UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
School of Information Studies
L&I SCI 501 - Foundations of Library and Information Science
SYLLABUS - Onsite
Spring 2012
Instructor: Catherine Hansen Office: NWQ 3483
Email: Phone: 414-229-3483
Office Hours: phone, skype, meebo etc. by appt. Fax: 414-229-6699
or before or after class Cell phone: 414-687-3394
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
Introduction to library and information science (LIS); outline of the role of information agencies in modern society; overview of LIS research, policy, and practices. (3 credits)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
An introduction to the profession of Library and Information Science (LIS), this required MLIS course provides an historical framework and summary of the role of libraries and other information agencies in modern society, describes the general knowledge creation and distribution cycle, introduces major issues of information policy and ethics, provides examples of libraries, library types, other information institutions, and introduces aspects of research and professional accomplishment and careers.
PREREQUISITES:
Junior standing. Basic computer literacy as outlined in the SOIS policy is required.
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Articulate important developments in library and information science as a discipline and profession;
2. Assess the relative importance of services offered by a variety of information agency types;
3. Analyze relationships between information technologies and the research and practice associated with library and information science;
4. Assess the impacts of important social and political issues on the profession and the role of the profession in society;
5. Describe and evaluate relevant aspects of the activities and goals of the profession as a whole and select sub-groups within the profession;
6. Articulate the importance of professional statements or codes of ethics.
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L&I SCI 501 – Spring 2013
Catherine Hansen
2
L&I SCI 501 – Spring 2013
Catherine Hansen
ALA CORE COMPETENCIES ADDRESSED:
1A. The ethics, values, and foundational principles of the library and information profession.
1B. The role of library and information professionals in the promotion of democratic principles and intellectual freedom (including freedom of expression, thought, and conscience).
1C. The history of libraries and librarianship.
1E. Current types of library (school, public, academic, special, etc.) and closely related information agencies.
1F. National and international social, public, information, economic, and cultural policies and trends of significance to the library and information profession.
1G. The legal framework within which libraries and information agencies operate. That framework includes laws relating to copyright, privacy, freedom of expression, equal rights (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act), and intellectual property.
1J. Effective communication techniques (verbal and written).
1K. Certification and/or licensure requirements of specialized areas of the profession.
METHOD:
Lecture/Discussion/Debate/Presentation
Students with special test and note-taking needs should contact the instructor as early as possible for accommodations.
TEXTS:
REQUIRED:Rubin, R. E. (2010). Foundations of Library and Information Science. 3rd Ed. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers. ISBN 978-1-55570-690-6
Houghton, P.M. & Houghton, T.J. (2009). APA: The easy way! Baker College ISBN 978-0923568962
Readings also will be assigned from a variety of sources. They will be available on the Internet or through electronic reserve at the Golda Meir Library.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
WEEK: / TOPICS: / READINGS: (if not otherwise identified, readings are from Rubin, Foundations)Jan. 23th
Week 1 / Course overview;
Introduction to library and information science (LIS) / · Chapter 1: The Educational, Recreational, and Informational Infrastructure
· Go to http://guides.library.uwm.edu/LIS-501 and watch the Orientation to the Library Webpage and review the information and videos in the three modules presented.
Jan. 30
Week 2 / History of information agencies & technologies
Career Skill Comparisons Due / · Chapter 2: From Past to Present: The History and Mission of Libraries
· Phillips, H. (2010). The great library of Alexandria? Library Philosophy and Practice (August)
· William, R. V. (2002). Chronology of Information Science & Technology. Available: http://www.libsci.sc.edu/bob/istchron/ISCNET/ISCHRON.HTM Browse the website and note developments over time
Feb. 6th
Week 3 / Fundamental concepts of information
Information Cycle
Careers Thesis Statement/Outline/Sources Due / · Chapter 7: Information Science: A Service Perspective
· Read the intro and feel free to scan the rest of the article - Buckland, M. (1991). Information and information systems. New York, New York: Praeger. Read Chapter 1, pp. 1-13.
· Chandler, D. (1994). The transmission model of communication. http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/trans.html
· Borgman, C. L., & Furner, J. (2001). Scholarly communication and bibliometrics. In M. Williams (Ed.), Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (Vol. 36, pp. 3-70). Medford, NJ: Information Today.
