LIBR 210-13
Reference & Information Services
Fall 2007 Greensheet
Robert D. Aaron
E-mail
Office Hours: Appointments and contacts
via Blackboard
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements About Your Instructor |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS eBookstore |
Students will self-enroll in the course using Blackboard. Course enrollment dates are August 21-27, 2007. All students must self-enroll during those dates. I will provide registered students with the necessary password access code using the MySJSU messaging system. For additional information please refer to the tutorial on enrolling in a Blackboard course.
Course Description
This course presents an overview of reference contexts, processes and resources. The main thrust of the class is on learning how to answer reference questions appropriately and effectively. The class will address three major components of reference work: (1) the intellectual, communication and personal skills required; (2) managing the reference interview; and (3) identifying and knowing how to use information resources.
Prerequisite: LIBR 202
The class will consider:
- The history, development, and philosophy of reference services in various library and non-library settings
- The nature of reference questions
- The ways to think about reference questions
- The broad spectrum of reference tools and how to use them
- The use, misuse and limits of resources and technologies
- The methods for evaluating reference tools
- The many audiences and settings for reference services
- The many ways reference services can be delivered
- The ethical aspects of reference services
- The role of reference skills and services in the information professions
- The nature and role of virtual/digital reference
- The likely evolution of reference services in the future
Specific skills and knowledge that will be covered include:
- Conducting good reference interviews
- Properly understanding what people want to know (and managing user expectations)
- Knowing the core reference resources in multiple disciplines: what they are, how to use them, search strategies, and how to combine resources for complete results
- Understanding how to use search engines and database systems effectively
- Evaluating the quality and appropriateness of reference resources and services
- Management of reference services and delivery of results
Course Objectives
Learning Objectives
At the end of this course, students will:
- Understand the reference process in various contexts
- Be comfortable working with people who are seeking information
- Demonstrate the ability to satisfy requests through the appropriate use of information resources
- Have a working knowledge of the core reference tools used in various disciplines
- Know how to identify resources in new topical areas quickly
- Be able to evaluate the quality, accuracy, comprehensiveness, timeliness, and utility of individual reference resources
- Be acquainted with reference practice in the library and in digital/virtual settings
- Be familiar with issues and trends in reference services
LIBR 210 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- Use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users.
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;
- Demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
- Retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups;
Textbooks and Requirements
Required
This class does not have any required textbooks. All assigned readings will be available via Blackboard, university-provided databases, or the Web. All of the readings materials assigned for this class will be equally available regardless of student location.
Recommended
Students are encouraged to be familiar with the professional literature of reference, especially journals such as Reference and User Services Quarterly, The Reference Librarian, and Reference Services Review. Publications such as Information Today, ONLINE, Searcher and other research/database trade press journals are also recommended.
Course Requirements
Blackboard
This course will be delivered entirely via Blackboard. Tutorials for learning Blackboard are available via the SLIS web site. Use these tutorials to learn how to use the features within Blackboard. Familiarity with Blackboard will be necessary for this class. As this is an all-Web course, all assignments for this class will be distributed via Blackboard. Please check your Blackboard e-mail on a regular basis. You may contact me via e-mail, and I will make every effort to respond promptly (within 48 hours at the latest). Please remember that I live in the Eastern time zone.
Elluminate
As is practical, this course will offer meetings via Elluminate. Elluminate allows for live, interactive classes where lectures can be presented and questions asked in real time. Attendance at Elluminate meetings are not mandatory but highly encouraged. Class meeting dates using Elluminate will be posted ahead of time on Blackboard, and Elluminate classes will be recorded so students can watch/listen to classes they did not attend. For more information about Elluminate, check the Elluminate Student Guide.
Assignments
All assignments will be evaluated for thoroughness, analysis, creativity, and thoughtfulness. Clarity and accuracy in writing is a basic professional requirement – incorrect grammar will not be tolerated. All assignments are to have a professional appearance, using consistent formatting and citing techniques. Consult the SLIS APA Style Resources page for further specifics.
Online Discussions
In addition to grades received on the assignments, active participation in online discussions throughout the semester is expected. Discussion questions and issues will be posted in the discussion area throughout the semester. Students are expected to engage in these online discussions and to make regular contributions.
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.
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.
On Plagiarism
Your work must be your own. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. It’s as simple as that.
For more information, refer to the SJSU regulations on plagiarism and the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy.
- http://info.sjsu.edu (search option: Academic Dishonesty)
- SJSU Academic Integrity Policy: http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S07-2.pdf
About Your Instructor
Robert D. Aaron has been active in reference and secondary research for over thirty years and has been teaching reference in library schools for over ten years. He is currently Senior Library Services Consultant for SOLINET, a consortium of over 2,700 academic, public, school and other libraries throughout the Southeastern U.S. For many years prior to that, he was president and founder of Aaron/Smith Associates, Inc., an information consulting firm where he was responsible for managing secondary research projects for clients such as IBM, BellSouth, UPS, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, CNN, and AT&T. Among other projects, Aaron/Smith Associates provided the Factoids (brief, odd and interesting statistics) used by CNN Headline News for nine years. Before Aaron/Smith, he was the chief researcher for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper and was a reference librarian at Georgia State University and the Atlanta Public Library.
From 1996 until 2004 he was a full-time member of the faculty of the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia. Since 2005 he has been a member of the adjunct faculty for SJSU SLIS. He has spoken at numerous professional meetings and has published articles on knowledge management, research software, and competitive intelligence. He was one of four researchers featured in an article about competitive intelligence research in Forbes magazine (1999). He received both his undergraduate and M.L.S. degrees from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
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