LIBR 200-11
Information and Society
Fall 2006 Greensheet
Dr. Blanche Woolls
E-mail
Office Hours:By Appointment
| Course Links Greensheet Outline Lectures |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials |
Required Text and Readings | Course Requirements
Students in this class will be using Blackboard and must self-enroll in Blackboard between August 15 and August 23. The site will be ready on August 14. You will receive a message through MySJSU with the access enrollment code for our class site.
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 Prerequisites: none
Course Objectives
Student learning outcomes:
At the completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- describe the role of information in society from historical, current, and future perspectives;
- identify various information sectors within the profession and the roles for information professionals;
- describe and evaluate the issues involved in the creation and dissemination of information and knowledge in society, with particular attention to information literacy;
- demonstrate an understanding of the role of librarians and their relationships 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 information professionals;
- describe and discuss important economic and policy issues related to the creation and dissemination of information; and
- write an essay demonstrating critical thinking on an issue or trend in library and information science using the APA style manual.
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.
In addition, this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies
- demonstrate proficiency in the use of current information and communication technologies, and other related technologies, as they affect the resources and uses of libraries and other types of information providing entities;
- use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users;
- demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
- contribute to the cultural, economic, educational and social well-being of our communities.
Required Text 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. (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.
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 July 1st. 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 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. The total number of possible 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.
| Assignment | % of Total Points | Date Due |
| Critical Notes | 5 | Sept.13, Oct. 11 |
| Valuing Information Professionals Paper | 20 | Oct. 29 |
| Introduction of Speaker/Luminary | 5 | Oct. 29 |
| Professional Associations | 5 | Oct. 29 |
| Analysis of LIS Literature | 5 | Oct. 29 |
| Special Populations Plan | 10 | Nov. 8 |
| Major (Issues) Paper | 30 | Nov. 22 |
| 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 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.
Major 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;
the reference list should include at least 20 citations. A bibliography is
not required, but you may include one if you'd like to list sources not
cited but consulted for background information and context. 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. Your references and
formatting should adhere to the rules established in the APA Publication
Manual. This paper accounts for 30% of your grade in this graduate class.
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 | September 13, October 11 |
| Valuing Information Professionals | October 29 |
| Introduction of Luminary | October 29 |
| Professional Associations | October 29 |
| Analysis of LIS Literature | October 29 |
| Special Populations Plan | November 8 |
| Major (issues) Paper | November 22 |
| Class Participation | Throughout the Course |
Grading
Letter grades are determined through an assignment of scores related to the details given for completing the assignment. Students will need to read carefully the instructions and follow them. While creativity is honored, it will be a creative approach to the presentation and not to the format requested.
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+ |
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 are required to report all infractions to the Office of Judicial Affairs. The policy on academic integrity can be found at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/F06-1.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/
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Phone: 408-924-2490
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