Graduate School of Library and Information Science

LIS 701.50: Introduction to Library and Information Science

Spring 2008
Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
January 19-20; February 16-17; March 15-16

Dr. Kate Marek
Crown 331
708-524-6648
kmarek@dom.edu
Office hours: By appointment.

Course Overview (Bulletin Description)

An overview of the history, philosophy, purpose, functions and processes, users, collections, and evaluation of academic, public, school, and special libraries and information centers; of the history and trends of books and other media, publishing, and information technology; of the principles and basic elements of the collection development process; of relevant legal and ethical topics -- intellectual property (copyright), access, confidentiality of records, intellectual freedom, and censorship; and, of current professional issues.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, students will have:

demonstrated an understanding of information infrastructure.
demonstrated an understanding of where libraries fit in the developing infrastructure and also an understanding of the similarities and differences in the purposes, functions and processes, users, collections, and evaluation of academic, public, school, special libraries and information centers.
described and discussed important economic and policy issues related to the creation and dissemination of information.
demonstrated a knowledge of the principles and basic elements of the collection development process and an understanding of how the growth of information in electronic formats are changing the way librarians develop collections for users.
demonstrated an understanding of intellectual property, access, confidentiality of records, intellectual freedom, and censorship, along with other relevant current legal and ethical topics.
discussed current major professional issues.
articulated an initial philosophy of library/information science.

Textbooks

Rubin, Richard E. Foundations of Library and Information Science 2nd Edition. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2004.

Dority, G. Kim. Rethinking Information Work. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2006.

In addition, students will read one additional titles non-fiction book regarding libraries in the broad context of society.. Lists to be distributed in class.

Student Requirements, Assignments and Grading

Class participation (Class weekends, Blackboard, Book discussions): 10 points

Attend every class and participate in discussions. You are expected to have read the assigned material and come to class prepared to discuss and critique these readings. In addition, you will receive various readings in class for discussion and reflection. Questions will be posted on Blackboard for discussion during the weeks between our class meetings.

Issue Papers: 30 points

Throughout the course, the class discussions will cover numerous professional issues and debates. You will need to complete three (selected from five options) issue papers that will be based on some of these discussions. Each issue paper should be a three-page, double-spaced typed paper that sharply focuses on the topic. Your well thought-out, critical opinions, not those of others, are what I want. Citations from the literature should be included supporting your ideas and opinions. Each issue paper is due as listed.

Subject Bibliography 15 points

For this assignment, you will need to use review sources to develop a subject bibliography of twelve to fifteen sources. In brief, you will be selecting a type of library, identifying your audience, choosing a subject, and preparing an annotated bibliography of recent materials recommended for addition to a library or information center collection. Refer to the assignment guidelines for additional information and evaluation criteria.

The assignment is due February 10.

Library History Group Report (7.5 points) and individual summary (7.5 points): 15 points. See handout for project description.

Presentations: February 16

Final paper: 15 points. See handout for full description of this assignment.

Due: March 15

Final exam: 15 points – March 16

Late assignments will not be accepted beyond two days of the due date (Issue Papers and Library History summary) and one week beyond the due date for the Research Paper and Subject Bibliography; grades will be reduced 10% per day late.

Grading:

A 94 -100 % 123 – 130 points

A- 90 – 93 % 117 – 122 points

B+ 86 – 89 % 112 – 116 points

B 82 – 85 % 107 – 111 points

B- 78 – 81 % 102 – 106 points

C+ 74 – 77 % 97 – 101 points

C 70 – 73 % 91 – 96 points

C- 65 – 69% 85 – 90 points

F 0 -- 64 % 84 – 0 points

See also the GSLIS Grading Policy as distributed in class and as posted on Blackboard.

