INFO 267-11
Seminar in Services to Children and Young Adults
Spring 2016 Greensheet

Elizabeth (Beth) Wrenn-Estes
E-mail
Cellphone: 510-410-1959
Office location: Home
Office Hours: By Appointment

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning January 28th, 6am PT 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.

You will be enrolled into the Canvas site automatically.

Course Description

This course will focus on intellectual freedom issues with youth, the value of youth literature to enhance individuals’ lives, the ethics of intellectual freedom, the psychology of censorship and how to combat it, and how to defend materials for youth.

Course Requirements

CANVAS SITE AND COURSE GREENSHEET/SYLLABUS 

NOTE: The Instructor uses “I” or “me” throughout the document. 

This course will be available on CANVAS by January 26, 2016 

I expect each student to check into the CANVAS course site at least once, if not twice, per day to see course updates, resources, announcements, and other relevant information. Students are responsible to read both the Greensheet and the course site and understand the information contained in both. It is also the student’s responsibility to ask questions and express concerns quickly so that the instructor can provide an answer/response immediately. I make every effort to proofread the Greensheet/Syllabus and the CANVAS Course Site but typos can still occur.

Instructor’s Instructional Philosophy

I want each student in the course to succeed and will do everything to help students do so but it is a partnership. Please make sure that communication and your engagement in class activities stays a top priority for you during the semester. Ask questions when you have them, seek clarifications when you need them, take responsibility for understanding all expectations, content and assignments for the course. 

WHY GROUP WORK?

I am a believer in the value of working in groups in my classes. Every job in youth services will involve working with groups of people some of whom you will know well and others that you won’t know well at all. 

How well you work in a group or a team is determined by your understanding of group dynamics compounded by the fact that you are working in a distance education program where staying connected to one another and to me as your instructor is critical to success.

Just as in real life when you work in a group or as I like to think of the experience as “
being on a team” you will have weak members of the group/team and you will have strong group members (leaders) of the group/team. I expect each group member work to their fullest capacity on all of the group assignments.

I will ask from time to time throughout the semester how things are going in each group and I will require outlines on group work that show who has been assigned to each part of the project/assignment to see the work as been divided equally among all members.

The Importance of SOTES
Students evaluate the course and instructor at the end of each term. This evaluation is known as the SOTES. An announcement will go out from the administration letting students/faculty know when the SOTES are available to complete. The importance of SOTES is very easy to describe – they are student voices to the administration and the instructor giving feedback on the positives and negatives of the student’s experience in the class. Completing the SOTES is so very important to improving courses and instruction.

E-mail Subject Lines/Naming of Assignment Files - Mandatory

Format for subject line for all email correspondence:

LIBR 267_11_YOUR LAST NAME

Format the file name for all of your assignments:

LIBR 267_11_YOUR LAST NAME_KEYWORD OF ASSIGNMENT TITLE

E-mail Response Time
I answer email on a regular basis throughout the day and evenings however the official policy is:

“Instructor will respond to student emails within 24-hours of receipt”. I will inform the class if a longer response time is needed (I’m out of town, illness, etc.). Students are expected to promptly answer emails.

Crisis or Emergency
Please call me if a situation prevents you from doing assignments or other class activities. You will receive a zero for any course work missed unless you have received permission from me for an extension. I reserve the right to deduct points (the number of points is determined by the me) for any work not submitted on time or lack of participation in Blackboard Collaborate session, group work or individual assignments and discussion threads.

Course Calendar
Subject to change with fair notice.

Technology Requirements
You will need a high-speed connection (DSL, cable, etc.) to successfully participate in this class. Please see the Technology Requirements and Instructions for Success handout.

Grades not rounded up to the next grade level. For example if at semester’s end you have a 90.7%/100 you will get a B (90%) in the class. I do not round up to the next number.

Rounding – The instructor does not round points to the next whole number. If you receive an 89.6 you will get the grade equivalent for those points.

Timeframe for grading papers
The instructor tries to grade and return individual papers to students within ten days from the date turned in. Turning in assignments late is not allowed except in the case of true extenuating circumstances and with prior approval of the instructor. The instructor requires a note from the student’s doctor to verify sickness that prevents assignment deadlines from being met. Extenuating circumstance discussions are facilitated on a one-to-one basis and the instructor will determine whether consideration is granted and length of time for the extension. Students should contact instructor as early as possible with potential problems or issues meeting established deadlines. 

The instructor will always inform the student(s) if papers will take longer than 10 days to grade.

