Thursday, March 20, 2014

Case Study No. 1312: Staff of Courtright Memorial Library

Shelving Song
2:50
From Otterbein's Courtright Memorial Library's musical "Check This Out"

A musical adventure through the world of shelving books!

Song is protected by a Creative Commons Licensure.
http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/
Tags: Check Courtright Library Memorial Otterbein Out Shelving Song This
Added: 5 years ago
From: Trav0708
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[scene opens with two student library workers sitting on a couch in the Courtright Library at Otterbein University (the female student is playing a guitar while the male student claps his hands in rhythm]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: Let's start at the beginning, the letter "A"!
[cut to various shots of the students dancing through the stacks]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] Next is "B", and then there's "C", hey guys waddaya say?
MALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] "D" to "E", then "F" and "G" ... "H", "I", "J", and then "K"! There you have the second floor, you'll learn it all today!
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] The third floor starts at "L", my friend ...
[cut to the female student worker crying on the couch]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: But it skips over "M"!
[the male student comes over and consoles her]
MALE STUDENT WORKER: It's okay, we'll get back to it later ...
[cut to more shots of the students dancing through the stacks]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] "N", "O", "P", "Q", "R", "S", "T"! "U", "V", "W", "X", "Y", "Z"!
[cut to the male student worker holding a copy of the childrens' book "A to Zoo" and staring blankly at the camera]
MALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] Right through the whole alphabet, just the way it should be!
[cut to a closeup of a sign reading "This floor is a designated quiet area", then cut to the male student pushing the female student on top of a bookcart as she plays the guitar]
MALE STUDENT WORKER AND FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: Because this is our shelving song! Our happy shelving song! This is our shelving song! Our happy little upbeat shelving song!
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: Then there are those other things, the specialty books and sections!
[cut to the two students staring at each other face to face]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: What are they?
MALE STUDENT WORKER: I don't know!
[cut to the female student smiling broadly as she waves the male student towards the elevator]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: Here we go!
MALE STUDENT WORKER: Let's go!
[cut to another shot of the stacks]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] You've got the music in the basement!
[the camera pans over to show the male student holding a CD while giving the camera a thumbs up]
MALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] Scores and CDs that go with them!
[cut to the female student sitting next to two stuffed animals while "reading" them a book]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] The kids' stuff is down there too!
MALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] But it's in the Dewey Decimal System!
[cut to a poster featuring Melvil Dewey, as someone off camera reaches in and gives the camera a thumbs down]
MALE STUDENT WORKER AND FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] Back up on the third floor ...
[cut to the male student running up the stairs, then to the female student running through the stacks while holding a copy of "Disney's Aladdin"]
MALE STUDENT WORKER AND FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] Hollywood blockbuster movies!
[cut to a closeup of a bookshelf marked "Folio Section"]
MALE STUDENT WORKER AND FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] And way back in the corner, we've got the folios ...
[the students poke their heads in, as they make disgusted faces]
MALE STUDENT WORKER AND FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: Ugh!
[cut to a shot of the male student on the floor (covered in folios and struggling to free himself), then another quick cut as the folios disappear and he smiles in relief]
MALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] Oh, that's such a happier chord ...
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] Yay!
[cut to the female student cowering in fear next to a shelf of oversized books]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] Watch out for those "NA" through "ND"s ... They tend to fall!
[cut to the male student trying to force a book into an overflowing shelf]
MALE STUDENT WORKER: [in voice over] And the faculty development are the most cramped of all!
[cut to the male student standing next to the female student, as she is once again sitting on top of a bookcart playing the guitar]
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: There is so much more to talk about ...
MALE STUDENT WORKER: You'll figure it out with time!
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: So don't be scared!
MALE STUDENT WORKER: Just climb those stairs!
MALE STUDENT WORKER AND FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: And leave it all behind!
[the male student begins pushing the bookcart, as they continue singing]
MALE STUDENT WORKER AND FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: Because this is our shelving song! Our happy shelving song! This is our shelving song! Our happy little upbeat shelving song!
FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: This is our shelving song! Our happy shelving song!
MALE STUDENT WORKER AND FEMALE STUDENT WORKER: This is our shelving song! Our happy little upbeat shelving song!

---

From libguides.com:

Public libraries and high-school libraries organize their books using the Dewey Decimal system. You might already be familiar with where in your high school library the books on your favorite topic would be.

Coming to a university library can be pretty overwhelming when you can't even figure out where your favorite books are. The Library of Congress system is the standard system for most college and university libraries. Visit the Library of Congress for an overview of what subjects go with which letter of the alphabet. Click here for a great description of how to make sense of a Library of Congress call number to find a book on the shelf. And just for kicks, click here to play a game of shelving books in the right order using Library of Congress call numbers.

The Courtright Memorial Library uses both the Library of Congress system AND the Dewey decimal system. The library owns a lot of children's books, and children's books are traditionally organized by the Dewey decimal system. The library uses Library of Congress for all other material.

The most important thing to understand about the library's systems is that similar things are shelved together--if you find a great book on the shelf, check the books around it for more about the same topic.

And to help you find the books in the library, here's the song our students made to learn where the books are shelved. It's called "The Shelving Song." Enjoy!

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