Training Testimonials – Beginning Cataloguing

19 April 202122 April 2021

In-Person Training: Testimonial from The National Trust

As lockdown continues to ease, I’m grateful to Yvonne Lewis for this testimonial from the bespoke training I designed and delivered to staff at The National Trust.

“Anne designed a day’s cataloguing training for the National Trust. She worked with a small group of hand-picked property staff with considerable experience of object cataloguing on our bespoke library and museum system. Anne provided workbooks to take them through the fundamental principles behind book cataloguing and basic MARC fields. Everyone also worked through several examples, with a few tricky ones thrown in to show how judgement can still be required when dealing with your institutions needs from the catalogue.

The team had a lovely time on the day. Many questions were asked and answered. Anne also provided an element of post-training support to deal with those odd questions which always come up once you’ve left the building. Using the new trainees as fully as we would have liked has been paused due to COVID-19. We are hoping to re-start cataloguing projects slowly in 2021/22 as circumstance permit. Once we have seen how successfully the training has been, we will be considering when and how to extend the programme.”

The National Trust has its own bespoke library management system and catalogues using AACR2 in MARC, across both modern and pre-1950 books. I’m grateful to Yvonne not only for this testimonial, but also for briefing me fully on their LMS, which can only be accessed on-site, and supplying me with screenshots of the entry screens to add to the workbooks. I’m also grateful to HQ staff for printing the workbooks so that I did not have to carry them into Central London alongside my suitcase of example books for trainees to catalogue.

Bookings for in-person training is brisk – so far we have both paid and pro bono workshops booked in through to April 2022, and we are open to more. You can book a discovery meeting at https://calendly.com/annew-discoverymeeting or contact info@beginningcataloguing.com if you want to start a discussion.

Yvonne’s testimonial is available on linkedin (scroll down to “Recommendations”. Note: an odd glitch has me showing up as a client of Yvonne’s rather than the other way round).

1 March 20211 March 2021

In-Person Training: Testimonial from SLA Europe Conference Workshop

With lockdown set to ease, I’m grateful to Seema Rampersad for this testimonial for the Beginning Cataloguing workshop on cataloguing in non-RDA environments at SLA Europe 2019.

“At the SLA Europe Conference held at Cambridge University in 2019, Anne’s workshop was chosen from proposals and was featured on an important part of our conference programme. The workshop was entitled – ‘“RDA? Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Any RDA”: Back to the Future in Cataloguing in Special Libraries Outside the International Standards’ – which was very well-prepared, insightful and engaging as Anne arranged teams and used interesting shaped and colour dices. Her training technique and style demonstrated the theory, as well as the practical learning aspects of the workshop. I came away understanding information practices and standards better…even though I have experience in the library and information field! The use of the dices made the conference workshop remarkable, very memorable and fun for the group.”

Many thanks to Seema for her kind words, to the SLA Europe Conference Committee for selecting the workshop, and to Newnham College for its excellent hosting.

Seema’s testimonial is available on linkedin (scroll down to “Recommendations”).

22 February 202123 February 2021

In-Person Training: Testimonial from CILIP SW

As the UK has a roadmap to ease lockdown, so in-person training can resume, I’m grateful to have received this testimonial from Catherine Chorley for some RDA training for CILIP SW in 2019.

“Anne led a training workshop on cataloguing using RDA standards for members of the CILIP South West Member Network in April 2019. As Chair of the Member Network’s Committee, I specifically sought Anne’s service …

The interest in this event was vast, and there were many email enquiries both preceding and following the event about the possibility of a repeat event, or for Anne to provide her training other regional member networks. This was largely due to Anne’s accessible and approachable teaching style, together with the comprehensive programme she put together to give attendees an introduction to cataloguing and the use of MARC/RDA.

What was evident was the great deal of care and forethought that had gone into the preparation for the event, with different cataloguing examples and exercises having been chosen to address a diversity of cataloguing quandaries and challenges.

From feedback gathered after the event, it was evident that attendees appreciated the opportunity to learn from Anne’s expertise … Comments mentioned being able to understand RDA as a direct result of the training, and the value of training in a frequently-neglected area of librarianship in many practitioners’ workplaces. Attendees also valued the depth of Anne’s teaching – they valued the knowledge about the rationale underpinning cataloguing and classification protocols and found this helped them in applying the theory in practice. This was further aided by the blend of theory teaching and practical application that Anne provided throughout the day …

In answer to the feedback question on what was enjoyable about the event, one attendee succinctly remarked, ‘All of it!’.”

Many thanks to Catherine for her kind words, and to the CILIP SW participants for a really fun day in Bristol. I hope to be able to get back to the South West when the world opens up again!

Catherine’s full testimonial is available on linkedin (scroll down to “Recommendations”).