· Wolfram, D. (2003). Applied informetrics for information retrieval research Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Read Chapter 3 – Informetrics (pp. 39-65)
Feb. 13th
Week 4 / Information technology and the information professions / · Chapter 6: Redefining the Library: The Impacts and Implications of Technological Change
· The New Medium Consortium. (2011). 2011 Horizon Report Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/Resources/2011HorizonReport/223122
· Pomerantz, J. (2006). Google Scholar and 100 percent availability of information. Information Technology and Libraries, 25(2), 52-56. Available: http://www.lita.org/ala/lita/litapublications/ital/252006/2502jun/contenta/pomerantshtml.cfm.
Feb. 20
Week 5 / The LIS Profession LIS Education; LIS Competencies
LIS and allied areas
Careers Paper Due / · Chapter 3: Library and Information Science: An Evolving Profession
· Appendix A: Summary of Major Library and Information Science Associations and List of Additional Associations;
· ALA Core Competencies of Librarianship http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/index.cfm
· (2006). Information architecture defined. Available: http://www.eleganthack.com/archives/2001_06_20.html
· Univ. of Edinburgh definition of “Informatics”. Available: http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/about/vision.html
· Levinson, M. (2007). ABC: An introduction to KM. CIO. Available: http://www.cio.com/article/print/40343
Browse the following:
· Society of American Archivists (no date) So you want to be an archivist: An overview of the archival profession. Available:
http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/arprof.asp.
Special Librarian Association Competencies (http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/professional/meaning/competency.cfm );
Feb. 27th
Week 6 / Information Agencies:
Public, academic, school, corporate, governmental, archives, and records centers / · Chapter 5: The Library as an Institution: An Organizational Perspective
· Professional Organizations in Library and Information Science
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SOIS/resources/professionalorg.htm
Mar. 6th
Week 7 / Information needs and user behavior; types of users and their needs;
Models of information seeking behavior
Essay Opens / · Case, D. O. (2002). Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behavior. New York: Academic Press..
· Taylor, R.S. (1968). Question negotiation and information seeking in libraries. College and Special Libraries, 29, 178-189.
· Connaway, L.S., Radford, M.L., Dickey, T.J., Williams, J.D., and Confer, P. (2008). Sense-making and synchronicity: information-seeking behaviors of millennials and baby boomers. Libri 58, 123-135.
· Wilson, T.D. (2006). Information seeking behavior and the digital information world. The Indexer 25(1), 28-31.
Mar. 13th
Week 8 / Information services; Reference/research services; Collection development; Organization of information
Essay Due / · Chapter 4: The Organization of Information: Techniques and Issues
· Penka, J. T. (2003). The technological challenges of digital reference. D-Lib Magazine, 9(2). Available:
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/february03/penka/02penka.html.
Mar. 20st
Week 9 / Spring Break / No class
Mar. 27th
Week 10 / Digital libraries
Presentation topic due / · Borgman, C.L. (2007)Scholarship in the digital age: information, infrastructure, and the Internet. Chapter 2
· Correia, A. M. R., Teixeira, J. C. (2005). Reforming scholarly publishing and knowledge communication: from the advent of the scholarly journal to the challenges of open access. Online Information Review 29(4) 349-364.
· Wilkin, J.P. (2011). Bibliographic Indeterminacy and the scale of problems and opportunities of “rights” in digital collection building. Ruminations. Retrieved from https://uwm.courses.wisconsin.edu/d2l/lms/content/preview.d2l?tId=1567726&ou=247577
Apr. 3th
Week 11 / Electronic publishing
Issues Thesis Statement/Outline/Sources
Due / · McClamroch, J. (2011). The transition from print to electronic journals: A study of college and university libraries in Indiana. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 6(3), 40-52.
· Platt, C. (2011). Popular e-content at the New York Public Library: Success and Challenges. Publishing Research Quarterly, 27(3), 247-253.
· Lor, P., & Britz, J. (2011). New trends in content creation: Changing responsibilities for librarians. Libri, 61, 12-22.
Apr. 10th Week 12 / Information Ethics; Information Policy; / · Chapter 8: Information Policy: Stakeholders and Agendas;
· Chapter 9: Information Policy as Library Policy: Intellectual Freedom
· Chapter 10: The Values and Ethics of Library and Information Science
· Buchanan, E. A, (2001). Ethical considerations for the information professions. In R.A. Spinello & H. T. Tavani (Eds.), Readings in CyberEthics. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, pp. 523-534.
