Foundations of Library and Information Services |
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i. COURSE DESCRIPTION As the first course a SIRLS masterŐs student takes, IRLS 504 provides an introduction to the library and information professions, to the SIRLS graduate program, and to roles and current issues in library and information services for the 21st Century. IRLS 504 is the foundation for the SIRLS MA degree program and the first course that master's students take. It introduces the basic concepts, terminology, literature and issues related to the organization, management, access and use of knowledge and information resources and the provision of library and information services. The course also orients students to basic information about the SIRLS program and provides practice in the activities that will lead to success in graduate school. COURSE DATES AND TIMES IRLS 504 is the first course students take when they enter the Master of Arts program at SIRLS. The course is a hybrid course, with both on-campus and independent learning components. Student activity in the course is expected from July 10 through August 4, 2006. Reading Period: July 10-July 22, 2006 Students begin the class in independent learning mode from their homes by doing assigned reading in preparation for the on-campus residency. See the Reading Period Assignments Tucson Residency: July 23-29, 2006 Students must participate in an on-campus residency in Tucson. Please note that attendance is required during the entire residency in order to receive credit for IRLS 504. An abbreviated schedule is described below. Further details will be available on the first day of class Sunday, July 23: Monday, July 24: Tuesday, July 25 through Friday, July 28: Saturday, July 29: Project and study time is scheduled from 8 to 10 am. Class runs from 10 am to 4 pm. Students should not expect to leave until after 4 pm on the last day of class. Online Participation: July 29 , 2006 through August 4 Students continue the class in distance learning mode from their homes by participating online using Desire 2 Learn (d2l), the university's online course environment. The main form of participation will be depositing the issues paper in the electronic drop box within the course space on d2l. An electronic discussion forum for student questions and comments will be available as you prepare your final papers. The class ends on August 4 when final papers, student home page and ePortfolio assignment are due. ii. REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS Foundations of Library and Information Science, Richard E. Rubin, 2nd edition, Neal-Schuman, 2004. Complete your reading of the Rubin textbook before our face-to-face session begins on July 23. The Rubin text is available from the campus bookstore by visiting in person; ordering by phone at 1-800-YES-UOFA; or shopping online at UofABookstores.com, http://www.uofabookstores.com/uaz/ . ODLIS Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science, Joan M. Reitz. At http://lu.com/ODLIS/index.cfm or purchase a print copy following directions at this link. iii. PHILOSOPHY OF LEARNING AND TEACHING The purpose of this class is for you to learn. Research shows that students learn best when they are actively engaged with the material. Students in this class are expected to be active learners. The class is structured to encourage you to be involved in all learning situations, from homework preparation to in-class experiences. The instructors have a responsibility to organize the class to help you engage with the material, be an active learner, and be an active partner in assessing and improving your own learning. As a student, it is your responsibility to engage with the material and learn. For all the graduate courses you take at SIRLS, including this one, you should expect to do at least 3 hours of work outside class time per credit hour. In other words, a 3-credit graduate course includes the equivalent of 45 hours of class time, and the reading, studying, and completion of assignments for that course can be expected to add at least another 135 hours of work. The instructors' approach to teaching a foundations course for an LIS program is also part of the philosophy of this course. This course introduces you to a spectrum of what you will need to succeed in the program, including basic concepts, principles, and practices of the library and information fields. Through the course you will be asked to learn (and be expected to know) terms, principles and concepts and be able to give concrete examples from the library and information fields. Additionally, you will be asked to apply what you have learned to specific areas of your career interest. And finally, you will be asked to apply critical thinking to what you have learned. Critical thinking can take many forms, including analyzing issues, reasoning from a concept to its application in practice situations, reaching your own conclusions about issues, and most important, continually reflecting on your own learning. The course also provides a field in which to practice various activities that will be expected of you throughout the program, including but not limited to
iv. EXPECTED OVERALL LEARNING OUTCOMES By the completion of the course, students will be able to
COURSE POLICIES Residency Attendance Policy: IRLS 504 is the required first course to start the SIRLS program. It consists of a reading period, a mandatory SEVEN day residency, and a short period of electronic participation following the residency. To receive credit for the mandatory residency, and thus for IRLS 504, you must attend all class sessions, with no exceptions. Required activities are scheduled solidly every day until 5:30 p.m. the last day of class. Full attendance is required at all sessions in order to receive credit and you should expect to be occupied in class work from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., and also to have about 2-2½ hours of homework each night. This course is an intensive experience requiring your complete attention, but it completes your residency requirement for SIRLS gives you a sound basis for your subsequent program of study. Technology Requirements: Students are expected to meet the technology requirements for entry into the SIRLS program, described at http://www.sir.arizona.edu/program/masters/computerAccess.htm Academic Integrity: Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity. The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own or contain clear indications of the source following accepted conventions of source citation. Accommodating Disabilities: The University has a Disability Resource Center (DRC). If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you will need to register with the DRC