LIBR 221-01
Government Information Sources
Spring 2007 Greensheet
Todd Gilman
E-mail
Office Location: Virtual
Phone: (203) 432-1761
Office Hours: M-F 9-5 EST
| Greensheet Links Course Materials Course Requirements Course Schedule About your Instructor |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS e-Bookstore |
Blackboard course enrollment dates are 22 Jan - 26 Jan 2007. Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard during these dates. You will be required to use a password access code that I will provide using MYSJSU Messaging system. For more information on access code enrollment, see the tutorial entitled Enrolling in a Blackboard course.
Course Description
The study of United States government information, publications, and databases, their bibliographic organization, use in various kinds of libraries and information centers, methods of acquiring information from federal, state, and local sources; problems of depository and non-depository collections. Lectures, readings, and exploration of print and electronic resources will equip students with a thorough understanding of the scope and content of government information sources.
Prerequisite: LIBR 210
Course Objectives
The objectives of this course are:
- To develop an understanding of the structure, function, and document- generating processes of the main branches of the federal government, states, and municipalities.
- To achieve a working knowledge of the bibliographic control, modes of procurement, handling, servicing, and collection-building of official publications.
- To provide an intensive experience in finding, analyzing, and interpreting information in the pivotal legislative, administrative, and statistical series and service.
- To familiarize students with the technical terminology used in the legislative process, censuses, patents, and trademarks.
- To develop an understanding of professional and governmental agencies in formulating policy.
- To familiarize students with the problems of fugitive literature and the role of NGO's (Non-Government Organizations).
- To make students aware that other countries, the United Nations, and other international intergovernmental agencies engage in their own unique processes.
Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
- Manipulate pertinent bibliographic tools--official and commercial
- Outline the federal government publishing and dissemination system
- Identify the most important legislative, administrative, and statistical series for the purpose of information retrieval
- Trace the legislative history of either a federal or state law
- Use various census reports
- Locate data in major official statistical publications
- Differentiate the functions of federal, state, and local governmental agencies
- Exploit the various non-print bibliographic data files and microform texts disseminated by government and commercial agencies
- Outline federal government policies affecting the flow of information
LIBR 221 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- compare the environments and organizational settings in which library and information professionals practice;
- recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use.
In addition, this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create information structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization and representation of knowledge;
- 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;
- understand the nature of research, research methods and research findings; retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups;
- demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
- evaluate programs and services on specified criteria.
Course Materials
You do not need to own all of these-the combined cost is quite high-but you should have access to all of them via a library near you. If you wish to buy only one, Tapping the Government Grapevine is the most readable.
- Tapping the Government Grapevine (Judith Schiek Robinson) 3rd ed. 1998. (1-57356-024-3)
- Introduction to United States Government Information Sources (Joe Morehead) 6th ed. 1999. (1-56308-735-9)
- Using Government Information Sources (Jean L. Sears and Marilyn K. Moody) 3rd ed. 2001. (1-5735-6-288-2)
- U.S. Government on the Web (Peter Hernon et al.) 3rd ed. 2003. (1-5915-80862)
The textbooks may be ordered directly from the publishers or through Web-based vendors such as the SLIS e-Bookstore or Barnes & Noble at www.bn.com.
NOTE: You will need to have the first two books (Robinson and Morehead) in hand by the first day of class, so please make sure you can obtain easy access to them as soon as you read this Greensheet.
Additional Readings
Additional course materials will be available through the Blackboard course site or free on the Web.
Discussion Lists
Electronic discussion lists constitute an important part of professional dialogue and support for government documents librarians. All students in this class should subscribe to GOVDOC-L (http://govdoc-l.org/#top), the largest electronic discussion list dedicated to issues in government documents librarianship.
Course Requirements
Contacting the Instructor
I shall have no specific online office hours, but shall be available to answer questions submitted either through the Blackboard course site, or directly to todd.gilman@yale.edu. Please note that I am on Eastern Standard Time, and that you should expect to receive a reply to any questions within 48 hours of receipt. Any extended absences that might affect response time will be announced through the Blackboard course site.
Primary Requirements
Primary requirements consist of:
- Successfully completing assignments related to objectives listed above.
- Reading assignments must be completed each week. Readings not in the course books are provided through Blackboard or are free on the Web. Be prepared to familiarize yourself with a large number of government-related Web sites.
