INFO 261A-01
Programming and Services For Young Adults
Spring 2018 Syllabus

Anthony Bernier, MLIS, MA, Ph.D.
E-mail
School of Information
San Jose State University
Phone: 510.339.6880 (h)
Office hours: by arrangement

Mission of the School
The School of Information (SOI) 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 Launched

SOI utilizes a content management system called Canvas for class communications: submitting assignments, grades, even e-mail.

Canvas Information: iSchool courses will be available beginning Wednesday 24 January, 6 AM (Pacific Time) 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 in the Canvas site automatically.

Our class begins officially with Week #1 on Wednesday 24 January. Weekly units and assignment deadlines end on Saturdays at 11:59 PM (Pacific) unless otherwise indicated.

Course Description

A comprehensive survey of the competencies promoting the administration of professional library and information services with multi-cultural populations of young adults. The course features a problem-solving and evidence-based approach to thriving within current institutional and cultural contexts, operations, policies, skills, resources, and philosophies, rendered within a critical youth studies/history framework valued by progressive institutions offering contemporary young adult library services.  

Course Requirements

As this is an advanced course (i.e., not a “core” course) the instructor assumes that students possess professional-level skills in searching, discovering and navigating bibliographic resources.  We will rely on these skills throughout the term and apply them to professional-level young adult-specific services.

Further, this 261A course requires that you:

• complete reading and writing assignments as required and detailed in the comprehensive Course Outline (including the instructor’s lectures and student Discussion posts);
• perform literature searches and produce critical written analysis;
• post, read, and respond to “Abstract” postings through course Discussions (described in our Course Outline);
• produce a final project as detailed in the Course Outline and assignment guidelines;
• maintain minimal home computing environment required by the School, see Home Computing Environment (http://ischool.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm).
• access to the required software downloads (free): 

Adobe Reader available at Adobe Reader.
RealPlayer available at Real Player Download.

As detailed in the Course Outline, all assignments and written products are to be completed and submitted by 11:59 PM (Pacific) on the Saturday of the week in which they are due, unless noted otherwise.  

For instance, the Abstract entry for Week 1 is due 11:59 PM (Pacific) on Saturday 27 January - posted to our Canvas Discussion Forum.

Holiday Observances
Only University-recognized holidays will be recognized for this class. See the SJSU Academic Calendar specific details:

Incompletes
Please avail yourself of the policy for uncompleted coursework on the School’s website.

Course Calendar

Assignments

• Readings Assignments are detailed in Course Outline
• 11 topical “Abstract” entries (short posts, no more than 150 words) as indicated in the Course Outline. All Abstract posts, including the instructor’s follow-up “Abstract lectures,” are required reading;
• One, 2-3 page YA Space comparative analysis;
• One, 3-5 page “Hot Button” paper (brief background research and position on a controversial topic);
• One, 2-3 page Staff Training Workshop Preparation;
• Repertoire Emphasis Project ("REP") (design a youth participation-infused library program);
• One, 3-5 page philosophical assessment called “transforming YA services;”
• One, “YA Librarian Tool Box” (a classified critical annotated bibliography)

*Note: Abstract entries represent one total grade of 10 points. They must all be posted to the course Discussion board on time to receive a total of 10 points; they do not constitute a series of discretely-graded assignments and are not graded separately. No partial credit.

All major written work will receive detailed written analytical and constructive comments designed to help strengthen your skills and build your confidence to deliver professional library services with young adults. Comments are not necessarily intended to explain grades.

Late Assignments
Assignments date-stamped after 11:59 PM (Pacific Time) on the due date will receive a 20% reduction of the total points possible for that assignment. However, any late Abstract entries will forfeit all 10 points - again, no partial credit is possible.

Assignment Changes
The instructor reserves the right to alter assignments and Course Outline with fair notice.

General Requirements
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.

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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 200. 

Course Learning Outcomes

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

1. Demonstrate knowledge of and increase their confidence in delivering library services for young people in a demographically complex contemporary culture.
2. Demonstrate practical and analytical facility with the innovative principles of youth development and civic participation through involvement in library programs, materials, presentations, atmospherics, and professional resource management.
3. Begin developing professional skills for working directly with young adults and with adults who work with young people.
4. Establish familiarity with a wide range of creative forms produced for, desired by, and produced by young people.
5. Identify one particular domain of youth experience and develop a plan for library service linkage.
6. Develop an overarching philosophy of today's young people that includes ways in which the library can contribute to their lives and meanings, the institution's public value, and their communities in general.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

INFO 261A supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Bernier, A. (Ed.). (2013). Transforming young adult services. ALA Neal-Schuman. Available through Amazon: 1555709079

• Velasquez, J. (2015). Real-world teen services. ALA. Available through Amazon: 0838913423

• Vickery, J.R. (2017) Worried about the wrong things: Youth, risk, and opportunity in the digital world. MIT Press. Available through Amazon: 0262036029.

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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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