Hello,
Forgive me if this is not the correct kind of post for this forum. I've been an ALA member for a few years, but never really made a point of using its services.
To try and make this short, I finally obtained my first professional Librarian job at the end of 2018, and have been working at it since. In the time since, I haven't really had the chance to practice some of the skills or develop in the way I might like in my current duties, and I was looking for advice/recommendations on where I can pursue further education without causing any friction with my current duties.
Basically, I mainly work on an active service desk, with patron assistance, basic tech support, and some ready reference. I was really hoping to get into more of the technical aspect of the profession, with cataloging, but due to the rather large and regimented nature of my Library System, I get no real opportunity to practice that at all in my day to day duties.
Right now I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on certification courses. Other than just digging out my old textbooks, does anyone have anything here they would recommend to try and get back in practice with MARC, RDA, and cataloging practices? And how I could demonstrate any sort of competency in such things in the future if I am not doing them in my current job?
Thank you for your attention.
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Gregory Hankins
Librarian
Broward County Library System
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