Evaluation Criteria
I shall evaluate ALL written work according to the following criteria in addition to the specific requirements for each assignment:
- Quality of the presentation-neat and error-free
- Quality of the writing-clear, direct, and correct
- Quality of the organization-smooth, logical flow and content
- Quality and amount of reflection, analysis, and evaluation
Assignment Submissions
All papers must be typed, double spaced, with a font size of at least 12 points. They must also conform to APA style. You should own a copy of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition (2001). For further information, see the SLIS APA Style Resources page. You might also consult Garner, Diane and Diane H. Smith, The Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents: A Manual for Writers & Librarians. Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Services. Rev. ed. 1993.
Late Assignments
Let the instructor know in advance if you will be unable to participate during a given week. Late assignments will be accepted up to five days past the deadline, with a penalty of 1 point (1% of course grade) per day. With an appropriate reason stated BEFORE the due date, students may be allowed additional time without penalty. I shall not accept any paper that is more than five days late.
Technical Requirements
You must have access to the following: Internet/World Wide Web access, Java-enabled Web browser, Microsoft Office (particularly Word and PowerPoint), and Adobe Acrobat Reader 5+.
You must be able to send and receive e-mail, including attachments. You should plan to check your e-mail and the Blackboard course site regularly for announcements.
For more detailed information, consult the SLIS home computing environment page.
Blackboard
This course is run via Blackboard. Course enrolment dates are 22 - 26 January 2007.
For more information on Blackboard, see the SLIS Blackboard Tutorials page.
Grading
There are 100 possible points for this course, divided as follows:
| Assignments | Total Point Value |
| 4 Article Reviews=5 points each x 4 | 20 points |
| 4 Exercises [i.e., sets of 10 reference questions each]=5 points each x 4 |
20 points |
| 3 Investigations (FDLP inspection, legislative history, census profile)=10 points each x 3 |
30 points |
| 2 Papers (the first is 1500 words; the second, 3000 words)=10 points and 20 points |
30 points |
Specific requirements for each assignment, including due dates, will be posted in the course site via Blackboard.
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+ |
Additional Information
Each student will
- assume responsibility for his/her learning
- use the provided learning guides and resources; conduct data searches when necessary
- manage his/her time effectively (plan a schedule and practice time management)
- ask for assistance when needed; avoid unnecessary frustration and confusion
- remain active in Discussions and e-mail
- prepare all work at graduate performance levels
- enter each Unit beginning the date that Unit starts. He/she is then free to access that Unit as many times as he/she likes through the end of the course
- follow good online etiquette
Please note:
- You must have access to a “bricks and mortar” (i.e., physical, not just virtual) library that houses a standard collection of government documents-ideally a state library.
- I prefer not to use the Chat function for this course, though you are welcome to; formal interaction of the class as a whole will take the form of Discussions.
- So that I am not inundated with e-mail, please limit the number of e-mails you send me to two per week if possible. That means saving up questions, perhaps, for several days.
- Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the assignment in question (see more on plagiarism below).
- welcome the class to each Unit on the day it opens and include updates and other announcements
- provide assistance/knowledge in facilitating understanding of the course content
- guide students through the course
- provide feedback
- maintain records
- mark assignments and maintain records within 15 working days
- respond to messages on Tuesdays and Thursdays
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/
Course Schedule
| Unit | Topic |
| 1 | Current Issues in Access to U.S. Government Information |
| 2 | History of U.S. Government Publishing and Government Printing Office |
| 3 | FDLP and SuDoc Classification System |
| 4 | Finding Aids: Electronic, Print, and Historic |
| 5 | Legislative Information Sources Part 1 |
| 6 | Legislative Information Sources Part 2 |
| 7 | Legislative Information Sources Part 3 |
| 8 | Executive Branch Part 1 |
| 9 | Executive Branch Part 2 |
| 10 | Judicial Branch Part 1 |
| 11 | Judicial Branch Part 2 |
| 12 | Legal Information Sources Part 1: Federal |
| 13 | Legal Information Sources Part 2: California |
| 14 | Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademark, and Copyright Part 1 |
| 15 | Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademark, and Copyright Part 2 |
About your instructor
Professor Gilman holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Toronto and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Simmons College in Boston. He is Librarian for Literature in English at Yale University Library (www.library.yale.edu). He also teaches part-time for the Library and Information Science Program at Wayne State University.
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