LIBR 261A-10
Programming and Services for Young Adults
Spring 2010 Greensheet

Dr. Anthony Bernier
E-mail
Home phone: 510.339.6880
Office location: King Hall 418D
Office Hours: Advising available by appointment

Mission of the School
The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) educates professionals and develops leaders who organize, manage and enable the effective use of information and ideas in order to contribute to the well-being of our communities.

Angelâ„¢ Information
SLIS utilizes a content management system called ANGEL for class communications, submitting assignments, and grade records. You should enroll in our section of LIBR 261A ANGEL site between 20-26 January. You will be required to use a password access code I will email to you via the MySJSU e-mail Messaging system prior to 20 January 2010.

Our class begins on Tuesday 26 January. Weekly sessions end on Saturdays. And Saturdays at 5pm (Pacific time) will be the due time for all of our assignments except the final project.

Course Description

A comprehensive survey to developmentally-appropriate competencies for working with multi-cultural populations of young adults featuring research and philosophies, skills, resources, techniques, methods, management, policies, and service threats within a cultural/historical analysis necessary for information professionals to deliver a successful young adult library service profile. 

Course Prerequisite: LIBR 200 required.

Course Objectives

Throughout this course you will:

• Increase your knowledge about and professional confidence in delivering library service for working specifically with young people in a demographically complex contemporary culture;
• Gain practical and analytical facility with the innovative principles of youth development and civic participation through youth involvement in library programs, materials, presentations, atmospherics, and professional resource management;
• Begin developing professional skills and capacities for working directly with young adults and with adults who work with young people
• Establish familiarity with a wide range of creative forms produced for, desired by, and produced by young people;
• Acquire a first-hand knowledge of one particular domain of youth experience and develop a plan for library service linkage with them (“Repertoire Emphasis Project”);
• Develop an overarching philosophy of today’s young people that includes ways in which the library can contribute to their lives and meanings, the institution’s public value, and their communities in general

LIBR 261A 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;
• compare the environments and organizational settings in which library and information professionals practice;
• recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use;
• use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation and organization of specific items or collections of information;
• contribute to the cultural, economic, educational and social well-being of our communities 

Additionally, this 261A section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:

• describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behaviors;
• apply the fundamental principles of planning, management and marketing/advocacy;
• design training programs based on appropriate learning principles and theories;
• demonstrate proficiency in the use of current information and communication technologies, and other related technologies, as they affect the resources and uses of libraries and other types of information providing entities;
• demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
• evaluate programs and services on specified criteria 

Course Requirements

General Requirements
As this is an advanced course (i.e., not a required “core” course) the instructor makes some assumptions about student skills. More specifically, it is assumed that students already possess professional-level skills in discovering and navigating bibliographic resources, group & collaborative work, and in delivering presentations. We will rely upon these skills throughout the term, but apply them to young adult-specific context.

Further, this 261A course requires that you:

• complete reading and writing assignments as required in Course Outline (including the instructor’s “ProLog lectures” following short class writing assignments)
• perform literature searches and produce critical written analysis
• be responsible for all lectures
• refer to and post to our course Angel Discussion site frequently (as described in our Course Outline)
• produce a final project as detailed in the Course Outline
• have minimal home computing environment required by SLIS, see http://ischool.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm
  access to the required software downloads (free):
  Adobe Reader available at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
  RealPlayer available at: http://ischool.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/realplayer.htm
  Second Life download (see Course Outline)

As detailed in the Course Outline, all assignments and written products are to be completed and submitted by 5pm (Pacific time) on the Saturday of the week in which they are due, unless noted otherwise. For instance, the ProLog entry for Week 1 is due 5 pm on Saturday 6 February posted to Angel Discussion Forum.

Course Schedule (two required “real-time” Elluminate class meetings):

Dropping the Course
The last day to drop this course without an entry on your permanent record is
Friday 5 February.

Holiday Observances
Only University-recognized holidays will be recognized for this class. See the Academic Calendar on the University’s website for specific details.

