LIBR 257-01
Records Management
Summer 2006 Greensheet
Susan Ewing Haley
E-mail
Phone:(415) 561-4804
| Greensheet Links Textbooks Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials |
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard between May 17-31. I will provide the Blackboard access code after May 15, 2006 via MySJSU messaging.
Course Description
This course will open your eyes to issues you never thought of before-the life cycle of information and where your personal and professional records fit into the grand scheme of things. You will learn how persistent and yet fleeting recorded information is in this world. You will have the opportunity to study and work in a real records management environment combined with online learning through readings and discussion. You will leave this course with a new understanding of how information is created, used, stored, accessed, and archived or destroyed, and the legal issues involved in this cycle. Records management is an important facet of the world of information management, one frequently not considered by the average person. Through this course, you will gain knowledge that will help you manage your own personal records as well as to manage records professionally as a career in and of itself or as an adjunct to any other profession you may enter.
Course Objectives
At the completion of this course a student should be able to:
- conduct a simple records survey and appraisal
- classify documents in various schemes
- understand and use a records retention/disposition schedule
- understand and address current issues in records management including ethics, electronic records issues, and appropriate professional preparation for the field of records management
- manage a records department
- provide records management services
- market records management to administrators
- have a basic understanding of the complex issues surrounding electronic records management
This course teaches students the major theories, important principles, and current practice in information and records management.
Textbooks
Required Text
The required textbooks for this course are:
- Robek, Brown & Stephens. (1995). Information and records management. 4th ed. Glencoe.
- Stephens, David O. & Roderick C. Wallace. (2003). Electronic Records Retention: New Strategies for Data Life Cycle Management. ARMA International.
Recommended Text
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (2001). 5th ed. APA.
Course Requirements
Blackboard
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard between May 17-31. I will provide the Blackboard access code after May 15, 2006 via MySJSU messaging.
Assignments
PLEASE NOTE assignment work which must be in progress by the first class meeting! (See Assignments section for more details).
- Site Visit Report - Identify and make contact with a place for a records management site visit.
- Records Survey - Identify a location (could be your own) with ten linear feet of records to survey.
The assignments for this course are:
- Initial Class Meeting
An initial class meeting will be held on Monday, June 5, from 5-8 p.m. at the Park Archives and Records Center, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco. Directions are posted on the Web site. - Field Trip
We may have a field trip option (tour of a major records management facility). This is an optional trip, but can be very interesting experience. It will likely be planned in conjunction with one of the all-day class meetings, i.e., the Friday afternoon before a Saturday class, to accommodate those people coming from out of town for class. We will discuss this opportunity at the first class meeting. - Readings
Each week I will assign reading chapters from the required texts, as well as selected articles from more current journals, etc., on the Blackboard. Adherence to the schedule of readings will greatly aid you in completing the take-home final exam. The readings list will be the source of the Web discussion questions for the following week. - Records Survey (5% of course grade)
Due June 19
Within the first two weeks of the term, based on readings and first class meeting information, each student will conduct a records survey of ten linear feet of records (equal to 5-8 file cabinet drawers, ca. 2/3 to ¾ full). These can be your personal records or records at a place of work, etc., provided you have permission from the supervisor/department head. You will use one of the survey forms provided in the opening class and will complete a survey form for each records series identified (minimum of three series). You will then write very brief series descriptions and include the following information: series name, extent, media, arrangement, date range, growth rate, record or non-record, status as vital record, and proposed disposition. Include a discussion of your thoughts and impressions of the assignment and what you found valuable about it in consideration of managing your own personal records in the future. Submit the series descriptions and discussion to the instructor via e-mail or Digital Dropbox - Web Discussions (15% of course grade)
Starting with the second week of class, on Monday of each week I will post a question for discussion on Blackboard. You must post comments, answers, questions, suggest/discuss a related reading, or in some SUBSTANTIVE way respond TWICE to the question before midnight Sunday following each posting. Substantive responses include thoughtful response based on personal opinion and readings or other Web research sources found on your own. Simple agreement or disagreement with the previous person on the discussion line will not count towards your two responses per week. A substantive response should be a minimum of three-four sentences long. - Hands-On Exercises (
12% + 13% of course grade)
There will be two full-day class meetings (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.) held at the Park Archives & Records Center, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco. Participation in projects at these meetings is mandatory. You will be assigned to a work team on project work and credit will not be awarded if you do not attend and participate.- Exercise 1 - Saturday, July 1
- Exercise 2 - Saturday, July 29
These meetings will include the following activities: discussion of issues/questions from the reading and other project assignments, work with retention schedules, live records survey and appraisal exercises, records accessioning, series identification, development of records center management systems and documentation, facility tours, roll play exercises, records destruction actions, professional ethics, review of various records formats (photos, maps, plans, etc).
