LIBR 231-10
Issues in Special Libraries
Spring 2006 Greensheet
Sue Brewsaugh
E-mail
Phone: 714-229-7574 (Preferred contact through e-mail)
Office Hours: Online
| Greensheet Links Textbooks Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials |
Please enroll in Blackboard site by February 7. The class will be available in Blackboard by Jan 26. You will receive an access code for enrollment via MySJSU.
Course Description
This course discussions the special library – what it is, what makes it different from academic or public libraries, and its issues. Two in-person meetings will be held at the Fullerton campus, room PLS 68. They will be on February 12 and May 7. The rest of the class will be conducted online through Blackboard. Please register in Blackboard by February 7. The class will be available in Blackboard by Jan 26.
Prerequisites: LIBR 200, LIBR 202, LIBR 204
Course Goals and Objectives
- The course is designed to introduce the student to the concept of special libraries/information centers and the variety of environments in which they are found.
- The course will also introduce the student to the organizational/operational issues associated with special libraries/information centers and other related types of information services.
- The course will also help the student understand one specific operation through a fieldwork experience.
Textbooks
Required Textbooks
The required textbooks are:
- Outsell Briefing: Google’s Impact on Libraries, 2005 (posted on Blackboard)
- Outsell Briefing: Information Management Best Practices: Metrics that Matter, 2005 (posted on Blackboard)
- Outsell Briefing: Information Management Best Practices: Next Gen IM – Moving Beyond the Repository, 2005
- Outsell Briefing: Information Management Best Practices: Fortunes Up For Information Management Functions 2005 - And With Fortune Comes Accountability, 2005
- Outsell Briefing: The Value of Libraries: Justifying Corporate Information Centers in the Year of Accountability, Outsell Inc, 2001 (posted on Blackboard)
- Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, OCLC, 2005 www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm
Recommended Textbooks
The recommended materials for this course are:
- Matthews, Joseph R. The Bottom Line: Determining and Communicating the Value of the Special Library. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2002
- Matarazzo, James M. and Suzanne D. Connolly. Knowledge and Special Libraries (Resources for the Knowledge-Based Economy). Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999
- Mount, Ellis and Renee Massoud. Special Libraries and Information Centers: An Introductory Text. 4th ed. Washington DC: Special Libraries Association, 1999
Course Requirements
Class Hours & Location
Online with two sessions in PLS 68 meeting from 10-4:
- February 12
- May 7
Projects Overview
The projects for this course are:
- Oral Report
Prepare a 10 minute oral presentation based upon your observations during your fieldwork experience or your research for your paper. If you did fieldwork, you should be prepared to discuss your project in detail, the library/information center where you did your fieldwork, its organizational structure, its management style/structure, its clientele, and any other interesting features. If you did a research paper, be prepared to summarize its content. This assignment will be evaluated according to the following criteria:- Completeness of the analysis
- Organizational ability
- Presentation ability
- Project Review (for Fieldwork)
Each student will be expected to complete a project at the fieldwork site. The student will negotiate the project content with the supervisor they are working with at the site as well as your instructor. Upon completion of the project, the student will prepare a written project review, including the following:- Purpose and scope of the project
- Explanation of the approach to and design of the project, along with the rationale for the approach taken
- Description of specific methods and techniques used and why
- Discussion of any problems encountered and how they were handled
- Summary of the results of the project and how the project will benefit the fieldwork site
- Evaluation of what you learned/accomplished by doing the project
This assignment will be evaluated according to the following criteria:- Completeness of the review
- Organizational ability
- Your site supervisor's feedback
- Issue Paper
Interview a special librarian. Discuss the major issues of our field. Write a 1-2 page double spaced paper describing the interview. Post them to Blackboard. These papers may be submitted to the local SLA newsletter for publication (with everyone’s permission, of course). - Research Paper
Choose a topic that pertains to Special Libraries. You must get your instructor’s approval of this topic. Your paper must be double-spaced. Include your bibliography of sources. Suggested topics may be valuing an information center, use of xml, taxonomies, knowledge management, content management, the role of the special librarian in the future. - Professional Event
Attend one/three professional event(s) during the course of the semester. Your assignment is to introduce yourself to at least one stranger. Write a one page, double-spaced summary of the event. Post it to Blackboard. These papers may be submitted to the local SLA newsletter for publication (with everyone’s permission, of course). - Required Readings
Five Outsell briefings and an OCLC report url have been posted to Blackboard. Read each report. By the dates indicated, please go to the appropriate discussion board and post a comment on the briefing. Tell what you agree or disagree with about the document. Your posting may be (is encouraged to be) a reaction to someone else’s comment.
Course Calendar (Tentative)
Tentative course calendar including assignment due dates, exam dates, date of Final exam:
(Please note that the course calendar is “subject to change with fair notice”)
| Requirement | Final Date to Post |
| Fortunes Up | February 26 |
| Value of Libraries | March 12 |
| Perceptions | March 26 |
| Next Gen IM | April 9 |
| Metrics that Matter | April 23 |
| May 7 | |
| Issue Paper | May 7 |
| Professional Event Paper 1 | April 23 |
| Professional Event Paper 2 | May 7 |
| Professional Event Paper 3 | May 7 |
| Project Review or paper | May 7 |
| Oral Report | May 7 |
| Fieldwork or paper | May 7 |
Grades
You will choose your grade, based on the amount and quality of your work.
- A/A-
- 40 hour fieldwork or 20-25 page research paper
- Project Review (for fieldwork)
- Oral Report
- 1 issue paper
- 3 Professional Event papers
- Required Readings Discussion on Blackboard – you must post one comment (at least) to each document
- B+/B/B-
- 30 hours fieldwork or 10-15 page research paper
- Project Review (for fieldwork)
- Oral Report
- 1 professional event paper
- Required Readings Discussion on Blackboard – you must post one comment (at least) to at least 3 documents
Late Assignments Penalty (if any)
Late work will only be accepted if negotiated with instructor before due date.
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 are required to report all infractions to the Office of Judicial Affairs.
The policy on academic integrity can be found at http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf
You are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops, academic renewal, withdrawal, etc. found at http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf
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/
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Phone: 408-924-2490
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