Grading Rubric/Individual Assignment Evaluation Forms
Rubrics have been worked into the gradebook in Canvas and I will provide evaluation forms to you if needed for specific assignments.

COLLABORATE SESSIONS – Mandatory
Week 6 - Tuesday, March 8th (10 pts)
Guest Speaker(s)
6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Pacific
Session is Mandatory
(There will be a reflection paper due after the session worth 2 points)

Week 13- Tuesday April 26th (18 pts)
Group Presentations
Issues in Intellectual Freedom and Youth
6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Pacific
Session is Mandatory
 
Core Competencies: D,I,M,N
Course Outcomes: 1,5,7,8

MECHANICS, SPELLING, GRAMMAR, WRITING STYLE AND RESEARCH

• Students will produce assignments that meet writing and research standards appropriate for students in a Master’s program of study.
• It is critical to proofread your work before turning it in.
• Graduate level writing standards do not tolerate spelling or grammatical errors of any kind.
• APA is mandated for citations included within the text of the paper and reference/bib page(s).
• See the rubric under each of the assignment for how points are distributed for Content, Mechanics, etc. and Research.
•  I may not read entire paper for spelling and grammar mistakes; if, in my opinion, the assignment contains too many errors a reduction in points for that section of the rubric. 

Paper Composition/Blog Banner and General formatting

• Prepare all assignments in MS Word.
• May not exceed the number of pages specified by the instructor.
• Must have a title page with the following information:  Title of paper, Class number and title, Name of Student, Name of Instructor, University and Date of Assignment. Papers must be doubled spaced
• Reference page must be included and meet APA guidelines
• Citations within the paper itself must be done according to APA guidelines
• Page numbers and the name of the assignment must appear on all pages except the title page
• All papers are to be written in formal style unless otherwise noted on the assignment description.
• Please read through the information on both of these two links. One addresses copyright and the other a general description to help you understand what “graduate writing standards are”.
  http://libguides.sjsu.edu/copyright
  http://faculty.etsu.edu/leroyfra/MALSWriting/5a1standards.html
• If you submit work with words, images, or ideas that are not their original ideas, words, or images, you must cite the sources of those words, images, or ideas. It is important for students in library science courses to develop a respect for the work of others and to be responsible users of the work of others. Although the work of students does have some fair-use protection, you are never safe in using words, images, or ideas of others in a course in which we share our work with one another. Not only will you need to remember this when you are posting to the discussion forums, you must also practice responsible use of resources in your projects that you will be sharing with your colleagues.

Plagiarism
All assignment documents are run through Turnitin through the Canvas site.

WEEKLY OUTLINES
Weekly Outlines appear under Modules on the Canvas course website which opens January 26, 2016. These weekly outlines will include tasks, links to Discussion Thread, Lectures, Readings, Collaborate Session Information (if appropriate), Assignment Due Date Reminders and anything else of importance to that week that students should know. The outlines will be available when the Canvas site opens on January 26, 2016. 

DETAILED ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS
I will post additional details for each assignment along with any resources that will aid you in successfully completing the assignment including examples (when possible) on January 26, 2016 when the Canvas course website opens.

DISCUSSION THREADS

PARTICIPATION IN DISCUSSION THREADS IS MANDATORY

Questions, Comments, Concerns- Discussion Thread
Please post all questions, concerns, and general comments on the discussion thread under Modules on the CANVAS class site. If the question or concern is of a personal nature send directly to the instructor’s email address (bwestes@mac.com).

Remember that additional posts are always welcome and show work that goes beyond just the required amount and into the “Exceptional” work category.

Competencies: D,I,M,N
CLO’s: 1,5,6,7,8

DISCUSSION THREAD SCHEDULE

Week 1 - Discussion 1 - (1 pt)                       
January 26 to January 31
Introduce yourself to the class. This is your opportunity to tell us a few things about you. One of the things I’d like to know if where each of you is in the iSchool program and what are you doing in your professional life right now. Feel free to tell us other things about you but only if you are comfortable doing so - post pictures (we love to see and hear about dogs, cats, children, hobbies). (1 point/1 post)
1 post per student/due on Sunday, January 31^st.

Week 3 - Discussion 2 – (4 pts)                       
February 8 to February 14
Time for self-reflection – self-censorship happens even in our profession since each of us has topics, issues, situations that we are afraid of or find offense in. However, as a librarian we are charged with keeping our personal issues out of our professional life. Read through the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read principles and discuss your commitment to the ideas and principles described in both. What self-censorship issues do you think you personally need to address. Are you willing to share one with the group? This discussion thread and the answers you give here will help you see how different you may be thinking by the time you get to discussion thread #7 at semester’s end where you describe your reflections on the semester and what you have learned.

