UNDERSTANDING INFORMATION

LIS 2000, Spring 2006

4501 Information Sciences Building

Toni Carbo, PhD

Professor, School of Information Sciences and

Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

University of Pittsburgh

602 IS Building

Office Hours: By appointment

tcarbo@mail.sis.pitt.edu, 412 624-9310

Syllabus-FINAL—March 2, 2006

Course Description

As one of the required MLIS courses, Understanding Information provides an appreciation of the underlying issues and challenges of the information professions.  Information is a resource that fills personal, organizational, and societal needs to help people solve problems, make decisions, and improve the quality of their lives.  Information is organized and made available through complex information handling systems and comes to individuals, organizations, and society through a variety of means, including through information centers.  Fundamental to understanding information is an understanding of the systems that deliver what needs to be known.  The course is intended to provide a theoretical and historical basis for the LIS curriculum.  The course is organized around core values of the Information Professions, including, but not limited to:  the importance and value of reading, access to public information, protection of intellectual freedom, the importance of ethical reflection and critical thinking for moral action, focus on meeting the information needs of a culturally diverse population, protection of privacy of personally identifiable information, protection and fair use of intellectual property, collaboration and cooperation, and leadership.

Information centers are understood to include not only libraries, but also other organizations that manage the life-cycle of information in varied formats or media. Information centers also provide access to records of civilization, both intellectual and material.  Such organizations include: archives, media centers, museums, virtual collections, and other cultural institutions. 

Students must be willing to adopt the following cultural norms: participation in all classes (unless excused by the professor) careful reading of the required texts, open-mindedness, reflection, intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, the careful preparation and on-time presentation of all assignments, clear communication, intellectual humility, and, most especially, the willingness to learn.

OBJECTIVES

At the completion of the course, students will be expected to have:

· Developed an understanding and appreciation of the core values of the profession.

· Developed an understanding of the nature of information, the life-cycle of information – from its creation/generation through its organization, management, preservation and evaluation to its dissemination and use – and the historical background and nature of information systems.

· Integrated views of the physical and virtual library and other information providers.

· Examined a variety of sources of information and analyzed and evaluated their quality and usefulness.

· Developed an understanding of professional issues and professional practices, through both an analysis of professional associations and the identification of leaders in the field.

· Become aware of human factors influencing information systems and how these factors shape attitudes and perceptions.

· Become oriented to information services through an exploration of different systems and services and the related technologies.

· Developed an understanding of some of the critical social, economic, and political issues affecting information systems and the people who use them.

· Engaged in reflective and critical thinking.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND GRADING

Students are expected to maintain a high level of integrity in all of their work.  All students are expected to have read and understood, and to follow the University Guidelines for Academic Integrity.  You will receive a copy at the student orientation, and copies are also available from the Dean’s office.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both the instructor and the Office of Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union (412 648-7890/TTY: 412 383-7366) as early as possible in the term.  You should also consult the office’s website www.drs.pitt.edu.  DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodation for this course.

If you need to miss a class, please notify the professor in advance to make alternative arrangements for the material that you miss.

READINGS

Note:  Items with asterisks are available online either as e-journals or as e-reserves through the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh (www.library.pitt.edu).  For e-journals, on the Library’s website under FIND BOOKS, ARTICLES AND MORE, click on E-journals and locate the journal title. Look carefully to identify the correct link for the volume you need, as many journals are available from different sources and some have changed titles over time.  For e-reserves, on the Library’s website click on one of the PITTCat links (one is listed under FIND BOOKS, ARTICLES AND MORE, the other is in the top right hand corner of the page). After you have connected to PITTCat, click on the COURSE RESERVES link. Use the dropdown Instructor menu to locate the course under my name, Carbo. You will need a password to access the electronic reserves materials, and this password will be given to you in class.  Other electronic readings, not marked with an asterisk, are available in electronic form directly from the website listed, not from the Library.  Some print materials may be distributed in class.

