LIBR 266-01
LIBR 255-10
Collection Management
Fall 2010 Greensheet

Joni Richards Bodart
E-mail
Phone: (408)924-2728
Web Site: thebooktalker1.com


Greensheet Links
Textbooks and Readings
Course Requirements
Course Outline
Resources
ANGEL
ANGEL Tutorials
iSchool eBookstore
 

Students will be able to self-enroll in the ANGEL course site after August 11, 2010. You will need an access code which will be sent to all registered students on August 11, 2010 via MySJSU.

Course Description

Study of collection management in all types of libraries and information centers. Includes analysis of information needs, criteria for selection, collection use evaluation, and resources for collection development.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:

  • describe the contemporary concept of collection management in libraries and information agencies.
  • identify possible evolving futures of the collection.
  • develop a rationale for planning the management of a library or information agency collection and its growth and development.
  • identify the challenges of collection management facing information professionals in various types of library and information agencies.
  • evaluate issues surrounding ownership and access to information and materials.
  • identify cultural issues related to collection management.
  • create and evaluate collection policies.

LIBR 266 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;
  • use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation and organization of specific items or collections of information;
  • evaluate programs and services on specified criteria.

In addition, this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:

  • use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users;
  • demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations; and
  • contribute to the cultural, economic, educational and social well-being of our communities.

Course Requirements

Enrollment
Students will be able to self-enroll in the ANGEL course site after August 11, 2010 . You will need an access code which will be sent to all registered students on August 11, 2010 via MySJSU. If you were not enrolled on that day, you will need to contact me for the code.

Office Hours
I will be in my office by appointment, Clark Hall, 418H, and will be on campus most weekdays, however, without an appointment, there’s no guarantee I will actually be IN my office.

I will answer e-mail on a daily basis or as quickly as I can. I will also be posting to the FAQs section of the discussion board when questions are asked that are of interest to the whole class.

If you need to speak to me by phone, I will do all I can to be available to you, but scheduling that call in advance to make it convenient for both of us, and ensure that I have enough time cleared to respond to your questions or problems.

The Angel Site
Please check the site regularly for announcements, discussion board questions, and so on. As soon as you sign up, read my welcome message, then go to the discussion board and introduce yourself, both professionally and personally. I will give you a format for each part of your introduction. Explore the various forums for other information I think might be helpful to you, such as resources and links to sites you will find useful, and survival tips from previous classes. And make sure you take a look at the policy manuals given as examples. Assignment due dates are also posted there, as well as below.

Lecture information will be given via Elluminate classes. I will be doing a mini-lecture, 30-45 minutes, on each of the chapters of your policy manual, to let you know what I think the most important concepts are. These lectures include information not in your text. All Elluminate sessions will be recorded for viewing later. I will have a student assistant who will be able to help you with technical issues. Be sure to log into the first class session at least 15 minutes ahead of time, so you can get any communication problems taken care of ahead of time, before class starts.

Group sites will be available by the end of the second week of the semester, Friday September 3. Please use them as much or little as you want to, for your own convenience. I am a member of all the groups, so I can meet with you in your group space, but I will not be monitoring what you say or do there. Even if I meet with you in your group space, I will not be reading discussion boards or anything else on your site. Your group will have complete privacy. If you want me to see something from your group site, you will need to do some cut and paste and email it to me.

Please let me know right away if you have problems with anything.

I have posted advice/survival tips from previous classes under Course Information. Please take a look at it, as I think it will be helpful. I will ask you to add to these tips at the end of the semester, and your comments will be very valuable to me and to future students as I continue to develop this course. 

CLASS PARTICIPATION
Read text and participate in class discussions on discussion boards. Participate is defined as posting 3-4 times weekly, both in response to the questions I post and to others’ reactions to them. Comments should be thoughtful and insightful, adding to our mutual learning process. Questions will be posted on a biweekly basis. There is a list of discussion topics under Course Information. And while you do need to keep on top of the discussion boards, it is fine if you have a lot to say about one topic, and post more than the required number, and then the next week, have less to say, and do only two. I will be looking at the average numbers over the semester. But if you regularly don’t post or post too few, I will notice.

