LIBR 210-11
LIBR 210-12
Reference and Information Services
Summer 2007 Greensheet
Steve Tash Phone: 949.683.7151 9am-9pm PST
Office Hours: E-mail, Telephone Appointments & Instant Messaging
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Video Welcome Captioned Uncaptioned |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS e-Bookstore |
Reminder: Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard. Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard May 28-June 4, 2007. You will be required to use a password access code which I will provide using the MySJSU Messaging system.
Catalog Description
A process-oriented examination of how information professionals answer reference questions. The interpersonal skills required for effective question negotiation and the sources with which questions are answered are stressed.
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce you to the world of reference and information services. We will explore different methods and models of information service delivery; examine and evaluate key information sources of various types and formats; and discuss vital issues pertinent to the provision of reference service.
Course Objectives
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:
- Be able to evaluate the quality, accuracy, comprehensiveness, timeliness, and utility of individual reference resources.
- Familiarize themselves with reference practice in the library and in digital/virtual settings.
- Demonstrate an understanding of current trends and ongoing issues in reference and information service.
- Have a clear understanding of the reference process in various contexts and the skills required for conducting a successful reference interview.
- Understand reference service to diverse populations.
- Recognize the role of instruction in reference service.
Upon completion of course, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the development of reference service and the basic concepts:
- Use reference service guidelines and policies as appropriate.
- Articulate and model the critical functions of the reference interview, the interpersonal dimensions, and questioning strategies.
- Recognize the impact of information technologies on reference services (networking, online sources, and the Internet)
- Apply criteria to be used in evaluating reference collections.
- Apply the selection principles and evaluation tools involved in building a reference collection.
- Apply a simple search strategy in providing reference assistance using a variety of formats (print, electronic, other media).
- Use various reference sources to find answers to reference questions.
- Model the dynamics of reference encounters including face-to-face and virtual environments.
This course supports the following SLIS Learning Outcomes:
- Outcome: Students will know the similarities and differences of the reference interview both in a face2face situation and a digital/virtual environment; and identify state-of-the-art information technology and current models for the delivery of reference and information services.
Assessment: All students will observe reference work and participate consciously in two types of reference interactions and submit a report on these experiences. - Outcome: Students will demonstrate in-depth understanding of current trends and issues in reference and information services and incorporate information competency skills (and search strategies) within a teaching component. Students will submit instruction presentations for classroom discussion and instruction.
Assessment: All students will use instruction concepts and skill sets to showcase either an issue facing information professionals today or new or successful programs to serve special or unique populations. All students will be required to write critical essays, notes, and/or annotations, biographical sources evaluation project and produce presentations that identify various types of reference sources, including their characteristics and functions. - Outcome: Students will be able to locate, evaluate and utilize reference resources and give examples of basic reference sources used in various types of libraries. Be able to develop a presentation that involves working through various facets of the reference process, including searching for useful information sources and developing skills in the analysis and evaluation of information sources. In addition they will discover theory-into-practice approaches to provide basic reference and information services.
Assessment: All students will produce a Webliography Pathfinder (i.e. bibliographic tool designed to guide information seekers through the preliminary stages of research by helping them systematically locate information on a given topic using various types of resources available in a given library); complete a search strategy paper, reference project and reference issues essay.
Textbooks and Readings
Required Texts
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 reading materials assigned for this class will be equally available regardless of student location.
Recommended Texts
- 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.
- American Psychological Association. Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: APA. This is the standard style manual used for the MLS program at SJSU.
Go to SLIS e-Bookstore.
Course Requirements
Course Format
This class is conducted online through Blackboard.
Check Course BB Calendar for Exact Due Dates for Assignments.
Blackboard and Elluminate
Blackboard and Elluminate will be used extensively in this course. The Blackboard site for this class will open for self-enrollment on May 28. I will provide you with a password access code using the MySJSU messaging system. You should be enrolled by June 4, 2007(the end of the first week of classes). This is strictly an ONLINE course with no ONSITE meetings.We will have a number of class discussions and activities via Blackboard and Elluminate. It is crucial that you log in every few days. The SLIS Blackboard site is located at http://tigris.sjsu.edu and tutorials are available at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/blackboard. You will post your assignments utilizing the Blackboard Assignment Manager. We will not be using the digital Drop Box section of Blackboard.
General Expectations for Students:
- Be proficient with MS PowerPoint as many assignments are only accepted in this format.