Here are a couple of things I want you to read to help you with the discussion:

Chapter 11 of Intellectual Freedom and Youth – PDF Module Week 2

and

A Dirty Little Secret: Self-Censorship by Debra Whelan from School Library Journal, 2009. URL is: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6632974.html

Substantial Post Due on Tuesday, February 9th and Thursday, February 11th
2 responses to classmates’ posts by Sunday, February 14th 5:00 p.m. PST

Total posts = 4

Week 6 - Discussion 3 - (3 pts)                       
February 29th to March 6th
Speaking from the research done for the selection policy assignment what are insights do you have surrounding the purposes of selection policies and written procedures focused on getting material reconsidered?

Substantial Post Due on Tuesday, March 1st and Thursday, March 3rd
1 Response to classmates’ post due by Sunday, March 6th 5:00 p.m. PST

Total posts = 3

Week 7 - Discussion 4 - (3 pts)                       
March 7 to March 13
Review the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and Sund vs.The City of Wichita (or any other cases your can find) Discuss the significance of each of these as it pertains to our course of study. Draw your own insights into the discussion and using both references from your reading and your own opinion look at each as they impact Intellectual Freedom for Youth.

Substantial Post Due on Tuesday, March 8th and Thursday, March 10th
1 response to classmates’ post due by Sunday, March 13^th

Total posts = 3

Week 9  - Discussion 5 - (5 pts)                       
March 21st to March 27th
Controversial Young Adult Fiction and Intellectual Freedom. Do a bit of research into what books are being banned or challenged in the genre of realistic fiction. Visit some of the more outspoken young adult authors websites and see what they are saying about censorship and YA (Crutcher, Blume, Hopkins, Halse Anderson, Brewer, Alexi, and more). Approach the discussion with a youth services librarian and describe what the major issues are but make it more personal taking it down to what the authors themselves are saying about censorship and their viewpoints of it.

Substantial Post Due on Tuesday, March 22nd and Thursday, March 24th
3 responses to classmates’ posts by Sunday, March 27^th 5:00 p.m. PST

Total posts = 5

Week 12  - Discussion 6 - (4 pts)                       
April 11^th to April 17th
How young people behave in libraries is a major discussion topic across the country. What issues are out there for librarians to deal with in respect to what rights do young people have when visiting the library focusing on the following: freedom of expression, freedom of access and the right to read, etc. and what policies should libraries develop to address these? What examples can you find from your readings?

Substantial Post Due on Tuesday, April 12th and Thursday, April 14th
2 responses to classmates’ posts by Sunday, April 17th 5:00 p.m. PST

Total posts = 4

Week 16  - Discussion 7 – (3 pts)
May 9^th to May 15th
Reflection – look back at the semester and tell major insights, changes in attitude, best practices for dealing with YA and Youth in either school or public library setting and anything else you’d like to add about your experience this semester.

Substantial Post Due on Tuesday, May 10th and Thursday, May 12th
1 response to classmates’ post due by Sunday, May 15th

Total posts = 3

DETAILED ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS

Selection Policy Analysis (Paper)

DUE March 15th (Week 8) – 20 Points

• Select a public or school library. Find the materials selection policy for the library. It must be a real selection policy not one that is “made up” for the assignment.
• Analyze the selection policy for materials that are directly used or accessible to “youth” (including selection philosophy, selection criteria, reconsideration policy and procedures, intellectual freedom and access to information and statement of privacy and confidentiality).
• It may be necessary to call someone within the library district and explain your assignment and see if they can give you any insights on the development of their selection policies (children, youth librarians and potentially the library director.
• Compare and contrast what ALA recommends to include in a selection policy with what you see in the policy you have selected.

Paper should include the following sections:

• Introduction
• How do the policies different?
• How are the policies similar?
• Pay particular attention and include Internet, Special Collections and Social Media policies. You may find during your research other specific policies to include.
• Please provide any insights or comments about the value and necessity of having a selection policy especially the collections focused on youth.
• Conclusion

Papers should be approximately 15 pages in length (excluding title page and reference page(s). 