ELLUMINATE SESSIONS
There will be seven Elluminate class sessions. All are required, 3 are synchronous, the others are asynchronous. Since all sessions will be recorded, you will be able to review them asynchronously when necessary. The mandatory sessions will be from 630-830pm PST on 8/25; 11/8 OR 11/11; 12/2. 8/25—All of you, both sections, will come to the first E session, talk about the kind of library you would like to study, form into groups of 3-4, go to a breakout room to exchange contact information, and if you want to, have your first team meeting. You will not be required to come back to the main classroom once you have left it for a breakout room. Generally, this first class, the one in the main classroom, is over between 730-800. You are welcome to stay in your breakout rooms as long as you like. 11/8 OR 11/11—E session 5 is about censorship and intellectual freedom, and always inspires lots of participation. 12/2—You will all be doing your class presentations during E session 6.

E-sessions that are required but not synchronous will be on: 8/30, 9/27, 10/18, 11/1 from 630-830 pm, PST, for regular session, and 9/2, 0/30, 10/21, 11/4 from 630-830 pm, PST, for special session. If you do not attend the live session, you will be required to watch it at your convenience, and know the material. You may go to either of the sessions if you have a conflict with the one you generally go to. I know this sounds confusing, but it really isn’t, so just set it aside until August 25, when I will go into lots of details about the sessions will work. I have used this method for a number of semester, and it does work—trust me!

PLEASE NOTE: Students who have taken this class previously recommend that you attend these sessions live, if at all possible. You will be able to ask questions if something isn't covered or if something isn't clear. (You will find information on their other recommendations on the Angel site for this class.) I am sure you have questions about all of the above, and you can bring them with you to the first session, or email me before it.

You are required to have a microphone and speaker to use this software. I suggest purchasing a headset with a mike attached, since that will give the best sound quality and also leave your hands free for typing and mousing. If you are in a public area with background noise, you will NOT be able to hear/speak and be understood without a headset. In addition, your poor sound quality will become part of the tape, and make life difficult for everyone who listens to the recording.

You will need to get to all of the Esessions AT LEAST 10 minutes ahead of time, so my assistant can check to see that you can speak and hear. When this has been confirmed, s/he will tell you how to indicate that you’ve stepped away from your computer, and you don’t have to come back till 630. BTW, I have to do this too, to make sure my hardware is working properly as well. 

Take a look at the Elluminate tutorials at http://senna.sjsu.edu/lmain/ogla/el_stu.html. Log in with your first and last name, NOT a screen name. Your login name is what I see in the list of people in the session. You should log in as Susie Smith, not Smith, Susie. If you have a nickname you wish to use, please use that to log in. If Ms. Smith wants to be Susan instead of Susie, she should log in as Susan. If this is the first time you will be using Elluminate, you may be prompted to download some software which may take anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes depending upon your Internet connection speed. You can pre-configure your system with the required software by going to the support page located at:https://nexus.sjsu.edu:443/support.help.

Topics for E sessions will be:

  1. Greensheet, Introductions, Forming Teams, Q&A
  2. Defining CM, Community assessment, Publishing Industry, Selection process
  3. Acquisitions, Budgets, Weeding
  4. Evaluation, Preservation, Resource Sharing, Serials, GovDocs
  5. Censorship, Intellectual Freedom, Reconsideration
  6. Class presentations (This class will be longer than other classes to make sure all the groups have a chance to present to the class. I hope that we will be finished by 900 pm. This means groups will have to adhere to the time restrictions mentioned below in the assignment section.)

This scheduling and the due dates for assignments should inform your reading of the text, articles on Angel, and outside readings.

TEAM WORK
Work as a team member with the others in your team, using email, your discussion board, and your VC. You are welcome to meet f2f if that is possible, but it is not required. You are REQUIRED to be a member of a team for this class.

Some of you have probably done group projects before, and have not enjoyed them. I highly recommend that you take a look at Dr. Haycock's presentation on working in virtual teams. (It is under SLIS audio/video, colloquium presentations, Spring 2007.) This will give you lots of hints on how to create a successful virtual team. You will also find suggestions from previous classes under the appropriate discussion forum. Finally, I am happy to report that negative group experiences in this class are definitely in the minority. If you do your prep, follow the student suggestions, take a look at the video, it is very unlikely that you will be part of that minority.

At the end of the semester, after you have turned in your revised policy manual, you will be required to evaluate your team members on their participation and the quality of work that they contributed to the project. These evaluations will be incorporated into the participation grade. You will submit this document via the assignments page, as described below.

