LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES
The student will:

-learn a brief history of libraries and printing, and how the invention of mechanical, movable type affected the development of libraries.

-learn the categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification System and how to locate items by using this system.

-locate materials in the first summary of ten Dewey decimal classification categories.

-assign a Dewey decimal classification category to a new item.

CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES:

This activity may be incorporated into various history units (e.g., pirates, Dark/Middle Ages, etc.) or a unit on adventure.

MOTIVATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
The student will:

-become interested in the research process.
-understand the importance of information skills.
-experience increased confidence in research ability.
-achieve satisfaction in research accomplishments.

INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES:
-The library media specialist and the classroom teacher coordinate lessons on the Middle Ages during which the classroom teacher covers the broader subject of the period in general and the library media specialist focuses on a brief history of libraries and printing before, during, and after the Middle Ages. The treasure hunt activity also may be tied to a unit on pirates in later historical time periods. The library media specialist instructs the students on the use of the Dewey Decimal Classification System.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION:
-The library media specialist introduces the activity with a brief discussion of library history.

Beginning with the Middle Ages, explain the following historical facts to students:

*Very few people could read.

*Monks in monasteries produced illuminated manuscripts by hand as works of art.

*Words were scribed by hand.

*The growth of the merchant class and the increasing need to read and cipher for their accounts impacted library development.

*Noblemen contributed private collections.

*The invention of movable type by Gutenberg revolutionized printing and made printed works available in quantity.

*The number of people able to read increased.

*Libraries had no standardized classification and filing system (some by size, some by color, depending on the libraries).

*Benjamin Franklin and subscription libraries.

*Boston Public Library

*Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal Classification System.

-The library media specialist describes the system's categories and what topics can be found in each category. Each student should receive his or her own reference sheet of categories.

-The library media specialist divides the class into teams of four or five students and gives each team a paper “coin” with the topic of a book written on it. Each team consults the reference sheet and decides in which of the ten major categories they expect to find the topic (300s, 700s, etc.) and tells the library media specialist. After confirming that the category is correct, the library media specialist instructs the team to locate a specific book on that topic and to return with it. If the team locates a correct book, they put the coin into a treasure chest (small box, etc) then start again with a new topic. The goal is to fill the treasure chest with five coins. Once the teams have finished, the library media specialist leads a discussion on the benefits of a standardized system (i.e. being able to easily locate items, to find similar items together, to locate items in different libraries, etc.).

FOLLOW-UP:
The students may:

-develop new topics to be used in the search (wolves, holidays, immigration, etc.) and trade them with other students.

-bring a non-fiction book from home and decide where it would be filed according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system.

-use one of the audiovisual resources or Internet sites to learn more about a particular area.

-categorize and classify books in the library corner of the classroom, preparing cards for each by stating title, author, and Dewey Decimal classification number, then make spine labels.