HOW TO CONNECT FROM OFF CAMPUS:

If you are off-campus, you will need to log into the University of Pittsburgh’s secure server before you can access E-Journals. Follow these steps:

            1. Go to http://sslvpn.pitt.edu

            2. Enter your username and password – these are the same as you use to access           your e-mail and CourseWeb

            3. Click the Pitt Digital Library (University Library System) link

            4. You can now access all of the digital library’s resources

In addition to the readings assigned for each class, each week you will also be expected to read about current issues in information sources, such as newspapers, websites, etc., and be prepared to discuss them in class. 

COURSE SCHEDULE

UNIT 1 – January 4, 2006:  BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE.

UNIT 2 – JANUARY 11, 2006: Historical OVerview and The information cycle:  from reading onward

• Buckland, Michael.  Redesigning Library Service: A Manifesto. American Library Association (1992) ISBN 0-8389-0590-0. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Library/Redesigning/

• Buckland, Michael and Trudi Bellardo-Hahn, eds. Special topic issue:  History of Documentation and Information Science. “Introduction.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science. Part I v 48, no. 9 “(April 1997), pp. 285-88  (E-Journal)*

            Buckland, Michael.  “What is a Document.” Ibid., pp. 804-809.

Also available at:  (http://www.sims.Berkeley.edu/~buckland/whatdoc.html)

JANUARY 18, 2006- NO CLASS

UNIT 3 – JANUARY 25, 2006:  Access and intellectual freedom

· Asheim, Lester.  “Not Censorship but Selection.”  Wilson Library Bulletin.  28 (September 1953): 63-67.

      http://informatics.buffalo.edu/faculty/ellison/Syllabi/580/Old580/NotCensor.html*    

· Battles, Matthew.  Library: An Unquiet History.  New York: W.W. Norton. 2004.

· Burt, David. “In Defense of Filtering.” American Libraries 28.7 (August 1997) p. 46-7. (E-Journal) *

· Fine, Sara.  “How the Mind of the Censor Works: The Psychology of Censorship.”  School Library Journal.  42 (January 1996): 23-27. (E-Journal) *

Also look carefully at related information on these sites:

· American Library Association: Information on the USA PATRIOT Act

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/theusapatriotact/usapatriotact.htm * and

The Children’s Internet Protection Act http://www.ala.org:80/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/cipaweb/legalhistory/cipatext.pdf *

or http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/cipaweb/cipa.htm

· Attorney General’s Information on the USA Patriot Act

http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/ (see: Attorney General's Guidelines Regarding Information Sharing under the USA Patriot Act (9/23/02)-Section 203 Guidelines (PDF), Section 905(a) Guidelines (PDF), Section 905(b) Guidelines (PDF)) *

· Also:  USDOJ Preserving Life and Liberty: http://www.lifeandliberty.gov

· Center for Democracy and Technology: http://www.cdt.org

· Electronic Privacy Information Center: http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/

· National Law Center: http://www.NationalLawCenter.org – READ CAREFULLY the Miller Test.

UNIT 4 – FEBRUARY 1, 2006:  Ethical reasoning and information policy

ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE

· American Library Association, “Code of Ethics of the American Library Association.” http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/coehistory/codeofethics.pdf *

· The PICO Case – This document is an attachment in Unit 4 on Courseweb. Review this case and the codes of ethics and related documents carefully in preparation for ethical reflection and discussion of the case in class.

