INFO 210-03 (1 unit)
Reference and Information Services
Topic: Reference Collections in the 21st Century
Fall 2015 Greensheet

Dr. Johanna Tunon
E-mail -- For class-related communications, use the Canvas e-mail.
Home phone: (954) 249-1449
Office location: Richmand, VA
Office hours: By appointment by phone or via Collaborate. NOTE:  You are welcome to call before 9 pm ET.

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning August 20, 6 am PDT 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 on the first day that the class meets. Course sites will close on February 28, 2016.

You will be enrolled into the Canvas site automatically.

The course will be automatically available to students on Aug. 20, 2015.

NOTE: Early birds can email me if you would like the list of video lecture links for the class before the course starts.

Course Description

Catalog Description: A process-oriented examination of how information professionals select and evaluate reference collections. The selection criteria and related collection development policies required for building and maintaining reference collections are stressed.

Course Requirements

• Assignment 1 (30%)
  Discussions (D1, D2, D3)
• Assignment 2 (70%)
  Annotated bibliography of reference sources, budget, reflections

Course Calendar

*Due dates are subject to change with fair notice. 

Description of Assignments and Grading Criteria
NOTE: If you have some special circumstance that makes completion of some activities difficult, contact me about possible alternative activities.

• Assignment 1: Discussions 30% (10% X 3 weeks)
  Discussion topics take place in the first three weeks of class, and the discussion topic for Week 3 does require you to visit a library and speak with a librarian or staff person. All the weekly activities require more than posting your own personal opinions on the topic under discussion.  Address the posted discussion questions using substantive content by utilizing, analyzing, and synthesizing what you learned in the textbook, class readings, etc.
  See the scoring rubric for  the grading criteria.
• INFO 210 Course Learning Outcomes addressed: 
• CLO 3: Describe the relationship between information needs, collection development policies, and the evaluation of reference collections.
• CLO 4: Describe current issues and trends in selecting appropriate reference sources.
• NOTE: A number of the topics for the weekly discussions may serve as evidence to support various core competencies for your e-portfolio.
  
  
• Assignment 2: Annotated Bibliography of Reference Sources (70%)
  

  Part 1: Annotated Bibliography (50%) The goal of the annotated bibliography is to develop an annotated list of 25 or more current reference resources and tools in a specific subject area that can be used by library staff to provide reference help for patrons. Identify the library including information on the type and size of the library as well as the topic and scope/purpose of the items selected for the annotated bibliography. Briefly describe the types of resources already included on the topic already included in the reference collection. Include an appropriate variety of types of online, print, and multimedia sources including books, databases, websites, etc. The annotations should provide a brief summary and evaluation of the source based on your selection criteria and resources such as professional reviews and awards when available. The annotated bibliography can be in a print format or using some technology such as a blog or LibGuide if you prefer.
  Part 2: Budget (5% of final grade) Create a budget that shows the costs for 25 items in the annotated bibliography. For items like databases that may have prices that depend on the size of the library or the number of full-time students enrolled in an academic institution, provide your best guess-timate of the cost based on the type and size of the library or academic institution. Part 3: Reflections (15% of final grade) Include a brief reflection on the selection criteria you used and what you learned from this assignment.  Include a rationale for the amount of money spent for your 25 items based on the size and needs of your library and/or academic institution. Include information about how your choices support a diverse and changing population. The reflection statement should provide a justification for the possibility of using this assignment as an artifact for your e-portfolio.

  See the scoring rubric and Panopto video for Assignment 4 for details, examples, and grading criteria.
• INFO 210 Course Learning Outcome addressed:
• CLO 1: Identify and assess the characteristics and functions of various types of reference sources.
• CLO 2: Use appropriate collection development tools for selecting and evaluating reference sources.
• CLO 5: Evaluate reference sources that address the needs of a diverse and changing society.
• NOTE: See video on using this assignment may serve as a possible artifact for the e-portfolio.

Course Grading

• See the description of the assignments in Canvas and the grading rubrics.
• All work is due by the date listed, but there is a two-day no-questions-asked grace period for all assignments. If you are unable to complete the work by the end of the grace period, there is a 10% penalty unless you contact me and formally make special arrangements for an extension.  
• Check the grading criteria provided in the scoring rubrics before submitting assignments to be sure that you are addressing all of the elements that should be included in the assignments. 
• The details of the assignments, grading criteria, and grading rubrics are subject to minor adjustments with fair notice. 
• With the exception of the standard two-day, no-questions-asked grace period, no work will be accepted after the end of the course unless you have made arrangements that meet the university criteria and have been approved by me in writing or by email. 

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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

INFO 210 has no prequisite requirements.

Course Learning Outcomes

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

1. Identify and assess the characteristics and functions of various types of reference sources.
2. Use appropriate collection development tools for selecting and evaluating reference sources.
3. Describe the relationship between information needs, collection development policies, and the evaluation of reference collections.
4. Describe current issues and trends in selecting appropriate reference sources.
5. Evaluate reference sources that address the needs of a diverse and changing society.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

INFO 210 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Recommended Textbooks:

• Cassell, K. A., & Hiremath, U. (2013). Reference and information services: An introduction (3rd ed.). Neal-Schuman. Available through Amazon: 1555708595

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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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