LIBR 204-15
Information Organizations and Management
Fall 2007 Greensheet
Dr. Ravonne Green
Professor, Valdosta State University
E-mail
Virtual Office Hours: By appointment (I generally check email at 10:00, 1:00, and 7:00 EST)
* I would like to credit Evelyn Daniel (UNC-Chapel Hill) for graciously allowing me to use her syllabus for this course.
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS eBookstore |
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard. You will be required to use a password access code which will be provided to you via the MySJSU Messaging system.
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
- 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 develop strategies for continued learning about management and continued development of leadership skills;
- 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.
In addition, this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- Understand the nature of research, research methods and research findings; and be able to retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups.
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
Required Text
The required text may be purchased online at www.neal-schuman.com or the SLIS eBookstore. It is fine to use the 1st ed.
- Evans, G., Ward, P. (2007). Management Basics for Information Professionals, 2nd. ed. New York: Neal-Schuman.
- Green, R. (2007). Library Management: A Case Study Approach. Oxford: Chandos. Website for text updates http://157.242.56.37/mbif/default.htm
Recommended Text & Website
- Stueart, R. & Moran, B. (2007). Library and Information Center Management, 7th ed. Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited. http://lu.com/management/cases.cfm
This is a standard Library and Information Science text and is available through Amazon and other sources. Even though it presents a lot of the same topics as the required text, the authors have different perspectives that will be helpful to you.
Readings
Readings are assigned throughout the class. They are in either the required text, from the King library or from other online sources.
Lectures
There are no lectures for this course. There are a number of lectures on the Stueart and Moran website on all management topics. Students are encouraged to review pertinent topics each week from this site.
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
Course Format and Office Hours
This is a virtual class. There are no class meetings. Private conference time can be set up as telephone call or email.
General Requirements
Access to the Internet is necessary. Students must have the ability to:
- send and receive email with attachments in Word format
- view the WWW with a graphical browser
- view and create PDF files in version 3.0 or higher
- use a current virus protection program to scan all assignments before electronic submission.
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.
- Students are required to participate in online discussions on BB each week unless permission for non-participation is requested from the instructor and granted.
- Assignments should be posted on the appropriate discussion forum in BB for your colleagues to share and compare. If an assignment is sensitive for any reasons, you have the option of sending it directly to the instructor.
- Questions about the class or procedures should be posted on the BB “Class FAQ” discussion forum so that all the other students will see the question and the answer. Changes are your question is one that others have as well.
- All papers should follow the latest edition of APA style using The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Assignments
Below are the graded assignments for the course. A brief description is provided. Please see the course outline each week and check the assignments tab on the Blackboard Web page for more specific assignment details, including due dates and a rubric for each assignment. Assignments are due by midnight on the date shown on the class schedule. The first full week of class will begin on Aug. 27th. The first assignment will be due the week of Aug. 27th.
- My Story (5%) Due Week 1
On one or two pages introduce yourself to the class. Include some of your past experiences, what your life goals are, what’s important to you. If you want to add your feelings about management and what you would like to get out of this class, that would be of interest to us. Include a picture if possible. Post your story early in the week the assignment is due and then read and respond to the stories of at least three of your fellow classmates. - Organizational Case Study or Critical Incident & Analytical Essay (20%) Case Study- Due Week 7, Analysis-Due Week 8
Select a library or information agency that you are somewhat familiar with and describe it. Describe a conflict within that organization. Case studies are not just entertaining stories or vindictive exercises. This may be either an individual or group activity. The analysis should be a group activity. Choose one case study and provide an analysis and possible solution. Refer to your text and specifically note such things as decision making strategies, planning, authority structures, performance assessment, marketing, fiscal and technology management in writing the case study and in the analysis. The Green text should be helpful to you with these exercises. Refer to the Resources listed under the "Course Information" link for Case study resources. The Wertheim model is particularly useful for your analyses.
http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/introd/cases.htm
http://lu.com/management/cases.cfm There are a number of cases on the Stueart & Moran website too. - Electronic Portfolio (5%) Due Week 8
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 your case study and analysis on it.- 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 for Change – Group Exercise (20%) Due Week 10
You will work with your discussion group on this exercise. If there are more than six people in your group, it would be best to divide your group in to groups of six or less. Your task will be to read the organizational descriptions of everyone in your group and to select one of the organizations as your target for strategic planning for change. Three products are required: a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis; a paper describing three strategic directions for your organization based on the SWOT analysis and current trends in library management with a discussion of reasons for these directions citing supportive literature; a set of goals and objectives and an action plan for one of these strategic directions. - State of the Art Analytical Essay or Article (20%) Due Week 14
For any of the management topics we have studied or that interest you and were not covered in sufficient depth, locate at least 5-6 current substantive research or theoretical articles on the topic and write a state-of-the-art paper synthesizing the information in the articles in a manner that would be of interest and value to fellow professionals. Last semester most of these papers were submitted for publication. - Weekly Discussion of the Course Topics (20%)
Discuss the "For Further Thought" sections and share your thoughts and questions and on the text readings. The chapters that you are to read each week are listed on the Discussion Board. You just need to answer the "For Further Thought" questions that are of interest to you. This should be at least one from each chapter. It would be best to start a new thread for each topic so that it will be easier for classmates to follow.Your engagement with the topics and with your fellow students will deepen your knowledge. Some ways of demonstrating engagement include: - Philosophy of Management (10%) Due Final Week
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. Discuss any changes that have occured in your philosophy of management as a result of taking this course.
Submitting Assignments
Rules for submission of assignments:
- All pages should be consecutively numbered with the student’s name and the name of the assignment in the header of each page
- Each project should include a cover sheet with the title, name(s), address (es), phone number(s), and email of each contributor
- All submitted work should be in Microsoft Word, double-spaced, 12-point font.
- Spelling, grammatical and syntactical errors will affect the evaluation negatively. Use spell check.
- 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 are due by Friday of the week indicated. For example: Week 1 begins on Monday, Aug. 27 and assignments are due by Friday, Aug. 31. The time does not matter. I only look at the date.
- Assignments must be your own or your team’s work. Academic honesty and ethical standards relative to other’s work are highly valued. See the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy – http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf
Grading
Students who complete the assignments in timely manner and participate at least once a week in the discussions will receive a B provided that the quality of written work meets the standard for the University. Self-assessment will be encouraged; 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
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.
Here is my interpretation of this official grading policy:
- A = Mastery of course content at the highest level of attainment that can reasonably be expected of students.
- A-/B+ = Strong performance demonstrating a high level of attainment for a
student. - B = A totally acceptable performance demonstrating an adequate level of
attainment for a student. - B-/C = A marginal performance in the required exercises demonstrating a
minimal passing level of attainment for a student. - D/F = For whatever reasons, an unacceptable performance. The F grade
indicates that the student's performance in the required exercises has
revealed almost no understanding of the course content.
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/
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.
Final Comments
As with most things in life, you will get out of this course what you put into it. 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 7 days after receiving them. I will try to provide useful feedback to help you improve your future performance.
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