Additional information and schedules will be provided prior to the meeting dates. - Site Visit/Report (15% of course grade)
June 10 - schedule site visit/inform instructor of site
June 25 - complete site visit
July 1 - report due
You will need to work on this BEFORE the term starts, identify a place of interest to conduct your site visit and make initial contacts so you can report to the instructor at the first class. Each student is required to make an appointment with a Records Manager in any type of organization/institution. Arrange to spend two to three hours with the Records Manager talking about the position, touring the Records Department and observing the Records Manager at work. Ask the Records Manager about their formal and informal preparation for the job, how they would describe their work, the importance given to the records center by the organization it serves, their use of technology, the classification and indexing of the records and any other information you feel is pertinent. Please use professional courtesy in all contacts and be sure to send a written thank you to the person after your visit.
After the visit, write a report on your interview and what you observed. Include everything you found of interest, include positive impressions as well as negative impressions. What were the biggest successes and problems of the individual in performing their work? How do they interact with/compare with librarians or archivists in their organization?
This is a formal paper; APA style, proper grammar, appropriate writing style and correct spelling are required and will be graded. You may or may not have references to literature. Please use proper APA styles for any references used. - Subject Report (20% of course grade)
July 1 (or sooner) - review topic/get approval from instructor
July 20 - paper due; paper is worth 20% of the course grade
This is a formal written paper on a case study, records management history or philosophy topic, or other current issue related to records management. This report should be based on your reading, interviews and any other information gathered in the course.
Use the APA style manual. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, organization, and appropriate graduate level writing are expected. The paper should be a minimum of ten pages of text in length; front matter and references/appendices are in addition to the required ten pages of text! Proper source citations are required. Please review the proposed topic with me before beginning your research. A sample listing of topics includes (but is not limited to):- Records storage issues;
- records preservation;
- vital records; legal or ethical issues in records management;
- a critical individual in the history of American records management;
- professional preparation for records management careers;
- marketing records management programs, records management professional organizations, etc.
- Take Home Final Exam (20% of course grade)
Due August 5
The final exam for this class will be posted on Blackboard by the second week of class and you should begin to work on it immediately. Work on the exam throughout the course, using any and all sources of information available to you. It can be turned in at any time, but must be completed and turned in no later than August 5. You may work individually or in groups to develop the answers, but each student is responsible for turning in a completed exam. This exam will serve as a learning tool and the research you put in to answer all the questions will be very useful to you in "gelling" the important basic concepts of records management.
Grading
The assignments for this course will contribute to your final grade as follows:
| Records Survey Exercise | 5% |
| Web discussions | 15% |
| Site Visit/Report | 15% |
| Subject Report | 20% |
| Hands-on Exercise 1 | 12% |
| Hands-On-Exercise 2 | 13% |
| Take Home Final Exam | 20% |
Students will be provided with a more detailed overview of grading procedures at the first class. Points will be assessed against the student's grade for late assignments. There will be at least one extra credit question on the take home final exam. Full participation in the Web discussions is a no-brainer-failure to participate as required can (and has) resulted in the loss of a full letter grade.
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+ |
Academic Integrity
Read the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy 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/
One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
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