LIBR 282-06
LIBR 282-16
Seminar in Library Management 
Topic: Advocacy
Fall 2012 Greensheet

Cheryl Stenström
E-mail
Office location: Online only
Office Hours: by appointment via D2L


Greensheet Links
Textbooks
SLOs
Competencies
Prerequisites
Resources
D2L Login and Tutorials
iSchool eBookstore
 

D2L Information: This course will be available beginning (date). You will be enrolled into the site automatically.

Course Description

Application of management theory to specific problems. Readings and discussions of the development of effective strategies for planning and implementing organizational change. Specific content of the course changes each time it is offered. Examples of topics studied include:
Advocacy, Conflict Management, Digital Assets Management, Financial Management, Human Resources Management, Leadership, Managing Information Technology, Grant Writing.

This section focuses on advocacy. The latest research on how the theories of influence and persuasion can help librarians become effective advocates for library services in all sectors will be explored. In addition, the intersection of the concepts of marketing, promotion, lobbying, and advocacy will be covered, as well as the effect each of these has on library decision makers and stakeholders.

Course Requirements

Assignments

  • Critical article review – due September 18
    Read critically a report or article (at least 5 pp. long) and write a short paper (3-5 pp., double spaced) identifying and describing your understanding of the facets of advocacy at play (i.e., marketing, promotion, lobbying, networking), as well as your assessment of goals of the advocacy plan and the potential alignment of each of these techniques with the plan's goals. Supports SLO #3

  • Case study – due October 16
    Case studies are an effective tool for applying skills and theories, participating in group problem solving, and using evidence. You will participate in this detailed group project related to the topics explored in the course. In the case, you'll be asked to identify key issues, audience, and the most salient elements present for decision makers, as well as your group's report on the advocacy techniques that may be affectively applied in solving the problem presented in the case study. Supports SLO #2

  • Advocacy plan
    • Part 1 – due October 30
      You will be asked to prepare an advocacy plan for a sample library/information organization of your choosing. For this assignment, there are several components. You will be working in small groups of four or five. This portion of the assignment is worth 25% of your final grade. Supports SLO #1
    • Part 2 – due November 13
      Another group to review, and preparing a response by taking on the role of the intended audience with an emphasis on identifying the goals that are most important from a decision-making point of view. This portion of the assignment is worth 10% of your final grade. Supports SLO #4
    • Part 3 – due December 2
      The final part of the assignment is self assessment. This portion of the assignment is worth 5% of your final grade. Supports SLO #1

  • Discussions – assigned weekly; must be completed by December 10
    A portion of the overall grade is allocated for class participation. For the purposes of this class, participation includes prompt and thoughtful contribution to online discussions, engagement with class activities, and a demonstration that you are making an effort to master the material covered in this course. During most weeks of the course, there will be a new discussion topic posted related to the course readings. You will be required to participate in a minimum of ten topics. Supports SLOs #1-4.

More details on the assignments will be provided in D2L.

Note: Assignments (except the weekly discussion topics) are due by midnight Pacific Time on the date listed. Deductions of 10% per day will be assessed for late submissions.

Course Calendar

  Topic
Week 1
August 22
Course orientation and introduction to advocacy in librarianship
Week 2
August 29
Context and key concepts
Week 3
September 5
Introduction to advocacy techniques
Week 4
September 12
Critical article review due September 18 [20%]
Week 5
September 19
Understanding decision making
Week 6
September 26
Exploring influence and persuasion
Week 7
October 3
Defining audience and crafting effective messages
Week 8
October 10
Case study due October 16 [20%]
Week 9
October 17
Planning and evaluation
Week 10
October 24
Advocacy plan (part 1 – the plan) due October 30 [25%]
Week 11
October 31
Working with statistics and demonstrating value
Week 12
November 7
Advocacy plan (part 2 – peer assessment) due November 13 [10%]
Week 13
November 14
Management of advocacy efforts within the organization
Week 14
November 21
Advocacy plan (part 3 – self assessment) due December 2 [5%]
Week 15
December 3
Course conclusion

Grading

Assignment % of final grade
Critical review 20%
Case study 20%
Advocacy plan (3 parts) 40%
Discussions 20% (2% each)

Other Relevant Information
As this is a Web-based course, all assignments for this class will be distributed via D2L. Please check your D2L email and the discussion board on a regular (preferably daily) basis. You may contact me via email, and I will make every effort to respond promptly (within 48 hours at the latest). Please note that I live in the Pacific time zone.

All assignments will be evaluated for thoroughness, analysis, creativity, and thoughtfulness. Points will be deducted for failure to use correct spelling, grammar, and composition. All assignments are to have a professional appearance, using consistent formatting and citing techniques. Consult the SLIS APA Style Resources page for further specifics. In addition to grades received on the assignments, active participation in online discussions throughout the semester will be graded (see the grading summary below). Due dates for assignments are firm. In exceptional circumstances, I can be contacted to negotiate an extension before the assignment due date.

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, LIBR 204

Student Learning Outcomes

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

  1. Describe the grant-seeking process.
  2. Conduct research to locate sources of grant funding, analyze grantmaker guidelines, and assess whether potential funding sources match an organization and a specific project.
  3. Describe funder perspectives and know how to communicate effectively with prospective grantmakers.
  4. Write persuasive material that clearly articulates purpose, responds to the needs of an audience, uses the appropriate voice and tone, and builds stakeholder support.
  5. Analyze an organization's grant-seeking practices, identify areas of potential improvement, and prioritize grant-seeking opportunities.
  6. Assess specific library needs and future service development, identifying appropriate projects for grant funding.
  7. Develop a competitive grant proposal, including budgets, implementation plans, and evaluation criteria.
  8. Discuss social information tools from an overarching and strategic perspective, and explain how they fit into competitive and other intelligence work.
  9. Use social tools for information collection and supplementing of traditional competitive intelligence tools.
  10. Use social tools from a competitive intelligence standpoint, and understand the specific implementations of these tools.
  11. Describe how competitive intelligence communities are using these tools for professional purposes.
  12. Demonstrate the ability to conduct competitive work using social tools.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 282 supports the following core competencies:

  1. D Apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy.
  2. E Design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems.
  3. H Demonstrate proficiency in identifying, using, and evaluating current and emerging information and communication technologies.
  4. I Use service concepts, principles, and techniques to connect individuals or groups with accurate, relevant, and appropriate information.
  5. N Evaluate programs and services based on measurable criteria.

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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