LIBR 220-05
LIBR 220-13
Resources and Information Services in Professions and Disciplines
Topic: Business Resources
Fall 2007 Greensheet
Hal Kirkwood
E-mail
Virtual Office: Contact via e-mail
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Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard and will be required to use a password access code which I will provide using the MySJSU Messaging system. The course will become available on or before Aug 23, 2007.
The semester starts Aug 23, 2007 and ends December 10, 2007.
Course Description
As part of the LIBR 220 series, this course introduces students to the bibliographic and information systems relevant to current managerial information needs, with an emphasis on the literature of business and finance. The focus of the course will be on the functional use of statistical materials, corporate and country financial data, business periodicals, business information associations/conferences, and related resources. We will look at how business information flows and begin to develop an understanding of how to seek business information effectively.
Course Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Explain how business information flows and how business resources fit into this flow.
- Compare and evaluate a variety of sources and be able to use them effectively to answer business information questions.
- Develop an understanding of how to communicate with a business database vendor.
- Understand information requests on the topics of investments, financial ratios, and statistics.
- Demonstrate the techniques of over-viewing (providing a resource package such as a 'pathfinder' on a web page) on a specific sub-field of business information.
- Gain an understanding of the different types of business libraries and the roles of business information professionals.
This course supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- Design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems;
- 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;
- Compare the environments and organizational settings in which library and information professionals practice.
Textbooks and Readings
Required Readings
There is no required text. Articles will be assigned throughout the course. They will be listed and linked within Blackboard.
Course Requirements
Blackboard
Students must regularly consult BlackBoard sections including:
- Announcements
- Course Information
- Course Documents
- Assignments
- Discussion Board
Course Schedule and Assignments
General Weekly Schedule
| 1 | Introduction to business information and business information positions |
| 2 | Basic Business Resources |
| 3 | Business Article Databases |
| 4-5 | Industries |
| 5-6 | Companies |
| 7 | Accounting & Tax |
| 8 | Investments |
| 9 | Economics |
| 10 | Int'l Business |
| 11 | Small Business |
| 12 | Marketing/Demographics |
| 13 | Building Business Resources |
| 14 | Managing Business Resources |
| 15 | Competitive Intelligence |
| 16 | Business Information Associations |
| 17 | Wrap up |
Assignments are due by midnight (PST) on the date they are due. I reserve the right to adjust the due dates later as needed.
| #1 | Basic Business Tools | 12 pts | Due 9/10/07 |
| #2 | Article Database Comparison | 12 pts | Due 9/17/07 |
| #3 | Industry Resource Report | 12 pts | Due 9/24/07 |
| #4 | Company Research Report | 12 pts | Due 10/1/07 |
| #5 | Accounting Memo | 12 pts | Due 10/8/07 |
| #6 | Economics Report | 12 pts | Due 10/15/07 |
| #7 | Country Report | 12 pts | Due 10/22/07 |
| #8 | Market Research/Demographics Report | 12 pts | Due 11/5/07 |
| #9 | Website Comparison | 12 pts | Due 11/26/07 |
| #10 | Vendor Contact Memo | 12 pts | Due 11/29/07 |
| #11 | Competitive Intelligence Report | 70 pts | Due 12/7/07 |
| Mini projects (10) | 120 pts |
| Final Project (CI Report) | 70 pts |
| Class Participation | 30 pts |
| Total | 220 pts |
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.
Office Hours
My office is in West Lafayette, IN so having official office hours is a little unrealistic; pay attention to the 3 hour time difference between EST and PST. In general, communication should be through the Blackboard course site. My direct email will be the best method of contacting me for specific or timely questions/conversations (I have a Blackberry so I'll get it wherever I'm located).
Grading Policy
Everyone starts the class with a grade of "B", the standard grade for graduate level work. If you do the assignments as outlined on the assignment sheets and explained in class, you will maintain that "B". If you submit sub-standard work, you will receive a sub-standard grade (B- or below). If, on the other hand, you submit above-standard work, you will receive an above-standard grade (B+ or better). Above-standard work is defined as work that clearly displays one or more of the following criteria:
- originality in the approach to the assignment;
- greater depth of analysis than the written assignment calls for;
- overall treatment of the assignment above and beyond what the written assignment calls for; or
- superior organizational and/or written skills in the presentation of the material.
REMEMBER -- a "B" is not a bad grade, it shows you have satisfactorily demonstrated potential for professional achievement in this area.
Furthermore, you are in a graduate level, professional school program, and all work submitted will be of graduate standard. This means:
- assignments submitted after the due date will be penalized (penalty = 10% reduction per day) – it is your responsibility to be aware of the due dates for all assignments;
- all work will be typed;
- all pages will be consecutively numbered in each assignment;
- spelling, grammatical, and syntax errors will not be allowed; and
- all work cited should be in complete citation format.
Failure to comply with items a – e above will be considered less than standard graduate level performance and will result in less than a standard graduate level grade.
The active involvement of all students enrolled is vital to the success of the class. It is expected that all students will participate in every 'session' for the entire duration of the class.
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 |
Successful course participants will:
- Post a brief bio and statement of purpose to the BlackBoard Discussion Board during the first week of class.
- Read the required articles and other reading assignments as posted to BlackBoard.
- Initiate and contribute to discussion on BlackBoard weekly with substantive and analytical comments and questions.
- Integrate knowledge from readings and class discussion into assignments.
- Submit all required assignments on time.
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.
Plagiarism
All assignments submitted must be your own work. Sources must be properly cited as stated above. The San Jose State University regulations governing plagiarism will be enforced. Those regulations may be found at: http://info.sjsu.edu search option: Academic Dishonesty; and http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/S07-2.pdf for the current Academic Senate policy.
Other Requirements and Comments
- A high-speed connection for downloading various resources is preferred. If you do not use a high-speed connection, it will be your responsibility to obtain all materials nevertheless.
- This course requires consistent and regular attention to all discussion on Blackboard and continuous preparation and effort – no exceptions.
- All students are graded on the same basis regardless of workload, personal, medical, or technical problems, which are each student’s responsibility.
- Extra credit assignments are not accepted.
- No incompletes will be awarded – no exceptions.
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