LIBR 261A-01
LIBR 261A-10
LIBR 261A-11
Programming and Services for Young Adults
Fall 2012 Greensheet

Dr. Anthony Bernier
E-mail
Home phone: 510.339.6880
Office location: King Hall 418D
Office Hours: Advising available by appointment

Mission of the School
The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) educates professionals and develops leaders who organize, manage and enable the effective use of information and ideas in order to contribute to the well-being of our communities.

Getting Launched
SLIS utilizes a content management system called Direct 2 Learn (D2L) for class communications: submitting assignments, grades, even email. We will automatically enroll you in the D2L site for our course and you will be able to begin access to it between 20-22 August.

Our class begins officially on Wednesday 22 August.  Weekly units end on Saturdays at 5pm (Pacific time) and that will be the due time for all of our assignments except the final project.

Course Description 

This is a survey of competencies promoting the administration and delivery of professional library and information services with multi-cultural populations of young adults featuring research and philosophies, policies, skills, resources, threats, techniques, tools, methods, and management within a critical youth studies cultural/historical analysis necessary for a comprehensive young adult library service profile.  

Course Requirements

General Requirements
As this is an advanced course (i.e., not a required “core” course) the instructor assumes that students already possess professional-level skills in searching, discovering and navigating bibliographic resources, group & collaborative work, and in delivering presentations.  We will rely upon these skills throughout the term and apply them to a young adult-specific context.

Further, this 261A course requires that you:

• complete reading and writing assignments as required in Course Outline (including the instructor’s “Abstracts" lectures);
• perform literature searches and produce critical written analysis;
• be responsible for all lectures;
• refer to and post to our course Discussion site frequently (as described in our Course Outline);
• produce a final project as detailed in the Course Outline;
• attend and participate in both synchronous Elluminate class meetings
• maintain minimal home computing environment required by SLIS, see http://ischool.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm 
• access to the required software downloads (free):
  Adobe Reader available at: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
  RealPlayer available at: ischool.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/realplayer.htm
  Second Life download (see Course Outline)

As detailed in the Course Outline, all assignments and written products are to be completed and submitted by 5pm (Pacific time) on the Saturday of the week in which they are due, unless noted otherwise.  For instance, the Abstract entry for Week 1 is due 5 pm on Saturday 25 August posted to the course Discussion Forum.

Course Schedule (two required “real-time” Elluminate class meetings):

Dropping the Course
The last day to drop this course without an entry on your permanent record is
Tuesday 4 September.

Holiday Observances
Only University-recognized holidays will be recognized for this class. See the Academic Calendar on the University’s website for specific details.

Incompletes
Please avail yourself of the policy for uncompleted coursework on the School’s website under “Registration.”

Course Calendar

Assignments

• Readings Assignments are detailed in Course Outline;
• ProLogs: 11 topical “Abstract” entries (short, no more than 150 words) as indicated in the Course Outline. The instructor’s follow-up “Abstract lectures” are also required reading;
• One, 2-3 page YA Space paper (a comparative analysis of sample YA spaces);
• One, 2-3 page Staff Training Workshop Preparation;
• One, 3-5 page “Hot Button” paper (brief background research and position on a controversial topic followed by an in-class presentation);
• Repertoire Emphasis Project ("REP") (design a youth participation-infused library program);
• One, 3-5 page Philosophical Assessment;
• One, “YA Librarian Tool Box” a critical annotated bibliography;
• Participate in Angel Discussions

Course Grading

*Note: Abstract entries represent one total grade of 10 points. They must all be posted to the course site on time to receive a total of 10 points; they do not constitute a series of discretely graded assignments. No partial credit is possible.

All major written work will receive detailed written analytical comments from me. These comments are designed to help strengthen your skills and build your confidence to perform and deliver professional library services with young adults. They are not necessarily intended to explain grades.

Late Assignments
Assignments date-stamped after 5PM (Pacific Time) on the due date or submitted after the respective deadline will receive a 20% reduction of the total points possible for that assignment. However, any late Abstract entries will forfeit the entire points for all ProLogs (10 points) - no partial credit is possible.

Assignment Changes
The instructor reserves the right to alter assignments with fair notice

Recommended Texts (Also available from iSchool eBookstore)

 Jones, P & Shoemaker, J. (2001). Do it right! Best practices for serving young adults in school and public libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman.

Additional Readings
Beyond the required and recommended texts, we will read a variety of other materials either posted to our course site, accessible on-line through the SJSU King Library, or otherwise made available.  Further references about these items are forthcoming on our course site and throughout the detailed Course Outline. 

Please do not distribute access to these materials; they are designed to support only students enrolled in our SLIS 261A.  

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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. 

Student Learning Outcomes

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

1. Demonstrate knowledge of and increase their confidence in delivering library services for young people in a demographically complex contemporary culture.
2. Demonstrate practical and analytical facility with the innovative principles of youth development and civic participation through involvement in library programs, materials, presentations, atmospherics, and professional resource management.
3. Begin developing professional skills for working directly with young adults and with adults who work with young people.
4. Establish familiarity with a wide range of creative forms produced for, desired by, and produced by young people.
5. Identify one particular domain of youth experience and develop a plan for library service linkage.
6. Develop an overarching philosophy of today's young people that includes ways in which the library can contribute to their lives and meanings, the institution's public value, and their communities in general.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 261A supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Epstein, R. (2007). The case against adolescence: Rediscovering the adult in every teen. Quill Driver Books. Available through Amazon: 188495670X.

• Flowers. S. (2010). Young adults deserve the best: YALSA's competencies in action. ALA. Available through Amazon: 0838935877

• Harlan. M. A., Loertscher, D. V., & McElmeel, S. L. (2012). Young adult literature and multimedia: A quick guide. Hi Willow Research and Publishing. Available through Amazon: 1933170662

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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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