LIBR 262
Resources for Young Adults
Fall2004

Darla Magana
E-mail

GREENSHEET

Course Description

Materials for adolescents and pre-adolescents and methods for incorporating these materials into library programs. Collection development, needs assessment, and programming will be featured. Information services for young adults in a variety of settings will also be addressed.
Prerequisites: none

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate a familiarity with a variety of young adult literature and information books as well as various media for this age group.
• Demonstrate knowledge and appreciation of literature for young adults, including both the historical perspective and current trends in the field.
• Evaluate selection tools and use appropriate resources to develop a young adult collection including all appropriate formats.
• Create a repertoire of techniques for working with and serving young adults.
• Understand teen’s current reading, viewing and listening habits as well as their physical, emotional, and cognitive development and apply this knowledge in program planning and collection development.
• Understand and articulate a personal philosophy of service to young adults.

The course supports the following SLIS objectives:

• One or more specialized aspects of information management
• Information management, including the selection, organization, storage, retrieval, dissemination and utilization of information resources
• Evaluating and utilizing relevant research studies from a variety of disciplines

Course Format

This is a web-based course. You will be able to enroll on the Blackboard site starting August 18th. Instruction will begin the week of August 22nd. All of our interaction will take place on the SLIS Blackboard site and via personal email. Course materials will be available through the Blackboard site or through the online databases at Clark Library. Assignments for the course should be posted electronically.

Textbook: All books are available through Amazon.com and other online booksellers.

Required :
Jones, Patrick. Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 2nd edition. (Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1998). **Please note that the hardback edition of the 3rd edition is coming out sometime soon. However, because of the prohibitive cost of the new hardcopy edition and the fact that the 2nd edition is still relevant, I’m basing the coursework on the 2nd edition.

Recommended:
Because of the expense considerations, the following texts are recommended but not required:

Aronson, Marc. Exploding the Myths: The Truth About Teenagers and Reading . Scarecrow Press, 2001.

Donelson, Kenneth L. and Alleen Pace Nilsen. Literature for Today's Young Adults. 6th ed. Addison Wesley Longman, 2000.

Bodart, Joni Richards . Radical Reads: 101 YA Novels on the Edge . Scarecrow, 2002.

Crawford, Philip. Graphic Novels 101. HiWillow Research & Publishing. 2003.

Dresang, Eliza. Radical Change: Books for Youth in a Digital Age. H.W. Wilson. 1999.

Assignments and Grading:

Late assignments and postings will be lowered a grade.

Final Grading Rubric:

• 270-300=A
• 240-269=B
• 210-239=C
• 180-209=D
• less than 179=F

If you need any special consideration due to a disability, you need to register with the SJSU Disability Resource Center and notify the instructor by the second week of classes.

All assignments submitted must be your own work. Sources must be properly cited in papers as specified in class. The San Jose State University regulations governing plagiarism will be enforced. Those regulations may be found at: http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf

Assignments

Assignment 1: Professional Resource Review

Read/peruse and review a professional resource aimed at librarians serving young adults. A list of appropriate potential resources will be provided, please have your choice approved by the instructor. Focus your explanation of the resource on the following:

1. Purpose/objectives
2. Contents-what information is included.
3. Arrangement
4. Strengths and weaknesses
5. Usefulness to the Young Adult Librarian

Further assignment details, the assessment rubric, and exemplars will be available on the Blackboard site.

Assignment 2: Genre Descriptions and Booklists

With a partner examine one of the following genres. (Only one genre can be examined per partnership—signup with the instructor will be on a first come, first serve basis.) Present a description of common elements (settings, character types, plot lines)/themes/motifs etc. within the genre and then present an annotated list of 10 core titles within that genre that would be appropriate for young adult reading. Choose from the following genres: realistic, romance, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, series fiction, historical fiction, adventure, “chick lit”, “guy lit”, humor. Cite the sources you consulted.

Further assignment details, the assessment rubric, and exemplars will be available on the Blackboard site.

