LIBR 275-10
Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities
Spring 2015 Greensheet

Dr. Ziming Liu
E-mail
Office Hours: Virtually by e-mail or in person by appointment

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning January 22nd, 12:01am PST unless you are taking an intensive or a one unit or two unit class that starts on a different day. In that case the class will open at 12:01am PST on the first day that the class meets.

You will be enrolled into the Canvas site automatically.

Course Description

This course focuses on developing skills for planning, implementing and evaluating programs for addressing the information needs of racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities. Reviews the major national, state and local studies.

Course Requirements

Assignments and Grading
The assignments for this course are:

Outline & Readings

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

*Note: required readings

Part I. Background/Issues

*Caidi, N.; Allard, D. (2005). Social inclusion of newcomers to Canada: An information problem? Library and Information Science Research, 27(3), 302-324.

*Courtney, N. (2001). Barbarians at the gates; A half-century of unaffiliated users in academic libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 27(6): 473-480.

Cunningham, A. (2004). Global and local support dimensions for emerging community languages. Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services, 17,113-124.

*Freiband, S. J. (1992). Multicultural issues and concerns in library education. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 33(4): 287-294.

*Mestre, L. S. (2010). Librarians Working with Diverse Populations: What Impact Does Cultural Competency Training Have on Their Efforts? Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(6), 479-488.

Neely, T. & Lee-Smeltzer, K. (2001). Diversity now: People, collections, and services in academic libraries. Haworth Press, Inc.

*Shen, L. (2002). The dilemma of urban library service for the homeless.
Current Studies in Librarianship, 26(1/2), 77-83.

*Stern, S. (1991). Ethnic libraries and librarianship in the United States: Models and prospects. Advances in librarianship, 15, 77-102.

Top of Page

Part II. Groups

• Ethnic Groups

  *Agosto, D. E. (2001). Bridging the culture gap: Ten steps toward a more multicultural youth library. Journal of Youth Services in Libraries, 14(3): 38-41.

  Guerena, S. ed. (2000). Latino librarianship: A handbook for professionals (2nd edition). Jefferson, NC: MacFarland.
  
  Haras, C. (2011).  Information behaviors of Latinos attending high school in East Los Angeles. Library & Information Science Research, 33, 34-40.
  
  Josey, E.J. & DeLoach, M. (2000). Handbook of black librarianship. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

• Disabled

  Rubin, R. J. (2001). Planning for library services to people with disabilities. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
  
  *Walling, L. L. (2001). Public libraries and people with mental retardation. Public Libraries, 40(2): 115-120.

• Elderly

  Chatman, E. A. (1992). The information world of retired women. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

• Low Income Families

  *Armstrong, A. L.; Lord, C., & Zelter, J. (2000). Information needs of low-income residents in south King county. Public Libraries, 39(6): 330-335.

  Chatman, E. A. (1995). Knowledge gap, information-seeking and the poor. The Reference Librarian, 49-50, 135-145.
  
  *Gehner, J. (2005). Poverty, poor people, and our priorities. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 45(2), 117-121.

  *Herberger, J. (2005). The homeless and information needs and services. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 44(3), 199-202.
  
  Kelleher, A. (2012). Not just a place to sleep: homeless perspectives on libraries in central Michigan. Library Review, 62(1/2), 19-33.

  *Mooko, N. P. (2005). The information behaviors of rural women in Botswana. Library and Information Science Research, 27(1), 115-127.

  *Spink, A.; Cole, C. (2001). Information and poverty: Information seeking channels used by African American low-income household. Library and Information Science Research, 23, 45-65.

• ESL: Foreign Students

  *Asher, C., Case, E., and Zhong, Y. (2009, May). Serving generation 1.5: Academic library use and students from non-English-speaking households. College & Research Libraries, 70(3), 258-272.
  
  *Hughes, H. (2005). Actions and Reactions: Exploring International Students' Use of Online Information Resources. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 36(4), 169-179.
  