Academic Honesty and Integrity:

"All students of the GSLIS are expected to observe high standards of academic honesty and integrity. Any student whose conduct violates such standards may be subject to disciplinary action as determined by due process." (GSLIS Bulletin, p. 48) Plagiarism is unacceptable and will result in project failure. See Purdue University's "Avoiding Plagiarism" at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html or Indiana University's "How to Recognize Plagiarism" at http://education.indiana.edu/~istd/test.html if you feel unsure about what is and is not considered acceptable behavior when using other people's words and ideas.

Schedule and Readings

January 19, 20

· Introduction to the class and to one another

· Blackboard overview

· graduate education

· professionalism.

· Information about Crown Library and remote access

· Core functions and Values of the Information Profession

· Information as a concept; Information Transfer Cycle; Information in Context

· Collection Management.; Selection and Evaluation of materials

Readings:

Rubin, Chapters 1-3

Dority, Chapters 1-2

The librarian & the machine. Shera, Jesse H.. Library Journal, 10/15/94, Vol. 119 Issue 17, Classics p120, 2p

Zandonade, Tarciso. “Social Epistemology from Jesse Shera to Steve Fuller.” By: Library Trends, Spring 2004, Vol. 52 Issue 4, p810-832, 23p.

February 16, 17

· Library History

· Information infrastructure

· Types of libraries

· Professional ethics

· Copyright; information commons issues

· Intellectual freedom; censorship

Readings:

Wengert, “Some ethical aspects of being an information professional.” Library Trends v. 49 no. 3 (Winter 2001) p. 486-509.

Butler, R. P. “Ethics: The School Librarian and On-the-Job Ethics.” Knowledge Quest v. 33 no. 5 (May/June 2005) p. 33-4

Kranich, N. “ALA and Political Action: Ensuring the Public's Right to Know in the Digital Age” Argus (Montreal, Quebec) v. 33 no. 3 (Winter 2004) p. 17-23

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM / CENSORSHIP

Auld, S. “Filtering Materials on the Internet Does Not Contradict the Value of Open Access to Material.” Public Libraries v. 44 no. 4 (July/August 2005) p. 196-8

Kranich, N. “Filtering Materials on the Internet Contradicts the Value of Open Access to Material.” Public Libraries v. 44 no. 4 (July/August 2005) p. 198-200.

Sturm, B. “How ‘Safe’ Should Libraries Be?”. North Carolina Libraries (Online) v. 63 no. 1/2 (Spring/Summer 2005) p. 23-4

Intellectual Freedom. http://www.dlapr.lib.az.us/cdt/intell.htm

“Who Should Own Ideas? The Courts and Legislatures Should Preserve Copyright -- But Carefully.” Technology Review (June 2005). (Available online at: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14529&ch=infotech)

Lessig, Lawrence. “The People Own Ideas! Do We Want Music, Software, and Books to be Free -- Or Not?” Technology Review (June 2005). (Available online at: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14505&ch=infotech)

Epstein, Richard. “The Creators Own Ideas: Contrary to What Lawrence Lessig Says, a Truly Free Society Allows for Proprietary Systems.” Technology Review (June 2005). (Available online at: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16353)

March 15, 16

· Book discussions

· Futures

· Final exam

Readings

OCLC (2005). “Conclusion” – Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources. Available online at http://www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/percept_concl.pdf

and from the companion document,

“College Students’ Advice to Libraries,” from OCLC’s College Students’ Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources (2005). Available online at http://www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/studentperceptions_part4.pdf

JOBS / FUTURES

"Thirty Library Technology Predictions for 2008," by Stephen Abram. Available online at http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2007/12/30_library_tech.html.

Roush, Wade. “The Infinite Library.” MIT Technology Review, May 2005.

Stanley, M. J. “Case Study: Where Is the Diversity? Focus Groups on How Students View the Face of Librarianship” Library Administration & Management v. 21 no. 2 (Spring 2007) p. 83-9

Mullins, J. L., et. al., “Top ten assumptions for the future of academic libraries and librarians: A report from the ACRL research committee.”

Martin, R. S. “Libraries and librarians in the 21st century: Fostering a learning society.” College & Research Libraries News v. 65 no. 11 (December 2004) p. 668-71