Angel sites (VC, email, discussion boards) for each team will be set up as soon as possible, but you are welcome to begin your work immediately after your teams are formed. I will be happy to meet with groups to work on questions/problems at a time convenient for all of us. I will meet with you in your team’s collaboration area, in person, or over the phone via Elluminate or a conference call, whatever is most convenient. I will be a member of all the teams, however, these team utilities are for your ease and convenience, not so I can keep an eye on you. I will not be monitoring your participation in them.

It is up to the members of each team to work out interpersonal problems. I am available for advice and consultation, but it is ultimately up to the team members to figure out how to work together successfully and ensure that everyone contributes equally. You will spend a good part of your professional life as part of one team or another, and knowing how to be a good team player, both in contributing and convincing others to contribute, is essential. This semester will give you a chance to practice that.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. READING LOG AND SYNTHESIS
There are many print and online sources on collection development outside the textbook. You will need to explore those items in order to get information that will help you put together your policy manual, and to examine the current and evolving collection development theory. We are moving from a print society to one that will be partially or completely digitized in the future. In the text and in lectures, we will be examining the role of the librarian in collection development today. In addition to finding materials that will help with your policy manual, use this assignment to seek out and examine information on what may happen in this area in the future, and how it will impact your career as an information professional.

Besides the required textbooks, you should read the equivalent of 350 pages of professional reading, most of which will support your writing you policy manual. There is a bibliography of articles and sites students from previous classes have found useful to get you started, although you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. However, it’s just a beginning point—I do expect you to research other sources as well. A log that contains citations only from the bibliography will not be eligible for an A, so you might want to indicate the new articles in some way to show me that you did indeed add new resources. This bibliography is updated every semester I teach this course, since that is done via cut and paste, the formatting of this file is neither correct nor consistent.

Keep a log of your readings and web work, including for each item, the bibliographic citation including the number of pages in the chapter/article, and a summary/evaluation, including what you did or didn’t find useful about it. The information on each item should be at least half a page to a maximum of one page (single spaced). Organize your log into chapters like the ones in your policy manual. This assignment is designed to be worked on for the entire semester, as you do research for your policy manual.

Do not wait till the end of the semester to start this assignment! Do not wait until it’s convenient to write the entry on each article or chapter! Do write each entry as soon as you finish examining it! It’s too easy to forget!

At the end of the course, write a synthesis of your interpretation of the current state of collection development theory and your projection of how it might develop in the future, based on the materials in your log and in your textbook. In a separate section or document, you also need to explain and discuss what you have learned/how you have changed or grown this semester, and how you will be using what you have learned in the future. (This is the “informal paper.”)

While I am not going to add up the number of pages for each and every log, please be aware that if I think you have not read the required number of pages, I will go back and count them. When you count the number of pages in a book, include only the pages in the chapters (limit three per book) you read, not front matter, bibliographies or indexes. You may have used these sections, but I doubt you will have actually read them for content. Types of material in your log will include, but not be limited to:

  • chapters in books about collection development in the specific type of library you are using for your policy manual. Limit three chapters from any one book, and count only the pages for each chapter.
  • professional articles about collection development from current journals in the field.
  • web sites that are particularly useful in the collection development process. (Estimate time spent as pages read. For example, how long does it generally take you read a one page article? A five page article? A ten page article? If you can read a five page article in 15 minutes, and spend 30 minutes recording it in your log, then a five page article equals 45 minutes. If you spend 45 minutes looking at a website and recording the entry for it in your log, it counts as 5 pages.)

2. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY MANUAL
Working in groups of 3-4, based on the type of library you are interested in, develop a comprehensive collection management policy, including the sections listed below.

Appropriate forms and documents will be included in an appendix for each section. These can be forms developed by the group or ones from actual libraries. This assignment can be done using an actual physical library or one that the group creates. Either way, precise information about the library, its policies, staff, and collections will be required. Be aware that including tables, graphs and charts will help you convey information more concisely and in formats that can be more easily understood than straight text. Each section will contain a bibliography citing the various sources, print and online, that you used while writing that section. When the completed manual is turned in as a whole at the end of the semester, these chapter bibliographies will be collected at the end of the manual, rather than at the end of each chapter. (I.e., a bibliography section, with items from Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and so on. In other words, you don’t have to realphabetize the whole list.) Graphs, tables, charts and other illustrative documents will stay with the chapter they were designed for, rather than being collected at the end of the manual. Illustrative documents stay with the chapter. References are collected by chapter at the end of the document.

