LIBR 204-05
Information organizations and management
spring 2005

Instructor: Mary Holland
E-mail
Phone: 408-721-4755
Office Hours:
Thurs. 4-6 pm. via Blackboard

 

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| Textbooks | Course Requirements | Expectations | Grading |

Course Description

This class is concerned with the theory and practice of the management of Libraries and Information Centers. The focus of the course will be on tactical and practical issues facing managers today, and on strategies for coping with them. Students looking for an exclusively theoretical presentation should consider taking another section.


Course Objectives

  • To introduce students to basic management principles, concepts, and theories;
  • To encourage students to apply critical thinking and evaluation skills to management concepts and practices;
  • To acquaint students with the roles of managers and the basic management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling and evaluating;
  • To acquaint students with current issues facing libraries today;

This course supports the following SLIS objectives:

  • Information management;
  • The principles and practices of management as specifically applied to information environments;
  • Learning to evaluate and utilize relevant research studies from a variety of disciplines;

The SLIS Objectives are found at: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/mission.htm

Textbooks

Required Text
Evans, G. E., Ward, P. L. and Rugaas, B. (2000). Management Basics for Information Professionals. New York: Neal-Schuman.

Recommended Texts
Assignment-specific readings will be posted on Blackboard. Some will be from Evans, et al., while some will be from other sources. When possible, they will be available via Blackboard, others you will have to retrieve yourself.

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Course Requirements

There will be one half-day lecture, from 9 AM-Noon, on January 27. Please be prompt. Suggested reading pre-work for this lecture is Chapters 8-9 of Evans, et al., above.

Assignments
There will be 3 assignments for this class, for a total of 100 points. Details of the final assignments, with any applicable readings and supportive materials, will be posted on Blackboard:

Assignment 1: Budgeting Problem (30 points)
Students will be given a budget, a resources list, and a staffing description of a hypothetical library, and asked to solve a problem. Length: One page summary, a detailed line item explanation of any length, and an Excel spreadsheet.

Assignment 2: Copyright and Fair Use (40 points)
Students will write a paper on the issues of fair use in the copyright law from the point of view of an academic, a public and a special library. Length: 10-20 pages.

Assignment 3: Management Techniques (30 points)
Students will be given a list of past and current business management techniques. Selecting 3-5 of these, they must write a paper examining their utility to, and usage in, library management. Length: 6-15 pages

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Expectations

All students must have the minimal home computing environment as described at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm

All students must enroll in the course in Blackboard to receive communications from the instructor by the first day of the term.

All students will complete the online survey after enrolling in the class.

All students will submit all assignments electronically. The following scheme is required for the files: [Course Number]_[Student’s Last Name]_[Assignment Number]. Example: If the student's last name is Smith 204_Smith_Essay1.doc Failure to utilize this format results in point deductions.

All students will use a current virus protection program to scan all assignments before they are submitted electronically to Blackboard and to the instructor.

Assignments will be submitted by the midnight of the due date. All assignments submitted after the due date may be subjected to a grade penalty.

All papers will use The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth edition, as the official style manual for formats, citations, and bibliography.

All work will be typed or keyed using Microsoft Word, double-spaced and in 12 point font. Requirements for any work submitted using Microsoft Excel will be in the Blackboard section for the assignment.

All pages will be consecutively numbered with the student’s name and the name of the assignment in the footer of each page.

Errors in spelling, grammar and syntax will be subject to a grade penalty.

All assignments submitted must be your own work. Sources must be properly cited in papers as specified in class. The San Jose State University regulations governing plagiarism will be enforced. Those regulations may be found at:

Evidence of plagiarism will result in a grade of F for the course.

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 Jose 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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Grading

All students begin this course with the grade of “B”, the standard grade for graduate level work. If students attend the class on Jan. 27, complete the assignments on time, and have a quality of written work meeting the standard of the university, they will receive a “B”. Errors in spelling, grammar and syntax will be subject to a grade penalty. Originality in approaches to the assignments, greater depth of analysis and demonstrated ability in critical thinking will create work above standard and the grade will reflect this.

Grading Scale:

  • A = 97-100
  • A- = 94-96
  • B+ = 91-93
  • B = 88-90
  • B- = 85-87
  • C+ = 82-84
  • C = 79-81
  • C- = 76-78
  • D+ = 73-75
  • D = 70-72
  • D- = 67-69
  • F = Below 69

Note: All assignments must be submitted before midnight on the date due. Assignments submitted up to one week after the due date will be subject to a 10% grade penalty. Assignments more than a week late will not be accepted.

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