- Be proficient with Elluminate software as we will conduct virtual office hours and special online sharing sessions within the Elluminate environment. Take part in SLIS Elluminate training sessions and learn "application sharing" and "PowerPoint download" procedures.
- Read and carefully consider all readings.
- Fully participate in all class activities and discussions.
- Have the minimal home computing environment as described at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm
- Use a current virus protection program to scan all assignments before they are
submitted electronically to Blackboard, other students and to your instructor. - Enroll in Blackboard to receive communications from your instructor (http://tigris.sjsu.edu/) Submit selected assignments electronically. An assignment submitted after the due date may be subjected to a grade penalty.
- Create assignments using Microsoft Word and double space in no more than a 12-point font Consistently follow the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) for formats, citations and references.
- Avoid spelling, grammatical and syntactical errors.
- Also join the school’s electronic list, SLISADMIN, to get official or administrative messages from SLIS. Find directions at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/electroniclists.htm
- Inform the instructor if you have an illness or emergency which requires you to miss class or to request an extension on an assignment. If a legitimate emergency should arise, we will negotiate future action; otherwise, there will be a penalty for work turned in after the assigned date.
- Participation in online projects, virtual office hours and discussions and in Blackboard discussion forums is crucial to learning in the online environment.
- Reading/viewing/listening to required materials will enhance your ability to participate in these discussions. Check Blackboard regularly for detailed assignments and updates.
Assignments
- Digital Reference Interview Evaluation and Face to face Reference interview Evaluation
Your understanding of reference work will benefit if you are able to consider some of the concepts we read about and discuss in a real-world setting. Thus, you will be asked to formally observe reference work and to participate consciously in two types of reference interactions. Project value = 20 points. - Instruction Session Presentation
This project is designed to assist the student in developing expertise in instructing library patrons in a user-friendly, electronically-based format. Students will develop a Bibliographic Instruction (aka BI) lesson as shown below:
Each student will be responsible for choosing ONE electronic JOURNAL database/journal index and teaching its use to the class. The project will involve learning about the database in depth and preparing a product to be used in instructing others in its use. The product may be a printed handout or a web-based product that can be used with a browser and/or a PowerPoint presentation to teach your classmates (use your imagination). I suggest you utilize SJSU Library Online Database collection, ALISE collection for SLIS or your local public or college library. I will set up a DB forum for you to post your DB TITLE. This will be a first-come first-serve assignment. The First one to post their Index/Database TITLE selection to DB forum will be the ONLY student to develop a Bi lesson for that tool. All students working on this project must check the Db forum to verify their title has NOT been selected already. Concepts to keep in mind during the preparation of this product are the purpose of the database, the audience for which it is intended, the type of library in which it will be used, and the scope of the instruction (beginner, advanced, professional, etc.). Also, critical analysis of the resource and a critical comparison to other resources, whether electronic or in print, will increase the relevance of the exercise. This 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 be required to post YOUR Bibliographic INSTRUCTION handout and/or presentation to the Virtual Instruction discussion board.
The instructional presentation will contribute 10 points toward your final course grade, and the presentation analysis will contribute 10 points for a total of 20 points. This may be an INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP assignment. The purpose of this assignment is to introduce students to the methodical evaluation of electronic reference resources and to facilitate the development of their instructional skills. Grading will be based on the quality of both the presentation and the finished product. This is a two-part exercise:- Instruction session presentation/handout/web/media. If you do a media presentation you may want to include a written handout, exercise, etc.
