It is the job of a school library to collect and organize materials for students and teachers that help support learning and the curriculum used in classrooms. School libraries must be aware of the student population and the curriculum being used in order to collect materials that are appropriate and most useful. It is also important that the library collect popular, recreational materials to promote, encourage, and foster reading in students. With this, the library must provide reference services and library instruction to aid their students in navigating materials (Fasick & Holt, 2013).
School Library cataloging and classification should be done in a way that is easily used and accessed by students without heavy instruction on its use. It should take into account the users, which are younger, and make the library as accessible as possible to them. There are a variety of catalogs and classification systems that can make this possible (Fasick & Holt, 2013).
This website was created as a resource for school librarians and their libraries as they catalog their materials, whether they are looking for a refresher on the ways in which things can be cataloged, a crash course in some of the key elements of cataloging, or are anywhere in between. The resources included in this website are here to help school librarians wherever they are in their journey. This website is organized as follows:
Home: A brief summary of the importance of school libraries and the ways they catalog and classify their materials.
History: A brief history of cataloging and children's cataloging.
Information Literacy: Addresses why information literacy is important and ways in which it can be taught and fostered in students.
Cataloging: Descriptions of basic principles and of cataloging and classification systems both traditional and alternative.
The Future: A discussion of the future of cataloging in school libraries.
Resources: A list of resources that can aid in the cataloging, classification, and collection development of school libraries. The bibliography of sources used to create this website are also included for those who wish to access these materials for further assistance.