· Familiarize yourself with the International Center For Information Ethics
http://icie.zkm.de *

Websites for professional ethics codes and related documents

· American Association of Law Libraries- Code of Ethics
http://www.aallnet.org/about/policy_ethics.asp *

· American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works- Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice
http://aic.stanford.edu/pubs/ethics.html *

· American Library Association- Code of Ethics
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/ethics.html
(This is a shortened version of the URL, it redirects to this address: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm *

· American Library Association- Library Bill of Rights
http://www.ala.org/work/freedom/lbr.html
(Redirects to: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.htm ) *

· American Library Association- Interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/interpretations/Default675.htm *

· American Society for Information Science and Technology- Professional Guidelines
http://www.asis.org/AboutASIS/professional-guidelines.html *

· Association for Computing Machinery- Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html *

· Association for Educational Communications and Technology- Code of Ethics
http://www.aect.org/About/Ethics.htm *

· Association of Independent Information Professionals- Code of Ethical Business Practice
http://www.aiip.org/AboutAIIP/aiipethics.html *

· Association of Records Managers and Administrators- Code of Professional Responsibility
http://www.arma.org/about/overview/ethics.cfm *

· Medical Library Association- Code of Ethics for Health Sciences Librarianship
http://www.mlanet.org/about/ethics.html *

· Society of American Archivists- Code of Ethics for Archivists with Commentary
http://www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_ethics.asp *

· Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals- Code of Ethics for CI Professionals
http://www.scip.org/2_code.php *

UNIT 5 –FEBRUARY 8, 2006 – INFORMATION NEEDS, USES, AND CONSTITUENCIES (PART I)

• Bruce, B.C. “Credibility of the Web: Why We Need Dialectical Reading [pdf].”

Journal of Philosophy of Education (special issue). 34.1 (February 2000): 97-109. (E-Journal)

Also in P. Standish and N. Blake (Eds.) Enquiries at the Interface:     Philosophical Problems of Online Education. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2000: 107-22.

      Also available at:     http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/%7Echip/pubs/credibility.shtml

• Chatman, Elfreda. “The Impoverished Life-World of Outsiders.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science. 47.3 (March 1996): 193-206. (E-Journal)
• Spink, Amanda and Charles Cole. "Information and poverty: information-seeking channels used by African-American low-income households." Library and Information Science Research 23 (2002): 45-65. (E-journal)
• Talley, Mary and Joan Axelroth. "Talking About Customer Service." Information Outlook. 5.12 (December 2001). (E-Journal)
• Kreimer Case: this file is available as an attachment on Course Web. Review the case carefully.

UNIT 6 – FEBRUARY 15, 2006 -- INFORMATION needs, uses, and constituencies (Part II)

READ CAREFULLY:

• Association of College and Research Libraries, “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.” 18 January 2000.
• http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm, and pdf http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/standards.pdf
• American Association of School Librarians (AASL) "Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning"
• http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/informationpower/ InformationLiteracyStandards_final.pdf

.

Searing, Susan. “Meeting the Information Needs of Interdisciplinary Scholars: Issues for Administrators of Large University Libraries.” Library Trends. 44, no. 2 (Fall 1996): 315-42. (E-Journal) *

SCAN THESE TWO PUBLICATIONS AND THE REPORT OF THE EXPERTS MEETING

• Benton Foundation. “Buildings, Books, and Bytes: Libraries and Communities in the Digital Age.”
  http://www.benton.org/publibrary/kellogg/buildings.html *
• Benton Foundation. “Losing Ground Bit by Bit: Low Income Communities in the Information Age.”
  http://www.benton.org/publibrary/losing-ground/home.html *

Be prepared to discuss:

1) What do the Benton Foundation studies tell us about attitudes towards libraries and uses of them?

2) What is information literacy? Do you agree with ACRL's definitions of competency?

3) What is the role of the information professional, including the different roles librarians play in K-12 school libraries, colleges and university libraries, public libraries, etc.?

4) How do information needs of users differ and why? How would you determine what these needs are?

5) What can libraries do to meet these needs more effectively?