Those of you who are writing about a real library will need to cite the extant documents very carefully. Using an existing policy manual with minor changes IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Your manuals must be your own work, even when you include forms, surveys or other supportive documents from the library you are writing about. If I think you are using chunks of material from an existing manual, rather than writing your own policies, I will want to discuss it with your group. You will be required to demonstrate why you have not plagiarized any materials. Every few semesters, a group writes so well about a fictional library, that I think they are writing about one that actually exists. If I question your group about this, AND YOU HAVE CREATED YOUR LIBRARY FROM WHOLE CLOTH, that is a compliment, not a criticism. Just explain your process, so we can both be on the same page.

The completed manual must be detailed enough that an real library could use it to define, create, and implement collection development and management policies. It will be a demonstration of the depth of your knowledge of the subject, and may be added to your portfolio documenting your accomplishments as a library school student. In fact, a number of students who have been working for libraries that don’t have a collection development policy, have used that library for the manual, and then put all or part of it into place as the actual policy for that library after the semester is over.

Please note that this manual will differ in some aspects from the actual policy manuals you will find in libraries and online. Many policies do not contain the detail that I am requiring. All chapters must be complete and detailed, even if it is unlikely that an actual policy for your type of library would have them. This is an exercise, not reality. Therefore, even though a real special library might not have a reconsideration policy, saying “We don’t have an intellectual freedom problem in this library” will not suffice.

You will turn in each section based on the due dates given below. Please include your team number and the last names of your team members in the title of the document. For instance, Chapter 7, Team 3, Jones, Smith, Alexander. I must be able to identify your group using only the title of your submission. Please include a cover sheet for each chapter, giving the chapter title, the name and type of the library, the group number, and names of group members. Points will be deducted if you do not conform to document title requirements or do not have a cover sheet for each section you turn in.

Your chapters will be evaluated, commented on, and returned to you. My goal for this is seven days. In other words, if you turn in something on Sunday at 1145pm, I should, under normal circumstances, post the grades for that chapter by 1145pm the following Sunday. Only the person submitting the assignment will be able to see the comments and will need to share them with the other group members. At the end of the semester, you will be able to turn in (if your group chooses to do so) a corrected final version of your entire project. This does not mean that every section will need to be rewritten, since only those that receive less than satisfactory grades (in the team’s opinion) will need to be rewritten. Other sections can be turned in without further changes, assuming their formatting is the same as the corrected chapters. While this is not required, it will allow you to raise the grade received for the project. (See grading standards below.) All members of a team will receive the same grade for the policy manual chapters, and for the revised manual, but due to differing participation and reading log grades, may not receive the same grade for the course. Before submitting, you must scan all documents for viruses before submitting it.

Each section of your policy manual will be submitted in document format. When you are ready to submit a chapter, use the following procedures for the Angel site:

Go to the Angel Assignments page and click on “View/complete assignment” for the chapter you are turning in. For each assignment, in the subject line write: Chapter __ followed by your group number and the last names of the members. Attach the file, and leave me a note if you want to. When you have submitted an assignment, go to the Drop Box for that assignment. If you can see that there is a file attached to your file, you have submitted it properly. I don’t penalize students for technology glitches, and will just ask you to resubmit asap.

PLEASE NOTE: You may submit more than one document to fulfill an assignment, but all documents must be submitted at the same time. If you want to submit an assignment that you have done in two files, you MUST submit them at the same time.

When I grade the assignment, I will post the grade for all of the group members, however, my comments will go only to the one person who submitted it on behalf of the group. Therefore, that person needs to share the comments with other group members.

Be sure to keep copies of all your work on CDs, flash drives, and/or on all group members’ computers, so if one of you has a problem or a crash, you won’t lose your work. Another reason for keeping your work is that you will be able to use it when you do your EPortfolio. This includes your completed policy manual, your reading log and synthesis, and your informal paper. You will need to discuss in your competency statement what part of your policy manual represents your own work, just as you would for any other group project.

