LIBR 220-01
LIBR 220-10
Resources and Information Services in the Disciplines and Professions
Topic: Business Information
Spring 2012 Greensheet

Sean Gaffney
E-mail
Office Hours: TBA

Students will be automatically enrolled in the D2L site for this course. The course will be automatically available to students no later than January 25.

LIBR 220. Resources and Information Services in Professions and Disciplines
Examination of the nature of resources for, and services to, professions and disciplines including methods of communication, characteristics of users, and current methods of meeting research needs in libraries and information centers.

Course Prerequisites: LIBR 202 and 204 required.

Course Objectives

Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:

1. Explain how business information flows and how business resources fit into this flow.
2. Compare and evaluate a variety of sources and be able to use them effectively to answer business information questions.
3. Understand information requests on the topics of investments, financial ratios, and statistics.
4. Demonstrate the techniques of over-viewing (providing a resource package such as a 'pathfinder' on a web page) on a specific sub-field of business information.
5. Gain an understanding of the different types of business libraries and the roles of business information professionals. 

LIBR 220 supports the following MLIS Core Competencies:

• Compare the environments and organizational settings in which library and information professionals practice
• Design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems
• 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

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Course Requirements

Weekly Schedule (subject to change)

Assignments

• Pathfinder/Webliography - Students will develop  a resource finding tool for a topic of interest related to business (20%)
• Industry Evaluation - Using the resources covered in the course, students will develop an industry overview for a sector of their choice (20%)
• Company Evaluation - Using the resources covered in the course, students will develop a 5-8 page overview of a company of their choice (20%)
• Short Exercises - 4 short exercises covering the databases explored during the course (5% each for a total of 20%)
• Participation - - 10 discussion questions (2% each for a total of 20%)

Textbooks and Readings

Required Textbooks:

• Bell, S. (2009). Librarian's Guide to Online Searching. Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1591587638.

• Berkman, R. (2005). The skeptical business searcher. Information Today. Available through Amazon: 0910965668.

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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