  *Liu, Z. (1993). Difficulties and characteristics of students from foreign countries in using American Libraries. College & Research Libraries, 54 (1), 25-31.

• Immigrants

  Burke, S. K. (2008). Use of Public Libraries by Immigrants. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 48(2), 164-174.

  Dali, K. (2004). Reading by Russian-speaking immigrants in Toronto: Use of public libraries, bookstores, and home book collections. International Information and Library Review, 36(4), 341-366.

  *Hoffert, B. (1994). Dragon dancers and Eastern Westerners: Serving the Asian American community. Library Journal, July, 42-45.

  *Jensen, B. (2002). Service to day laborers: A job libraries have left undone. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 41(3): 228-233.

  Orellana, M., Dorner,L., & Pulido, L.(2003). Accessing assets: Immigrant youth's work as family translators or "para-phrasers." Social Problems, 50(4), 505-524.

Top of Page

Part III: Services/Programs

(collection development; bibliographic instruction; reference; recruitment)

*Cichanowicz, E.; Chen, N. (2004). Planning for multilingual chat reference service in a suburban public library system. The Reference Librarian. 85, 115-126.

*Clay, E. S. (2006). They don't look like me: Library multicultural awareness and issues. Virginia Libraries, 52(4), 10 - 14.

*Collins, L.N., Howard, F, and Miraflor, A. (2009). Addressing the needs of the homeless: A San Jose Library partnership approach. The Reference Librarian, 50(1), 109-116.

*Friedman, A. (2006). Defining images: Redefining outreach to new Americans. Virginia Libraries, 52(2), 31-33.

*Gavier, M.J. & Scobey, S.E. (2001). Enhancing and promoting library services to attract diverse populations. Colorado Libraries, 27(4), 12-15.

*Gomez, M. (2000). Who Is Most Qualified to Serve Our Ethnic-Minority Communities? American Libraries, 31(11), 39-41.

Lloyd, A., Kennan, M., Thompson, K., & Qayyum, A. (2013). Connecting with new information landscapes: Information literacy practices of refugees. Journal of Documentation, 69(1), 121-144.

*Marquis, S. (2003). Collections and services for the Spanish-speaking: Issues and resources. Public Libraries, 42(2), 106-12.

*Scarborough, K. (1991). Collections for emerging majority. Library Journal, 44-47 (6/15/91)

Shipman, J., Daly, D., Henry, J. (2004). Partnering with the community: A women’s health network for multicultural communities. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 8(4), 27-39.

Shirley, G. (2003). Correctional libraries, library standards, and diversity. Journal of Correctional Education, 54 (2), 70-74.

Tetteh, B. (2011). Serving African immigrants in Colorado public libraries. Colorado Public Libraries Journal. 35(4). Available at: http://coloradolibrariesjournal.org/content/serving-african-immigrants-colorado-public-libraries.

*Venturella, K. M. ed. (1998). Poor people and library services. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. --The Free Library of Philadelphia technology demonstration project (p. 80-90)

Top of Page

Part IV: Impact of New IT

*Moe, T. (2004). Bridging the “digital divide” in the Colorado Libraries. Public Libraries, 43(4), 227-232.

*Weiss, R. J. (2012). Libraries and the digital divide. Journal of the Library Administration & Management Section, 8(2), 25-47.

Zickhur, K. & Smith, A. (2012). Digital differences. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/04/13/digital-differences/

top

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. Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics, challenges, issues, needs, interests, and concerns associated with providing information services to diverse groups.
2. Develop skills and methods for identifying appropriate resources and communication channels for service delivery to these patrons.
3. Design, implement, and evaluate effective and responsive programs and services.
4. Review readings and studies reflecting major national, regional, state, and local trends for providing culturally appropriate library services to racially and ethnically diverse groups.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 275 supports the following core competencies:

top

Textbooks

No Textbooks For This Course.

top

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.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to access PDF files.

More accessibility resources.