UNIT 7 – FEBRUARY 22, 2006 – Leadership and the role of Professional ASSOCIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS

• Abbott, Andrew.  "Professionalism and the Future of Librarianship."  Library Trends 46.3 (Winter 1998) p. 430-43.    (E-Journal)  Also Available at: http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~leighe/390/LT46.3_abbott.pdf
• Competencies for Information Professionals of the 21st Century (SLA) http://www.sla.org/content/learn/comp2003/index.cfm
• Look briefly at the main pages of the following websites
• Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA)
  http://www.cosla.org
• Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
  http://www.imls.gov
• International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
  http://www.ifla.org
• U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS)
  http://www.nclis.gov

UNIT 8 – MARCH 1^ST, 2006 – Collection Development

• Corrigan, Andy.  "The collection policy reborn: a practical application of web-based documentation." Collection Building vol. 24, no. 2 (2005), pp. 65-69.  (E-journal)

• Cox, John.  "Establishing a collection management policy in a hybrid library context."  SCONUL [Society of College, National and University Libraries U.K.] Newsletter, number 30, (winter 2003), pp. 26-30.

http://www.sconul.ac.uk/pubs_stats/newsletter/30/12.RTF

• Vignau, Barbara S. S. and Grizly Meneses.  "Collection development policies in university libraries: a space for reflection." Collection Building, vol. 24, no. 1 (2005), pp. 35-43. (E-journal)

• Vickery, Jim.  "Making a statement: reviewing the case for written collection development policies." Library Management vol. 25, no. 8/9 (2004), pp. 337-342. (E-journal)

SPRING BREAK MARCH 8- NO CLASS

UNIT 9 – MARCH 15, 2006 – Intellectual Property Protection and USE

Guest Speaker - Jonathan Miller, Director, Public Services, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh, and PhD student, DLIS

assignment 2 due

Readings:

• Band, Jonathan.   Analysis of the legality of the Google Library Project at http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/oitp/googlepaprfnl.pdf
• Hafner, Katie. "In Challenge To Google, Yahoo Will Scan Books" New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Oct 3, 2005 . pg. C.1 (E-journal).  Also available at http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=905604791&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=17454&RQT=309&VName=PQD

• Lessig, Larry. "Free Culture."  From Keynote Speech from Open Source Convention (OSCON) 2002. http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/2641

• Read the main web page for the Open Content Alliance. http://www.opencontentalliance.org

• United States Copyright Office's Section 108 Study Group paper at http://www.loc.gov/section108/docs/108_background_paper.doc

• Vaidhyanathan, Siva.  “A Risky Gamble with Google.” Chronicle of Higher Education. vol. 52, issue 15 (12/02/2005), pp. B7-B10. (E-Journal)

 Resources to learn more about copyright (including answers to practical questions, news, different perspectives, and ways to get involved in policy development.)

• American Library Association's Washington Office Copyright Issues page http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copyright.htm
• Association of Research Libraries' Copyright and Intellectual Property

page http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/copytoc.html

• Copyright Clearance Center. A publisher and content provider resource that aims to help users of copyrighted materials pay for use   http://www.copyright.com/
• Indiana University's Copyright Management Center               http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/index.htm
• Integrating Intellectual Property Rights and Development Policy: Report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (September, 2002) http://www.iprcommission.org/
• The United States Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov
• World International Property Organization. A specialized agency of the United Nations system of organizations, with a mandate to administer intellectual property matters recognized by the member States of the UN. http://www.wipo.int/

UNIT 10 – MARCH 22, 2006: Collaboration and cooperation –

Guest Speaker: Dr. David Kohl, Dean Emeritus, University of Cincinnati Library and editor, Journal of Academic Librarianship. 

• Evans, G. Edward. "Management Issues of Consortia. Part two." Library

      Management. 23.6/7 (2002): 275-286. (E-journal) *

• Hahn, Kara. “The State of the Large Publisher Bundle: Findings from an ARL Member Survey.” ARL Bimonthly Report, 245. (April 2006) http://www.arl.org/newsltr/245/bundle.html

• International Coalition of Library Consortia.http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia
• Kohl, David F. "How the Virtual Library Transforms Interlibrary Loans- the OhioLINK experience." Interlending and Document Supply. 26.2 (1998): 65-69. (E-Journal) *
• Kohl, David F. and Tom Sanville. “More Bang for the Buck: Increasing the Effectiveness of Library Expenditures.” To be published in Library Trends, 2006.

