LIBR 210-14
Reference & Information Services
Fall 2006 Greensheet
Renee Jefferson
E-mail
Office Hours: Blackboard, by appointment
| Greensheet Links Course Materials Course Requirements Course Schedule |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials |
The Blackboard course will be available on Wednesday, August 16th. Students must self-enroll in Blackboard between Wednesday, August 16th and Friday, August 25th, with the access code that will be distributed via my.sjsu.
Course Description
The course is designed to present an overview of concepts, components, and current developments in reference and information services provided in various types of libraries.
The major topics are:
- an understanding of concepts/definitions and models/types of reference and information services;
- a survey of reference sources in various types of formats;
- a study of the evaluation, selection, and use of general reference sources by type of material;
- theoretical frameworks and techniques supporting the practices of reference and information services; and
- issues in information technology and its impact on the provision of reference and information services and on current models for the delivery of reference and information services to remote users, such as e-mail based and world wide web-based service models and other mechanisms that apply network technology.
Learning Outcomes
At the completion of the course, the student should be able to perform the following:
- give examples of basic reference sources used in various types of libraries.
- identify various types of reference sources, including their characteristics and functions.
- describe theoretical concepts and techniques that support the provision of reference and information services.
- discover theory-into-practice approaches to provide basic reference and information services.
- identify state-of-the-art information technology and current models for the delivery of reference and information 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 oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations.
Course Materials
Textbook (required)
Katz, W. A. (2002). Introduction to reference work. Volume I Basic Information Services. 8th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. [The textbook is available from Amazon at www.amazon.com and Barnes and Noble at www.bn.com.]
Additional course materials will be available in Blackboard.
Course Requirements
Course Format
This is a web-based course. There is one MANDATORY weekend class session: Friday, November 10th (9am – 5pm) and Saturday, November 11th (9am – 5pm).
The weekend class session will be held in Pollak Library South, Room 68 at Cal State Fullerton. Blackboard will be used for the majority of the course activities.
Blackboard
The course will be available on the Blackboard site on Wednesday, August 16. Blackboard self-enrollment date begins Wednesday, August 16 and ends Friday, August 25.
Follow the instructions posted in the Announcements’ section.
Office Hours
I will not set specific online hours. I will be available to answer questions Monday through Friday. You should have a response to your questions within 48 hours. You may also make an appointment to meet with me in the chat room that is available in Blackboard, or you may schedule a time for me to telephone you.
Instructor Expectations
Students are expected to adhere to the following:
- Check email and Blackboard daily for messages and announcements. Communication in an online course is essential.
- Submit all assignments by the specified due date and time. Instructions for each assignment are posted under the Assignments section of Blackboard. Points will be deducted for failure to follow directions. Any assignment submitted after the due date, without the permission of the instructor, will have its total score reduced by 10%. [Note: You must have permission from the instructor to submit your assignment late PRIOR to the due date.] Any assignment submitted more than one week after the deadline will not be accepted for grading, and a failing grade will be recorded; that is, unless a student has received an extension from the instructor. This is only fair to students who work to submit their assignments on time. Extra credit assignments are not available.
- Submit assignments that are free of spelling and grammatical errors. All sources must be correctly cited using the APA style manual.
- All assignments must be your own work. Sources must be properly cited in papers. The San José State University codes and rules governing plagiarism are in effect. Please refer to the following sites for specific information. Read the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/F06-1.pdf
- Work cooperatively on group assignments. Group work is an important component of this course. If a member of a group is not contributing his or her fair share, please inform the instructor as soon as possible.
- Be an active participant in class discussions and activities. Class discussions and activities are integral components of the course.
- Identify a local academic library, preferably a CSU library, with a sizable reference collection. Plan to visit that library frequently throughout the course. Although the course is conducted online, not all reference sources are readily available online.
- Know how to use Blackboard. See the Blackboard Tutorials and Resources for SLIS Instructors and Students located at http://witloof.sjsu.edu/blackboard/.
- It is the responsibility of the student to maintain a copy of all graded and returned materials for use as evidence in any question that might arise regarding the final grade in the course.
- Incompletes will be assigned only in cases of medical or family emergency. Medical or other proof will be required.
