Classification

Cooper, Linda. Problems Associated with the Ability of Elementary School Children to Successfully Retrieve Material in the School Library Media Center and Some Alternative Methods of Classification Which May Help to Alleviate These Problems: A Case Study of the Common School Library, Amherst, Massachusetts.

Public & Access Services Quarterly 2 no. 1 (1996): 47-63.

Abstract : This paper addresses some of the problems associated with the ability of elementary school children to successfully retrieve material in the school library media center using either the card or computer catalogues and presents some alternative methods of classification which may help to alleviate these problems. The area of concern is elementary school children who often have a limited vocabulary and may have difficulty in verbalizing to a librarian what it is they want. After they learn to verbalize their needs, they still have difficulting locating a title in a catalog and then moving to the shelves to find the book.
Research has established that the language of even junior subject headings is often 6th grade or higher. Inability to alphabetize, spell, and understand Dewey decimal classification numbers makes it difficult for children to use catalogs. Using pictorial symbols may be useful, but symbols are also frequently difficult to understand.
Some schools have used a color-coding system to place books in broad general categories. Children are heavily oriented toward a browsing method of searching. They may use computers with hypermedia format to enable children to search using either a touchscreen or a mouse. More child-friendly computer catalog systems need to be developed.
Subject Category : Cataloguing and Classification
Research Methods : Case studies
Language : English
Keywords : School librarianship; information seeking
Identifier: Amherst, Massachusetts