You may use only Microsoft Word or ClarisWorks (AppleWorks) either mac or pc versions. Your graphics should be integrated into the word processed chapter.

I recommend sending each chapter back and forth from at least one group member to another in the exact version you will be turning in, just to see if you have any problems attaching or opening it. I will let you know if I have any problems about this. Glitches exist, and I understand this.

LIST OF COLLECTION POLICY MANUAL CHAPTERS

  • Description of the Library Building and its Collection, including the size of both and the number and kinds of employees currently on staff
  • Community Assessment Methods and Survey Results, including a survey of your community, the methods you used to get information, and what the results of the survey were.
  • Collection Development Statement and Rationale, stating briefly the library’s overall policy and philosophy, including the national guidelines and statements it supports.
  • Types of Materials Available, describing the different kinds of materials available in each department, what percentage they are of the whole collection, and why this figure is appropriate.
  • Review Sources, including a comprehensive annotated list of sources you will use to select materials for all parts of your collection. The annotations should be brief, yet clearly indicate why you chose this source.
  • Budget, including amounts for different departments and rationales for your allotments.
  • Selection Procedures, with specific policies for various departments and types of materials. Include rationales for each part of the policy and a list (not annotated) of the review sources used to select materials.
  • Acquisition Procedures, describing the process of ordering, receiving and processing all types of materials.
  • Evaluation and Weeding Procedures, based on age, format, relevancy, usage, and space available.
  • Reconsideration Policy and Procedures, with detailed information on steps to be taken from the first complaint about an item to the final resolution of the matter.

3. TEAM PRESENTATIONS
Teams will present their libraries and policy manuals during the last Elluminate session. I expect each team member to participate in the presentation, and discuss part of either the library or the team process. PowerPoint slideshows or some other form of visual presentation will illustrate and organize your presentations. YOU WILL LOSE POINTS IF YOU READ YOUR PPT SLIDES! Your complete presentation will be no longer than 20 minutes, which means that you will have to include a lot of information in a short time, so writing down and practicing what you will say and how you will use the visual part of your presentation will be important.

You can upload the visual part of your presentation to Elluminate before the Esession begins, or ask the Elluminate student assistant to do it for you. All presentations will fit on Elluminate at one time, and the assistant will help you find yours in the queue when you are ready to present. The assistant can also help you practice on Elluminate before you present, so your presentation will be smoother and more effective. You will set up these practice sessions during the semester with the assistant. For instance, since you will be changing speakers during the presentation, it will be necessary to figure out ahead of time who will say what and in what order and how the “hand-off” to another group member will be managed. Practicing with the assistant will also mean that he/she can give you tips about these things that you may not have been aware of. You will post a copy of your visual presentation and the script to go with it to the appropriate forum when you turn in your revised policy manuals. YOU WILL ALSO SUBMIT THESE DOCUMENTS AND YOUR GROUP EVALUATION TO THE ASSIGNMENT DROP BOX.

These are some of the topics I'd like you to include:

  • How you decided on what library to use, and whether it would be real or fictional
  • Brief description of your library and why you think it’s important
  • Unique or interesting features of your library
  • How you went about setting up your team process
  • Division of labor—who wanted to do what and why
  • Communication—how often, and about what
  • Problem resolution
  • What you’ve learned about team work during the semester
  • Most valuable part of the process, what you learned most from
  • What you’d recommend to future students to help them succeed in their team work

PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL BE OUT OF TOWN 11/14-11/17, and will not be as available as usual. I will respond to email at night, but not during the day. 11/14 and 11/17 are travel days and i may not be available at all on those days. Please remember to take this information into account. I assure you I will do all that i can to stay up to date with you. Flexibility is very helpful to the flow of classes, so i hope you will be as flexible with me as I am with you—and I’m pretty flexible, as I hope the paragraph at the end of the list of due dates demonstrates!!

ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES
All assignments are due on Sundays before midnight. This means the midnight between Sunday and Monday, not between Saturday and Sunday.  Please note that not all the weeks of the semester are listed below, since you don't turn in something every week.  This list is for due dates ONLY.

