NICE SUBJECT HEADINGS

I'm cataloging a bunch of different stuff for Keene Valley, audio books, old mountaineering books, then I come across some juvenile books. Two subject headings strike my fancy: the first is this one, "Illinois--Family life--Juvenile fiction." This fits nicely into my life. Yes, it was juvenile fiction, my family life in Illinois. The second subject heading was this: "Problem solving--Juvenile fiction." Yes, it's often a thought of childish fiction to think that we could actually solve some of life's problems.

Cataloging children's books is both entertaining and a huge amount of work. Because we're molding the minds of the youth of America, we must be careful what we use as access points. We must also use a maximum number of access points. So for one book we have "Racially mixed people;" "New Orleans--Social life and customs;" "Illinois--History;" "United States--Civil War;" "Family life;" "Race relations." Everything but rabbits. No, rabbits show up in the next book I do, which also has "Brothers and sisters" and "Problem solving" as subject headings. Children's services is an area of library service I have never been tempted to be drawn to, with the exception of schools. In my odd moments I have toyed with the idea of being a school librarian, and then I've thought I would want to work with young children, who were just discovering the magic of the written word. I love that moment in their lives when it all comes together for them.

Well, on to the next book, which is about "Helpfulness," "Helping behavior" and "Animals". The latest trend in cataloging is to use the subdivision "Fiction" rather than "Juvenile fiction." This I really object to, since there is a HUGE difference, obviously, between a novel about the Civil War and a book written for an 8 year old about life during the Civil War as seen through the eyes of an 8-year-old.

When I'm finished with the bunny book I have to do a videocassette of classic television shows of the 50's. My job is not boring.