RESOURCES
An excellent resource for this assignment is Ensuring Intellectual Freedom and Access to Information in the School Library Media Program, Helen R. Adams, 2008

ALA Guidelines
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=dealing&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=11173

Competencies I, M, N
CLO’s 1,2,3

Controversial Author Paper
Due April 12th  - 15 points

Choose a controversial (banned or challenged) children’s, tween’s or teen’s author and do an in-depth look at their life and works. The author must write for children’s, tween’s or teen’s. Adult authors can be chosen but they must write for one of the groups we are focusing on in this assignment. The author must have written enough children or young adult titles to sufficiently cover the paper’s focus.

Contents must include:

• Introduction
•  Author biographical information – you may be able to contact them and see if they would speak with you about censorship.
• Major works should be or have been challenged or banned - you can include other titles by the author but the focus must be on the titles that define the author as a writer of controversial children's, tweens or teens fiction or non-fiction. This section should give the reader an idea of the major work plots and a critical evaluation or two of each of the titles. Be sure and check at least two reliable sources and make sure you cite the sources. You are encouraged to write your own critical evaluations of the author you chose since you may have read several of the major works they have written.
• Author's opinions on censorship
• Student's reason for choosing author
• Conclusion that brings all the major points in the paper together 

Controversial Authors – list will be provided – it isn’t a complete list of author’s that are out there. You can chose an American or an international writer.

Paper length should be around 6-10 pages including title page and reference page(s).

Competencies M
CLO’s 1, 6, 8

Collaborate Session (SYNCHRONOUS) - Group Presentations
SESSION DATE - April 26^th (Week 14)- 15 points

The number of Groups and number in each group will be determined by final enrollment in the class. Students will be able to pick their group topics from the ones provided by the Instructor.

Deadline to sign up on the Google Doc is Tuesday, February 9^th (Week 3) 11:59 p.m.

Each group will research the topic they are assigned and present findings during the Collaborate session on April 26^th. Each group will create a presentation using tools that are compatible with Collaborate (Powerpoint, Application sharing, WebTour). You are NOT making a video of your presentation to show during the session. You will be attending and presenting live during the session. The length of the presentation will be approximately 25 minutes (again this is dependent on the class size and the number of groups).

Final groups and presentation lengths will be determined by Friday, February 12th.

Each group with then select one person who will communicate with the instructor and with the Collaborate Assistant – title for this person will be “group facilitator”. This person is not charged with making group work happen, writing outlines, etc. All work within the group is “group” generated. The facilitator is the communicator for the group to me the instructor and to our collaborate assistant– this cuts out duplicate emails from everyone in the group to me.

Group Facilitator name to Instructor (bwestes@mac.com) by Tuesday, February 16th.

Outline: Groups must turn in a skeletal outline of their presentation topics with who in the group will research and present each of them. This outline is skeletal in detail. Due on April 1st 11:59 p.m. PST

Competencies: D, M, N
CLO’s: 1,5,6,7,8

RATIONALES
Due May 10^th  - 15 points

• Write two detailed rationales on two controversial children, tween or teen titles.
• Students will adopt rationales for public libraries and of course school library environments.
• Explain their value and usefulness, and why they should be included in a public/school library collection. Remember we are focusing on children, tweens and teens not adult titles.

Papers are to be no more than 6-8 pages in length excluding title page and references.

E-How: How to write a rationale
http://www.ehow.com/how_5017361_write-rationale-statement.html

Writing a Rationale for a Controversial Common Reading Book
http://www.jstor.org/stable/816509?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Other links will be provided when the Canvas site opens on January 26, 2016.

Example of assignment will be provided but the titles included students may not chose them by for their papers.

Competencies I, M
CLO’s 3,4,6

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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 267 has no prequisite requirements.

Course Learning Outcomes

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

1. Identify characteristics and topics that are frequently associated with challenged materials for children and young adults.
2. Identify the elements needed to write a reconsideration policy for a school or public library.
3. Demonstrate familiarity with how to train library staff in reconsideration procedures and handling angry customers
4. Write a rationale for a challenged book.
5. State a personal philosophy of intellectual freedom.
6. Discuss the value of books that present graphic material or controversial subjects.
7. Describe the psychology of the censor, including emotions and motivations.
8. Discuss the motivations of authors who write material that might be challenged, and why they are willing to risk censorship.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

INFO 267 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Auguste, M. (2013). Voya's guide to intellectual freedom for teens. Voya Press. Available through Amazon: 1617510076

Recommended Textbooks:

• Office for Intellectual Freedom (2015). Intellectual freedom manual (9th ed.). (Magi T., & Garnar M., Eds.). ALA. Available through Amazon: 0838912923

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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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