).  Now I was able to connect the dots between the records in the catalog and the spine labels on the items.  I also have more confidence now when I reach out to our catalogers and inquire why a particular book is in one collection and not another (Exactly how does one decide the delineation line between paranormal romance and fantasy?).  Another aspect that came from this class was thinking about the overall organization of libraries.  There are advantages and disadvantages to standardization.  Some libraries have changed to a model that is like that used in bookstores.  Both systems have their merits.  This course helped me to better understand each.  If you asked me which I personally think is superior, I would probably say neither.  Perhaps a system that begins with the standardization and uses bookstore genrefication to tweak things here and there for ease of customer use might be the right answer, but please don't ask me to design it.  We'll leave that up to the experts.  

Reflection 

At the beginning of the semester, I was still awestruck by grad school.  This was my second semester and third course in the program.  It dealt with some big concepts and detailed ideas which, at times, made my head spin.  While I struggled through the class, I’m glad it was part of the program because if nothing else, at least now I know what a MARC record is.   

Personal Learning Goals 

Organization of Information helped me toward Goal 2:  Develop deeper understanding of information resources and information organization, especially Objective 2:  Learn the principles of cataloging by examining and better understanding the elements of a catalog record. 

MLIS Program-level Student Learning Outcomes 

This course advanced me towards SLO 1 Core Knowledge by covering the basics of cataloging; SLO 2 Intellectual Skill through the final project; and SLO 3 Professional and Scholarly Communication from the discussion posts and course assignments. 

ALA Competencies 

This course helped towards competencies 2. Information Resources and 3. Organization of Recorded Knowledge and Information through the final project and the foundation of cataloging. 

Escobar, K. (2022). LIS 5043: Organization of information and knowledge resources [Syllabus]. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma.