LIBR 262-10
Resources for Young Adult
Spring 2003

Cathleen L. Yetter, Ed.D
First (and best) choice for communication: .
yettercl@wahoo.sjsu.edu

Additional Contact Information:
9 Blossom Lane S.W.
Lakewood, WA 98499
(253)512-0194
yettercl@attbi.com

Course Links

Course Calendar

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.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

REQUIRED texts and other materials

YA Texts as listed on Blackboard Course

Research Articles on electronic reserve

Web-site Consultations as Noted

Professional Review Resources as listed on Blackboard Course

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES:

Kenneth L. Donelson and Alleen Pace Nilsen. Literature for Today's Young Adults, 6th edition. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 2001.

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

Patrick Jones. Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 2nd edition. Neal-Schuman, Publishers, 1998.

Patrick Jones and Joel Shoemaker. Do It Right: Best Practices for Serving Young Adults in School and Public Libraries. Neal-Schumann, 2001.

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Describe current issues in adolescent literacy and discuss recent research studies, findings, and implications for library professionals.
• Describe national professional association stances on adolescent literacy.
• Evaluate selection tools, and consult appropriate resources to develop a young adult collection for your community needs including all appropriate formats.
• Describe the issues associated with intellectual freedom and censorship as they relate to young adult services and collection development.
• Demonstrate an understanding of major genres in young adult literature and specific titles within each, the historical development of this genre, and current trends and issues.
• Conduct a study of an author's work and relationships to her/his life.
• Develop appropriate collections, programming, and services for young adults in your community.
  • Apply information on adolescent development, psychology, sociology and popular culture to plan appropriate programming and services for teens in your community.
  • Describe the current reading, viewing and listening habits of young adults in your community, and applying this knowledge in program planning and collection development.

This course also supports the following SLIS objectives:

• Research and Scholarship Goal:
  • SLIS contributes to the knowledge base of the information community by engaging in basic and applied research and communicating its results through faculty and student presentations, activities, and publications. SLIS supports an environment whereby faculty and students create, promote, and disseminate research in the information and library professions and in other relevant disciplines.
• Information transfer
  • Information management, including the selection, organization, storage, retrieval, dissemination and utilization of information resources
  • One or more specialized aspects of information management
  • Knowledge of other relevant disciplines

PROJECTS TO DOCUMENT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

To accomplish the goals and objectives of this course, students will complete projects and provide evidence of successful accomplishments in each of the following areas:

Project I

Project II
Young Adult Literacy: A Collaborative Research Project
10 points

Project III
Library Programming for the Young Adults in Your Community: A Collaborative Research Project
10 points

Project IV
Resources and Materials for Young Adults

Project V
Author Study Pathfinder
5 points

Project VI
Final Reflection
5 points

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Please see Blackboard Course for full details on each assignment. Specific information will be available under the Assignments tab.

1. Prepare and participate in all projects in a timely fashion as defined by the course calendar. Read assigned texts, respond to those readings personally and publicly as a professional colleague in your Seminar Group. Groups will be set up during the first week of class and will be organized by both interest and proximity.

2. Read a recent research study of adolescent literacy, Summarize the research questions, methodology, and findings for your colleagues.

3. Explore a relevant national professional association's work on adolescent literacy issues. Summarize your findings for your colleagues.

4. Examine the issues of intellectual freedom and censorship as they impact programming and collection development for adolescents.

5. Collaborate on a research project on young adults in their native habitats. Become an anthropologist of young adults and their literacy development.

6. Collaborate on an investigative project of library programs and services for young adults.

7. Examine and evaluate print and non-print professional library selection tools.

8. Read, read, read! Read a variety of materials for young adult readers. Select from the following genres:

• contemporary realistic fiction
• historical fiction
• multicultural fiction
• fantasy and science fiction
• adventure, mystery, and sports
• informational books (non-fiction)
• poetry, drama, graphic novels

9. Prepare an author study pathfinder. Imagine that you are preparing a research guide for students and teachers on a specific author who writes young adult literature or informational texts.

10. Final Reflection: Write a brief reflection paper (1-2 pages) describing your growth in understanding of adolescent literacy development, adolescent reading interests, and informational needs.