Assignments
Students are required to complete the following assignments:
- Reference Collection (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3): This assignment is designed to assist you in becoming familiar with a variety of information sources and their uses. You will develop a reference collection for a specific type of library. There are three (3) parts to this assignment. The assignment contributes 20 points toward your final course grade (Part I—20 points, Part II—20 points). This is a group assignment. Since each group will focus on different types of sources, you will be asked to post a copy of your un-graded assignment to a discussion forum. This will give other students the opportunity to view sources for different types of reference environments.
- Groups. The reference collection assignments are group assignments. The number of students assigned to a group will depend on the number of students enrolled in the course. Participation in the group is mandatory. Group members may terminate the membership of a student who does not participate in the activities defined by the group (e.g., meetings, tasks). The instructor must be notified immediately if a group member is terminated. If a student is terminated from a group, he/she WILL NOT receive credit for the assignment. No make-up or extra-credit assignment will be permitted for a terminated group member.
- Reference Issues (Learning Outcomes 3 & 4): The purpose of the reference issues assignment is to give you an opportunity to review and critique literature related to traditional and contemporary reference services. Discussions will take place in the Blackboard’s Discussion Forum and at the site visits. There are two (2) discussion activities. These activities will contribute 10 points toward your final course grade, each activity contributing 5 points. These are individual activities.
- Reference Query (Learning Outcomes 1, 4 & 5): For this assignment, you are required to participate in a reference librarian-library user query interaction. You will have an opportunity to play the role of the reference librarian and the library user. The assignment will take place in a group-level virtual chat, and will span two weeks. [Note: If you play the role of the library user the first week, you will play the role of the librarian the second week.] The reference query contributes 20 points toward your final course grade. Although you will be working with a partner, this is an individually graded assignment.
- Instruction Session Presentation (Learning Outcomes 2, 4 & 5): The instruction session is designed to assist you in identifying and describing information sources generally located in reference departments. It will also assist you in comprehending and applying library instruction concepts. You will design and develop instructional materials for a specific library user group. The materials will be used for your instruction session presentation. You will be required to post a PowerPoint presentation and a copy of your instructional materials to the Virtual Instruction discussion board. The instructional materials contribute 10 points toward your final course grade, and the presentation contributes 20 points. You will be evaluated by the instructor and your classmates. This is an individual assignment.
Evaluation
| Assignments | Points |
| Reference Collection (2 group assignments) | 40 |
| Discussion Forums (2 individual assignments) | 10 |
| Reference Query Assignment | 20 |
| Instruction Session Presentation | 30 |
| Total | 100 |
Grading Scale
The standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale is utilized for all SLIS courses. All graded assignments will be marked using one of the following letter grades.
| 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+ |
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/
Course Schedule
The following schedule represents an outline of the reading assignments, projects, and activities that will be covered during the course. Any changes to the schedule will be placed in the Announcements’ section of Blackboard. Chapter references are from the required textbook (Katz).
All assignments are due on Wednesdays, except instruction session presentation.
| Date | Topics & Readings | Assignments |
| Week 1 8/23 & 8/25 |
Introductions Course Structure & Material Review |
|
| Week 2 8/28—9/1 |
Group Assignment for Reference Collection Assignments | |
| Week 3 9/4—9/8 |
Labor Day Holiday, 9/4 Article posted in Reference Issues’ folder under Assignment section |
Reference Issue A—Part I |
| Week 4 9/11—9/15 |
Reference Issue A—Part II | |
| Week 5 9/18—9/22 |
Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, & 10 | |
| Week 6 9/25—9/29 |
Reference Collection—Part I | |
| Week 7 10/2—10/6 |
Chapters 5, 6, 9, 11, & 12 | |
| Week 8 10/9—10/13 |
Reference Collection—Part II | |
| Week 9 10/16—10/20 |
Article posted in Reference Issues’ folder under Assignment section | Reference Issue B—Part I |
| Week 10 10/23—10/27 |
Instructor Attending Conference | Reference Issue B—Part II |
| Week 11 10/30—11/3 |
Reference Query—Part I | |
| Week 12 11/6—11/10 |
Reference Query—Part II | |
| Week 13 11/13—11/17 |
Site visit 11/17 & 11/18—Pollack Library South, Room 68—Cal State Fullerton | Instruction Session Presentations |
| Week 14 11/20—11/24 |
Thanksgiving Holiday 11/23 & 11/24 | |
| Week 15 11/27—12/1 |
Presentation Evaluations | |
| Week 16 12/4—12/7 |
Class ends 12/7 |
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Phone: 408-924-2490
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