LIBR 233-02
School Library Media Centers
(SFUSD LMT/MLIS)
Fall 2007 Greensheet
Margaret Lincoln
E-mail
Office Location: Virtual
Office Hours: Please note that I live in Battle Creek, Michigan, which is in the Eastern Time Zone. I will do my best to respond to emails sent to mlincoln@slis.sjsu.edu within 48 hours. I can also be reached from 12:00 – 4:00 PM (ET), Monday through Friday, at 269-565-3730.
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials |
The content for the course is managed through Blackboard. Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard by August 20, 2007. You will be required to use a password access code. The code will be provided to you via the MySJSU Messaging system by August 17.
Course Description
A seminar designed to explore the role of the school library media teacher and the school library media program in the educational community. Emphasis will be on the creation of an effective learning environment, involvement in the curriculum and teaching process, as well as philosophies of service and management. 3 units.
Prerequisites: Demonstrated computer literacy
Course Objectives
At the completion of the course
- Students will know and understand the components of an effective library media program across a wide spectrum of programmatic and administrative topics.
- Students will be expected to translate that body of knowledge into a working plan of action for an actual library media program in an elementary or secondary school. Two major programmatic thrusts of this course are developing a program for reading and enhancing learning through technology.
- Students will be able to sort through and articulate practice as it reflects tradition in the field vs. the push into the future. One way this will begin to happen is through an analysis of Information Power, 1998.
- Students will understand and begin to build the competencies designed by the State of California for the school library media teacher and demonstrate these competencies through a portfolio that will satisfy both the state and SJSU.
Course Objectives
Student Learning Outcomes
- Know the principles and practices of managing a school library media center (SLMC)
- Locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature
- Exhibit effective oral and written communication skills in collaborative projects
- Demonstrate an understanding of how to integrate technology applications into information management
LIBR 233 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;
- recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use;
- apply the fundamental principles of planning, management and marketing/advocacy;
- use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users;
- evaluate programs and services on specified criteria.
In addition this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- 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 (L)
- Demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations (M)
Assignments
- Outcome: Students will know the principles and practices of managing a school library media center
Assessment- Students will prepare a promotional brochure, outlining and explaining the library media center program. At a later date during the course, students will present this item to a state legislator. (Unit 1 and follow-up)
- Students will identify, locate and collect a sampling of policies and procedures used in the management of a school library media center (such as a materials selection policy) and will customize one policy or procedure to reflect practice in their own school library media center. (Unit 2)
- Outcome: Students will be able to locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature.
Assessment- Students will search for, locate, read and critically review articles in publications pertinent to library and information science. (Units 2-7)
- Students will report on and share more informal posts found in blogs and other Web 2.0 applications as pertinent to library and information science. (Units 2-7)
- Students will evaluate and submit a recommendation for a new technology tool. (Units 3)
- Outcome: Students will exhibit effective oral and written communication skills in collaborative projects.
Assessment- Students will plan a project promoting recreational reading and will present this project idea to colleagues in a staff meeting. (Unit 4)
- Students will work jointly to prepare and submit a grant proposal for funding a library project (Unit 5)
- Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of how to integrate technology applications into information management
Assessment- Students will work with a teacher colleague to modify a lesson plan so as to incorporate library media center resources and reinforce information literacy skills. (Unit 6)
- Students will design a Library Web portal giving access to the media center’s real and virtual presence. (Unit 7)
Textbooks and Readings
Required Textbooks
- Woolls, Blanche. The School Library Media Manager. 3rd edition. Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
- Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning. American Library Association, 1998. This may be ordered from the American Library Association or the
SLIS eBookstore.
Recommended Textbooks
- California School Library Association. Standards and Guidelines for Strong School Libraries. 2004. Available from CSLA.
- Krashen, Stephen. The Power of Reading. 2nd edition. Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
Loertscher, David V. Taxonomies of the School Library Media Program. 2nd edition. Hi Willow Research & Publishing, 2000. - Loertscher, David and Douglas Achterman. Increasing Academic Achievement in Your Classroom Through the Library: A Guide for Teachers. Hi Willow Research & Publishing, 2002.
- Loertscher, David and Jo Ellen Misakian. California Power! A Parents' Guide to School Libraries. Hi Willow Research & Publishing, 2004.
- Morris, Betty J. Administering the School Library Media Center. 4th edition. Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
- Valenza, Joyce Kasman. Power Tools Recharged: 125+ Essential Forms and Presentations for your School Library Information Program. ALA, 2004.
- Wasman, Ann M. New Steps to Service: Common-sense Advice for the School Library Media Specialist. ALAL,1998. Available from netLibrary through King Library online databases: eBook ISBN 9780585356921.
Suggested Periodicals
In addition to the textbook material and databases available through King Library, the following periodicals and their Web sites are specifically geared to school librarians:
- Knowledge Quest is a perquisite for membership in the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). While some articles are available online at http://www.ala.org/aasl/kqweb, you should join AASL to receive the complete journal.
