LIBR 200-03
Information and Society
Spring 2006 Greensheet
Robert Wagers
E-mail
Phone: (831) 234-5044
Office Hours:
1430-15:45 PM: Feb 8, Mar 1, Mar 18, Apr 22
0900-0945 AM: Feb 4, Mar 4, Mar 18, Apr 22
Virtual and by appointment
| Greensheet Links Textbooks Course Requirements Course Content |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials |
Students should self-enroll on the Blackboard course site. The instructor will provide an access code to all registered students, no later than January 10, via MySJSU.
Course Description
An introduction to the roles of information in society. Political, economic, social, cultural, and philosophical aspects of information creation, dissemination, and use will be discussed. Students are encouraged to develop their personal philosophies of information service based upon their experiences in information organizations and reading in the professional literature.
Course and School Objectives
At the completion of the course, the student will 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.
This course supports the following SLIS objectives:
- The foundation of information services;
- Advocacy and leadership for citizen access to information and knowledge resources;
- Evaluating and utilizing relevant research studies from a variety of disciplines.
Textbooks
Textbooks are available at the bookstore or through Amazon.com and other distributors.
- Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of library and information science. New York: Neal- Schuman.
- American Psychological Association. (2001) Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: APA.
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 orientation. 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
Assignments
The assignments for this course (and their percentage value to your final grade) are:
| Annotated Short Paper | 25% |
| In class presentation | 25% |
| Course Readings Paper | 25% |
| Class discussion | 25% |
Grading Philosophy
Completing all assignments accurately and on time will earn a grade of B. To raise this grade, you will need to demonstrate above average creativity, imagination, analysis, and scholarship. Unexcused late assignments will receive a grade of C or lower. Reading late assignments is at the instructor's discretion. Illness and emergencies are usually the only good excuses. Don't even try the following:
- I'm too busy at work.
- I'm too busy in the rest of my classes.
- I have to go on vacation (especially if it's a nice place the instructor can't go!)
- My parents were in town, the dog was sick, my kids are driving me crazy, my husband/boyfriend/wife/girlfriend is driving me crazy, my efforts to solve the problem of world hunger and peace prevented me from finishing the assignment.
Academic Integrity
SJSU’s Academic Integrity Policy requires that you be honest in all your academic coursework. All assignments submitted must be your own work, and all sources used must be properly cited. Faculty are required to report all infractions to the Office of Judicial Affairs. The university’s policy on academic integrity can be found at http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf.
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/
Course Content
Information and information transfer in society
- Roles of information professionals
- Information products
- The information society
- Communication and its technologies
- Information literacy
Resources in library and information science
Sociology of knowledge
- What are data, information and knowledge
- Production and distribution of knowledge
Information agencies as social institutions
- The communities we serve
- Functions of information agencies
- Professional philosophies and values
- Social responsibility & leadership
Information economics
- Value
- Access and utilization
- Protection
Information policy issues
- Federal information policy/NII
- International policy/GII
- Copyright
- Intellectual freedom
School of Library & Information Science
One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
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