LIBR 204-04
Information Organizations and Management
Spring 2009 Greensheet

Sean Gaffney
Office: 813-355-4037
Office Hours: M,W 3:00-5:00 or by appointment

Students must self-enroll in this course by the first day of class, Wednesday, January 22. An access code will be sent to you via MySJSU when the class opens the first day.

Course Description

Identifying distinguishing characteristics, culture and relationships of information organizations. Emphasizes theories examining the interaction between human beings and the organizations in which they work.

Course Prerequisites: Students will have completed the new student technology workshop and have the specified minimum hardware and software to participate fully in the course.

Course Objectives

Student learning outcomes

• Compare management theories, principles and practices;
• Apply analytical and strategic planning processes and skills;
• Identify the roles and activities of managers;
• Understand portfolios as a means of performance assessment;
• Experience and assess working in teams;
• Know issues of diversity in the workplace;
• Prepare and post a resume and use the services of the SJSU Career Center;
• Review and use the professional and research literature of management.

LIBR 204 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:

• apply the fundamental principles of planning, management and marketing/advocacy;
• design training programs based on appropriate learning principles and theories;
• demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
• evaluate programs and services on specified criteria.

http://ischool.sjsu.edu/slis/competencies.htm

Course Requirements

Citations

For each assignment (exceptions: Introduction and Advocacy Project), cite from the textbook, two required readings, and two additional relevant sources of your choice. Why? To help you stay focused on the course content and also to encourage you to correlate the readings with your own ideas and research.

Additonal Requirements
Students also need to:

• have access to the computing environment as described at http://ischool.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm
• create a Plone account http://ischool.sjsu.edu/plone/ and post an assignment there to begin your e-Portfolio. Further details and a list of sources regarding e-Portfolios are in the Libr289 Student Handbook at http://ischool.sjsu.edu/289/ceindex.htm
• use an up-to-date virus protection program to scan all assignments before submitting them electronically
• use Microsoft Word, double-space and 12 point font
• submit assignments in Angel’s Assignment Manager
• include a title page, abstract, summary, and conclusion with each assignment (exceptions: Introduction and Advocacy Project)
• use APA headings within assignments to help organize thoughts and also transition the reader (exceptions: Introduction and Advocacy Project)

Course Calendar and Assignments
Assignment Due Dates (Dates are subject to change with fair notice.)
Assignments must be submitted by 11:59 pm on the date due. Plan ahead because Angel could malfunction at any time. Assignments submitted up to one week after the due date will be subject to a 10% grade penalty. Assignments more than a week late will not be accepted.

Assignments
All assignments and course participation will equal 400 points.

• Introduction & Interactions – 20 points
  Due: Thursday, 1/29
  Introduce yourself to the class by posting "your story" (i.e., how you’ve been managed and/or how you manage) on Blackboard’s Discussion Board. Read the other Introductions looking for common professional interests. Post comments and questions. Learning others’ experiences/backgrounds in types of information organizations and management will help you form teams for the Group Projects. (Please use the Student Lounge for interests not related to course content.)

• Analytical Essay 1 – 40 points
  Due: Monday, 2/9
  Reflect on your organizational management experiences and relate them to theories in the textbook, assigned readings and additional resources you find to support your perspective.

• Case Study (Group Project) – 120 points
  Due: Monday, 3/16
  This is a collaborative project. Groups will form to prepare a Case Study of a managerial problem, issue or success story within an information organization.
  
  One group member should act as a liaison externally. It’s helpful if the liaison has a working relationship with the professional. Preliminary research needs to be done prior to the interview to maximize the professional’s time. Interviews may be in-person, via phone, email, Elluminate, Second Life, etc. Case Studies will be posted for everyone's review and used in Analytical Essay 2. Additional due dates and tasks will be displayed within the assignment.

• Operating Goals & Objectives/Strategic Plan (Group Project) - 100 points
  Due: Monday, 4/13
  Explain the operating goals/objectives of a library/information organization and develop a 3-year strategic plan with 3 initiatives. Additional due dates and tasks will be displayed within the assignment.

• Advocacy Project (Individual Project) – 60 points
  Due: Monday, 4/20
  Prepare a promotional item to advocate support of one stakeholder group for your Group’s strategic plan. Share with the class. Discuss other Advocacy Projects.

• E-portfolio/Plone (Individual Project) – 20 points
  Due: Monday, 4/27
  Open a Plone account http://ischool.sjsu.edu/plone/ Read the SLIS Core Competencies http://ischool.sjsu.edu/slis/competencies.htm. Open a Plone folder and post an appropriate LIBR 204 assignment for one of the Core Competencies. Include a Statement of Competency referring to the evidence you selected. Demonstrate that you understand the concept(s) involved and explain how/why your assignment applies to the competency.

• Analytical Essay 2 – 40 points
  Due: Wednesday, 5/13
  Each student will write an analysis and reaction essay critiquing another Group’s Case Study. 

Course Participation
Students are expected to participate throughout the entire session. Reflect and then contribute to items on Discussion Boards that are of interest to you. Explain why you agree or disagree with others by sharing meaningful/constructive thoughts, ideas, resources, etc. (Do not just write: I agree.) As new concepts evolve, it’s important to remember to re-label the subject line so that "threads" of information are easy to follow and refer back to as needed.

It is important to express your own opinions while also being respectful; suggest constructive ideas for improvement while evaluating other’s work; pose relevant questions; compare and contrast ideas; share and critique resources; communicate and collaborate!

Assignment Requirements
Required for all assignments:

• Title page with:
  • Running head (see APA)
  • Name of the assignment (Creating your own title demonstrates originality.)
  • Your first and last name
  • Date
  • Information Organizations and Management
  • LIBR 204-04 – Spring 2009
  • School of Library and Information Science - San Jose State University

After the title page, use the following class header on the top left-hand side of each page: LIBR 204-01_Last name_Assignment name_Fall 2008
Example: LIBR 204-01_Moslow_Introduction_Fall 2008

• Use this same class header for the file name when attaching the assignment in Blackboard’s Assignment Manager and also in the Subject line when you email your instructor with a question
• Use of the APA header to the left of the page number is optional in this course
• Number pages in the upper right-hand corner (see APA)
• The number of pages of text required for each assignment (exceptions: Introduction and Advocacy Project), does not include the title page, abstract, references, nor the appendixes (when used)

See also:

• http://ischool.sjsu.edu/resources/apa.htm
• http://ischool.sjsu.edu/resources/apa_refguide.htm

Textbooks and Readings

Required Textbooks:

• American Psychological Association (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). American Psychological Association. Available through Amazon: 1557987912.

• Evans, G. E., & Ward, P. L. (2007). Management Basics for Information Professionals (2nd ed.). Neal-Schuman. Available through Amazon: 1555705863.

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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