· ALA Code of Ethics http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics.cfm
Apr. 17th
Week 13 / Intellectual freedom; Censorship; Privacy
Copyright;
Issues Paper Due / · ALA Freedom to Read http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.cfm
· Lipinski, T. L. (2003). The myth of technological neutrality in copyright and the rights of institutional users: Recent legal challenges to the information organization as mediator and the impact of the DMCA, WIPO, and TEACH. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 54(9), 824-835.
April 24th
Week 14 / International Librarianship / · Sueart, R. (2007). Trends and issues in international librarianship (Chap. 1). In International librarianship (pp.1-12). Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press.
· Sueart, R. (2007). National library associations (Chap. 3). In International librarianship (pp.49-101). Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press.
· Glynn, T. (2004). Historical perspectives on global librarianship (Chap. 1). In M.A. Kesselman & I. Weintraub (Ed.), Global librarianship (pp.1-17). New York, NY: Marcel Dekker, Inc.
· Rudasill, L. (2009). International or global – the expanding universe of librarianship. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 9(4), 511-515.
May 1
Week 15 / Core Competency Presentations due / Watch and comment on your group’s Presentations
ASSIGNMENTS:
Written assignments are due by midnight on the specified date. Grades will be reduced for late papers (one full grade for each week or part thereof). Assignments will be graded and posted within two weeks of the due date, barring any catastrophic delays on my end. (I’ll let you know if there’s a problem.)
You may not resubmit work that has already been used in fulfillment of the requirement of this or any other course. Rules of academic conduct require that you not use the work of others without clearly indicating it as such. Academic misconduct may result in a lowered grade, no credit for a given assignment, or removal from the course.
You must use APA style, no abstract needed. You must include a cover page. It is expected students will consult and appropriately cite the research and professional literature where merited. Grades will also be reduced for papers that include irrelevant content to “fill up space” to meet the length specifications for a paper.
Career Skill Comparisons
Due: January 30
Part A:
Go to the ALA Joblist website. Find two similar jobs that interest you (reference librarian at a public library, medical librarian at a university, technical services and systems library etc.) and compare the qualifications for each position in a spreadsheet format. Write a brief reflection (1-2 pages) on whether you have those skills and how you might obtain them. (Hint, look through the SOIS graduate school course listings as one option.)
Part B:
At the SLA Career Center, find a job that you are interested in and create a spreadsheet listing the skills they are looking for; I'm only having you do one job here as there are far less postings. Write a brief reflection (1-2 pages) on whether you have those skills and how you might obtain them. (Hint, look through the SOIS graduate school course listings as one option.).
This purpose of this assignment is to familiarize you with two career websites and the kinds of skills that employers are looking for these days. Taking the time now to analyze job skills and what you can do to make yourself marketable will help with course planning and continuing education options.
Be sure to have an APA formatted cover sheet for the assignment. You can do the assignment in either an Excel or MS Word table format.
Careers in Library and Information Science
Thesis Statement/Outline/Sources due: February 6th
Paper Due: February 20th
This project will provide you the opportunity to analyze the range and prospects of one LIS career specialty. While you may pursue this or another direction, such preparation sets the stage for future analysis and should equip you with tools you will find useful as you launch your professional career. Good places to start your search for information start at the UWM Libraries homepage-click on Resources by Subject – select Information Studies.
Your paper should address all of these:
· Identify an information profession (e.g. reference librarian, cataloger, digital librarian, school library media specialist, archivist, information broker, etc.);
· Define its scope and related career development paths;
· Assess and articulate professional development goals and activities associated with this specialty;
· Identify a current skill set (managerial, personnel management, technological, etc.) for this profession;
· Analyze the challenges and problems facing this specialty; and
· Assess the prospects for this specialty for the foreseeable future.
Your viewpoint should be supported by all of the following:
· Relevant readings;
· Stated public positions of professional organizations related to this specialty;
· Interviews with professionals;
· Employment advertisements
· Your own experiences;
· Class lectures and discussions; and
· Your original critical analysis of the current role of this specialty.
Graduates: Your submission should be about 6-8 pages and reference a minimum of 10 appropriate sources. The sources you use may change from the thesis statement/outline/sources due assignment. I don’t compare them, I just want you to have an idea of the kind of sources you might use as well as APA citation formatting.
Undergraduates: Your submission should be about 5-6 pages and reference a minimum of 5 appropriate sources.
Papers should reference appropriate scholarly and professional sources on the topic selected.
Essay
Due: March 13th
The essay assesses students’ understanding of the foundational concepts, tools, and techniques found in library and information science. The essay will be made available on March 6 and will be due March 13.