NKTI Medical library LIBRARY HOURS: Monday to Friday (9:00AM to 6:00PM)
GENERAL POLICIES ARRANGEMENT Bo o ks are arrang ed acco rd ing to th e Dew ey Decim alClassi catio n Sch em e. Bo und /Lo ss p erio d icals are arrang ed alp h abetically by title. Currentissues are in th e d isp lay racks fo r easier access. CATALOG AND ACCESS INDEXES Card catalo g o ffers, auth o r, title and subjectap p ro ach es Perio d icalind exes until1993 issues are arrang ed by subject CDS/ISIS Database w ith th e fo llo w ing access p o int: a. Libco l–Bo o ks b. Jrl- Jo urnals c. Bib - Lo calresearch ers AUTHORIZED USERS *NKTI p erso nnel *Po stGrad uate Med icalInterns *IAHNAP stud ent e s *Outsid e research ers w ith referralletters fro m librarian/p ro p er auth o rity
When we first officially started our OJT, the main task assigned to us was to encode and catalog the books in DOH’s e-library database. During the previous semester, another LIS 181 taker (I still don’t know his name) started this task and managed to do more than 2/3s of the entire book collection. However, since the library adopted a new and more consistent format, we had to repeat everything from scratch. The previous format also lacked subject headings, so it was also our job to provide the proper ones. After a sizeable amount of books have been catalogued we had to arranged these books in the disheveled bookshelves according to type and DDC number.
Even before LIS 181 started, Jessica was already inviting me to join her in NKTI. “Chill lang dito,” she told me. “Mabait pa yung librarian.” She learned about the library in a previous LIS class where her group had to interview a special library. I was interested in trying it out despite it being a medical library (I had not taken LIS 140 and 141) because it was one of the closest libraries from my house. It was only 20 -25 minutes away by jeep and bus. Initiall I planned to do my practicum here and in the Quezon City Initially, Public Library (QCPL), which was only across the street from NKTI, but we found out that the HR department required all interns to render 200 hours for the OJT to be credited. So, we decided to spend the entire summer here. Later on, they allowed us to finish 150 hours. We were also allowed to not follow some rules for interns (minimum work hours per day, policy when being absent, dress code).
1 . U su allyfornew erbook s:Catalog ing inform ation(Libraryof Cong ress form at) canbe fou nd at the back ofthe title pag e. 2. U se LIS 61 and 62 lessons! :D For m edicalsu bject heading s, you cansearch them inw w w .nlm .nih.gov/ m esh/ 3. For lazypeople lik e u s, COPYLOG IN G is you r best friend! Trythe LibraryofCong ress Catalog http:// catalog.loc.gov/ or OCLC W orld Cat http:// w w w .w orldcat.org/ N OTE: Since the library lack ed certain tools, the previou s librarian had to create the library’s ow n Cu tter N u m ber (u su ally the fi rst three letters of the book ’s title or au thor). Thu s, the callnu m ber follow ed this form at: N K TI DDC# CU TTER# A CCESSION # YEA R vol# ex. NK TI
616.6
LOL M e4351 20 10 v.2
One of the most memorable moments during our OJT was the first week. When we first came to NKTI, the HR department requested us to bring a resume, 1 1x1 pic and 1 2x2 ID picture. The following week, I was running late (we had no printer at home so I had to type and print my resume in a net shop) when I received a call from Kevin and Jessica. “Hey guess what, we’re going treasure hunting!” When I arrived at NKTI, they gave me a form with a bunch of blanks. We had to fill them up with names of offices and departments in NKTI. NKTI had 4 buildings so we had to go through them one by one. Fortunately, the nurses and guards were very helpful in Fortunatel assisting us that we were able to finish everything in 2-3 hours. After returning to the HR department, we were finally able to get our IDs and timecards. I had never used a bundy clock before so I just kept quiet when the HR head asked, “Marunong naman kayo gumamit nito, di ba?” D:
April 2014 Mon.
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First day of OJT
Cataloging Holy (Half Day) Week
Holy Week
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Cataloging
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Cataloging Cataloging Cataloging &checking &checking &checking
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May 2014 Mon.
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Checking & Shelving
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Checking & Correcting
previously cataloged books
We’re human. We commit mistakes every now and then... especially when it comes to encoding and cataloging books online.