and provide the instructors with the official request for accommodation as early in the semester as possible. All students who anticipate that they might need accommodations should make an appointment with the instructors to discuss accommodations and how the course requirements and activities may affect your ability to participate fully. Assignment Policies: All assignments are due on the day indicated. Late assignments will not be accepted except in documented extreme cases involving circumstances beyond the student's control. Writing Competence Norms of graduate level writing, including appropriate organization, level of expression, use of standard grammar and spelling, and citation of resources, are expected in this class. All graded assignments include criteria relating to organization, logic, expression, use of standard grammar and spelling, and appropriate citation of resources. The existence of these problems will be indicated, but the instructors will not edit the student's work. Students wanting more detail about the kinds of errors they are making should make an appointment to consult the instructor. Help in improving writing is available through the Writing Center http://web.arizona.edu/~uawc/. The following Web sites offer excellent advice as well. The OWL at Purdue University Chuck Guilford, Paradigm Online Writing Assistant Incompletes This course is the foundation for success in the program. It is in your best interest to complete the course on schedule. Incompletes will not be given except in documented extreme cases involving circumstances beyond the student's control. In general, any incomplete in 504 must be removed before the student continues in the program. v. ASSIGNMENTS (Additional information will be available in the d2l course space.) 1. READING PERIOD ASSIGNMENTS A. Rubin Reading and Related Assignments. Read the Rubin text. This material forms the introductory background for the course, and you will be expected to be familiar with it. Class presentations and discussions will build on and extend Rubin. Here is a link explaining the reading period assignments: Reading Assignment Instructions B. Residency Assignments 1. Type-of-Library Presentation (10 % of Final Grade) Working in small groups, students will research a type of information 2. Class Participation (10% of final grade) Participation will be graded based on punctual attendance, participation in class and numerous small assignments throughout the residency on campus. A number of the assignments will require having read and reviewed the Rubin text. Participation assignments are graded as Satisfactory, Marginal, or Unsatisfactory. 4. Final Exam (25% of final grade) ~ July 29 A final exam will be given on the morning of the last day of the residency. The exam will be conducted in d2l. The exam will consist of 2 parts: the first part will be short answer questions; similar questions will be available during the week in practice quizzes. The short answer portion of the exam will be 15% of the exam grade. The second part of the exam will be an essay question calling for your vision of the libraries of the future, shaped as you progress through the class. This essay portion of the exam is worth 10% of the exam grade. 5. Electronic Poster Session (10% of final grade) ~ July 29 A poster on a library and information science topic of the student's choice will be prepared in electronic form and the student will present it on a computer at the concluding session of the Tucson residency. No paper poster supplies will be necessary. More information will be presented in class. 6. Bibliography, Outline and Rough Draft of Introduction for Issues Paper—July 29. For more information on the issues paper, see below. C. Post-Residency Assignments 1. Student Web Page: (10% of final grade) Each student will be asked to produce a simple web page with standard components. This will be due August 4, by 11:59 pm. More information will be available during the residency. 2. Issues Paper (25% of final grade) A fully documented paper of 1,200-1,500 words on an issue relevant to library and information professions and services is required. A bibliography, an outline and the introduction will be due in your drop box by 8 am on July 28. This will be returned to you with comments before you depart. The final draft will be due in your drop box by 11:59 pm, Arizona time, August 4, 2006. Begin preparing this paper during the reading period that starts July 10. As you read through Richard Rubin's textbook, identify 2 to 4 potential topics for the issues paper assignment. Take notes from the reading that relate to those issues; formulate questions about each issue; and read through Rubin's references at the ends of the chapters and his "Selected Readings" at the end of the book to find sources that you can use to learn more about each issue and perhaps to form the basis for the list of references you will cite in your own paper. Bring this material with you to refer to and build on throughout the Tucson residency. Note that while there is no formal requirement for this preparatory material, we will ask you to turn it in briefly the first day of class. It will be returned to you on Monday. The ePortfolio assignment introduces students to the ePortfolio website and to the process of collecting artifacts and writing reflections. The ePortfolio assignment will be assessed as Satisfactory, Revision Needed, or Unsatisfactory. Students who receive an assessment of ŇRevision NeededÓ will have receive a Marginal Grade for this 504 assignment. The reflection will need to be resubmitted and receive a grade of Satisfactory in order to count as part of the studentŐs on-going ePortfolio vi. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION A. All graded work is judged on the following general criteria 1. Response to the assignment:
2. Use of information resources: readings, class material, outside resources
3. Critical Thinking
4. Professional presentation
B. Final Grade Calculation Graded assignments will use the following grading and numerical scale.
Note that although grades with pluses and minuses are assigned by the instructor as an indicator to the student of where his/her work falls, final grades at the University of Arizona do not contain a plus or a minus. Pass/Fail Assessment. Some assignments in 504 will be assessed as Pass/Marginal/Fail. Students should consider that Pass encompasses the A/B range above; Marginal encompasses the C and D range; Fail is the E-range, or work not acceptable for credit. The percent of the final grade represented by each assignment is presented below. Assignments that will be assigned letter grades are marked with an asterisk. All others receive P/M/F grades.
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