  • Week 4, September 19
    Chapters 1-4
    • Description of the Library Building and its Collection, including the size of both and the number and kinds of employees currently on staff
    • Collection Development Statement and Rationale, stating briefly the library’s overall policy and philosophy, including the national guidelines and statements it supports.
    • Community Assessment Methods and Survey Results, including a survey of your community, the methods you used to get information, and what the results of the survey were. (If you don’t have time to do a real survey, create a credible faux survey and results.)
    • Types of Materials Available, describing the different kinds of materials available in each department, what percentage they are of the whole collection, and why this figure is appropriate.
  • Week 6, October 3
    Chapter 5
    • Selection Procedures, with specific policies for various departments and types of materials. Include rationales for each part of the policy and a list (not annotated) of the review sources used to select materials.
  • Week 7, October 10
    Chapter 6
    • Review Sources, including a comprehensive annotated list of sources you will use to select materials for all parts of your collection. The annotations should be brief, yet clearly indicate why you chose this source.
  • Week 8, October 17
    Chapter 7
    • Acquisition Procedures, describing the process of ordering, receiving and processing all types of materials.
  • Week 10, October 31
    Chapter 8
    • Budget, including amounts for different departments and rationales for your allotments.
  • Week 12, November 14
    Chapter 9
    • Evaluation and Weeding Procedures, based on age, format, relevancy, usage, space available, and other individual factors.
  • Week 14, November 28
    Chapter 10
    • Reconsideration Policy and Procedures, with detailed information on steps to be taken from the first complaint about an item to the final resolution of the matter. Information on staff training in challenge situations should also be included.
  • Week 15, December 5
    • Final completed and revised policy manual
  • Week 16, December 12
    • Reading log and synthesis
    • Informal paper
    • Group evaluation

I am willing to be flexible about due dates and will always give you extra time when you ask for it. However, any assignment that does not come in on time when no extension has been requested will be penalized one letter grade for lateness. When in doubt, ask for more time, just in case. You have a huge project before you, and my due dates are designed to keep you caught up, so you don’t have too many things overwhelming you at the end of the semester.

ALL DELAYED OR LATE ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE IN TO ME WITHOUT EXCEPTION NO LATER THAN 9 AM ON DECEMBER 17 IN ORDER FOR ME TO SUBMIT GRADES ON TIME. I am willing to be as flexible as I can, but the due date for grades MUST be met.

Grading Standards
25% Reading and web work log and synthesis
50% Individual project parts, averaged together
25% Class participation (including group evaluations), informal paper and final revised project, averaged together

COURSE ORGANIZATION
This will help you know what's going on every week.

Please note that the chapters in your Policy Manual are out of synch with the discussion board and chapters in the text. This is deliberate, to give you more time to write and review your work. The further you get into the semester, the more out of synch they get, also deliberate, to give you an extra week to work on chapters that are more time-consuming. I know it’s a little confusing, but better that than having you turn in chapter separately and have something due every single week.

IMPORTANT FACT TO REMEMBER!
Since your assignments are due at midnight on Sunday, the other activities, such as working on your manuals and posting to the discussion board will need to begin the previous Monday, which is the beginning of each week. If you aren’t sure what week is “week 1” go to the greensheet and look at the course outline, which has the dates. So does the schedule of discussion questions.
Revised 8/10

