Avoiding using library jargon

-
I was looking at another small library's website the other day and the catalogue was referred to as the OPAC.  I never use the term when I'm talking to library users, I can't even recall what the acronym stands for.  I'll have to look it up...online public access catalogue.  It's quite a dated term and how would a student know what it means?

The same goes for calling the online library at the college Liberty Library (Liberty is the library management system that we use).  For a long time I used the term in my library talks, etc. but then I realised that Liberty library means nothing to students and I have stopped referring to it as such.  I suggested to management that the name be changed on the learning platform from Liberty Library to something else and I was pleased when it was changed to NZTC Library or otherwise the library catalogue.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

College news story about my work with DigitalNZ to make our theses accessible online

-
Image
NZTC Master’s research now available on DigitalNZ Posted Fri 29 Jun 18 11:10 am New Zealand Tertiary College (NZTC) Master of Education (Early Childhood Education) graduates’ theses and dissertations can now be easily cited in academic research worldwide due to an extended partnership with the National Library. In the 2017 Staff Survey NZTC staff requested an online shared repository for theses and dissertations produced through NZTC. A number of students have since then asked for an online shared repository. NZTC librarian Angus Johnston sought to accommodate the requests through the recent relationship with the National Library. “After great consideration to how we could best support our staff and graduates’ requests, we decided to go with a shared repository with the National Library located on DigitalNZ,” Johnston said. “This will allow theses and dissertations to be available on the DigitalNZ content aggregator, in hard copy at...
Read more

College news story about the academic database I acquired for the college

-
Image
NZTC students’ learning enhanced by new online database Posted Fri 10 Aug 18 9:59 am New Zealand Tertiary College (NZTC) students now have access to highly-regarded academic database specialising in education in Australasia, Informit A+ Education. Informit A+ Education specialises in education in Australasia, with over 200,000 records including contributions from leading researchers in teacher training and in-depth coverage of the learning, teaching and management issues that can be faced by those in teaching professions. “NZTC is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to ensure that our students have access to relevant academic research, ensuring our students reflect the NZTC value  Competence , the addition of Informit A+ Education speaks to that commitment,” Chief Executive Selena Fox said. Accessible via the online journal section on NZTC Online, Informit’s content is sourced from publishers, associations and professional bodies with a focus on regional pe...
Read more

An unpleasant job interview experience

-
A job interview I had a few months ago that went terribly badly was for a very junior internal position that I really only applied for because some of my colleagues had encouraged me to go for it.  It got off to a bad start with the first question: why do you think you're the best person for this role?  That threw me - how could I honestly say I was the best person?  What I wanted to be asked was: why are you interested in this role?   Then I was asked to describe when I had used a technology at work.  This threw me as well - it was such a basic question.  Where would I even begin?  Here I am writing about technology in a blog!  Further very simple questions followed which I stumbled over as I was not expecting them.  I had expected a more relaxed, conversational style interview about the job and why I wanted it.  But it became clear that the interviewers were pretending that they did not know me, that I had not worked in the libr...
Read more