LIBR 204-03
Information Organizations and Management
Spring 2007 Greensheet
Dr. Evelyn Daniel
Professor, UNC-Chapel Hill
E-mail
Office Phone: 919-962-8062
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS e-Bookstore |
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard between January 9 and January 17, 2007. You will be required to use a password access code which will be provided to you via the MySJSU Messaging system on January 9.
Course Description
Theory and practice for the management of library and information centers are presented and discussed. Emphasis is placed on examining the distinguishing characteristics, cultures, and relationships in information organizations.
A course prerequisite is demonstrated computer literacy demonstrated via completion of the New Student Technology Course, a mandatory short- self-paced online course on blackboard. For more information, see http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/blackboardintro.htm
Course Objectives
The objectives of the course are:
- To develop personal managerial skills and a philosophy about management;
- To understand the management task within an organizational setting;
- To appreciate the complexities of organizational life and the role of the professional within an organization;
- To become familiar with management literature in library and information science, business, and related fields;
- To learn about the creative activities of managers and the central roles they play in promoting group activities and innovation in an organizational context;
- To examine issues related to managing information staffs and services in a diverse society.
- To demonstrate good collaborative skills in working with classmates and instructor in this course to make it an effective and efficient learning environment.
LIBR 204 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- apply the fundamental principles of planning, management and marketing/advocacy;
- design training programs based on appropriate learning principles and theories;
- demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
- evaluate programs and services on specified criteria.
The Statement of Core Competencies for graduates of the Master of Library and Information Science program at SLIS may be found at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/competencies.htm
Textbooks and Readings
Readings and Required Text
Readings are assigned throughout the class. They are in either the required text, from the King library or from other online sources. The required text may be purchased online at the SLIS e-Bookstore or www.neal-schuman.com. Used copies should be readily found.
- Evans, G. Edwards, Patricia Layzell Ward, Bendik Rugaas. (2000). Management Basics for Information Professionals. New York: Neal-Schuman.
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
Technology Literacy Requirement
All students must meet the Technology Literacy Requirement, available at:
http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/admissions/tech.htm
Home Computing Requirement
All students must meet the Home Computing Requirement , available at: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm
Course Format
This is a virtual class. There are no class meetings.
Office Hours
Office hours are conducted virtually via chat sessions every other week on Sunday afternoons from 1:00 to 2:30 pm (San Jose time – Instructor’s time 4-5:30 pm). Office hours are communal and voluntary, although attendance at one session is strongly recommended. Private conference time can be set up as telephone call, chat session, or email.
Blackboard
The course will be conducted using the SLISWEB Blackboard (BB) course management system. A code will be distributed to all enrolled students via MySJSU prior to the beginning of the class.
Participation
You are required to participate in online discussions on BB several times a week unless permission for non-participation is requested from the instructor and granted. Requests to be excused from online discussions must be submitted within the first week of class.
Assignment Submission
Assignments are to be posted to the Assignment Manager feature of BB. You will often be asked to post a summary of an assignment to a discussion forum for your class colleagues to share and comment on. If an assignment is sensitive for any reason, you may request that it be held confidential by the instructor.
Questions
Questions about the class or procedures should be posted on the BB “Office Hours” discussion forum so that other students may see the question and the answer. Changes are your question is one that others have as well.
APA Format
All papers should follow APA style using The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. Please see http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/resources/apa.htm for a list of sources providing assistance.
Grading
Everyone begins the class with a grade of “B”, the standard grade for acceptable graduate level work. Students who complete the assignments in timely manner and participate at least twice a week in the discussions will receive a B provided that the quality of written work meets the standard for the University. Self-assessment and peer assessment is encouraged; however, in the last analysis, you should be the best judge of your work.
Above standard work is defined as work that clearly displays one or more of the following criteria:
- Originality in the approach to the assignment
- Exceptional depth of analysis
- Critical comparison of readings, course material, discussions, experiences, etc.
- Evidence of excellent preparation
- Ability to synthesize, evaluate, and relate work to a larger picture
Rules for submission of assignments:
- All pages should be consecutively numbered with the student’s name and the name of the assignment and date in the footer of each page
- All submitted work should be keyed using Microsoft Word, single-spaced, 12-point font, double-spaced between paragraphs.
- Spelling, grammatical and syntactical errors will affect the evaluation negatively
- Work cited should include complete bibliographical information and conform in format to the APA style manual
- Assignments submitted after the due date may be subject to a grade penalty
- Assignments must be your own or the collaborative work of your group. Academic honesty and ethical standards relative to other’s work are highly valued. See the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy – http://sa.sjsu.edu/student_conduct
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 |
Here is my interpretation of the official grading policy:
| B = Acceptable performance demonstrating attainment of principles and theories presented | |
| A/A-/B+ = Above standard work showing distinctive outstanding qualities | B-/C/C+ = Marginal work, lacking on some criteria, poorly done |
| D/F = Unacceptable work. No evidence of understanding of content of course. | |
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/
Assignments
Below are the assignments for the course; some are graded and some are not but all are required. Several assignments are group tasks and are so noted. The weight for each graded assignment is given in parentheses. A brief description of each assignment is provided below. A more detailed description of each assignment with a rubric for evaluation and a due date will be provided to you on the Assignments tab on the Blackboard Web. Assignments are due by midnight on the date shown on the class schedule. As you can see from the long list, you will be expected to complete some kind of written assignment each week in addition to your reading and discussion postings.