  • Weeks 1-3 Intro to course, defining selection/selection policies, review sources
    Text Chapter 1-5 Evans, Chapter 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10 Disher
    Discussion board—Definition of CD, Publishing industry, Community analysis, Selection, Review sources
    Work on Chapters 1-4
    PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE ASSIGNMENTS ARE FOR THREE WEEKS, NOT ONE!
  • Week 4 Acquisitions
    Text Chapters 11,12 Evans, Chapter 9 Disher
    Discussion board—Acquisitions, differences among types of libraries, vendors pro/con
    Turn in Chapters 1-4, begin work on Chapter 5
  • Week 5 Budgeting
    Text Chapter 13 Evans, Chapter 6 Disher
    Discussion board—budgets, creative financing, fundraising, impact of budget cuts
    Work on Chapter 5
  • Week 6 Weeding and Evaluation
    Text Chapters 14, 15 Evans, Chapter 3, 5, 11 Disher
    Discussion board—weeding, methods, philosophy, evaluating collections
    Turn in Chapter 5, begin work on Chapter 6
  • Week 7 Resource sharing and Collection Merchandising
    Text Chapter 16 Evans, Chapter 13 Disher
    Discussion board—Resource sharing pros/cons, merchandising, promoting your collection
    Turn in Chapter 6, begin work on Chapter 7
  • Week 8 Preservation and maintenance
    Text Chapter 17 Evans, Chapter 12 Disher
    Discussion board—to preserve or not to preserve, methods, considerations
    Turn in Chapter 7, begin work on Chapter 8
  • Week 9 Censorship, intellectual freedom, and reconsideration policies
    Text Chapter 18, 19 Evans, Chapter 14 Disher
    Discussion board—Defending difficult books, angry customers, policies and procedures
    Continue to work on Chapter 8
  • Week 10 Serials
    Text Chapter Chapters 6-7 Evans
    Discussion board—serials, printed and electronic
    Turn in Chapter 8, begin work on Chapter 9
  • Week 11 Electronic materials
    Text Chapter 8 Evans
    Discussion board—electronic materials
    Continue to work on Chapter 9
  • Week 12 Gov. docs, A/V materials
    Text Chapter 9, 10 Evans
    Discussion board—government documents, a/v materials
    Turn in Chapter 9, begin work on Chapter 10
  • Week 13
    Text—Review chapters as necessary
    Discussion board—top 5 resources in your reading log, and why you chose them
    Continue to work on Chapter 10
  • Week 14
    Text—review chapters as necessary
    Discussion board—valuable insights or knowledge from this course
    Turn in Chapter 10, begin to revise entire manual
  • Week 15
    Discussion board—final thoughts and tips
    Turn in completed and revised policy manual
  • Week 16
    Turn in reading log, synthesis, and group evaluations

Course Outline

  • Week 1 Chapters 1,2,5
    What, why, and how is collection management?
    The Publishing Industry
  • Week 2 Chapter 3
    Selection policies
    • What are they?
    • Why are they important?
    • Components
  • Week 3 Chapter 4
    Review sources
    • Characteristics
    • Variation by type of library
  • Week 4 Chapters 11,12
    Acquisitions
    • What is it?
    • Procedures
  • Week 5 Chapter 13
    Budgets
    • Where does the money come from?
    • Where does it go?
    • How should it be apportioned?
  • Week 6 Chapters 14, 15
    Weeding and evaluation
    • Methods and criteria
    • Budgetary concerns
    • Variations by type of library
  • Week 7 Chapter 16
    Resource Sharing
    • Methods
    • Issues
  • Week 8 Chapter 17
    Maintaining Collections
    • Fragile or rare materials
    • Conservation
    • Availability
  • Week 9 Chapters 18,19
    Censorship
    • Psychology of censors
    • Issues
    • Print, nonprint, and electronic censorship
    • Self censorship
    • Reconsideration Policies
    • What to include
    • Forms
    • Procedures
  • Week 10 Chapter 6
    Printed serials
    • What’s a serial?
    • Choosing serials
    • Budgetary concerns
    • Usage of serials
    • Policy variations by type of library
  • Week 11 Chapter 7
    Electronic serials
    • Paper or virtual?
    • Choosing formats
    • Usage policies
    • Budgetary concerns
    • Policy variation by type of library
  • Week 12 Chapter 8
    Electronic materials
    • Ebooks
    • Databases
    • Websites
    • Electronic collections
    • Usage policies
    • Policy variation by type of library
    • Evaluating formats
    • Budgetary concerns
  • Week 13 Chapters 9
    Government documents
    • Types
    • Acquiring
    • Archiving
    • Federal depository libraries
    • What’s important? In what format?
    • Policy variation by type of library
  • Week 14 Chapter 10
    Audiovisual materials
    • Types
    • Importance
    • Acquiring
    • Previewing
    • Evaluating
    • Policy variation by type of library

Textbooks and Readings

Required Textbook:

  • Disher, W. (2007). Crash course in collection development. Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1591585597. arrow gif indicating link outside sjsu domain
  • Evans, G.E., & Saponaro, M. Z. (2005). Developing Library and Information Center Collections. Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1591582199. arrow gif indicating link outside sjsu domain


Grading Scale

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

97 to 100 A
94 to 96 A minus
91 to 93 B plus
88 to 90 B
85 to 87 B minus
82 to 84 C plus
79 to 81 C
76 to 78 C minus
73 to 75 D plus
70 to 72 D
67 to 69 D minus
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;
    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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