The NKTI Medical Library Lib started cataloging its books December last year. At ďŹ rst, entries included only the book title, author, publisher, publishing place, date, call number and the barcode. However, to be consistent with other DOH libraries, more information (such as ISBN and subject headings) had to be included in the entry. Plus, the barcode adopted a new format. Also, it had to follow AACR2 rules. The added work was entrusted to other on-the-job trainees. t However, since they were not LIS students, they were a bit unfamiliar with AACR2 and subject headings. It was our work to correct previously cataloged books to ensure consistency and correctness.
^ H ere are som e ofthe m ost com m onm istak es fou nd am ong the catalog ed book s
NKTI Medical Library in a nutshell At first, I was really excited to work here for several reasons: it was near home, they weren’t that strict, there was free wifi and electricity, we could surf the internet in between work, Jessica and Kevin were there, our supervisor was nice... but we later on realized several things... 1. The library lib is undermanned and is only handled by 1 librarian, Ms. Erlinda Malinis, our supervisor. Ate Linda was in charge of everything: selection, acquisition, cataloging, shelving, orientation, reference services, etc. The other people working in the library were also other on-the-job trainees like us (and as previously mentioned, some were not even LIS students). 2. There are lack of policies in the library (even if there were some, they were not strictly being implemented). If you go straight inside the library, you might notice a huge stack of newspapers, journals and other periodicals. There are also a bunch of books lying around the tables and desks. Based on our previous conversations with Ate Linda, they had troubles figuring out which journals or periodicals had to be kept inside the library lib and which ones had to be weeded out or discarded. It was the same thing for books. Some of them were dated in the 50s and there are already newer versions of those books. This would have been easily solved with a working policy on deselection. (Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ask if there were policies on selection and acquisition).
NKTI Medical Library in a nutshell 3. As implied in #2, a lot of the library’s resources are
outdated. Only a few new books are purchased and most periodicals are not being updated. Plus, the library has only 1 online medical database since others can cost a lot of money. Fortunately, this has caused some DOH librarians to be resourceful. Other DOH libraries are able to get copies of online papers for free by directly contacting the authors. The NKTI library lib plans to follow suit. 4. Even though the library is somehow lacking in resources, it is still considered one of the better medical libraries in the Philippines. Students, medical researchers and interns from other cities and provinces would often go to NKTI to research and borrow materials. During our OJT, we had to help students from a university in Cavite for their thesis RRL. Also, it was also mentioned that Ate Linda would sometimes go to medical libraries lib in the province to train the library staff since most of them do not have a background in librarianship. She said that there is really a lack of librarians. 5. The library is open from 9am until 6pm. However, there are noticeably only a few users during off-peak hours. Ate Linda also shared that there are times when retiring NKTI employees would often be surprised to ďŹ nd out that the institute had its own library. I believe that there is a lack of
marketing and awareness. It therefore becomes difďŹ cult at times to justify the budget (or even the existence) of the library lib if the administration or management does not see the library being fully utilized.
#NKTIfoodie
NKTI employees and interns get to enjoy a discounted value meal in the NKTI cafeteria every time they present their ID. For only 60 pesos, you get 1 viand, rice, gulay/pancit, and soup! There are other stalls inside. A bit expensive though. If that won’t wo work for you, there’s are nearby carinderias (near city hall) and fast food restaurants along East Avenue and Matalino Street (Jollibee, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, etc.). You can also drop by the restos in Heart Center. Also, there’s ther a 7-ELeven outlet inside NKTI grounds. They serve awesome and cheap hotpot! Lastly, there is a cafe (aptly named “The Kidney Bean Cafe”) near the library. We swear, their cakes and brownies are awesome! :3
Quotable Quotes
from Jessica Balaquit XD
(yes I did 20 shelfies during my entire stay in NKTI)
“Let’s do drugs.”
-referring to cataloging the books about drugs
“This shelf gave me cancer.” -referring to the bookshelf containing cancer books
“Do you have AIDS?”
-asking if I was cataloging the books on AIDS
“They were doing AIDS then I told them that we already did those. So they gave me back the AIDS.” [n.v.] -referring to other on-the-job-trainees who were trying to catalog books we’ve already finished
N A TIO N A L K IDN EY & TRA N SP LA N T IN STITU TE East Avenue, Diliman Quezon City 1101