LIBR 220-12
Resources and Information Services in the Disciplines and Professions
Topic: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTIQ) Resources and Services
Summer 2015 Greensheet

E. Greenblatt
E-mail
Telephone: 720-254-1477
Office Hours: Virtually via email or telephone by appointment.

While there are no special online office hours for this class, I will be happy to answer your questions as they arise. Please submit your questions and comments through Canvas or send them directly to me. Please start your email subject line with "220-12" so that I can easily identify your emails and ensure a timely reply – within 48 hours of receipt. If you are asking about something that would be helpful or of interest to other members of the class, I may ask you to post your message to the Q&A Discussion Forum. I will announce on Canvas any extended absences that may affect the promptness of my responses. Also, when sending emails, please keep in mind that I am likely in a different time zone – Mountain Time – than most of you.

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning June 1st, 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.

Course Description

This class will explore library services and resources as they relate to LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer/Questioning) communities and their support systems. We will discuss various library operations and services within the context of LGBTIQ issues and concerns as well as examine and evaluate key publications and other information resources in the field.

Course Requirements

Class Assignments

• Weekly Assignments: Each week, with some notable exceptions (see Canvas), you will be required to turn in an assignment based on that week’s topic. Assignments are due by 11 p.m. Pacific Time each Tuesday evening. (Student Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Weekly Discussions: All students are required to participate in discussion board activities. Participation in these discussions must be substantive, thoughtful, creative, and grounded in research and assigned readings.  (Student Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Discussion Facilitation: You will work with one or more colleagues to initiate, facilitate, summarize, and grade the discussion of the weekly topics. (Student Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Pathfinder: Each of you will create a pathfinder (resource guide) on a topic relevant to this course. For explicit instructions, template, and content criteria, please see Canvas. (Student Learning Outcomes: 4, 5)

For information on grading, please see the associated rubrics in Canvas.

Weight Percentages of Assignments

The table above includes the course assignments and weights.  Curriculum details are available on the Canvas site.

Late Assignments
Assignment due dates are clearly stated on the Canvas course site. Be sure to back up your work as a preventative measure and retain copies of your assignments until the end of the grading period.

I will grant you one free pass -- i.e., you may turn in one assignment up to a week late without penalty. However, you must let me know that your work will be late before the assignment due date AND subsequent assignments must still be turned in on time. Bear in mind that some assignments build upon previous work, so a pattern of regular tardiness will impact your overall production.

This free pass does not apply to discussion facilitation, the pathfinder, or participation in the discussion forums, as turning in these assignments late would adversely affect your classmates.

Unless otherwise stated, weekly assignments are due by 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time each Tuesday.

Should a medical situation or family emergency arise, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can make appropriate arrangements.

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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 210. 

Student Learning Outcomes

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

1. Describe basic concepts and terms relating to GLBTIQ communities and issues.
2. Identify service-oriented issues and concerns regarding library use by GLBTIQ communities.
3. Identify access barriers to GLBTIQ resources, particularly those relating to subject access.
4. Define strategies for handling challenges to GLBTIQ materials and exhibits in the library.
5. Demonstrate familiarity with key GLBTIQ information resources, and evaluate the appropriateness of information resources relating to this topic.
6. Identify collection development issues relating to this subject area.
7. Develop culturally competent approaches to working with GLBTIQ communities and individuals.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 220 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Greenblatt, E. (Ed.). (2011). Serving LGBTIQ library and archives users: Essays on outreach, service, collections and access. McFarland & Company, Inc. Available as free eBook from King Library.

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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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