LIBR 200-05
LIBR 200-13
Information and Society
Spring 2007 Greensheet
Marc Lampson, MLIS, JD
E-mail
Emergencies: (206)274-8459
Office Location: At the Online Discussion Board entitled, “The Hallway.” I will also hold periodic, online, optional, synchronous chats within Blackboard.
Office Hours:Anytime in the Hallway or by email; phone calls between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. only please, and only in emergencies. I am a chronic email checker, so I’m much more accessible through email.
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS e-Bookstore |
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard before January 24, 2007. You will be required to use a password access code, which I will provide through the MySJSU Messaging system no later than January 22.
Course Description
Explores the complex social, economic, historical, and technological developments that influence the impact of information on society. The mission, values and ethics of information professionals are also analyzed.
Prerequisites: Demonstrated computer literacy
Course Objectives
At the completion of the course, students should be able to:
- Describe the role of information from historical, current, and future perspectives;
- Identify the various information sectors;
- Describe and evaluate issues involved in creating and disseminating information in society, with particular attention paid to information literacy;
- Understand the role of libraries and their relationship to other information providers;
- Identify and discuss the major values and codes of ethics associated with the information professions;
- Describe the impact of cultural diversity on the provision of user services by librarians and other information professionals;
- Describe and discuss important economic and policy issues related to the creation and dissemination of information;
- Understand and have experience with different forms and genres of professional writing.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Know the foundations and structure of the information profession;
- Locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature;
- Demonstrate in-depth understanding of major issues in library and information science.
LIBR 200 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- articulate the ethics, values and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom;
- compare the environments and organizational settings in which library and information professionals practice;
- recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use;
- understand the nature of research, research methods and research findings; retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups;
- demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations.
Textbooks and Readings
Required Text
Available at the bookstore or through the SLIS e-Bookstore.
- Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of library and information science. New York: Neal-Schuman.
Other Required Reading
I will likely post links or references to additional articles to read for the course, but will determine this based upon my sense of how students are dealing with the workload and my sense of what would be useful for helping you achieve the course outcomes and objectives.
Optional (but firmly recommended)
You may want to purchase the following:
- American Psychological Association. (2001) Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: APA
On the other hand, I will post a presentation on APA Citation Style and there are many online aids and tutorials that can help you with APA citation style, some of which I will refer to in the presentation I post. Therefore, purchase the Manual if you want more in-depth information or a reference book for future use.
Course Requirements
Complete the New Student Technology Course
This is a mandatory short, self-paced online course on Blackboard that must be completed by all new SLIS students before the first day of classes. The access code for this course will be sent to new students via MySJSU. If you have questions about this course, e-mail Debbie Faires or Dale David.
For more information, see http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/blackboardintro.htm
Blackboard Enrollment
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard before January 24. You will be required to use a password access code, which I will provide through the MySJSU Messaging system no later than January 22.
Assignments
Assignments are intended to further the learning objectives and student outcomes for the course. In general students are expected to read the assigned chapters in the text, view the instructor’s presentations pertaining to the material in the course, listen to any audio content that is occasionally posted, and complete the following specifically evaluated assignments. Further details of these evaluated assignments will be provided as they are assigned during the course. The evaluated assignments for this course are the following:
- Review of a Library and Information Science Periodical
Please review a library and information science journal. You can select any of the journals from Rubin's book (Appendix A) for review. You can also select a journal that is not on the list but related to library and information science.
This assignment pertains to these student outcomes: Students will know the foundations and structure of the information professions and students will be able to locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature.
- Report on a Professional Association
Please write a report about a library and information science association. You can select any of the associations from Rubin's book (Appendix B). You can also select an association that is not on the list but related to library and information science.
This assignment pertains to this student outcome: Students will know the foundations and structure of the information professions.
- Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography
This assignment gets you started on your research paper by asking you to locate and evaluate 12 - 15 sources pertinent to your paper topic.
This assignment pertains to this student outcome: Students will be able to locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature.
- Research Paper
Write a formal research paper in which you analyze a significant issue confronting the information professional today. Paper topics may be selected from the areas covered in class or you may choose an issue of more personal interest that is relevant to the goals and objectives of this course. The text of your paper should be 15 to 20 pages in length. It will include an abstract at the beginning of the paper briefly telling the reader what the paper covers. The paper must also include a reference list that includes at least 20 citations. Note that this reference list is different from the bibliography that you submit earlier in the semester. The bibliography, while on the same topic, represents an early exploration of your topic. Therefore, some of the sources listed in your bibliography may not actually turn out to be useful to or to be referenced in your research paper and therefore will not appear in your reference list in your paper. The reference list lists only those sources actually cited in your research paper.
