LIBR 210-03
Reference and Information Services
Fall 2004

Course dates: August 27 - November 12
On campus classes: August 27, October 1 and November 12
Location: MOD D403
Time: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Mary M. Somerville, Ph.D.
Adjunct Faculty
E-mail

GREENSHEET

School Mission

Course Description

The course is designed to present an overview of concepts, elements, and developments for reference and information services in various types of libraries. Major topics include:

1. definitions and models of reference and information services;
2. reference tools and research types in various formats;
3. evaluation, selection, and use of general reference titles;
4. theoretical search strategy frameworks and practical techniques; and
5. information technology and web-based services issues and implications.

Note: See concluding section, Course Design and Development, for additional information.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students are able to:

1. Apply entry-level workplace capabilities for reference, information, and instructional services, including the reference interview process, information literacy instruction, and physical and digital research tool usage.
2. Synthesize the problem-solving processes used by successful information professionals, including information search strategies and information source evaluation, in light of contemporary information and communication technologies (ICT);
3. Analyze the planning considerations necessary to design/redesign reference, instruction, and information services, now and in the future.

Required Texts

Bundy, A., ed. (2004). Australian and New Zealand information literacy framework: Principles, standards, and practices. 2 nd ed. Adelaide, Australia: Australia and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy and Council of Australian University Librarians.

Janes, J. (2003). Introduction to reference work in the digital age. New York: Neal-Schuman.

Katz, W. (2002). Introduction to reference work. 2 vols. 8 th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

The textbooks may be ordered directly from the publishers or through Web-based vendors such as Amazon at www.amazon.com or Barnes & Noble at www.bn.com

The ANZIIL Framework may be freely accessed at:
http://www.caul.edu.au/info-literacy/InfoLiteracyFramework.pdf

Course Format

This hybrid course includes both physical and virtual learning experiences. The three mandatory face-to-face sessions occur on the SJSU – San José campus on Fridays (August 27, October 1, and November 12), from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in MOD D403. Throughout the semester, information exchange through asynchronous Blackboard communication ensures continuous learning.

Blackboard Logistics

The course opens for enrollment on Monday, August 16. In order to receive all course announcement, please enroll no later than Monday, August 23. More information about Blackboard-mediated learning activities will be provided on the first day of class.

Course Requirements

Students are expected to observe the following:

1. Check email and Blackboard regularly for messages and announcements.
2. Submit assignments by the specified due date and time.
3. Submit written work free of spelling and grammatical errors.
4. Observe university standards for intellectual honesty. For instance, use bibliographic references to acknowledge ideas read in published works, using the style manual of the American Psychological Association. Refer to the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy at http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf for further details.
5. Identify a conveniently located library with a sizable reference collection in your area of interest, for consultation throughout the semester.
6. Learn how to use Blackboard. See the Blackboard Tutorials and Resources of SLIS Instructors and Students located at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/blackboard/

Course Assignments

Students are required to complete the following assignments:

Reference Collection: For increased familiar with a variety of information sources and uses, development of a list of core reference titles for a specific library type, accompanied by collection development criteria and budget justification.

Instructional Session: To gain hands-on experience teaching research tools and strategies, presentation of a 10-minute instructional session in class. Relational information literacy-based instructional strategies, appropriate to designated learning outcomes, should be embedded.

Reference Work: As an introduction to reference work, observation of reference desk or virtual reference activities, with notes posted in the Blackboard discussion forum.

Discussion Participation: Because sustained communication is necessary to a virtual learning community, regular Blackboard contributions are required. Aim for substantial contributions that reflect critical thinking and advance the group conversation. For further insight into instructor expectations, see http://wsuctproject.ctlt.wsu.edu/ctr.htm

Office Hours

Face-to-face meetings are possible before or after classes or over the lunch hour. In addition, responses to student inquires will be made within 24 hours. Note: if the question of clarification is relevant to the entire class, the inquiry should be posted on Blackboard in an appropriate thread of the discussion forum. If the question is of a personal nature, use the instructor’s email to convey the information.

As needed, telephonic discussions can be arranged as well.

Grading Rationale

Possible points (out of a total of 100 points) are distributed as follows:

Note: Any assignment submitted after the due date, without the permission of the instructor prior to the due date, will have its total score reduced by 10%. Any assignment submitted more than one week after the deadline will not be accepted for grading and a zero will be recorded for that assignment in the digital grade book.

Also, incompletes will be assigned only in cases of medical or family emergency. Depending on the situation, proof of excuse may be required.

Grading Scale

A 95-100
A- 90-94
B+ 85 – 89
B 80-84
B- 75-79
C+ 70-74
C 65-69
C- 60-64

Course Design and Development

In the past three years, versions of this course have been presented in three different venues in Sweden and the United States, customized to meet “client needs”. Additionally, students’ formal and informal course evaluations have informed course revisions. In other words, the instructor intentionally learned from evaluative feedback … as she counsels students to do in working with their constituencies!

In planning this semester’s curriculum, two additional “stakeholders” were consulted –prospective employers and LIBR 210 teaching colleagues. In April 2004, a dozen SJSU SLIS adjunct faculty members were convened to develop shared learning outcomes for LIBR 210. Participants included a number of librarians with hiring authority in their home organizations.

Following two days of discussion, the assembled faculty agreed on course outcomes that would both build upon core content in required library school courses and also prepare students for entry-level professional work in reference, information, and instructional services. In response to employer and collegial requirements, this version of LIBR 210 cultivates working familiarity with search strategies, standard reference sources, search engines, information literacy, reference interview (in both face-to-face and digital environments), reference/research tools evaluation, electronic database and Website evaluation and usage, and professional ethics. In addition, because of its increasing importance, information and communication technologies (ICT) receive considerable attention – as drivers for change and enablers of inquiry.

The Fall 2004 course also benefits from curriculum re-thinking following the instructor’s participation in an international conference on lifelong learning, in which information literacy was the centerpiece. In response, the course intentionally advances students’ pre-professional information literacy (IL) so that they, in turn, can better advance the lifelong learning of their constituents.

Therefore, relational information literacy is embedded through the course curriculum – i.e., ongoing interaction and reflection with information, transferable to new situations, occurs throughout the semester. This course uses the working definition of information literacy advanced by the Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy, which states it thusly:

Standard One: The information literate person recognizes the need for information and determines the nature and extent of the information needed.

Standard Two: The information literate person finds needed information effectively and efficiently.

Standard Three: The information literate person critically evaluates information and the information seeking process.

Standard Four: The information literate person manages information collected or generated.

Standard Five: The information literate person applies prior or new information to construct new concepts or create new understandings.

Standard Six: The information literate person uses information with understanding and acknowledges cultural, ethical, economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information.

Both this LIBR 210 course and the ANZIIL framework from which it derives assume that information literacy (IL) develops within context. Therefore, the course is pedagogically designed to facilitate students’ advancement of IL through making tacit “sense making” explicit as they engage in information search processes and other learning activities. To model this, for instance, the instructor will demonstrate “systems thinking” to make explicit the interconnected network of knowledge creation, scholarly activity, publication processes, and bibliographic practices that enable scholarly inquiry. Through story telling, she will present an historical recollection about how she learned of these relationships over thirty years of reflective practice. She will also facilitate group discussion of participants’ experiences with “making meaning” as they construct new understandings within the field of reference and information services. Finally, enhanced appreciation for and insight into relational information literacy will be developed in teaching others during instructional sessions and reference consultations.

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