- written essay (APA format)describing the purpose of the database, the audience for which it is intended, the type of library in which it will be used, and the scope of the instruction (beginner, advanced, professional, etc.). Also, critical analysis of the resource and a critical comparison to other competing or complimentary or supplementary resources, whether electronic or in print
- Webliography Pathfinder
Create a high quality Web pathfinder. Use several search engines and Web indexes [e.g., Librarian’s Index to the Intenet (http://lii.org) or Internet Public library (http://ipl.org) to search for Web Sites on your webliography topic. The Webliography has 2 parts. Part 1: Create a Webliography with 10 of the best web sites you found. Use the evaluation criteria provided in class and in your assigned reading. Avoid commercial sites (.com). Use no cover page, put the title of your webliography on the top of the 1st page along with your name and class name, number and term (i.e. Spring 07), followed by a brief paragraph of introduction to the topic. Then, in alphabetical order (or in another order that makes sense to you), list the Web site names, complete URLs, and a brief annotation (20-30 words) with critical comments (one to two sentences) for each site. Be creative, use graphics and/or color if possible. You can make it a PowerPoint presentation. Part 2: On a separate page 1) briefly describe the user population you have designed your webliography to serve (e.g., academic, public, age level, etc.). 2) List the search engines/Web indexes you used with a paragraph or two on an evaluation of your search, describing any problems you encountered in compiling the webliography and how you solved them. If you encountered no problems, provide a paragraph or two on your search strategy, what worked, what did not work, and comparing the search engines/Web indexes. Webliographies will be graded on the quality of the sites selected, presentation and overall appearance, quality of annotations for each site, suitability of sites selected for user audience described, and quality of description of problems/search strategy. Value=10 points - Reference Project - Ready Reference
Read outside readings and examine as many ready reference resources described as possible, noting their organization and indexing. Choose 4 ready reference resources from the list below, including one in both paper and electronic versions, plus these 3 resources: Books in Print, the literature resource center (Gale), and the World Almanac & Book of Facts. For each of these 7 sources, browse the resource and look up a few questions you would deem appropriate as per your readings. In a well-organized essay, of 5-6 pages discuss the following questions: What types of questions would each resource answer? What features and search capabilities you like or dislike about each? Which were easiest to use? Compare subscription databases to free Web resources. Describe your experience. Discuss pros and cons of each. Compare the features of print vs. electronic for the resources examined in both formats. Provide an annotated bibliography in APA Style with complete citations for the paper resource, list name and URL for electronic resources. An annotated bibliography is an alphabetical list of resources with a brief descriptive summary for each (25-50 words). Ready Reference paper will be graded on quality of description of each source, depth of comparison of features, analysis of usefulness of resource, comparison of print vs. electronic resource, and quality of the annotations, and organization.
Must examine these THREE resources:- Books in Print with Reviews (e-resource) http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/resources/databases.htm
- Literature Resource Center (Gale) (e-resource)
- World Almanac & Book of Facts (E-resource - Full text available in Academic Search Premier(2000-present))
- Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations (http://www.bartleby.com/100) or print edition
- Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus (http://www.m-w.com/). Free e-version; do not input your credit card information. Print/online
- Merck Manual of Medical Information Second Home Edition (http://www.merck.com/pubs/).
- Roget’s Thesaurus (http://www.thesaurus.com).
- Fed Stats (http://www.fedstats.gov) OR Statistical Abstract of the United States (http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/).
- Occupational Outlook Handbook http://www.bls.gov/oco/ (Print version) print/online
- Zip Code Look-Up (http://www.usps.com/ncsc/ziplookup/lookupmenu.htm)
- Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory (E-resource) http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/resources/databases.htm (print/online)
- ARBA Online (E-resource-SJSU King Lib) (print/online)
This Assignment is worth 10 points. - Reference Issues
the reading and understanding of articles in the professional periodical literature of library science is a must for all librarians. To assist in familiarizing students in the L.I.S. literature, you must choose an article from one of the major library periodicals (C&RL, RUSQ, JAL, Public Libraries, Special Libraries, Reference and User Services Quarterly, The Reference Librarian and Reference Services Review, Information Today, ONLINE, Searcher and other research/database trade press journals, etc.) that focuses on some aspect of reference service OR trends in providing service to a diverse population group (i.e. Prison libraries, shut-in service, vision-impaired, hard of hearing & deaf, Native Americans, recent immigrants, Senior Citizen, Non-English speaking, etc . The article should be grounded in research, although it need not be technical in nature.
The TEXT summary should be no more than three pages in length with all margins set at 1 inch and the font size set at 12 (Times New Roman preferred but not required). The paper should begin with a complete citation of the article in an appropriate APA format. The entire summary, including the citation, should be double-spaced. In addition to summarizing the article, you should include a critical analysis of the article, paying special attention to its assumptions, methodology if important, and conclusions.
The Reference issues assignment is designed with several purposes in mind:- Is to give you an opportunity to review and critique literature related to traditional and contemporary reference services and
to serve as an introduction to the research literature of reference librarianship. - To offer you a laboratory experience in abstracting (summarizing).
- To provide an opportunity to reflect critically on the literature of your chosen profession.
Grading will be both qualitative and quantitative and will be based, among other things, on an assessment of the article summary and the critical analysis and the extent to which you have followed the above-articulated guidelines. These activities will contribute 10 points toward your final course grade. This is an individual activity.
