INFO 204-15
INFO 204-16
Information Professions
Spring 2020 Syllabus
Dr. Cheryl Stenstrom
E-mail
Office Hours:
Virtual office hours by appointment.
| Syllabus Links Textbooks CLOs Competencies Prerequisites |
Resources Canvas Login and Tutorials iSchool eBookstore |
Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning January 23rd, 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.
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:: INFO 203 Online Learning.
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 activities relating to the information professions and their organizational analysis. (Course Learning Outcomes: #1, #3, #6)
Exploratory Essay
Using LIS databases and other relevant resources, students will read, analyze and respond to a recent scholarly article on transferable skills and competencies in the modern knowledge economy for library and information science (LIS) professionals. (Course Learning Outcomes: #8)
Organizational Analysis
Working together in small groups, students will assume roles on teams to create an organizational analysis, in two parts, for an information organization. In the first part, each team will draft vision, mission and value statements for the organization. In addition, teams will produce a literature review and conduct an environmental scan including a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). Based on findings of the first part of the project, the group will articulate strategic directions for the information organization in the second half of the project. Goals will be measured by appropriate criteria specified and presented by the team to their classmates. An annotated bibliography will also be included in this second part of the report. A peer review regarding individual contributions and performance on the team will be included and considered in the final grade for the team project. (Course Learning Outcomes: #2, #5, #8)
Career Development
Students will be introduced to the extensive School Career Development online resources and will be asked to submit their resume. In addition, students will also utilize the ePortfolio function in the Canvas learning management system. (Course Learning Outcomes: #4, #7)
Professional Synthesis
A culminating synthesis allows students to reflect and respond to the major elements of INFO 204 and the information professions, supported and informed by the course and supplemental scholarly material. Students will utilize an alternate format (e.g. website, wiki, podcast, video, Powerpoint, Prezi, etc.) to produce and present their culminating assignment. (Course Learning Outcomes: #1, #8)
Grading
| Assignment | Points | Due Date |
| Discussion Forum | 3 points each (30 points total) |
ongoing (due at the end of the week in which the discussion is assigned) |
| Exploratory Essay | 15 points | February 18 |
| Organizational Analysis | 30 points |
April 1 (Part 1) April 21 (Part 2) |
| Career Development | 10 points | May 5 |
| Professional Synthesis | 15 points | May 11 |
Assignment Deadlines
All assignments must be submitted by 11:59 pm Pacific time on the due date. Grades will be reduced for any late work by 10% for any portion of each 24-hour period past the 11:59 pm PT deadline. Please contact the instructor prior to a deadline in the case of illness or emergency.
Calendar
| Week | Topic/Module | Assignment |
| 1: January 23 |
Chapters 1, 3, 5 |
Discussion 1: Introductions including any particular area of current/future interest in the information professions and organizations. Due date: January 28 |
| 2: January 29 |
Chapters 6-8 Cawthorne, J. (2010). Leading from the middle of the organization: An examination of shared leadership in academic libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(2), 151-157. Cuddy, A.J.C., Kohut, M., & Neffinger, J. (2013 July-August). Connect, then lead. Harvard Business Review, 9(7), 54-61. McNamara, C. (no date). How to delegate to employees. In Free Management Library. Retrieved from: http://managementhelp.org/leadingpeople/delegating.htmMatthews, S. (2012, September 11). Librarian leaders delegate! In 21st Century Library Blog. Retrieved from http://21stcenturylibrary.com/2012/09/11/librarian-leaders-delegate/ |
Discussion 2: Scholarly article summary and key takeaways on the topic of accountability, responsibility or delegation. Due date: February 4 |
|
3: February 5 |
Chapters 9-10 9. Working in Different Information Environments: Special Libraries and Information Centers 10. Digital Resources: Digital Libraries |
Discussion 3: Online Career Resources and post current job description/opening to be used in Week 14's Career Development assignment. Due date: February 11 |
|
4: February 12 |
Chapters 11-13 Mellers, B. A., Schwartz, A. A., & Cooke, A. J. (1998). Judgment and decision making. Annual Review Of Psychology, 49(1), 447-470. *Please just scan the sites that are comprehensive toolkits <p >American Library Association. (2014). Privacy toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacyconfidentiality/ Cornell University Law School. (no date). Contracts. In Legal Information Institute. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/contract Duhaime.org. (no date). Contracts. In Learn Law. Retrieved from http://www.duhaime.org/LegalResources/Contracts.aspx Ontario. Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. (2015). Information and communication about accessibility standards. Retrieved from http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/accessibility/ United States. Justice. (2001). Americans with Disabilities Act: Questions and answers. Retrieved from http://www.ada.gov/qandaeng.htm |
Due: Exploratory Essay February 18 |
| 5: February 19 |