• “Librarians and Publishers in the Scholarly Information Process.” http://www.arl.org/clr/Frontmatter.html#contents

• Library Consortia Documents Online. http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/~b-sloan/consort.htm *

unit 11 – MARCH 29, 2006: Evaluation of Libraries and Information Services

• Durrance, Joan C. and Karen E. Fisher. "Determining How Libraries and Librarians Help."  Library Trends 51.4 (Spring 2003), pp. 541-570. (E-journal)
• Fallows. Deborah. (2005) "Internet searchers are confident, satisfied and trusting -- but they are also unaware and naive." Pew Internet & American Life Project. Available online at: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/146/report_display.asp
• Full PDF copy: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Searchengine_users.pdf

UNIT 12 – APRIL 5, 2006- THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SERVICES

· King, John Leslie. "Stepping Up: Shaping the Future of the Field." Presentation at the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). January 14, 2005. Boston, MA. http://si.umich.edu/~jlking/ALISE/talk.doc

· Raphael, Molly. “Why Do Libraries Matter in the 21^st Century?” In N. Horrocks, ed., Perspectives, Insights, & Priorities: 17 Leaders Speak Freely of Librarianship. Oxford: Scarecrow Press, 2005, pp.115-122.

APRIL 7^th –

 Structured Abstracts are due.  Also, if you wish to have your handouts copied, they are due on April 7^th as well.  If the handouts are not submitted on April 7^th, your group must bring 30 copies to class on April 12, 2006.

UNIT 13 –APRIL 12, 2006: Presentation of final projects

Final projects due APRIL 12^TH . Presentations will be made April 12 and April 19th.  All students Must attend both classes.

No new readings for this class.

ASSIGNMENT 3 - FINAL PROJECTS DUE

ONE HALF WILL BE PRESENTED IN UNIT 13 AND ONE HALF IN UNIT 14.

UNIT 14 –April 19, 2006:  Presentation of final projects

No new readings for this class. Final projects will be presented and we will review the course.

ASSIGNMENTS

GENERAL PROCEDURES

All assignments may be handed in electronically as a Word document attached to email or in paper form. Electronic submissions should have the following file name format: surnamefirstinitial_assignment#_assignmentname.doc.  These electronic submissions should include your name, the course name, and assignment name within the body of the file. Paper assignments should have your name, the course name and the name of your discussion leader on them as well as the assignment name. All papers should be double spaced and in 12-point font, and pages should be numbered.  USE COMPLETE SENTENCES, STANDARD SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, GRAMMAR AND INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE. 

Use a style manual and citation formation of your choice; be consistent in the use of form.  You may wish to select a style manual that is used in the area of LIS that is of interest to you.  For instance, if you are interested in archives, Professor Richard Cox typically requires students to use the Chicago Manual of Style.  If you are interested in the social sciences, you might choose the American Psychological Association’s APA Style Manual.  An online tool you may find helpful can be found at http://www.easybib.com. You may also consider purchasing Endnote, a bibliographic management software package, from the University’s Computing Services and Systems Development (CSSD) department for $5. For more information, go to http://www.technology.pitt.edu/software_hardware.html.

Assignments will be graded on the demonstration of careful and critical reading and analysis of the material, quality of the research and presentation, and demonstration of thinking and learning. Your essays should reflect creative thinking and learning and be clearly and concisely communicated. ALL assignments must be completed successfully.  For the first two assignments only, you may resubmit the assignment within one week of having the graded assignment returned to you; the revised assignment will be graded and the new grade will replace the old one.  Any unsatisfactory assignment must be revised and resubmitted within one week of having it returned to you.

