ERIC Number: EJ1040166
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 8
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1094-9046
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
One Size Does Not Fit All: Creating a Developmentally Appropriate Classification for Your Children's Collections
Kaplan, Tali Balas; Giffard, Sue; Still-Schiff, Jennifer; Dolloff, Andrea K.
Knowledge Quest, v42 n2 p30-37 Nov-Dec 2013
This article is presented by four librarians who have come together as a creative team at Ethical Culture School in New York City. As elementary school librarians, their goal is to develop and support curriculum where children's developmental needs are given central importance. By putting the thinking, interests, information needs, and the information-seeking behavior of children first, they aim to eliminate the barriers that young users face in accessing and using their collections to their fullest potential. In this article, the authors describe Metis, an alternative they created to the Dewey Decimal Classification system. Their goal was to encourage productive independent browsing by children as well as allow for successful catalog searching by elementary students, thereby helping to keep libraries relevant in today's ever-changing technological world. They conclude that when a system is easy to understand, as Metis is, students learn how to categorize topics and navigate the system; this ability to categorize is an invaluable skill that they will apply to countless future situations.
Descriptors: Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Classification, Childrens Literature, School Libraries, Library Materials, Library Services, Library Development, Elementary School Students, Access to Information, Systems Development, Usability, Standards, Librarians
American Association of School Librarians. Available from: American Library Association. 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. Tel: 1-800-545-2433; Web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/knowledgequest.cfm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A