You will be graded on the extent of your research, your description and critical analysis of the topic, the evidence you provide in support of your argument, and the clarity and quality of your writing as well as your adherence to technical requirements such as page numbers, margins, font size, and proper citation. Your references and formatting should adhere to the rules established in the APA Publication Manual.
This assignment pertains to these student outcomes: Students will be able to locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature; students will demonstrate in-depth understanding of a major
issue in library and information science.
- Class Participation Through Blackboard Discussions and Assignments
Because this course is completely online, class participation must necessarily be through participation in Blackboard Discussion Boards. Students are expected to participate in these discussions.
- The Discussion Board Assignment pertains to this student outcome: Students will demonstrate in-depth understanding of major issues in library and information science.
Class Leadership and Participation on Blackboard
Points will be given for leadership and participation in the Blackboard Discussion Boards as follows. It has been my experience over the years that discussions in discussion boards tend to stop when the instructor intervenes in the discussion. Too often people seem to think there is a “right” or “wrong” answer regarding a particular topic and tend to stop discussing the topic when the instructor speaks up. For this reason, my participation will be limited. The discussion boards are designed to encourage students to participate and discuss topics in a spirit of intellectual curiosity, interest, and mutual respect without being concerned about saying something “wrong” or overly concerned with saying something “right.” Therefore, I try to structure the discussions so that everyone participates.
- For purposes of grading Discussion Board Participation, I will assume and give everyone 5 points for every week for 15 weeks of the semester, for a total of 75 points. These points can only be “lost” by failing to participate meaningfully in the discussion boards. “Meaningfully” shall be defined as making at least one substantive commentper week.
- The Discussion Board Assignment pertains to this student outcome: Students will demonstrate in-depth understanding of major issues in library and information science.
- Quizzes
Although not typical of graduate courses, given the online nature of this course quizzes will assure that attention will be paid to the text readings rather than only to the assignments. The quizzes will be multiple choice, online, open book, and approximately 20 questions worth for a total of 20 points per quiz. They will be posted approximately every 3 weeks, or after we have completed 1 or 2 chapters. They will be posted typically on a Friday to be completed sometime in one sitting between that Friday and the following Sunday.
Course Calendar
Subject to change with fair notice
The course assignments have been allotted the following point values for a maximum possible 430 points:
| Assignment | Worth | Due Date |
| 1. LIS Resource Review | 25 points | Feb. 18 |
| 2. Report on a Professional Association | 25 points | March 18 |
| 3. Literature Review & Annotated Bibliography | 75 point | April 15 |
| 4. Research Paper | 130 | May 15 (Tuesday) |
| 5. Online Quizzes on Text Readings | 100 points | Five quizzes, each worth 20 points, covering the 10 chapters of the book will be given approximately every 3 weeks, posted on a Friday to be completed by the following Sunday. |
| 6. Participation on Blackboard | 75 points | 5 points per week for 15 weeks are automatically awarded, but may be deducted for lack of participation. |
| TOTALS | 430 |
Note that all due dates fall on Sundays unless otherwise noted. Please submit all written assignments to the Digital Dropbox function in Blackboard, not by e-mail attachment.
Late Assignments
Points earned for late assignments will be reduced by10 percent for every 24 hour period between the due date and the submitted date.
Grading Scale
Letter grades are determined by the standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale, which is as follows:
| 97-100 | A |
| 94-96 | A- |
| 91-93 | B+ |
| 88-90 | B |
| 85-87 | B- |
| 82-84 | C+ |
| 79-81 | C |
| 76-78 | C- |
| 73-75 | D+ |
| 70-72 | D |
| 67-69 | D- |
| Below 67 | F |
In the final grading process, the highest number of points actually earned by a particular student in the course will be taken to be the top of the scale; all other grades will be determined in relation to the highest number of points actually earned. For instance, if the student earning the highest number of points earned 420 points of the 430 possible, then anyone earning 97% of 420 points (417 points) would receive an A, and so on.
Incompletes
Incompletes will be granted only in rare and extreme emergency situations.
Students who cannot fulfill all the work for a course due to a medical or family emergency may be assigned an Incomplete only if arrangements are made with the instructor.
Please see the University policy on incompletes:
info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/soc-fall/rec-15.html
Academic Integrity
Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San José State University, and the University's Academic Integrity Policy requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the Office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The policy on academic integrity can be found at http://sa.sjsu.edu/student_conduct.
Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability,
please e-mail me as soon as possible. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires
that students with disabilities register with the Disability Resource Center
(DRC) to establish record of their disability.
No matter where students reside, they should contact the SJSU DRC to register. The DRC Web site: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/
School of Library & Information Science
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Phone: 408-924-2490
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