LIBR 200-08
Information and Society
(SFUSD LMT/MLIS)
Fall 2007 Greensheet
Linda Swarlis
E-mail
Office hours: By appointment.
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS eBookstore |
We will be using Blackboard for this course. Students will obtain the access enrollment code for this class site through a message you will receive through MySJSU. The Blackboard course will be open on August 23rd.
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;
- Demonstrates oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations, and professional level presentations.
Textbooks and Readings
Required Textbook
Rubin, R. E. (2004) Foundations of library and information science. New York: Neal-Schumann. Available from the bookstore, Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and other vendors. Students who are members of quickslis may locate used textbooks there.
APA
American Psychological Association. (2002) Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: APA. Formats, citations, and references must consistently follow this style manual. The APA Web site (http://www.apastyle.org) lists the latest updates to the APA manual.
Recommended Textbooks
Eberhart, G. M. (2006). The whole library handbook 4: Current data, professional advice, and curiosa about libraries and library services. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
Additional Readings
Readings are assigned throughout the class, either from the textbook or from online resources that have been provided for you. Students will be given addresses, user-ids and passwords to access these online resources. Please remember that the use of these resources is restricted to students in this course. Please do not share your passwords with other persons.
Go to SLIS eBookstore.
Course Requirements
Complete the New Student Technology Workshop
This is a mandatory short, self-paced online workshop 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
Questions
Please e-mail personal questions to the address above. If the questions is one that would be of interest to the class, please post on Blackboard in the Discussion Group “Questions for the Instructor.”
Assignments
- All students will participate in a group project that surveys the information professions and report findings to the class so that they will know the foundations and structure of the information professions. This is one part of your four-part assignment involving group work to do research, an individual paper, a report to the class, and your resume. Your group will come prepared to discuss and present your findings about this area of our profession to the class during the second class session.
- All students will be required to write critical notes for publications pertinent to library and information science. They will use APA in completing these assignments. The expected outcome will be that students will be able to locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature.
- Students are required to research and write a major paper (worth 30% of their total grade) on a topic relating to information and society. They will use APA in writing all papers in this class. The content of the research paper will demonstrate that the student understands a major issue in library and information science.
Attendance/Participation
Regular participation is vital to success in this course because a number of cooperative learning/group activities will occur in class and a great deal of material will be covered during each class session. Virtual classroom sessions (TBD) will be conducted. Participation in online group projects in class and in Blackboard discussion forums is crucial. Reading/viewing/listening to required materials will enhance your ability to participate in these discussions. Check Blackboard regularly for updates.
General Expectations
All students must:
- Have the minimal home computing environment as described at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm
- Use a current virus protection program to scan all assignments before they are submitted electronically to Blackboard, other students and to your instructor
- Create an account in Blackboard and enroll in the class site for this course to receive communications from your instructor (http://tigris.sjsu.edu)
- Submit selected assignments electronically. Use the following scheme for submitting files: [Course Number]_[Student's Last Name]_Assignment Number] Example: 200_NAME_CriticalNotes
- Submit assignments by midnight on the due date. An assignment submitted after the due date may be subjected to a grade penalty.
- Type or key all work using Microsoft Word and double space in no more than a 12-point font
- Consistently follow the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) for formats, citations and references
- Avoid spelling, grammatical and syntactical errors
General Assignments
These are the general assignments for the course. Specific assignment details will be explained and expanded in the power point presentations and on Blackboard under Course Documents. The total number of possible points for the class is 100. The percentage following each assignment indicates the percentage of the total points for the assignment. Some assignments may be group projects.
| Assignment | % of Total Points | Date Due |
| Critical Notes | 5 | Sep. 10 and Sep. 17 (Posted to Discussion Board) |
| Valuing Information Professionals Paper | 20 | Oct. 1 (submitted to Assignment Manager in Blackboard) |
| Introduction of Speaker/Luminary | 5 | Oct. 1 (submitted to Assignment Manager in Blackboard) |
| Professional Associations | 5 | Oct. 28 (Posted to Discussion Board) |
| Analysis of LIS Literature | 5 | Oct. 28 (Posted to Discussion Board) |
| Special Populations Plan | 10 | Nov. 12 (Posted to Discussion Board) |
| Major (Issues) Paper | 30 | Nov. 19 (submitted to Assignment Manager in Blackboard) |
| Class Participation | 20 | Throughout the course |
Grading Policy/Papers
Everyone begins class with a grade of “B,” the standard grade for graduate level work. Students who satisfactorily complete assignments on time; regularly attend classes, and actively participate in class exercises and discussions (in class and in Blackboard discussion forums) will receive the “B” provided the quality of written work meets the rigorous scholarly standard for the University.
In general, graduate work should exhibit clarity and be well written in a logical, coherent fashion. Above standard work is defined as clearly displaying one or more of the following criteria:
- Originality in the approach to the assignment
- Greater depth of analysis than the written assignment expects
- Critical evaluation of readings comparing authors, sources or different viewpoints
- Ability to organize information for oneself and others plus create tools for lifelong learning and knowledge retrieval
This is a good time to learn the difference between undergraduate and graduate work. Grading scales for undergraduates include grades from A to D as passing. In graduate work a B- is akin to a failing grade. Further, the evaluation process will not be short answer tests. Papers will be analyzed for content and critical thinking. Students should also understand that potential employers will not see your transcript. The Human Resources personnel will confirm that you have the MLIS degree and file your transcript. Your focus in this class should be on content and not grades.
Course Calendar
Students will begin the class during the week of August 23. A power point introduction to the class will be available for students to view. Questions arising from this lecture should be placed in the Instructor’s comment box on Blackboard.
Papers are due as shown above and repeated here:
| Critical Notes | Sep. 10 and Sep. 17 (Posted to Discussion Board)) |
| Valuing Information Professionals | Oct. 1 (turned into Assignment Manager in Blackboard) |
| Introduction of Luminary | Oct. 1 (turned into Assignment Manager in Blackboard) |
| Professional Associations | Oct. 29 (Posted to Discussion Board |
| Analysis of LIS Literature | Oct. 29 (Posted to Discussion Board) |
| Special Populations Plan | Nov. 12 (Posted to Discussion Board) |
| Major (issues) Paper | Nov. 19 (turned into Assignment Manager in Blackboard) |
| Class Participation | Throughout the Course |
Grading Scale
The standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale is utilized for all SLIS courses:
| 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 order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:
- C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
- B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work;
- A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.
Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0.
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://www.sjsu.edu/senate/S07-2.htm.
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/
One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
Contact the webmaster
