INFO 281-13
Seminar in Contemporary Issues
Community Partnerships (1 Unit)
Summer 2020 Syllabus

Morgan Rose Pershing
E-mail
Office Location: Virtual

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning June 1st, 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.

INFO 281-13 is a one-unit course that runs from June 1 - June 29. This course will open on Canvas on June 1st.

You will be enrolled in the Canvas site automatically.

Course Description

Public libraries are no longer your mother’s public libraries. Facing cuts in funding yet increasing use, the landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. Public libraries have expanded focus to include more programming and extending reach beyond the four walls of a physical space. What does that mean? More community partnerships. Community partnerships allow the library to work with institutions and people not traditionally thought of as partners. This is an excellent quid pro quo relationship; partners benefit by getting their message or education out to a huge population – the library’s patron base. In turn, libraries benefit by having new avenues in which to attract patrons and expose new people to all that a public library can provide for them. In this class, we will examine what makes up a community partnership, work to identify possible partners, and study some real, unique, and successful community partnerships in depth.

Course Requirements

Assignments

Week 1:

1. Discussion: Introduce yourself
2. Discussion: Community Connections Webinar and readings on community partnerships

Week 2:

1. Discussion: Case Study - Sustainable U Grant Project
2. Paper: 2-3 pages, explore community partnerships at your local library CLO 1, CLO 2

Week 3:

1. Discussion: Case Study - War Ink
2. Paper: 2-3 pages, examine two examples from the book "Librarians as Community Partners" CLO 2

Week 4:

1. Discussion: Case Study - Planned Parenthood and Queens Library
2. Final Paper: Create an original plan for a project using community partnerships CLO 1

Course Calendar
subject to change with fair notice

1. Discussion: Introduce yourself Due June 7, 2020
2. Discussion: Community Connections Webinar and readings on community partnerships Due June 7, 2020
3. Discussion: Case Study - Sustainable U Grant Project Due June 14, 2020
4. Paper: 2-3 pages, explore community partnerships at your local library Due June 14, 2020
5. Discussion: Case Study - War Ink Due June 21, 2020
6. Paper: 2-3 pages, examine two examples from the book "Librarians as Community Partners" Due June 21, 2020
7. Discussion: Case Study - Planned Parenthood and Queens Library Due June 29, 2020
8. Final Paper: Create an original plan for a project using community partnerships Due June 29, 2020

Grading
Students can accumulate up to 100 points.
Late assignments will not be accepted.

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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 281 has no prequisite requirements.

Course Learning Outcomes

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

1. Identify potential community partnerships.
2. Explain the advantages of creating community partnerships.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

INFO 281 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Smallwood, C (Ed.). (2010). Librarians as community partners. ALA Editions. Available through Amazon: 0838910068

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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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