LIBR 287-01
LIBR 287-13
Seminar in Information Science
Topic: The Hyperlinked Library--Emerging Trends, Emerging Tech
Fall 2014 Greensheet

Dr. Michael Stephens
E-mail
Other contact information: See course site
Office Hours: TBA

This course will be available on the first day of the semester. You will be enrolled into the site automatically. I will send more information about course access as we approach this date through MySJSU.

Course Description

Course Overview

“The new tools provide powerful options for working with data, text, sound, and images. …. There is, predictably, an increasing departure in information handling from the simple pattern of read, think, then write. Computers are used for so much more than the traditional notion of “computing.’”

--Michael Buckland, Redesigning Library Services, 1992

“The potential connections are vast. Hyperlinks are the connections made by real individuals based on what they care about and what they know, the paths that emerge because that’s where the feet are walking, as opposed to the highways bulldozed into existence according to a centralized plan.”

--David Weinberger, “The Hyperlinked Organization,” The Cluetrain Manifesto, 1999.

What emerging trends are changing library services? What does a connected world of “continuous computing” mean for 21st Century libraries. This course provides a roadmap toward becoming the Hyperlinked Library: transparent, participatory, playful, user-centered and human, while still grounded in our foundations and values.

Library scholars have noted the ongoing impact of technology on libraries and have called for a redesign of services to meet the evolving needs of users. Virtual communities have thrived online since the early 1980s. New media and social sites are part of the next incarnation of the World Wide Web, where digital tools allow users to create, change, and publish dynamic content of all kinds.  The evolving Web and related emerging technologies are signifiers of a broader cultural shift: toward an open, collaborative and participatory society. This course examines emerging technologies within a framework of participatory, hyperlinked library service: a model of creating, extending, updating and evaluating libraries via a user-centered approach.

The Hyperlinked Library is an open, participatory institution that welcomes user input and creativity. It is built on human connections and conversations. The organizational chart is flatter and team-based. The collections grow and thrive via user and staff involvement. Librarians are tapped in to user spaces and places online to interact, have presence and point the way.

In Library 2.0: A Guide for Participatory Service, Casey and  Savastinuk describe the participatory service model: “It is a model for library service that encourages constant and purposeful change, inviting user participation in the creation of both the physical and the virtual services they want, supported by consistently evaluating services. It also attempts to reach new users and better serve current ones through improved customer-driven offerings.”

This course will examine various emerging theories of library service, the use of social networking and other technological tools, the creation of online collaboration and communities via those tools, and their adoption by libraries. We will discuss the definition of participatory service, explore some key trends that impact the model, and examine what this shift means for libraries and information work in the 21st Century.  Students will experience an immersive learning environment via a wide range of tools.

Course Requirements

Assignments

• All assignments support Learning Outcome #1 in addition to other SLOs.
  
• Context Book (Supports SLO #4): Students will read one book selected from a list provided, and write a 500 word reflection or create a media-based presentation relating the topic and focus of the book to libraries, technology and participatory service. 20 points
• Reflection Blogging (Supports SLO #2): Ten 200 word minimum blog posts will serve as a reflection journal for the modules include in our course content. 20 points
• Emerging Technology/Community Engagement (Supports SLO #3) A clearly articulated roadmap for the use of emerging technologies/community engagement within a library or information environment can guide the development of participatory services. Students will draft a sample emerging technology/community engagement plan for the library or environment of their choice. 20 points
• Director's Brief (Supports SLO #5): Students will draft a "director's brief" highlighting and exploring an emerging technology in libraries with emphasis on origins, terminologies and uses in libraries or information environments.  20 points
• Participation & Seminar Engagement (Supports SLO #6): Students will interact weekly via the course learning community, various social tools as directed, and via optional online meetings. Students will be actively reading and commenting on others' blog posts. Students will share their work via blogs and other media in a virtual symposium held in the last two weeks of class. A final reflection post will allow students to self-evaluate their participation and engagement. 20 points

Course Calendar
Dates subject to change 

• Week 1 - Course Introduction & Foundational Reading
• Week 2 - Foundations Continued
• Week 3 - The Hyperlinked Library Model
• Week 4 -  Participatory Service
• Week 5 - Hyperlinked Communities
• Week 6 - Planning for Emerging Technologies 1
• Week 7 - Planning for Emerging Technologies 2
• Week 8 - Transparency
• Week 9 - User Experience
• Week 10 - Mobile & Geo-Social Information Environments 
• Week 11 - Creation Culture
• Week 12  - Infinite Learning
• Week 13  – Reflective Practice
• Week 14  – Virtual Symposium (asyncronous)
• Week 15 – Course Reflections/Wrap Up

Course Grading
Grading will be based on 100 possible points. More information to come as assignments are finalized.

• All assignments are due on Sundays and must be turned in by midnight PT.
• Late submissions will be reduced by 20% of the total points possible for that assignment.
• If life circumstances require students to request an extension, please do so several days before the assignment is due or as soon as possible.
• Communication and interaction throughout the semester via the course site is expected an required.

Readings

Foundational readings include:

• Buckland, Michael. Redesigning Library Services: A Manifesto at 
  http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Library/Redesigning/html.html
• Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2007). Library 2.0 : a Guide to Participatory Library Service. (Provided by instructor)
• Mathews, B. (2012, April). Think like a startup [White paper]. at http://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/18649/Think%20like%20a%20STARTUP.pdf?sequence=1

Each student will read a recent book related to course content and report on it. A list will be provided.

Readings, video and other media for each course concept will be  posted on the course site. Students are encouraged to share articles, blog posts and sites they find with the class via their blogs.

Course Expectations

Students will create blogs and get accounts at various social network sites according to course content and interest. This is required for success in this course. Students will also be expected to use the course Web site multiple times a week to stay up to date with readings, assignments, participation and blogging.

This is a way for students to experience the emerging social nature of the web – similar systems are being used in library settings all over the world. Librarians are working, writing and sharing in open, online systems created for interaction with each other and with library users. The course site utilizes the WordPress software package to create an open, interactive environment for sharing and discourse. You must create an account on the site and publish an open blog but  no one in class is required to share their full name, photo or any other details. The use of avatars and aliases is acceptable.

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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, Other prerequisites may be added depending on content. 

Student Learning Outcomes

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

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, concepts, and ideas of participatory library service.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of emerging technologies and how they relate to information services and environments.
3. Articulate a planning strategy for services built within the framework of the participatory service model.
4. Synthesize current thinking about cultural and technological change within a framework of libraries and information work.
5. Articulate and synthesize current use of and an overview of an emerging technology in the form of a report intended for current awareness and planning.
6. Use various online tools to experience, discuss, and evaluate course concepts as they relate to library services.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 287 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

No Textbooks For This Course.

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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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