Chapters 15-16 Bernier, A. & Stenstrom, C. (2014). Small group strategies: A guide to working in teams. Unpublished paper. (will be distributed in class) Steiner, V. (2014). Online teams. In <em >SJSU's School of Information LIBR203: Teamwork Resources. Retrieved from http://ischool.sjsu.edu/courses/203/personal/teamwork.htm |
Discussion 4: Successful virtual teams. Due date: February 25 |
| 6: February 26 |
Chapters 19-20 Goleman, D. (2004). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 82. Matthews, J.R. (2005). Chapter 1: What are strategies? In Strategic Planning and Management for Library Managers [electronic resource]. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Matthews, J.R. (2005). Chapter 7: Strategic planning process options. In Strategic Planning and Management for Library Managers [electronic resource]. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Queensland. Library. (2009). Strategic plan development guide. Retrieved from http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/__data/ Sinek, S. (2009, September). How great leaders inspire action. In TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ WebJunction. (2012). Writing a mission statement. In Planning and Coordination. Retrieved from https://www.webjunction.org/documents/webjunction/ |
Discussion 5: Leadership characteristics. Due date: March 3 Progress Report due for Organizational Analysis March 3 |
| 7: March 4 |
Chapters 17, 23 Bateh, J., Castaneda, M., & Farah, J. (2013). Employee resistance to organizational change. International Journal of Management & Information Systems, 17(2), 113-116. Germano, M. (2011). Library leadership that creates and sustains innovation. Library Leadership & Management (Online) 25(3), 1. Kieserman, R. (2013). Overcoming the them and us syndrome in libraries. Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, 26(3), 103-106. Rowley, J. (2011). Should your library have an innovation strategy?. Library Management, 32, 251. |
No discussion; continue work on Part 1 of Group Project |
| 8: March 11 | Chapters 21-22 21. Managing Budgets 22. Managing Personnel |
Discussion 6: 20% budget cut. Due date: March 17 |
| 9: March 18 | Chapters 24-25 24. Managing Collections 25. Managing Technology |
Discussion 7: Prepare for the worst: Sharing an emergency/disaster plan. Due date: March 24 |
| 10: March 25 | BREAK (no assigned readings) |
Due: Part 1 of Organizational Analysis. Due date: April 1 |
| 11: April 2 | Chapter 26 26. Managing Data and Data Analysis in Information Organizations Additional reading: Educause. (2019). NMC Horizon report. Retrieved from: https://library.educause.edu/resources/2019/4/2019-horizon-report |
Discussion 8: Emerging Technology - The Horizon Report. Due date: April 7 |
| 12: April 8 |
Chapters 27-28 |
Discussion 9: Marketing and Advocacy for the contemporary LIS organization. Due date: April 14 |
| 13: April 15 | Chapters 18, 29 18. Creation Culture and Makerspaces 29. Information Policy |
No discussion; Due: Part 2 of Organizational Analysis April 21 |
| 14: April 22 | Chapters 31-33 31. Copyright and Creative Commons 32. Information Licensing 33. Open Access |
No discussion |
| 15: April 29 | Chapters 34, 36 34. Information Privacy and Cybersecurity 36. Career Management Strategies for Lifelong Success |
Discussion 10: Cover Letter and voting. Due date: May 5 Due: Career Development assignment (resume submitted and two artifacts loaded to ePortfolio in Canvas) May 5 |
| 16: May 6 | Chapter 37 37. Leadership Skills for Today's Global Information Landscape |
Due: Professional Synthesis May 11 |
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:
- Describe the similarities and differences between various information organizations and professional roles from historical, current, and future perspectives.
- Recognize the roles and activities of managers in information organizations.
- Explain strategic planning processes and skills.
- Identify and choose appropriate assessment tools for evaluating organizational effectiveness.
- Synthesize (including reviewing, using and properly citing) the professional and research management and leadership literature.
- Demonstrate leadership abilities through collaborative teamwork.
- Analyze and assess their own and others leadership abilities through self-reflection and peer review.
- Apply management theories and principles, professional values, and ethical frameworks to organizational issues and decision-making using scenarios and case studies.
- Create and deliver high quality reports, presentations and organizational documents that communicate to internal and external stakeholders organizational values, missions, and priorities.
Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)
INFO 204 supports the following core competencies:
- A Demonstrate awareness of the ethics, values, and foundational principles of one of the information professions, and discuss the importance of those principles within that profession.
- B Describe and compare organizational settings in which information professionals practice.
- D Apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy.
- M Demonstrate professional leadership and communication skills.
- N Evaluate programs and services using measurable criteria.
Textbooks
Required Textbooks:
- Hirsh, S. (Ed.) (2018). Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. Available as free eBook through King Library
Recommended Textbooks:
- American Psychological Association (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. Available through Amazon: 1433832178.
Grading Scale
The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:
| 97 to 100 | A |
| 94 to 96 | A minus |
| 91 to 93 | B plus |
| 88 to 90 | B |
| 85 to 87 | B minus |
| 82 to 84 | C plus |
| 79 to 81 | C |
| 76 to 78 | C minus |
| 73 to 75 | D plus |
| 70 to 72 | D |
| 67 to 69 | D minus |
| Below 67 | F |
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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