- Library Media Connection (succeeds TheBook Report and Library Talk) from Linworth Publishing is a periodical geared to school librarians. Some articles and reviews are available from publisher’s site at http://www.linworth.com/lmc/
- School Library Journal can be accessed online at http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/. Not only can you bring up the current issue (including articles and reviews) from this site, but you can also take advantage of such features as up-to-the-minute news stories, reader comments on articles, SLJ associated blogs, the SLJ RSS feed, and complete archives.
- School Library Media Activities Monthly is a publication from Libraries Unlimited, supporting K-8 school library media specialists as they plan collaborative lessons and units with teachers. Articles are written by library media professionals, helping others in the field stay abreast of current issues and trends. Full-text pdf articles are available at http://www.schoollibrarymedia.com/features/activities/index.html
- School Library Media Research is the online research journal of the AASL and available at http://www.ala.org/aasl/SLMR/index.html Articles are peer-reviewed or refereed and are useful if you need to site research results rather than the “glad tidings” found in most of the other journals.
- Teacher Librarian, formerly edited and published by SLIS Director Ken Haycock, is available at http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/index.html. The publication addresses such issues such as collaboration, leadership, technology, advocacy, information literacy, and management and offers reviews of education and library-related professional materials. Limited access to full-text archives.
Course Requirements
General Expectations
All students must:
- 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 submitting them online to Blackboard, other students and to your instructor
- Create an account in Blackboard and enroll in the class site for this course to receive communications from your instructor (http://tigris.sjsu.edu).
- Use the following scheme for submitting files electronically: [Course Number]_[Student’s Last Name]_[Assignment Number]. Camelback notation is acceptable. For example: 233LincolnAssignment1
- Submit assignments by 11:00 PM (Pacific Time) on the due date. An assignment submitted within three days after the due date will be subjected to a grade penalty of a 5% point deduction per day. Late assignments will not be accepted after this three-day or 72-hour period.
- Type or key all work using Microsoft Word using no more than a 12-point font. Files created in Microsoft Publisher or PowerPoint may be appropriate for some assignments where stylistic leeway is acceptable.
- Consistently follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) for formats, citations and references
- Avoid spelling, grammatical and syntactical errors.
Overview of Units
LIBR 233 coursework has been organized into seven units. Each unit is approximately two weeks in duration, beginning on a Monday and concluding with an assignment due 14 days later on a Sunday evening. Some interactive sessions with guest lecturers using Elluminate may be scheduled on Sunday afternoons throughout the fall semester. Your participation in these sessions will be strongly encouraged but not required.
| Unit | Description | Dates |
| 1 | The School Library Media Profession | 08/22/07 - 09/09/07 |
| 2 | Organization and Management of the SLMC | 09/10/07 - 09/23/07 |
| 3 | Enhancing Learning Through Technology | 09/24/07 - 10/07/07 |
| 4 | Reading and Teen/Pre-Teen Services | 10/08/07 - 10/21/07 |
| 5 | Collaboration | 10/22/07 - 11/04/07 |
| 6 | Information Literacy | 11/05/07 - 11/18/07 |
| 7 | Information Infrastructure and Web Portals | 11/19/07 - 12/09/07 |
Overview of Assignments
The key assignments for this course are listed below. Specific assignment details will be explained in the Course Documents section of Blackboard. The total number of possible points for the class is 400. The percentage following each assignment indicates the percentage of the total points for the course. Some assignments may be group projects.
| Assignment | Unit | Points | Percent | Date Due |
| Promotional brochure and visit to legislator | 1 | 40 | 10 | 09/09/07 and follow-up |
| Review of articles and discussion posts | 2-7 | 80 | 20 | Ongoing |
| SLMC management policies and procedures | 2 | 32 | 8 | 09/23/07 |
| Recommendation for new technology tool | 3 | 28 | 7 | 10/07/07 |
| Reading project | 4 | 40 | 10 | 10/21/07 |
| Grant proposal | 5 | 80 | 20 | 11/04/07 |
| Collaborative lesson plan | 6 | 40 | 10 | 11/18/07 |
| Web site portal | 7 | 60 | 15 | 12/09/07 |
Grading
This introductory course to School Library Media Centers has not only been designed to meet specific instructional objectives and to support SLIS core competencies, but LIBR 233 will also provide you with practical advice and job-related learning experiences that should have a positive impact on your beginning career as a library media teacher (LMT). Just as you will be putting forth considerable effort in your LMT position, I expect that you will submit work of a professional quality in this course and interact with other members of the cohort in a positive and collaborative manner.
All students begin the class with a grade of “B”, the standard grade for graduate level work. By completing assignments on time and by regularly participating in Blackboard activities and discussions, you should receive the “B” provided that the quality of work meets the rigorous scholarly standard for the University. 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
Letter grades will be determined from points earned on each assignment according to instructions detailed in the course folders for each unit of LIBR 233. Please read these instructions carefully and follow them! Late work will be subject to a grade penalty as stated above.
The SJSU SLIS Grading Scale is as follows:
| 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 |
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.
Attendance/Participation
Logging on to Blackboard is vital to success in this course. Virtual classroom sessions through Elluminate (to be announced) may also be conducted. Participation in online group projects through Blackboard discussion forums is crucial. Reading/viewing/listening to required materials will enhance your ability to participate in these discussions. Check Blackboard regularly for updates
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.
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
Contact the webmaster
