LIBR 200-03
Information and Society
Fall 2009 Greensheet

Robert Boyd
E-mail
Home Phone: (408)554-5398
Office Hours: by appointment

Mission of the School
The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at San Jose State University 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 Started
SLIS utilizes a content management system called ANGEL for class communications, submitting assignments, and grade records. You should enroll in our LIBR 200-03 ANGEL site between August 18-24, 2009. You will be required to use a password access code I will email to you via the MySJSU e-mail Messaging system prior to August 18, 2009.

Our class begins on Monday, August 24, 2009. Weekly class sessions run from Monday through Sunday of the following week. New weekly material will appear each Monday in ANGEL.

Course Description

This course is designed to explore the complex social, economic, historical, and technological developments that influence the impact of information on society. The mission, values and ethics of information professionals are also analyzed. This course provides a foundation for thinking critically about information professions and the roles of information professionals.  Note: Effective Spring 2009, LIBR 200 must be completed with a B grade or higher.

Course Objectives

At the completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Describe the role of information from historical, current, and future perspectives;
• Identify the various information stakeholders and the information environments that provide for their needs;
• Describe and evaluate issues involved in creating and disseminating information in society;
• Identify and discuss the major values and codes of ethics associated with the information professions;
• Describe the impact of cultural diversity on the provision of user services by librarians and other information professionals;
• Describe and discuss important economic and policy issues related to the creation and dissemination of information;
• Explain what information literacy is and how it helps users evaluate and use information;
• Understand and have experience with different forms and genres of professional writing.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Know the foundations and structure of the information profession;
• Locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature;
• Demonstrate in-depth understanding of major issues in library and information science.

LIBR 200 course supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:

• Articulate the ethics, values and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom;
• Compare the environments and organizational settings in which library and information professionals practice;
• Recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use;
• Understand the nature of research, research methods and research findings; retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups.

Course Requirements

Complete LIBR 203: Online Social Networking: Technology and Tools
This is a mandatory 1 unit course that introduces students to the various e-learning tools used in the SLIS program, including ANGEL, Elluminate and Second Life. This course must be completed by all new SLIS students within the first 4 weeks of their first semester. If you have questions about this course, e-mail Debbie Faires or Dale David.

For more information, see http://ischool.sjsu.edu/classes/coursedesc.htm

Assignments
More detail on each assignment will be provided in ANGEL.

• Online Discussion/Class Participation
  As this class is completely on-line and asynchronous, participation in the weekly ANGEL discussions is essential for success in the course. Weekly postings are due each Friday by midnight. (Student Learning Outcome: Students will know the foundations and structure of the information professions.)
• Reflective essay
  You will read, analyze, and respond to an assigned article on the values, ethics, or future of information professionals. (Student Learning Outcome: Locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature)
• Annotated Bibliography
  This assignment gets you started on your research paper by asking you to locate and evaluate 12 - 15 sources pertinent to your paper topic. Instructions will be provided. (Student Learning Outcome: Locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature)
• Literature Review
  Students will prepare a literature review to be incorporated into the Research paper. (Student Learning Outcome: Locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly and professional literature)
• Research paper
  This is your chance to explore, in depth, a significant issue of interest to the LIS community. Early in the semester you will identify an issue that piques your interest; you will research it thoroughly in order to produce a 15-20 page paper (written in APA style). Your paper should show evidence of careful research and critical analysis, and should be thoughtfully constructed and clearly written. At least 20 sources should be included in the list of works cited. (Student Learning Outcome: Demonstrate in-depth understanding of major issues in library and information science)

All assignments are due on Fridays and must be submitted before midnight. Grades will be reduced for any late work, each day late, by ten percent. Please contact me prior to a deadline in the case of illness or emergency.

Incompletes
Students should avail themselves of the policy for uncompleted coursework on the School’s website under “Registration.”

Grading

Course Calendar

The following dates are tentative and subject to change with fair notice.

• Week 1 (August 24):
  Introduction
• Week 2 (August 31):
  The Information Infrastructure
• Week 3 (September 7):
  Information Policy: Stakeholders and Agendas
  Reflective Essay due (Friday, September 11)
• Week 4 (September 14):
  Redefining the Library: The Impacts and Implications of Technical Change
• Week 5 (September 21):
  Information Policy: Stakeholders and Agendas
  Research topic approved (Friday, September 25)
• Week 6 (September 28):
  Information Policy as Library Policy: Intellectual Freedom
  Annotated Bibliography due (Friday, October 2)
• Week 7 (October 5):
  Information Organizations: Issues and Techniques
• Week 8 (October 12):
  From Past to Present; The Library's Mission and Its Values
• Week 9 (October 19):
  Ethics and Standards: Professional Practices in Library and Information Science
  Literature Review due (Friday, October 16)
• Week 10 (October 26):
  The Library as Institution: An Organizational View
• Week 11 (November 2):
  Librarianship: An Evolving Profession
• Week 12 (November 9):
  Current Topics and Issues
• Week 13 (November 16):
  Research and Writing
  Research Paper due (Friday, November 20)
• Week 14 (November 23):
  Writing for the Profession
• Week 15 (November 30):
  The Library in the New Age
  Spring Semester ends, (Tuesday, December 8)
  

Textbooks and Readings

Required Textbook:

• Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of Library and Information Science. Neal-Schuman. Available through Amazon: 1555705189.

Recommended Textbook:

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

• Haycock, K., & Sheldon, B. E. (Eds.). (2008). The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts. Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1591585473.

GWAR

This course satisfies the Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).

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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