Assignment 3: Independent Project

Project proposal due: Week 7

Choose a topic of pertinence, research it and create a final project/presentation. Topics can include popular young adult authors (Richard Peck, Laurie Halse Anderson, etc), issues of interest to teens (sex and love, sports, drug use, etc.), genres or resource types (graphic novels, video games), curricular tie-ins (Shakespeare, the Cold War, Mathematical concepts), events (Banned books week, Teen read week, Summer reading programs), or really anything else of interest to you and to teens or those who work with teens. The final project can be a website, a Power Point presentation, a program plan, a lesson plan, a brochure (or series of brochures), a streaming video presentation, etc. The final project must include at least one annotated booklist that could be shared with young adults. Project proposal should include topic and scope, audience, and final project format. Projects can be collaboratively created; you may work with a partner.

Further assignment details, the assessment rubric, and exemplars will be available on the Blackboard site.

Assignment 4: Resource Notebook/Database

Create an entry for 50 resources appropriate for young adults. Each entry should include the bibliographic information; a brief, but complete, summary; a genre/format label; a reading/interest level; and mention of any other resources that are similar in style, content, theme, or characters. Also include any of the following items that you think might help you with reader's advisory activities in the future.

• Personal thoughts
• Subjects/themes
• Awards
• Series Information
• Character names/descriptions
• One/two sentence high interest annotation (that might be used on reader's advisory bibliography)
• Programming/lesson ideas
• Notes on passages that would be good to use for booktalks/programming.
• Anything else you'd like to add

Complete project should include a well rounded list of entries. Include a variety of print and media resources that illustrate a variety of genres, reading levels, interest levels and formats. Complete project should include several recent (1990+) award winning resources. Titles discussed in class, and any other materials used for previous discussion or assignments may be included.

Entries can be formatted using Microsoft Word, Access, Excel, or other software (with prior discussion with the instructor to check for compatibility).

Further assignment details, the assessment rubric, and exemplars will be available on the Blackboard site.

Assignment 5: Discussion Board Participation

Weekly a discussion topic will be posted to the Discussion Board. Contributions to the online discussion will be assessed as a significant part of your grade. Students are expected to contribute thoughtful comments and feedback based on readings or experience.

Guidelines for Discussion Boards

• Respond to the comments of others as well as posting original comments.
• Be specific. Mention titles and examples to illustrate your opinions and general statements.
• Try to refrain from sharing unrelated personal anecdotes, although professional experience with a book in a class or library setting can add important information to the discussion.
• Add something new to the discussion. Although saying “I agree” is affirming, it doesn’t add to our discussion.

Participation in three “live” online bookchats will be added towards total discussion board participation. Bookchats will occur from 7:00-9:00 in the lightweight chat room in the Blackboard classroom on the following dates: Wednesday, September 15; Thursday, October 7; Tuesday, October 19; Thursday, November 11; and Friday, December 3. Book titles to be discussed will be determined at a later time.

Further assignment details and the assessment rubric will be available on the Blackboard site.

Assignment 6: YALSA-BK Discussion Board Participation

Within the first weeks of class, subscribe to the online discussion list for Young Adult Librarians (YALSA-BK). Monitor the discussion, share your thoughts regarding the experience with our class via our YALSA Discussion Folder and at least once throughout the semester participate in the YALSA-BK discussion. Since I’m a member of this list I will know if you are active.

Further assignment details, the assessment rubric, and exemplars will be available on the Blackboard site.

Assignment 7: Participation Log and Partner Grade

At the end of the semester turn in a completed Participation Log (template will be provided) and a grade (A-F) for your class partner. Partners will be determined during first few weeks of class.

Further assignment details will be available on the Blackboard site.

Office Hours:

Online "chat" office hours are from 7:30-9:00pm on Wednesday, September 1 and from 7:00-9:00 on Wednesday, September 15; Thursday, October 7; Tuesday, October 19; Thursday, November 11; and Friday, December 3.

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