Syllabus for IIST 605, Fall 2016 (fully online)

Instructor: / Steve Black
Course Number: / IIST 605
Semester: / Fall 2016
Mailing Address:
Private Communications: / Whenever possible, please post your questions to Messages (internal). My direct e-mail is .
Phone: / 518-458-5494
Logon Schedule: / Monday - Friday once or twice a day between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Introduction

Reference librarianship is intellectually challenging and emotionally rewarding work. It is my goal to capture your attention, help you see the relevance of this course and give you the tools to develop your competence. My ultimate goal is for you to be satisfied with what you learn, and to help you clarify your career goals.

Course information

I present the course content in brief, bulleted format. If you prefer a more narrative presentation of the information, a good textbook is Bopp, Richard E., and Linda C. Smith. Reference and information services: An Introduction. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2011. The call number is Z 711 R443 2011. There are several older editions and similar works at Z 711 in the stacks of the Dewey Library.

Schedule and workload

This course is organized into 6 modules. Each module is scheduled to take 2 weeks. Each module includes 4 to 6 presentations. The presentations are a mix of readings, PowerPoint demonstrations, videos, etc. I have included in the modules and the calendar suggested dates by which you should have read or viewed the presentations. Don't fall behind! You need to have read/viewed the presentations by the suggested dates to successfully participate in discussions and complete the module assignment on time.

If you have any questions about content or assignments, please post them as an open question in Blackboard. That way everyone sees the question and my answer, which is only fair.

If you get stuck.

This course assumes that you have some familiarity with libraries. If you come across unfamiliar vocabulary, check Carter, Toni M., and Michael Levine-Clark. ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science. Chicago: American Library Association, 2013. It’s available online through the Minerva catalog. If you have a question for me, post it under "Ask a Question".

Course Objectives

The overall objective of this course is to prepare students to understand and perform reference and information work in libraries. This course introduces students to a range of information sources and the history, philosophy, and practice of reference services. By the end of the semester, students should be able to:

·  search within appropriate information sources to answer reference questions

·  understand best practices of reference interviewing and developing effective search strategies

·  use advanced database search techniques

·  explain the role of reference services in helping patrons become information literate

·  describe methods and challenges of promoting reference services

·  discuss current issues in reference services, including policy issues in various library settings.

Readings

There is no textbook required for this course. The readings are listed and linked in each of the 6 modules and on the course menu in Blackboard.

How You Will Be Evaluated

There is a required opening blog post and a culminating essay of 500-1000 words, each of which count 15 points. There are 6 modules. Each module includes 3 pieces of graded work: discussion, reader response, and an assignment using library resources. The course grade is based on a total of 300 points. Each discussion, reader response, and assignment counts 15 points each.

Course grades will be based on total points on this scale:

A / 285-300
A- / 270-284
B+ / 255-269
B / 240-254
B- / 225-239
C+ / 210-224
C / 180-209
E / 0-179

This is the grading rubric for discussions. Discussions cannot be entered late or made up. Please be sure to participate in the discussions on schedule.

Discussion rubric / excellent (5) / very good (4) / good (3) / fair (2) / poor (1)
attention / multiple specific references to lectures and reading(s) / a few specific references to lectures and reading(s) / at least one specific reference to module content / only vague reference to module content / no references to lectures or reading(s)
engagement / insightful, thoughtful responses to module content AND peers’ comments / insightful, thoughtful responses to module content OR peers’ comments / comments are directly relevant to the discussion / comments have some relevance to the discussion / no discernible connection to the discussion
competence / clearly written, well argued, displays understanding of module content / understandable, reasoned, displays understanding of module content / at times hard to follow, displays lack of understanding of some elements of module / difficult to follow argument, shows lack of understanding / unable to discern what is being argued

Each module includes a reading and your response of 500-1,000 words. The reader response must include 1) what you found most interesting,2) what the most important points are for the practice of librarianship,3) at least one question you'd ask the author if they visited our class.

The is the rubric for reader responses. Late reader responses will be deducted 5 points.

Reader Response / excellent (5) / very good (4) / good (3) / fair (2) / poor (1)
attention / multiple specific references to author’s points / a few specific references to author’s points / at least one specific reference to author’s points / only vague reference to author’s points / no references to author’s points
engagement / insightful, thoughtful comments in all 3 parts / thoughtful comments in all 3 parts / comments are directly responsive to authors’ points / comments are somewhat responsive to authors’ points / no discernible connection to the reading
competence / clearly written, well argued, displays understanding author’s points / understandable, reasoned, displays understanding of author’s points / at times hard to follow, displays some understanding of author’s points / difficult to follow argument, shows lack of understanding / unable to discern what is being argued

The module assignments using library resources have no rubric. Grades are based on accuracy and thoroughness of responses. I'm mostly looking for evidence that you actively engaged with the resources and databases. If you get stumped on a question or frustrated with how to use a database, ask on the internal message board. Late assignments will be deducted 5 points.

Policy on helping one another

The library resource assignments are intentionally designed to make you dig and be perseverant. But if you find yourself being angry or frustrated, ask for help on the message board. If a classmate posts a question and you know the answer, go ahead and help (that's what librarians do!). But DON'T just give the answer. Help just enough for your classmate to get on the right track to find it on their own.

If you work together with someone on an assignment, include a note in the assignment of who you worked with and the nature of your collaboration. I'm fine with students working in pairs or threes, but tell me so I know there's no plagiarism going on.

COURSE CALENDAR OVERVIEW (see individual modules for due dates)

Topics/Activities / Start / End
Classes begin / Monday Aug. 29
Ice-Breaker Blog / Monday Aug. 29 / Friday Sept. 2
Module 1: Foundations / Monday Sept. 5 / Friday Sept. 16
Module 2: Reference interview, Boolean logic, Online reference sources / Monday Sept. 19 / Friday Sept. 30
Module 3: Behavioral performance of reference librarians; Controlled vocabulary / Tuesday Oct. 4 / Friday Oct. 21
Module 4: Patron psychology; Wildcards and proximity operators / Monday Oct. 24 / Friday Nov. 4
Module 5: Information literacy; specialized searchable fields / Monday Nov. 7 / Tuesday Nov. 22
Module 6: Management of reference services; citation indexing / Monday Oct. 28 / Friday Dec. 9
Closing essay / Monday Dec. 12 / Friday Dec. 16