- Is to give you an opportunity to review and critique literature related to traditional and contemporary reference services and
- Biographical Sources Evaluation
Choose a famous person alive or dead and find information about this person in THREE (3) different biographical sources (print or electronic) (do not use monographs). Discuss difficulty/ease in locating information and any differences you came across in terms of coverage among the resources. Do not describe the person but your search strategy and the similarities and differences between the resources. 1-2 page text with additional title page and a separate reference page (APA format). Project value = 5 points. - Search Strategy Paper
(7+ pages, including title, abstract, references and annotated bibliography). Search for journal articles (NO BOOKS, NO NEWSPAPERS, and NO WEBSITES) in several
Journal indexes and databases (Use King Library via online) on your research topic as if you were doing a 15-25 page research paper. The Search Strategy paper must be in essay format and have 5 parts (part 6 optional):- Statement of your search topic. The topic should be one in which you are interested, but which is of a scholarly nature, so that you will be able to find information about it in journal indexes as well as on the Web. It should not be too broad (e.g., India) nor too narrow (e.g., History of SLIS Program). Do not choose a famous person, although a literary or historical genre that is not too broad is acceptable. Choose a topic that has a combination of at least 2 concepts (e.g., reference desk assessment, service excellence in academic libraries, or diet plans for weight loss rather than assessment, service excellence, or weight loss).
- Description of the process you used to locate the articles. How did you approach the search? What was your strategy? Was your strategy successful? Why? What did you do 1st, 2nd, etc. and why? Did you ask for help? When and why? Was help "helpful"? Why or why not? What would have been helpful? Would you approach the search in the same way were you to do it over?
- An evaluation of the search features of the indexes you used(i.e.4or more indexes or databases). Were they easy or difficult to use? What search features were helpful and why? What improvements could be made? How did the 4-5 indexes you used compare?
- A references page (not annotated, APA style) of the 15 "best" articles, the ones you would obtain and read for this mythical paper. Note at the end of each article citation the name of the journal index that you found it in.
- Attach an annotated bibliography (non APA) of the indexes you used after the references page. Annotations should be between 25-35 WORDS. Search strategy papers will be graded on quality of description/analysis of search strategy protocol; quality and depth of evaluation of search features of selected resources; relevance of articles selected; variety, number and appropriateness of indexes used; and quality of annotations for each index. Project worth = 15points.
- Extra Credit! If you are able to find and use one of your indexes in print as well as electronic format, include a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of print and electronic resources. Extra credit given for inclusion of this section.*
Class Participation
a portion of the overall grade is allocated for class participation. For the purposes of this class, participation includes thoughtful contribution to online discussions and other activities (online), assigned readings, e-mail communication and your own research and writing and demonstration that you are making an effort to master the material covered in this course.
Grading
Summary of assignments and their worth:
| Assignment | % of final grade |
| Face2Face Interview and Digital Interview | 20% |
| Reference Project-Ready Reference Quizzes (based on course readings) |
10% 5% |
| Web Pathfinder | 10% |
| Instruction Session Presentation | 20% |
| Biographical Sources Evaluation | 5% |
| Reference issues | 10% |
| Search Strategy paper | 15% |
| Class participation | 5% |
More details on the assignments, and a list of due dates, will be provided in Blackboard.
Evaluation
your work will be evaluated according to four criteria; it should:
- Be clearly written or presented
- Display familiarity with the appropriate literature and/or bibliographic tools
- Show insight into the concepts and/or issues in question
- Demonstrate a degree of originality
In general, graduate work should exhibit clarity and be well written in a logical, coherent fashion.
Above standard work is defined as clearly displaying one or more of the following criteria:
- Originality in the approach to the assignment
- Greater depth of analysis than the written assignment expects
- Critical evaluation of readings comparing authors, sources or different viewpoints
- Ability to organize information for oneself and others plus create tools for lifelong learning and knowledge retrieval
Late Assignments
Grades for late assignments will be reduced by 10% PER DAY.
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 |
Grading Policy/Papers
everyone begins class with a grade of "B", the standard grade for graduate level work. Students who satisfactorily complete assignments on time; attend classes; and actively participate in class exercises and discussions (in class and in Blackboard discussion forums) will receive the "B" provided the quality of written work meets the rigorous scholarly standard for the University.
In general, graduate work should exhibit clarity and be well written in a logical, coherent fashion. Above standard work is defined as clearly displaying one or more of the following criteria:
- Originality in the approach to the assignment
- Greater depth of analysis than the written assignment expects
- Critical evaluation of readings comparing authors, sources or different viewpoints
- Ability to organize information for oneself and others plus create tools for lifelong learning and knowledge retrieval
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://sa.sjsu.edu/student_conduct.
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/
One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
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