UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
School of Information Studies
L&I SCI 501 Foundations of Library and Information Science
Syllabus - Online
Instructor: Bonnie H. Withers, MA, MLIS Location: NWQ 3495
E-mail: Phone: 414-229-2792
Office Hours: By appointment Fax: 414-229-6699
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 a 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: The following student competencies are the expected outcomes for this course. Students will be able to:
l Articulate important developments in library and information science as a discipline and profession;
l Assess the relative importance of services offered by a variety of information agency types;
l Describe the role of diversity as it applies both to the range of information-related institutions and to the broad spectrum of populations served by the profession;
l Analyze relationships between information technologies and the research and practice associated with library and information science;
l Assess the impacts of important social and political issues on the profession and the role of the profession in society;
l Describe and evaluate relevant aspects of the activities and goals of the profession as a whole and select sub-groups within the profession;
l Articulate the importance of professional statements or codes of ethics.
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.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION: Online delivery supported by D2L courseware. Access to course materials on D2L and research materials on the Internet requires students to have regular access to the Internet.Students with special test and note-taking needs should contact the instructor as early as possible for accommodations. See policies below.
TEXTS:
REQUIREDRubin, R.E. (2004). Foundations of Library and Information Science. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers. 2nd Ed. ISBN 1-55570-518-9.
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.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
The schedule below outlines the topics covered that week. Please read the readings during that week, read the week’s introduction, and post to the D2L discussion area according to the instructions posted in the assignments and the discussion area. There will be at least one question posted to the D2L discussion area each week.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
WEEK: / TOPICS: / READINGS: (if not otherwise identified, readings are from Rubin, Foundations)Articles which do not have a url listing can be found in pdf form on the Contents page.
Sept. 4
Week 1 / Course overview;
Introduction to library and information science (LIS) / · Chapter 1: The Educational, Recreational, and Informational Infrastructure
Sept. 11
Week 2 / History of information agencies & technologies / · 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) http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/phillips.htm
· William, R. V. (2002). Chronology of Information Science & Technology. Available: http://faculty.libsci.sc.edu/bob/istchron/ISCNET/ISCHRON.HTM Browse the website and note developments over time
Sept. 18
Week 3 / Fundamental concepts of information
Information Cycle
Career Skill Comparisons Due / · Chapter 7: Information Science: A Service Perspective
· 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)
Sept. 25
Week 4 / Information technology and the information professions
Careers Thesis Statement/Outline/Sources Due / · Chapter 6: Redefining the Library: The Impacts and Implications of Technological Change
The New Medium Consortium. (2012). 2012 Horizon Report Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/2012-horizon-report
· Pomerantz, J. (2006). Google Scholar and 100 percent availability of information. Information Technology and Libraries, 25(2), 52-56. Available:.
Oct. 2
Week 5 / The LIS Profession LIS Education; LIS Competencies
LIS and allied areas / · 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
· Information architecture defined. Available: http://www.infodn.com/whatia.shtmlUniv. 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://www2.archivists.org/profession
Special Librarian Association Competencies (http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/professional/meaning/competency.cfm )
Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries
http://www.ala.org/alsc/edcareeers/alsccorecomps
Oct. 9
Week 6 / Information Agencies:
Public, academic, school, corporate, governmental, archives, and records centers
Careers Paper Due / · 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
Oct. 16
Week 7 / Information needs and user behavior; types of users and their needs;
Models of information seeking behavior / · 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. http://librijournal.org/pdf/2008-2pp123-135.pdf
· Wilson, T.D. (2006). Information seeking behavior and the digital information world. The Indexer 25(1), 28-31. http://informationr.net/tdw/publ/papers/2004ISBandDigitalInfo.html
·
Oct. 23
Week 8 / Information services; Reference/research services; Collection development; Organization of information / · 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.
Oct. 30
Week 9 / Digital libraries and Electronic Publishing
Issues Thesis Statement/Outline/Sources
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. http://www.isegi.unl.pt/docentes/acorreia/documentos/ISU_Reforming_2005.pdf
· Wilkin, J.P. (2011). Bibliographic Indeterminacy and the scale of problems and opportunities of “rights” in digital collection building. Ruminations. Retrieved from http://www.clir.org/pubs/ruminations/01wilkin/wilkin.pdf
· 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.
·
Nov. 6
Week 10 / Information Policy / · Chapter 8: Information Policy: Stakeholders and Agendas;
·
Nov. 13
Week 11 / Information Ethics; Information Policy;
Presentation topic due / · 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
·
Nov. 20 Week 12 / No Class / THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov. 27
Week 13 / Intellectual freedom; Censorship; Privacy
Copyright;
Issues Paper Due / · Chapter 9: Information Policy as Library Policy: Intellectual Freedom
· 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.
· Access to Resources and Services in the School Library Program http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/accessresources
Dec. 4
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.
Dec. 10
Week 15 / Presentations due
(Monday WILL be a Post Day) / Presentations
ASSIGNMENTS:
Rules of academic conduct require that you not use the work of others without clearly indicating it as such. You may not resubmit work that has already been used in fulfillment of the requirement of this or any other course. Academic misconduct may result in a lowered grade, no credit for a given assignment, or removal from the course. It is expected students will consult and appropriately cite the research and professional literature where merited. This means citing a variety of sources. Limiting yourself to an online source like Wikipedia as the entirety of your research efforts is unacceptable and will result in a failing grade for the assignment. Grades will also be reduced for papers that include irrelevant content to “fill up space” to meet the length specifications for a paper.
Written assignments are due on the specified date. Grades will be reduced for late papers (one full grade for each week or part thereof). Papers are to be double-spaced using a 12-point kerned font such as Times New Roman with 1 to 1.25 inch margins.
You must use APA style for papers.
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS
Career Skill Comparisons Due: September 18
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: September 25
Paper Due: October 9
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.
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.
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.
Issues in the Profession Paper
Thesis Statement/Outline/Sources due: October 30