LIBR 200-11
Information and Society
Fall 2005

Instructor: Dr. E. Blanche Woolls
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Textbooks | Course Requirements

Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard. You will be required to use a password access code which I will provide using MYSJSU Messaging system.

Course Description

An introduction to the complex roles of information in society and the foundation for thinking critically about the profession, the political, economic, social, cultural, and philosophical aspects of information creation, dissemination, and use will be discussed. The mission, values, and ethics of information professionals will be analyzed, and students are encouraged to develop their personal philosophies of information service. This course provides the foundation for thinking critically about the information professions, the roles of information professionals based upon their experiences in information organizations and reading in the professional literature.

Course Goals and Objectives

At the completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. describe the role of information in society from historical, current, and future perspectives;
2. identify various information sectors within the environment and the roles for information professionals;
3. describe and evaluate the issues involved in the creation and dissemination of information and knowledge in society, with particular attention to information literacy;
4. demonstrate an understanding of the role of libraries and their relationships to other information providers;
5. identify and discuss the major values and codes of ethics associated with the information professions;
6. describe the impact of cultural diversity on the provision of user services by information professionals;
7. describe and discuss important economic and policy issues related to the creation and dissemination of information; and
8. write an essay demonstrating critical thinking on an issue or trend in library and information science using the APA style manual.

This course addresses two the SLIS goals and objectives:

• introducing students to the foundations of information services
• requiring students to evaluate and utilize relevant research studies from a variety of disciplines.
• advocacy and leadership for citizen access to information and knowledge resources.

SLIS goals and objectives can be found at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/mission.htm.

Textbooks

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
Formats, citations, and references must consistently follow the style manual of the American Psychological Association. It is in its 5th edition. The APA Web site (http://www.apastyle.org) lists the latest updates to the APA manual.

Recommended Textbooks
Eberhart, G. M. (2000). The whole library handbook 3: 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.

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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 by June 27. 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

Attendance/Participation
Regular attendance 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) may be conducted also. 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 of 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. Please see each module and the assignments tab on the class Web page for specific assignment details. The total points for the class is 200. The percentage following each assignment indicates the percentage of the total points for the assignment. Some assignments may be group projects.

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 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.

The following scale will be used for final grades:

Other requirements
Students must have e-mail accounts and access to the Internet, including the ability to view the World Wide Web with a graphical browser (e.g., Netscape or Internet Explorer) and PDF files; and the ability to listen to RealOne Player lectures. Students may access Blackboard directly at http://tigris.sjsu.edu or from the SLIS Web site (http://slisweb.sjsu.edu) under the Computing pull-down menu.

If necessary, you may download Adobe Reader from Adobe's Web site at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html . For instructions on downloading the RealPlayer, see http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/realplayer.htm

Also join the school’s electronic list, SLISADMIN, to get official or administrative messages from SLIS. Find directions at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/electroniclists.htm or choose Electronic Lists under the Computing pull-down menu on the SLIS Web site.

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism
Academic dishonesty is a serious infraction. Assignments must be the student’s own work and sources must be properly cited. SJSU codes governing plagiarism can be found at http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf. All students should read this.

Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
Students who need accommodation due to a disability must register with SJSU's Disability Resource Center (DRC) during the first three weeks of the semester. The Center will work with the students to determine the disability, document it, and determine the services and accommodations necessary for student success. Then, the DRC will contact the faculty member to determine the types of consideration necessary.

Students attending the Fullerton campus should first contact the Disability Resource Center in San José since they are SJSU students. The DRC will then direct the students to supporting resources on the Fullerton campus.

The DRC Web site: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/

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