- Student Information Form (Ungraded)
Complete the student information form found at http://ils.unc.edu/daniel/204/studinfo.html I will use this information to compile a class list for you. Add an introductory message to the “Getting to Know You” discussion forum and attach a small picture.
- Weekly Discussion of the Course Topics (20%)
Questions and suggested activities will be posted each week. Please share your thoughts on the questions and on the readings. Your engagement with the topics and with your fellow students will deepen your knowledge. Some ways of demonstrating engagement include:- Identifying an aspect of the topic as significant to you with your explanation of why you see it as significant
- Evaluating an argument critically and comparatively [Note: “critically” doesn’t always mean “negatively”; perhaps “logically” is a better synonym]
- Providing an effective synthesis of multiple resources, arguments, or points of view
- Taking an existing discussion in a new direction
- Bringing “real life” experience into class discussions
- Helping to create a learning community by inclusive remarks and questions and by bringing fellow students into the discussion.
- Strategic Planning I: Organizational Description Paper (10%)
Select a library or information agency that you are somewhat familiar with and describe it in 3-5 double-spaced pages. Some questions to prompt your organizational description/analysis will be provided. Optionally this may be done with a partner as a team exercise.
- Group Critique of Anonymous Organizational Description Papers (10%)
You will be assigned to a group of 5-7 classmates and given the same number of papers to critique according to a given rubric. Written evaluative comments for each paper and a ranked order for all the papers are to be turned in. The written comments will be given to the paper author without attribution along with my own comments. The purpose is to develop your ability to assess your own work by comparison to others and to a standard.
- Strategic Planning II: Environmental Scan (10%)
Based on your organizational description, you are asked to perform two analyses: a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats analysis and an analysis of major stakeholders who have an interest in your organization and who are affected by it.
- Group Critique of Anonymous Environmental Scans (10%)
In a new group of 5-7 classmates, you will be given environmental scan papers to critique based on a given rubric. Written evaluative comments for each paper and a ranked order for all the papers are to be turned in. Along with my own comments, he written comments will be given (in ungraded format) to the paper authors without identifying the group that commented.
- Designing a Training Program in Communication (10%)
This assignment is a group assignment as well. In an organizational context that you are familiar with (it can be the one you are using for strategic planning), select a staff group that would benefit and design a training program on some aspect of communication. Include method of assessment.
- Strategic Planning III: Marketing Plan (10%)
For the organization you described and analyzed, describe how you would position the organization for future success and then develop a marketing plan for the two most important stakeholders you identified in the Environmental Scan exercise. This exercise may be done individually or in a team of two.
- Group Critique of Anonymous Marketing Plans (10%)
As in the group critique assignments above, your assigned group will be given an equal number of marketing plans to critique and rank. Written comments for each paper with positive comments and recommendations for improvement are to be provided and will be returned to the plan author without identifying the group that provided the critique.
- Analysis of Group Process – Individual Exercise (10%)
You will have four opportunities to work in groups exercising your evaluative skills and your tact and insight in making recommendations for improvement. For this assignment, you are to compare your experience across these groups. Using the recommendations on group process from the text and my notes plus your own opinions, write an analysis of the experiences identifying factors that contribute to group success and factors that impede it. Conclude your paper with some suggestions for actions that you might take in a future group to make it work more effectively.
- Electronic Portfolio (Ungraded)
SLIS has decided to use a portfolio as evidence of achievement of competency in the 14 core areas, and demonstration of the development of a professional philosophy and a professional growth plan. A content management server (named Plone) has been set up to support your e-Portfolio. You are asked to familiarize yourself with the software (see http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/plone/ for tutorials) and to create a personal site and publish the three parts of your strategic plan on it, revised if you wish.
- Philosophy of Management (10%)
As a final summing up of the course, write a one or two page essay describing your philosophy of management. Describe how you would like to be managed and how you would like those working for you to describe you as a manager and as a leader. Describe the kind of organizational culture you would find most supportive as a worker or as a manager and what you can do as a manager to create that kind of culture.
The total points for the assignments equal 110%. I will drop your lowest individual group grade when calculating your final grade.
Final Comments
As with most things in life, you will get out of this course what you put into it. You will have to write a lot in this course as I will be unable to hear you talking about the class concepts or to see you nodding and smiling, as I would in a face-to-face class.
As your instructor, I pledge to be available to you usually within 24 hours of a direct email and at least 3-4 times a week reading and posting on Blackboard. I will do my best to return your assignments within 14 days after receiving them. I will try to provide useful feedback to help you improve your future performance.
School of Library & Information Science
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Phone: 408-924-2490
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