IST 605

Information Sources and Services

Spring 2009—Draper 146

Instructor:

Barbara Via, Librarian Emerita, U Albany and Adjunct Faculty Librarian, Hudson

ValleyCommunity College

Email:

Office hour: One hour before class or by appt.

Class hours: Wednesday 12:20pm-3:05pm, DR 146

Class Meetings: The course will meet 14 times. There are no quizzes for the course and no final examination. Final papers are due the last day of class, but will be accepted earlier.

Class Attendance: Attendance is taken each week. In the unavoidable event of an absence, students should make arrangements with other students to pick up class notes and assignments. . Students who miss more than 2 classes will have their final grade lowered by a half a grade

(e.g., an A will be lowered to an A-). Students need to attend class to get full benefit from the course. Please contact the instructor ahead of time if you know you will be absent.

Prerequisites: None.

Readings: There is no required textbook. The required readings are all articlesfindable online through the University Libraries’ online databases. A couple of readings will be posted to E-reserves. All students are expected to do all of the required readings. We will discuss the readings in class. Additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester.

In addition to the list of readings required of all students, each student must read one article relating to reference work or reference sources each week from one of the following journals: Each week students will submit a citation for the article read and a brief summary (not the author’s abstract.

All of these journals are available online.

The Reference Librarian, Reference & User Services Quarterly, Knowledge Quest, Library Media Connection, Teacher Librarian, Legal Reference Services Quarterly, Medical Reference Services Quarterly, Reference Services Review

Time Required to complete coursework: This class meets for approximately three class contact hours each week. Homework should take abouttwohours per each contact hour. Therefore, you should plan to spend approximately6-9hours per week on this course (3 hours in class and 3-6 hours outside of class).

Objectives for Students: It is expected that students who finish this course will be able to:

  • Understand reference services in various types of library settings
  • Identify, use and evaluate reference sources both print and online
  • Understand the reference process including reference interviewing/negotiation and search development
  • Articulate and put to use a user-centered approach to reference service especially as this approach pertains to communication skills necessary to provide effective reference services to all users
  • Understand the structure and searching techniques of web and electronic resources
  • Select, assess and evaluate reference services and collections
  • Discuss current issues in reference services, including policy,ethics, and diversityissues in a variety of library settings
  • Explain ALA standards for high quality reference service.

Email: Each student is expected to have an email account for this class. The professor prefers that students use their U Albany email account for this course. Students should check their email frequently, daily if possible. This is also the best method of communication with the instructor concerning assignments, questions, and readings. Each student must also subscribe to IST-L, the Information Studies listserv.

Incompletes: No incompletes will be given in this class without the permission of the instructor in advance of the end of the semester. Call in advance if you are going to be absent. Students who do turn in papers late without the permission of the instructor will have their paper grade lowered by 1 point under the assigned grade.

Food, Phones, and Comfort:Please feel free to bring a snack to class. Please avoid peanuts (some people have allergies) and aromatic foods. Turn off your cell phone. If you have any condition that would make different presentation of materials (e.g., size of type), placement in the room, special seating, or different teaching style (where possible) beneficial to you, please see the professor. In the past students with hearing or learning style issues have tape recorded lectures for future reference.

Plagiarism and Cheating: Due to the exploratory nature of this course, students are encouraged to form study groups and to talk about and read each other’s assignments. Learn by interacting with one another—support and help one another. Nonetheless, students are expected to give credit where credit is due, citing the work and ideas of others in papers that they write. As a policy for this course, plagiarism, self-plagiarism or cheating will result in a failing grade for the course. In addition, the instructor will pursue further disciplinary action at the University level. If you are note sure, ask the instructor or err on the side of citing more than you think necessary.

Student Performance Evaluation: Evaluation based upon the following weightings:

Assignment:Topic Point Weight

#1Library Scan10

#2Bibliographic sources10

#3Dictionaries, Encyclopedias10

Directories, Almanacs, Yearbooks, Handbooks

#4 Biographical sources 10

#5Geographic Sources and Government information 10

#6Database evaluation/comparison20

#7Final essay20

Class Participation10

TOTAL 100 points

Note the following specifications for all the assignments for the course:

  • Assignments are due on the date specified
  • Students should have papers ready at the beginning of the class and be prepared to discuss their findings and conclusions with the class.
  • Papers should be word-processed, double-spaced, and single-sided, with 12 point type the rule unless specified otherwise in the course assignments.
  • Please make sure to paginate your papers. Do not use report covers—a staple in the upper left-hand corner is sufficient.

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Assignment I is below. Further assignments will be added before the start of the semester. The Required Readings list will be posted before the first class.

Assignment #1 Both parts due Due February 4

Library Scan: Part I

By the second week of class you need to pick a target library. This should not be a library you

have worked in or work in now, and not the community library that you know really well. The library should be either an academicor public library. If you are interested in special libraries or archives, select an academic library. If you are interested in school libraries, pick a public library with good children’s/young adult sections. You will visit your chosen library and also look at its web site. Your report will provide the following information:

  1. The name of the library and its address.
  2. The URL for the library
  3. Library statistics including: size of staff, number of potential users, funding source(s), collection size, number of public access computer terminals and their use (if not all multi-purpose), Much of this information may be available on the library’s web site. Ask at the reference desk for the information that is not available on the web site.
  4. A description of its reference section (where located, books, computers, etc)

Double space any dense paragraphs, but in general this will look more like a checklist copied from items 2 through 3 above plus any other information you found that helps describe your target library. Approximate length of part I: 2-3 pages

Library Scan: Part II

You do not have to be stealthy.It is fine to introduce yourself to the Reference Librarian on duty, if there is one. Answer the following:

  1. The reference desk itself –is it easily approached? Is it obvious to theuser where to go for reference help? What if a user were in a wheelchair,would the help be easilyaccessible?
  2. How busy is the desk? Is the librarian(s) frequently busy helpingusers? Does it seem that a user might have to wait long forassistance?
  3. Are the print reference sources close to the service point?
  4. Where are the publicly accessible computers located?
  5. If you had a question, would you feel comfortable approachingthe desk and asking a question?
  6. If you feel comfortable identifying yourself as a IS student, please talk to the reference librarian on duty if he/she has time.Ask about: The mix of typical questions – quick answer or research. If you were not comfortable and did not talk to the librarian, why not?
  7. Is there a lot of telephone business? Email?Does the library do online chat reference (that is, interactive, real time chat)

Turn in a report on your findings. Be prepared to discuss in class and to turn in your write-up at the end of class.As an ethical consideration, students should treat the classroom as a confidential space during these discussions. We should learn from positive and negative evaluations but they should not leave the room. Approximate length of part II: 2 to 3 pages

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