LIBR 286-10
Interpersonal Communication Skills for Librarians
Summer 2008 Greensheet
Sue Alman
E-mail
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS eBookstore |
Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard. You will be required to use a password access code, which I will provide on the MySJSU Messaging system.
Course Description
This course surveys the principles and practice of interpersonal communication; small group and peer relationships.
Prerequisites: none
Course Objectives
This course examines communication and personality theories and demonstrates how they relate to interaction with staff, users and administrators in a library setting.
Students will gain an understanding of:
- Interpersonal communication techniques
- Personality theory based on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator
- Internal Communication
- External Communication
- Conflict Resolution
- Mentoring/Coaching
- Managing Up
- Listening Techniques
- Nonverbal Communication
- Organizational Planning: Strategic, Disaster, Change (with a focus on how to communicate effectively and include staff members)
- Group dynamics
LIBR 286 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations.
Textbooks and Readings
Required Text
- Comunicating professionally: a how-to-do-it manual for library applications. Catherine Sheldrick Ross and Patricia Dewdney, New York : Neal-Schuman Publishers, ©1998.
Edition: 2nd ed ISBN: 1555703402 9781555703400 OCLC: 39108638
Go to SLIS eBookstore.
Course Requirements
Class Location & Meeting Schedule
The class will have 2 Mandatory class sessions on Elluminate* at the following times:
- Saturday, June 7
9 am – 12 Noon (PT) - Saturday, July 19
9 am – 11 am (PT)
*Each student must be able to access the Elluminate sessions that will be held online and participate using a microphone. Microphones may be purchased for around $10.
Blackboard
There will be weekly discussions and group presentations on Blackboard throughout the term.
Assignments
The assignments for this course are:
- Literature Review (20 points)
Due on June 7 at THE FIRST Elluminate CLASS SESSION
Before the course begins you will write a five-page literature review. A literature review summarizes, interprets, and evaluates existing literature (or published material) in order to understand a subject more completely.
The purpose of your literature review is to write a paper on the effects that personality type has on interpersonal communications and/or organizations. The literature review is a stand-alone review.
You should review a minimum of 10 article- or chapter-length sources on your question--but the specific count is less important than your ability to identify the issues and to discuss them in a meaningful way for others who may also ask the question. You may use professional or scholarly library literature or sources from other professional fields that can be related to libraries. Do not use popular journals such as Time or Newsweek. Also, be aware that many articles in journals such as American Libraries are opinion pieces rather than research.
Readers should learn not only what has been said about the issue, but what you think about what has been said. You will summarize, interpret, and evaluate everything that you read. It’s important to state your opinion of how personality effects interpersonal communication. - Class Participation (40 points)
You must be a willing and enthusiastic participant in all of the Elluminate (20 points) and Blackboard (20 points) sessions to receive credit for class participation. - Elluminate Sessions
- Saturday, June 7
9 am – 12 Noon (PT)
(10 points) - Saturday, July 19
9 am – 11 am (PT)
(10 points)
- Saturday, June 7
- Group Project (20 points)
TBA
You will be assigned to work on a group project. The group project will be presented at a date TBA. - Reflective Paper (20 points)
Due by August 6
You will write a reflective paper discussing the influence that the concepts and experiences from the course will have in your future interpersonal communications. The paper will discuss the group dynamics that you experienced in the course and how that will affect your role in groups. The paper must be written after the course has ended. It may be submitted to me electronically in the DDB:
Details about the paper will be discussed in class.
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 |
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.
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
Contact the webmaster
