LIBR 282-13
Seminar in Library Management
Topic: Project Management
Spring 2015 Greensheet

Dr. Michelle Chen
E-mail
Office Hours: Virtually, by appointment via e-mail or Blackboard IM. Blackboard Collaborate optional drop-in office hours will also be held as needed. More details TBA on the Canvas course website.

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning January 22nd, 12:01am PST unless you are taking an intensive or a one unit or two unit class that starts on a different day. In that case the class will open at 12:01am PST on the first day that the class meets.

You will be enrolled into the Canvas site automatically.

Be sure to logon to the course site no later than Friday, January 23, to begin the first lesson.

Course Description

General description for "LIBR 282 Seminar in Library Management": Application of management theory to specific problems. Readings and discussions of the development of effective strategies for planning and implementing organizational change. Specific content of the course changes each time it is offered. Examples of topics studied include: Advocacy, Conflict Management, Digital Assets Management, Financial Management, Human Resources Management, Project Management, Leadership, Managing Information Technology, Grant Writing.

This section focuses on Project Management. Whether you plan to manage websites, design K-12 instructions, organize services in a library, develop systems, or lead an information center, you will likely find yourself needing to work with time and budget constraints. However, many projects fail to deliver on time and within budget, and often poor project management is to blame (Wysocki 2011). Therefore, learning how to avoid the pitfalls and manage your projects successfully is important for future professionals, no matter what your career goals.

In this course, we will discuss project management concepts and strategies in various organizational settings, specifically with a focus on libraries. Topics include project management process groups and knowledge areas, the major project management techniques including traditional and agile, project management software and tools, and advanced issues related to risk management, project portfolio management, human resource management for projects, and more.

Students will be expected to actively participate in class, join case discussions, and work on assignments and projects. Upon completing this course, students will be able to learn both the theoretical and practical aspects of project management and apply the tangible project management skills as a librarian and/or information professional.

Course Requirements

Assignments

• Discussions (15%, supports SLO#1, SLO#3, SLO#4, SLO#5)
  Students are required to actively participate in class, make thoughtful contributions to three class discussions, and complete activities as posted on the course website. Students will be evaluated for the involvement in and intellectual contribution to the collaborative learning environment.
   
• Homework Assignments (60%, supports SLO#1, SLO#2, SLO#3, SLO#4)
  Four individual assignments (equally weighted) will be given throughout the semester to help students review and reinforce what they have learned in class. Assignments contain a mixture of written essays, short answers, and case/article studies.
   
• Semester Project (25%, supports SLO#5)
  Students are expected to work individually or in groups (TBD in week 4) on a project in which project management skills and concepts will be demonstrated. The deliverable includes a milestone mini report (5%), an asynchronous presentation in the final class week (10%), and a final project report (10%). Students will have two options for the final project (more details TBA on Canvas):
• Choose a project management pitfall from their real-life experience and relate to what we learned in class. Study and present what project management strategies can be used to improve the tasks.
• Investigate a project management case that I provide, in which project management processes and problems are explicit and clearly defined. Study and present what project management strategies can be used to improve the tasks.

Readings
All required and recommended readings will be made available on the course site.

Course Calendar (subject to change with fair notice)

Grading

All assignments must be submitted by 11:59PM (PST) on the day the assignment is due. Late assignments will be reduced by 20% of point value per day late. Please contact Dr. Chen if a medical or a family/personal emergency prevents you from submitting an assignment on time.

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Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

LIBR 200, LIBR 204. 

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify project management roles and environment.
2. Describe the project life cycle.
3. Use major project management techniques including traditional, agile, and extreme.
4. Control and evaluate project management approaches effectively to achieve better outcomes strategically.
5. Apply project management concepts to library and information practices.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 282 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

No Textbooks For This Course.

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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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