School of Information Resources and Library Science
Planning and Evaluation of Library and Information Centers
IRLS 608
University of Arizona , Tucson
Fall Session 2006
Instructor: Tom Wilding, Associate Professor of Practice
Contact Information:
SIRLS Room 2-F
Campus Phone: 621-3565
Home Phone: (520) 229-3261
Email: wilding@uta.edu (until U of A address available)
Office Hours : Monday, 4:30-6:30 PM; Thursday 12:00-3:00 PM. Virtual Office hours are yet to be determined.
Class Meeting Schedule: This is a virtual course. All materials will be available through D2L and all discussions will take place there as well. New materials will be available at the beginning of each week (Monday) with discussions to take place during that week.
Course Description : This course will focus on the planning and evaluation cycle as an approach to assessing various library and information services and organizations. Specific attention will be given to organizational environments and cultures, planning and design of library and information organizations, and the practical importance of measurement and evaluation, resource allocation, and human resources management.
Course Objectives: By the end of the semester, students will gain exposure to:
• Basic organizational theories and their applications to library and information organizations;
• Strategic planning as a means of promoting and leading change;
• Resource allocation as a means of goal accomplishment;
• Marketing principles;
• Critical issues in human resources management, value creation and planning, and the role of evaluation in library and information organizations
Grading Policy: In order to receive a grade of B for the class, students will have to have completed all assignments for the class reflecting a good grasp of the topic. An A will signify that all work has been completed well and a substantial amount of the work has been completed excellently. In addition, to receive an A, students must be engaged actively in discussions throughout the semester. A C or lower will be given if some assignments are not completed or if a significant number of assignments are not completed acceptably.
Assignments will be given letter grades (A, A/B, B/A, B, etc.). An A should be considered to be in the middle to high 90s; an A/B in the low 90s; a B/A in the high 80s; a B in the middle 80s; a B/C in the low 80s; etc. The percentage that each assignment bears on the final grade is as noted on the assignments. Discussion and participation will be the final 10%. By discussion and participation I mean that students are expected to make substantive contributions to the discussions that help the learning process. This may be comments about interesting things they have read, questions about materials in the textbook or in the content materials, insights from their own experience that have a bearing on topics under discussion, etc .
The final grade will be determined by the overall grades accumulated over the semester:
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
Academic Code of Integrity: Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity . That code states, 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.” If you have any questions or issues regarding what are acceptable practices under this Code, please ask me or another instructor.
Accommodating Disabilities
The University has a Disability Resource Center . If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.
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Course Requirements & Assignments: The effectiveness of this course will depend on the development of an active and engaged learning community in the online environment. It will require that students keep up with the content, readings, and assignments; and that they be active participants in the discussions related to the class. It will require that the instructor be actively engaged as well, meeting deadlines, communicating frequently, and providing feedback in a timely way. The assignments are described elsewhere. In addition to compliance with the code of integrity cited elsewhere, the instructor will expect that all assignments are completed on time, meet the specifications for that assignment, and are professional in appearance and grammatically correct.
Specific information on assignments is given elsewhere on the course site.
Textbooks and Recommended Readings :
The textbook for this class is:
Stueart, Robert D. and Barbara B. Moran. Library and Information Center Management. 6 th edition. Libraries Unlimited, 2002. ISBN 1-56308-990-4.
It is available from the University of Arizona bookstore. There may be other readings assigned as the course progresses. They will be noted on the class site as they occur. Some assignments require students to locate appropriate readings on their own and report on them.