University of Arizona

School of Information Resources & Library Science

IRLS 401/501 - Organization of Information

Fall 2003 - Syllabus

Instructor: Anita Sundaram Coleman
Contact: Office - SIRLS 21, Phone +1 (520) 621-4026, Email - WebCT
Instructor Office Hours: By email and appointment in the WebCT Chatroom
WebCT GAT: Anna Lash (email: aflash@email.arizona.edu)
Course GAT: Wenshang Wang (email: wangw@u.arizona.edu)
Mode of Instruction: Virtual, WebCT
First day of classes: Aug. 25, 2003; First day for IRLS 401/501: Sept. 5, 2003 (but, you can start familiarising yourself with this syllabus Aug. 29 - see below, Schedule)
For WebCT backup and announcements subscribe to IRLS501, Course Listserv: IRLS501

REQUIRED TEXT

Taylor, Arlene. 1999. The Organization of Information. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

CATALOG DESCRIPTION

IRLS 401 -- Organization of Information (3 units) Introduction to the theories and practices used in the organization of information. Overview of national and international standards and practices for access to information in collections. May be convened with: IRLS 501. Usually offered: Fall, Spring.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course studies the history, theory and practices of information organization, primarily in traditional and digital libraries. However, other organizations and information evironments such as archives, museums and management information systems are also included. This is an introductory course that surveys the information and knowledge organization techniques that exist or are emerging and focuses on standards and tools that are used in large text-based information environments.

COURSE HISTORY

Read Coleman, A. 2002. Interdisciplinarity: The Road Ahead for Education in Digital Libraries. D-Lib Magazine, 8 (7/8), July/August. Available online. URL: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july02/coleman/07coleman.html This article will help you understand the sequence of courses that you can take in the area of Knowledge Organization. Note that the old course name was Knowledge Structures I and is still being used within WebCT.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The main goal of the course is to become familiar with the concepts and practices of bibliographic and non-bibliographic information organization. By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

Define the knowledge structures (a.k.a. information handling tools) used in various information environments for organizing information and knowledge
Describe the main theories in library and archival cataloging (including recent trends in metadata), categorization, classification, and subject analysis
List the uses, advantages, and disdvantages of a sample range of knowledge structures (information handling tools)
Demonstrate basic skills in verbal subject analysis
Demonstrate basic skills in metadata creation
Demonstrate basic knowledge of at least two metadata standards
Articulate the similarities and differences between a thesaurus, ontology, authority file, subject heading list, and library classification scheme

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Deliverable: Exercise in resource selection & metadata creation
Details shared in WebCT

Deliverable: 2 managed discussions on specified topics (MDTs) in Oct. & Nov. each.
This may include activities (you complete an exercise, visit a site, review a paper, using tools from the KS Toolbox or elsewhere, etc.)

Deliverable: Major Project in electronic resources organization

Details shared in WebCT

Self-directed practice & participation using the tools in the KS Toolbox and course Text

Weekly readings from the text

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

The classroom environment for this virtual course is WebCT. Here are guidelines to help learning:

Because of WebCT woes when Fall classes start, do not expect to do too much within WebCT until Sept. 5. Read your text, this course syllabus, etc.
Course Notes (lectures) will be posted weekly by 5 pm Friday
In October & November, Managed Discussion Topics (MDTs) will be unlocked for individual postings on the topic by the first Monday in the month and typically left open ONLY until the month is over. There will be many exercises or topics posted here from which you can select. So pace yourself but don't wait until the last minute either; remember to participate (we don't want monologues, we want dialogue).
Use Discussions and the MDT that is unlocked and open to you for posting your input.
MDTs are intended to be supplements that reflect interactive classroom discussions.
Usually, when I open the MDT there will be a post from me with guidelines.
Note that MDTs often require you to actively DO something - an exercise, evaluate, etc.
General Class Participation and Discussions are encouraged!
Use Discussion and the topics *Main* for ALL questions related to course.
Complete weekly readings from the text (Author: Taylor) by the end of the day they are scheduled.
Course Requirements help assess instruction and student learning and it is important that you follow posted guidelines.
With the exception of the MDTs all work must be submitted using the Assignments WebCT DropBox link. This will allow submissions only until a pre-determined date and time. Make sure you DO NOT miss this date or wait until the last minute to submit. Assignments submitted late (and not excused) or not in HTML will automatically earn a grade of C or lower.
Netiquette is essential in the electronic world. Learn and practice it. A good introduction to Netiquette is available from the Instructional Computing Online Library at Indiana University at Bloomington. Another good source is an interactive quiz (thanks to Garry Forger in the Office of Distributed Learning for this pointer) that you can take - http://www.albion.com/netiquette/netiquiz.html.
When reading electronic text, give others the benefit of the doubt; remember that the written word has no verbal/body language cues to soften it's effect, and don't always be quick to assume the worst. Don't be afraid to post or ask questions but at the same time, make sure you've read everything. Practice by reading this course outline thoroughly and then, give yourself time to reflect on it.
Successful learning for this course REQUIRES weekly participation, DAILY visits to the course pages within WebCT, and prompt, thoughtful, polite responses to your peers, instructor, and their posts.
Adhere to the UA codes of student conduct and academic integrity.
Practical knowledge is an important part of professional learning.
You will have the opportunity to work with plenty of practical tools from the KS Toolbox. Discussions, exercise, and final project papers will require you to select and use some of these tools. Start browsing, reading, and interacting with the resources assembled here.

