INFO 204-10
Information Professions 
Fall 2016 Syllabus

Wayne Disher
E-mail
Phone: 408-421-0111
Office Location: Online
Office Hours: By arrangement

Getting Started

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning August 24th, 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.

You will be enrolled into the Canvas site automatically.

Course Description

Examines the organizations and environments in which information professionals work.  This course explores different specializations and career paths, professional communities, networks and resources, ethical and legal frameworks. This course also introduces management and leadership theories and concepts and applies them to different information environments. A special focus is placed on management responsibilities in order to emphasize the importance of these skills in the professional workplace.

Note: iSchool requires that students earn a B in this 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.

Course Requirements

Complete INFO 203 Online Learning: Tools and Strategies for Success
This is a mandatory 1 unit course that introduces students to the various e-learning tools used in the iSchool program.  For more information, see: http://ischool.sjsu.edu/current-students/courses/core-courses-and-electives

Writing Requirement
If the instructor finds that a student's writing is unacceptable, the instructor will require the student to sign up for online writing tutoring.  The student will ask the tutor to confirm with the instructor that he or she is attending sessions.

Discussion
Students will perform a series of required activities relating to the information professions and their organizational analysis.  While some of these discussion board activities are not graded, students are required to participate or be penalized up to an entire grade reduction.  (Learning Outcomes: #1, #3, #6)

Regular Assignments
The semester will be broken into "Units".  Each unit will run for a duration of roughly 2 to 3 weeks.  Each week within the unit contains several activities, reading, discussions, online work, and collaboration.  Each unit will have one graded assignment. Units One through Four have graded assignments that account for 10 points each.  The weight of this accummulated 40 points will be 20% of your entire grade.

Units Five and Six each have larger assignments worth 100 points each.  They each are weighted 40%.  While you will find detailed information about each graded assignment appearing in the Unit itself here is a brief rundown of what you'll be doing this semester in terms of graded assignments. 

• Unit One's 10 point graded assignment involves a Career Development
  assignment in which students will be introduced to the extensive School Career Development online resources and will asked to submit their resume.  In addition, students will also utilize the ePortfolio function in the Canvas learning management system. (Learning Outcomes: #4, #7)
• Unit Two's 10 point graded assignment will ask you to read a case history involving communication and diversity in an organization and asks you to think about how you'd resolve a challenging issue. (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, and 6).
• Unit Three's 10 point graded assignment asks you to learn about a strategic planning process called SWOT analysis and to submit a SWOT analysis of a library of your choice.  (Learning Outcomes 2 & 3)
• Unit Four's 10 point graded assignment asks you to read over several case histories involving the creation of a library's budget.  After reading over the budget scenarios, you will be asked to consider what you would do in both situations and submit a paper explaining how you handled one of the cases.  (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, and 8)

End of Term Assignments
There are two large assignments near the end of the semester.  One is a group assignment and one will be an analytical assignment:

• Group Assignment: Students will be assigned to a team for a project conducting a "visualized critique"--a sort of performance audit--of a library information organization. Each member of the team visits a library on their own, and each brings back to the team's member the potential organizational weaknesses and threats they identify. The team as a whole will analyze each member's pictures an information.  The team will then choose ten items to work on as a group. Students analyze such things as managment decisions, facility maintenance, customer service, community outreach, the library's mission and vision, the library's efficiency, and the library's effectiveness. During the semester--through online collaboration--the team will articulate strategic recommendations for improving the library. In an online presentation to the instructor, the group shares there recommendations regarding their chosen ten items, and articulates how these recommendations will significantly solve the issues they have identified.  A peer review regarding individual contributions and performance on the team will be included and considered in the final grade for the team project. (Learning Outcomes 3, 5, & 8)
• Analytical Management Response Presentation: Students will be asked to choose to investigate and respond to one of several common administative problems information professionals are confronted with in today's library environments. Students will utilize an alternate format (e.g. website, wiki, podcast, video, Powerpoint, Prezi, etc.) to produce and present their response to one of the issues using information they gather in research, as well as information gleamed through course readings and reflection.  More detail will be provided by your instructor. (Learning Outcomes 1, 3, & 6)

Grading

Due Dates and Late Assignments
Due dates are not negotiable. As a rule, I do not accept late assignments. If extraordinary circumstances prevail, however, an accepted late assignment will receive a penalty of at least one grade.

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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 204 has no prequisite requirements.

Course Learning Outcomes

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

1. Describe the role of information and the information profession in various contexts, and from historical, current and future perspectives.
2. Identify and discuss the professional values and ethics of library and information science.
3. Explore a number of professional opportunities and related supports available to information professionals.
4. Identify, discuss and compare key management concepts such as leadership, change, advocacy, and decision making, as well as the roles and activities of managers and leaders.
5. Understand analytical and strategic planning processes and skills.
6. Identify various information stakeholders and the information environments that provide for their needs.
7. Experience and assess working in teams.
8. Review, use and properly cite the professional and research literature of management and leadership.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

INFO 204 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Disher, W. (2010). Crash course in public library administration. Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1598844652

• Hirsh, S. (2015). Information services today. Rowman & Littlefield. Available through Amazon: 1442239581

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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 or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA);
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, BS-ISDA) — 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 if you wish to stay in the program. 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.

Graduate Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

Per University Policy S16-9, university-wide policy information relevant to all courses, such as academic integrity, accommodations, etc. will be available on Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs' Syllabus Information web page at: https://www.sjsu.edu/curriculum/courses/syllabus-info.php. Make sure to visit this page, review and be familiar with these university policies and resources.

In order to request an accommodation in a class please contact the Accessible Education Center and register via the MyAEC portal.

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