LIBR 232-01
Issues in Public Libraries
Fall Semester 2010 Greensheet

Rose M. Chenoweth
E-mail
Other contact information:  E-mail preferred
Office Hours: 6:30 P.M. Monday evenings in Elluminate, 30 minutes before online lecture starts. Otherwise by appointment.

ANGEL Information: The course will be available on Angel.  The instructor will send the access enrollment code students through MySJSU by August 21.  Students should be enrolled by August 25.  

Course Description

Utilizing information on international, federal, state, and local political and financial issues, trends, community information, and management issues, students will look at the impact on library staff, services, customers, trustees, and collections.  Assignments will focus on the future of libraries and managing that changes needed to get to that future.

Course Prerequisites: LIBR 200, 202, 204 required.

Course Objectives

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able

• discuss the impact of identified issues on a community's library
• design a new service utilizing existing resources
• identify priorities and problem solve using case study situations
• manage change proactively
• understand the unique challenges of working in public library management

LIBR 232 supports the following MLIS Core Competencies:

• articulate the ethics, values and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom;
• recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use;
• use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users.

Top of Page

Course Requirements

Assignments: Some of this content may change by the time Angel site is up.  Other changes may be made with advance notice.

• 7-9  discussion Forums on hot topics. 
• 3  short papers on a new service plan, an inbox assignment, and managing change in a choice of situations
• 1 paper tracking discussions with a librarian on topics covered in class

There is a weekly lecture through Elluminate every Monday at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time.  Attendance is not required but students are required to listen to the lecture during that week. There will be a couple of guest lecturers during the semester. 

Course Calendar

Course Grading
Grading will be based on 400 points:

• Discussion Forums--140 points
• 3 Papers--180 points
• Field Notebook --80 points 

• Points will be deducted for late work

Textbooks and Readings

There is no assigned textbook but there will be assigned articles and websites. 

No Textbooks For This Course

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.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to access PDF files.

More accessibility resources.