DAY 7: Inventories and Indexes

After a wonderful time yesterday with the materials I was indexing, I noticed that I was taking too long with the task. Ma'am Judith told us that our last eight hours would be for indexing therefore I told myself that I should be more focused this time around in order to finish the task alloted to me. I prepped myself up and headed to the Main Library, dedicated to finish the work. Not to mention that I was a bit excited for the long weekend incoming. 

JUNE 23, 2017 - FRIDAY

All of us met at our usual spot. We were talking mostly about the SLIS Graduation today and how we all wanted to witness it but we still have internships. We headed upstairs to the Serials section and got right into it. I decided that I wouldn't be browsing anything this time and just go directly to each title page to determine whether an issue is missing or not. Some of them were while some of them had so many misplaced issues, it was hard to determine if something was lost or not. 

Tricia told us that she wasn't feeling good while we were doing the inventory. After some time, I noticed that she wasn't at her shelves. I thought she would only be taking a quick break while Edward and I continued our work. He got to finish early because he already had a head start and I was able to finish almost all of it before lunch. Tricia went back after dealing with her stomachache. I noticed that she hasn't finished yet her inventory because of her situation. 

Inventory Takes Time

We had lunch at our usual spot and gathered at the lobby with our other classmates doing OJT outside. While they were chatting at the benches, I decided to lie down on the side a bit and close my eyes to rest. It was very exhausting doing eight hours a day for the whole week. I do not know how many people do this. We made sure to return before 1PM so that I can continue my inventory. After the first hour of the afternoon shift, I was able to finish my shelf. Ma'am Judith then handed my a folder with documents I should read similar to what Edward did after he was done. 

I recognized these papers. They were the IPN and IPP Guide to Indexing. We have reported these on our LIS 64 almost a year ago. I still have vague recognition of how to index a news article. After skimming through it, Ma'am Judith directed me to her computer and introduced to me the method they follow when indexing. She opened up an EBSCO database, the ClassificationWeb and the worksheet for inputting data. She explained to me what each of the boxes signify on the worksheet and how I would be able to find the periodical I am about to index. Most importantly, she taught me how to add an author and decide on what subject heading to use based on existing subjects used on other resources as well as the LCSH. Once I have gotten the gist of it, she gave me my first magazine to index: Metro.

Part of the work of indexing is deciding which articles has value and possibility for research that they deserve to be indexed. Looking at this magazine, it was difficult. It was a fashion magazine mostly filled with advertisements. However, I was able to find two worth indexing. I asked for another magazine and I was given Health & Home. Now this is a different kind of challenge.

Now, We Index!

This magazine has a lot of possible articles to be indexed. It would definitely be a challenge to find subject headings that would best describe it. The rest of my afternoon was spent going through the pages, recording it and deciding on the headings. If there are no existing appropriate heading, I would consult the LCSH to add a new one. At the end of the day, I was able to index six articles. I consider this a job well done. 

Whew, my first full week is finally over! That seemed like it would last forever but now that I was able to go through it, I simply wanted to lie down and sleep for hours. 

Let's just say I would definitely make the most of the long weekend!

- Sam, That New Librarian