Incompletes
Please avail yourself of the policy for uncompleted coursework on the School’s website under “Registration.”

Course Calendar

Assignments

• Readings Assignments are detailed in Course Outline
• ProLogs: 11 topical “ProLog” entries (short, no more than 150 words). The instructor’s follow-up “ProLog lectures” are also required reading
• One, 2-3 page YA Space paper: a brief analysis of sample YA spaces.
• One, 2-3 page Staff Training Workshop Preparation
• One, 3-5 page “Hot Button” paper: brief background research and position on a controversial topic, and an in-class presentation
• Repertoire Emphasis Project (REP): design a youth participation-infused library program
• One, 3-5 page Philosophical Assessment
• One, 10-12 page “YA Librarian Tool Box” annotated bibliography
• Participate in Angel Discussions

Course Grading

*Note: ProLog entries represent one total grade of 10 points. They must all be posted to Angel on time to receive a total of 10 points; they do not constitute a series of discretely graded assignments.

All major written work will receive written analytical comments from me. These comments are designed to help strengthen your skills and build your confidence to perform and deliver professionally, culturally, and developmentally-appropriate library services for young adults. But they are not necessarily intended to explain grades.

Late Assignments
Assignments date-stamped after 5PM (Pacific Time) on the due date or submitted after the respective deadline will receive a 20% reduction of the total points possible for that assignment. Any late ProLog entries will forfeit the entire points for all ProLogs (10 points).

Assignment Changes
The instructor reserves the right to alter assignments with fair notice

Textbooks and Readings

Required Textbook:

• Epstein, R. (2007). The case against adolescence: Rediscovering the adult in every teen. Quill Driver Books. Available through Amazon: 188495670X.

• Harlan, M. A., Loertscher, D. V., & McElmeel, S. L. (2010). Young Adult Literature and Multimedia: A Quick Guide 2010. Hi Willow Research and Publishing. As of October 31, 2009, this book is not available in Amazon.com. See Hi Willow Press.

• Jones, P., & Shoemaker, J. (2001). Do it right! Best practices for serving young adults in school and public libraries. Neal-Schuman. Available through Amazon: 1555703941.

Recommended Textbook:

• Goodstein, A. (2007). totally wired: What teens and tweens are really doing online. New. York: St. Martin's Press. Available through Amazon: 0312360126.

• Jones, P. (2002). New directions for library service to young adults. ALA. Available through Amazon: 0838908276.

Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

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;
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation.  You must repeat the class the following semester. If -on the second attempt- you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• 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 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

General Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities of the Student

As members of the academic community, students accept both the rights and responsibilities incumbent upon all members of the institution. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with SJSU's policies and practices pertaining to the procedures to follow if and when questions or concerns about a class arises. See University Policy S90-5 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S90-5.pdf. More detailed information on a variety of related topics is available in the SJSU catalog at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/catalog/departments/LIS.html. In general, it is recommended that students begin by seeking clarification or discussing concerns with their instructor. If such conversation is not possible, or if it does not serve to address the issue, it is recommended that the student contact the Department Chair as a next step.

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester's Catalog Policies section at http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html. Add/drop deadlines can be found on the current academic year calendars document on the Academic Calendars webpage at http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/services/academic_calendars/. The Late Drop Policy is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for dropping classes.

Information about the latest changes and news is available at the Advising Hub at http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain instructor's permission to record the course and the following items to be included in the syllabus:

• "Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are recording him/her. You must obtain the instructor's permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material."
  • It is suggested that the syllabus include the instructor's process for granting permission, whether in writing or orally and whether for the whole semester or on a class by class basis.
  • In classes where active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or guests should be obtained as well.
• "Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload instructor generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework solutions without instructor consent."

Academic integrity

Your commitment, as a student, to learning is evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University. The University Academic Integrity Policy F15-7 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/F15-7.pdf 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 Student Conduct and Ethical Development website is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center (AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

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