SCHEDULE

Important Note: This is a schedule of readings from the text only.

Week 1, Aug. 29 - What's Your Learning Style? | Familiarize yourself with syllabus
Week 2, Sept. 5 - Organization in Human Endeavors & Retrieval Tools
Read Taylor, Chapter 1, 2
Week 3, Sept. 12 - History of the Organization of Information
Read Taylor, Chapter 3
Week 4, Sept. 19 - Encoding Standards & Metadata Description
Read Taylor, Chapter 4, 5
Week 5, Sept. 26 - Metadata: Access & Access Control
Read Taylor, Chapter 6
Week 6, Oct. 3 - Catch-up
Review chapter 1-6 and post in Discussions
Week 7, Oct. 10 - Verbal Subject Analysis
Read Taylor, Chapter 7
Week 8, Oct. 17 - Verbal Subject Analysis (contd.)
Read Taylor, Chapter 7
Week 9, Oct. 24 - Classification
Read Taylor, Chapter 8
Week 10, Nov. 7 - Classification (contd.)
Read Taylor, Chapter 8
Week 11, Nov. 14 - Filing & Arrangement
Read Taylor, Chapter 9
Week 12, Nov. 21 - System Design
Read Taylor, Chapter 10
Week 13, Nov. 28 - Break
Happy Thanksgiving!
Week 14, Dec. 5 - Review: What Have We Learned?
Review, Practice, Discuss recent Advances & Trends.
Week 15, Dec. 10 - Submit Major Project
Share COMPLETE, FULL Papers
Week 16, Dec. 19 - Finals week (last day of class)

MILESTONES/IMPORTANT DATES

Sept. 27 - Exercise 1 completed

Oct. 4 - Start working on Final Project

Oct. 30 - Complete 1 MDT

Nov. 4 - Submit 1-page draft of Final Project

Nov. 30 - Complete 2nd MDT

Dec. 10 - Major project completed

EVALUATION

General guidelines for evaluation include:

All work must be turned in on the dates due by 5:00 pm Arizona time (unless other times are allowed by the WebCT submission facility). WebCT will NOT allow submissions past the DUE Date/Time if I have set it up to be so. Therefore, read your Assignments page and instructions carefully. Availability times are very clearly marked under the Assignments link in WebCT and in case of doubt, email the Course GAT.
All work must be turned in using the submit/email facility within WebCT. This means that you DON'T email/send me the work outside WebCT.
HTML format must be used for all work turned in for grading (except discussions).

Grade Breakdown (501 students):

Exercise 1: 40%
Major Project: 50%
2 MDTs: 10%
Total: 100%

Grade Breakdown (401 students):

Exercise 1: 40%
Major Project [scaled down version]: 50%
2 MDTs: 10%
Total: 100%

Assignment of Course Grades:

401/501 Course grades will be assigned as follows:
A=90+ (Superior Work)
B=80-89 (Very Good)
C=70-79 (Marginally Satisfactory)
F=0-69 (Failed to meet requirements)

Coleman Home | KS Toolbox | Learning Showcase
First Created: 05/23/03
Created By: Anita S. Coleman