INFO 261A-01
Programming and Services For Young Adults
Spring 2020 Syllabus

Anthony Bernier, MLIS, MA, Ph.D.
E-mail
Home Office Phone: 510.339.6880
Office hours: by arrangement

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning Thursday, January 23, at 6 am 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 in the Canvas site automatically.

Our class begins officially with Week #1 on Thursday 23 January. Weekly units end on Saturdays at 11:59 PM (Pacific) and that will be the due time for most of our assignments. 

Course Description

This is a comprehensive survey of the competencies promoting the administration and delivery of professional library and information services with multi-cultural populations of young adults (all "teenagers.") Either this course or INFO 260 must be completed prior to taking additional electives in the Youth Services Pathway. 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 sought by progressive institutions.  

Course Requirements 

As this is not a “core” course, it’s an advanced elective, thus, the instructor assumes that students possess professional-level skills in searching, discovering, and navigating bibliographic resources.  We will rely upon these skills throughout the term and apply them to professional-level young adult-specific services. If at some point you need additional assistance with these skills please avail yourself of the SJSU King Library and its academic faculty.

Further, this 261A course requires that you:

• complete reading and writing assignments as required (including the instructor’s weekly lectures and all student Discussion posts) and detailed in the separate Course Outline (including the instructor’s weekly lectures and all student Discussion posts);
• perform literature searches and produce critical written analysis;
• be responsible for mastering all required course materials (readings, discussions, lectures, etc.);
• post, read, and respond to “Abstract” prompts through course Discussions (described in our separate Course Outline and supporting materials);
• 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
• access to the required software downloads (free): Adobe Reader

As detailed in the separate 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 25 January - posted to our Canvas Discussion Forum.

Holiday Observances
Only University-recognized holidays will be observed for this class. See the SJSU Academic Calendar on the University’s website for specific details. 

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

Course Calendar

Assignments

• Readings Assignments are detailed in the separate Course Outline
• 11 topical “Abstract” entries (short posts, no more than 150 words) as detailed in the Course Outline. All student 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;
• One, “YA Librarian Tool Box” (a classified critical annotated bibliography)

*Note: The Professional Log's Abstract posts represent one assignment: one total grade of 10 points. They must all be posted 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. They 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 Abstract assignment points - again, no partial credit is possible.

Assignment Changes
The professor 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.). (2020). Transforming young adult services (2nd ed.). ALA Editions. Available through Amazon: 0838917747

• 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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