LIBR 256-10
LIBR 256-11
Archives & Manuscripts
Fall 2012 Greensheet
Contact information: Contact via email; telephone, D2L, or Elluminate appointments can be arranged
| Greensheet Links Textbooks SLOs Competencies Prerequisites |
Resources D2L Login and Tutorials iSchool eBookstore |
This course will be available on D2L on Wednesday, August 22. You will be enrolled into the site automatically.
Course Description
An introduction to the theory and practice of managing archival documents, such as personal papers, institutional records, photographs, electronic records, and other unpublished material. Topics covered include manuscript and records acquisition and appraisal, arrangement and description, conservation and preservation, reference and access.
In addition to basic theory and practice, students will be introduced to the variety of types of archival institutions, both in the United States and abroad.
This course will take place completely online via D2L, with weekly participation on the bulletin boards required.
Course Requirements
All assignments should be submitted electronically through the assignment’s dropbox on D2L.
- Archives tour assignment (Supports SLO #1) – 15 points (due September 16)
Students should arrange a tour of an archival facility. A short summary (3-5 pages) outlining the trip will be shared with classmates on Angel. The summary should include basic information about the repository, its mission, its collections, its staffing, and its researchers. Students unable to tour a facility will be given an alternative assignment. - Arrangement and description project (Supports SLO #1) - 20 points (due October 7)
A small archival collection will be scanned and made available through Angel. Arrange these materials and create a complete finding aid for the collection using sample finding aids provided as a guide. - Web Analysis assignment (Supports SLO #3) – 20 points (due November 4)
Each student will be assigned a “home” institution. The student will examine the institution’s website, with a particular focus on finding aids and other methods of learning about collections and determining holdings. Using information from class and outside research, the student will create an essay (about 5 pages) providing a thoughtful and comprehensive critical analysis of the website’s tools for archival access. - Final exam (Supports SLO #1) - 30 points (due December 10)
The final exam will consist of three discussion questions covering the breadth of material discussed in class. Students will create a succinct answer of no more than 5 pages to each question utilizing course lecture notes and readings as well as outside materials deemed appropriate by the student. The exam questions will be distributed on November 26. - Participation in online discussions (Supports SLO #1) - 15 points (due weekly)
Students are expected to participate in the weekly online discussions. Each week, two or three questions will be posted to the online forums to stimulate discussion. While the student need not address the initial question directly, each student is required to participate in the discussion by making (at least one) brief (approximately 200 words) yet thoughtful posting each week. Ideally, these postings will result in a conversation between the student and classmates, stimulated by the initial question but guided by student and instructor postings.
Extra Credit: Interview with an archivist (Supports SLO #2) - 5 points - added to your final grade in the class (due no later than December 2, but may be turned in at any time during the semester)
Students may conduct an interview with a professional archivist either by phone, in person, or by email. Then, the student should write an essay (5-7 pages) that might discuss the archivist’s professional background and development, his/her work responsibilities and activities, the type of work done and the types of materials collected by his/her repository, the archivist’s views on major professional issues, and/or the unique challenges faced by working at his/her repository. To provide the student with a breadth of experience in the archival profession, this archivist should be employed at an institution other than the one visited for assignment #1.
Further details on the assignments will be provided at least three weeks prior to the due date.
Course Calendar
- Week One – August 22-September 2
Course Introduction; Introduction to the Concept of a “Record”; What are Archives?
History of Archives and the Archival Profession; Comparative Archives - Week Two – September 3-9
Appraisal and Acquisitions - Week Three – September 10-16
Arrangement and Description - Week Four – September 17-23
Arrangement and Description - Week Five – September 24-30
Descriptive Standards (EAD, MARC, DACS) - Week Six – October 1-7
Electronic Records - Week Seven – October 8-14
Reference Services - Week Eight – October 15-21
Reference Services - Week Nine – October 22-28
Outreach; Web 2.0 and Archives - Week Ten – October 29-November 4
Archival Management - Week Eleven – November 5-11
Preservation and Conservation - Week Twelve – November 12-18
Archival Enterprise and the Allied Professions - Week Thirteen – November 19-December 2
The Future of Archives
This information is subject to change. Changes will be announced via D2L.
All assignments are due on the date noted on the syllabus by midnight PST. Late assignments will be marked down 15% per day.
Readings
Numerous articles and excerpts from books will be made available on D2L.
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.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of basic archival principles and practices.
- Describe the variety of functions performed by archives and archivists, and the range of environments in which archival professionals work.
- Identify the issues involved in acquiring, processing, and making records available to researchers.
- Identify the similarities and differences between the roles of archivists and related information professionals.
- Define the challenges facing the archives profession today and in the future.
Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)
LIBR 256 supports the following core competencies:
- C Recognize and describe cultural and economic diversity in the clientele of libraries or information organizations.
- F Use the basic concepts and principles related to the selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation of physical and digital items and collections.
- G Demonstrate understanding of basic principles and standards involved in organizing information, including classification, cataloging, metadata, or other systems.
Textbooks
No Textbooks For This Course.
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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