LIBR 257-01
Records Management
Summer 2007 Greensheet
Susan Ewing Haley
E-mail
Daytime Phone:(415) 561-4804
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS e-Bookstore |
Note: Greensheet may alter throughout the term with regard to assignment due dates.
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard between May 17-31. I will provide the Blackboard access code after May 15, 2007, 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 Prerequisites: LIBR 200, 202, 204
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
- understand the issues involved in managing 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.
LIBR 257 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;
- apply the fundamental principles of planning, management and marketing/advocacy;
- use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation and organization of specific items or collections of information;
- 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.
In addition, this section 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
Textbooks and Readings
Required Text and Readings
- 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.
Additional articles provided online through Blackboard.
Recommended Text
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (2001). 5th ed. APA.
Go to SLIS e-Bookstore.
Course Requirements
Required Course Meetings
All onsite meetings at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Park Archives & Records Center, Bldg 667 McDowell Avenue, Presidio of San Francisco. A refrigerator and microwave are available for use. Several restaurants are available nearby. Drinks in closed containers may be consumed in the class area.
- June 5 – 5 – 8 p.m.
- June 16 – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- July 14 – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Optional Field Trips
Participants should arrange own transportation and meet at the field trip site no later than 10 minutes before the posted tour time. We will select a site for lunch in the event we can hold the second field trip each day. Watch for more information on field trips.
- June 15 – 10:30 a.m.- c. 12:30 p.m. – National Archives and Records Administration, San Bruno, California. A guided tour of the Federal Records Center which houses the inactive records of federal agencies in the Pacific West area, and the National Archives.
- June 15 – p.m., possible tour of a commercial records storage facility on the Peninsula or in San Francisco (not yet confirmed)
- July 13 – 10:00 a.m. – c. 11:30 a.m., Northern California Paper Recyclers, Hayward, California. A commercial paper recycler which provides shredding services for government and commercial agencies.
- July 13 – p.m., possible tour of a paper mill (not yet confirmed)
Blackboard
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard between May 17-31. I will provide the Blackboard access code after May 15, 2007, via MySJSU messaging.
PLEASE NOTE assignment work that 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.
Grading
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.
| Records Survey Exercise | 5% |
| Web discussions | 14% |
| Site Visit/Report | 15% |
| Subject Report | 20% |
| Hands-on Exercise 1 | 13% |
| Hands-On-Exercise 2 | 13% |
| Take Home Final Exam | 20% |
Assignments
- Records Survey
5% of course grade
Due June 15
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 email or Digital Dropbox - Web Discussions
14% 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 Wednesday 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. There will be at least one week during the term when there will be no or minimal Web Discussion requirements to provide extra time for other written assignments. You MUST keep up with the reading assignments to fully participate in the discussion board! - Hands-On Exercises
13% + 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, June 16
- Exercise 2 – Saturday, July 14
Additional information and schedules will be provided prior to the meeting dates. - Site Visit/Report
15% of course grade- June 13 – schedule site visit/inform instructor of site
- June 30 – complete site visit
- July 13 – report due
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--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 style for any references used. - Subject Report
20% of course grade- July 1 (or sooner) – review topic/get approval from instructor
- July 25 – paper due
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 Examination
20% of course grade
Due August 2
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 2. 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.
Writing Standards
Please note that I am a stickler for good writing. I cannot accept lazy writing from graduate students. By this time in your educational life you should have mastered the basic mechanics of good writing. I don’t like to spend time correcting your spelling and grammar on papers, but I will do it if necessary. I would much rather breeze through a smoothly written and well-supported topic or argument and to learn from your research than to get bogged down fighting poor sentence structure. A portion of your grade on every assignment is based on mechanics of writing. The grading sheets for each assignment will be posted on Blackboard so you can see in advance how points are awarded. Please use them, as they will give you a good opportunity to maximize your grades by addressing the issues I watch for. Please get, and use, the APA Style Guide referenced above.
Plagiarism in any form is, of course, never tolerated. This includes such techniques as copying whole sentences or paragraphs and changing one or two words. See the section on Academic Integrity below for the University’s policy on plagiarism.
Initial Class Meeting
An initial class meeting will be held on Tuesday, 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 Website.
Field Trips
We will have field trips in addition to the required class meetings. These are optional trips, and can be very interesting experiences. They are planned in conjunction with the all-day class meetings, i.e., the Friday before a Saturday class, to accommodate those people coming from out of town. We will discuss these opportunities at the first class meeting. I will need to have a reasonably close head count about a week before each field trip so I can inform our hosts of the group size. You will be responsible for your own transportation and meals (in the event a field trip goes over lunch).
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 reading list will be the source of the web discussion questions for the following week.
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 |
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/
One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
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