LIBR 220-05
LIBR 220-11
Resources and Information Services in Professions and Disciplines
Topic: Introduction to Legal Resources
Spring 2007 Greensheet
John N. Gathegi
E-mail
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS e-Bookstore |
The access code for the class will be sent to class members before the first day of class via MYSJSU. Please contact professor via email if you do not receive this information by January 24, 2007
Course Description
Provides an introduction to the legal literature and to the tools of legal research. Students are introduced to legal resources and their use for legal research. Upon completion of this course, the student will understand how legal information is organized and structured, and be able to retrieve laws and regulations from many sources. This course is designed to enable a student to function effectively as an information management professional in any type of legal setting, including a law library.
Course Prerequisites: LIBR 210
Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course the student will be able to:
- Locate pertinent materials of both a law and law-related nature, and recognize their importance and relevance to the issue at hand;
- Comprehend the relationships among branches and levels of governance in terms of both the substance and procedural aspects of law;
- Possess some knowledge of the legal professions and the public to appropriately address the legal information needs of the population being served;
- Develop a working vocabulary of legal terminology, and a facility with legal citation and abbreviations;
- Gain knowledge of the literature of the law in its various formats; and
- Use and disseminate information in ways that are both ethical and legal, and in keeping with generally accepted professional standards and practices.
LIBR 220-05/220-11 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- articulate the ethics, values and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom;
- compare the environments and organizational settings in which library and information professionals practice;
- recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use;
- use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users;
- contribute to the cultural, economic, educational and social well-being of our communities.
Textbooks and Readings
Required
Stephen Elias & Susan Levinkind, Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law. Latest edition. NOLO Publishing: Berkley, CA. ISBN: 1-4133-0395-1 You can order on-line at http://www.nolo.com/product.cfm/ObjectID/ADA3D233-2448-4AFE-96BF37FF240C53F7/104/, as well as through the SLIS e-bookstore at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/books.
Recommended
Cohen, Morris L. and Kent C. Olson. Legal Research in a Nutshell (latest edition). West Group: St. Paul, MN. ISBN: 0-314-23885-9
Other recommended readings will be given out as appropriate.
Course Requirements
Course Calendar
Please make sure to check the Course Calendar often (subject to change with fair notice).
Course Format
Web-based instruction: The entire class will be held on the Internet via the Blackboard website. Interaction with the professor will be through e-mail. The course web site can be found here: http://tigris.sjsu.edu
Course Expectations and Assignments
Students will be required to complete the assigned reading for the week. Each week, students will be required to complete an on-line exercise demonstrating their comprehension of the reading. ALL STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED TO VISIT A LAW LIBRARY THAT IS CONVENIENT TO THEM AT LEAST ONCE DURING THE SEMESTER AND TO RESPOND TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING THAT VISIT.
The course will be a mix of posted notes, group discussion, and weekly assignments to measure comprehension. During the week, students will, at mutually agreed times, retreat to their team rooms, or use the Discussion Forums where they will: (1) Discuss the week’s readings, (2) discuss the practice questions in the textbook, and (3) respond to the Questions for Discussion posted by the instructor. Students may also elect to do the quiz for the week--as individuals, not group at this or any other time before it is due. There will be no online meetings. Students will also have the opportunity to post general discussions on the Discussion Forums for the different topics, as well as post questions to the Faculty Office. Team members may arrange to meet online using team chat rooms at any time during the week. Material for the week is available Mondays and due by Sunday.
Each Team will select a leader on a rotating basis. Each team leader will be responsible for starting the recording function in the team’s chat room, when a team is using that medium. Other members should remind the team leader if s/he forgets. This is a good area in which to discuss the quizzes and your individual experiences answering them. Also, you can use this space (in addition to the teams discussion board and the general discussion board) to discuss the end of chapter exercises in the textbook, as well as the Questions for Discussion. Answers to the Questions for Discussion should be posted to the general discussion board under the appropriate forum topic by 11:00 pm Sunday night.
Each team will also pick ONE reading from the weekly reading for discussion and debate in their chat and/or discussion rooms. The team leader will then post an outline of the main issue(s) to the general discussion board under the appropriate forum topic by 11:00 pm Sunday night (suggested title: Team 2 Summary Discussion of [topic] [day/month]). This will be another way of assessing participation. Postings must be done by Sunday 11:00 pm each week. The instructor will be reviewing the recordings of the chat rooms and the discussion boards to evaluate participation at the end of the semester.
Assignment Due Dates
Assignments are no later than the dates indicated in the class calendar unless there are extraordinary circumstances. These must be approved by the professor.
Grading
| Quizzes | 50% |
| Midterm | 20% |
| Final | 20% |
| Class Participation | 10% |
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 |
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/
School of Library & Information Science
One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
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