ASSIGNMENT 1: VISION FOR YOUR FUTURE AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

(DUE February 1, 2006)

The purposes of this assignment are to help you think through the roles and responsibilities of an information professional, to begin to set personal goals for your own future as an information professional, and to acquaint you with the benefits of active participation in a professional association. 

 Think about where you hope to be in your profession five years after you complete your master’s degree and consider how participation in a professional association can help you achieve your goals.  Select a professional association that you think you might wish to join and examine its website and publications, in both print and electronic form. 

 Associations or societies of interest include (but are not limited to)  

• ALA  American Library Association (in general)

      And also one of its 11 divisions, which are:

                  AASL American Association of School Librarians

                  ALCTS Association for Library Collections & Technical Services

                  ALSC Association for Library Service to Children  

                  ALTA Association for Library Trustees and Advocates

                  ACRL Association of College and Research Libraries

                  ASCLA Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies

                  LAMA Library Administration and Management Association

                  LITA Library and Information Technology Association

                  PLA Public Library Association

                  RUSA Reference and User Services Association

                  YALSA Young Adult Library Services Association

• PLA Pennsylvania Library Association (or any other state library association)
• ASIST American Society for Information Science and Technology
• SLA Special Libraries Association
• SAA Society of American Archivists
• MLA  Medical Library Association OR Music Library Association
• AALL American Association of Law Librarians
• ARLIS/NA Art Libraries Society of North America
• ACM Association for Computing Machinery
• AECT Association for Educational Communications and Technology
• AMIA  American Medical Informatics Association OR American Moving Image Association
• ATLA American Theological Library Association
• AIIP Association for Independent Information Professionals
• ARMA American Records Managers Association
• GBW Guild of Book Workers
• TLA Theatre Library Association
• CALA Chinese American Librarians Association
• BCALA Black Caucus of the American Library Association
• REFORMA National Association to Promote Library and Information Services  
  to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking
• AILA American Indian Library Association
• APALA Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
• Or, you may choose any other association for information professionals that interests you

Write a paper that responds to the following questions: 

 1. Where do you want to be as an information professional five years after you complete your master’s degree?  (You may want to identify the type of organization you hope to work in and the kind of job you hope to have. In some cases, you may also wish to address the question of where you expect to be geographically.)

2. Which association have you selected as the one you think might be most helpful in reaching your goal?  Why? 

 3. What are the association's goals, purposes, membership guidelines, products (such as publications), and services? What is its scope?   

 4. How could the publications and services help you in your profession over the next five years?  Are there any services particularly directed towards students or new professionals? How might a student membership, if available, benefit you now?  How can the services help you as a new professional 1-2 years after getting your MLIS? How can they help you at 3-5 years? Be as specific as possible and talk about how the services can help YOU, not some generic LIS professional.

 5. Does it have a Code of Ethics? (Note that ALA divisions use ALA’s code of ethics and usually do not have a separate code.) If it does, what are the strengths and weaknesses of its code? How might the code help you in your work?

6. What roles might you play in the organization, both immediately and in the future? What initial steps could you take to get involved in the association?  How could participation  help you get to where you want to be in five years?

FORMAT: The format is a 1,000-1,250 word paper, including a brief introduction answering the questions under 1 and 2 above.  The second section should respond to questions 3-5 about the organization and how its publications and services could help you.  The third section should answer questions 6 and 7 and include a brief conclusion. 

 EVALUATION: Papers will be evaluated on the basis of clarity, critical thinking, and comprehensiveness in responding to the assignment questions.

Assignment 2: CRITICAL Bibliography

(Due March 15, 2006)

PURPOSE:

This assignment is designed to help you become acquainted with the literature of the field, to help you learn to think critically, to help you become familiar with the IS Library, and to give you an opportunity to examine key topics related to the field.  You are expected to read and provide critical analysis for material reflecting current issues and ideas in the literature of library and information science.

CONTENT:

· Identify a total of 8 articles for critical analysis. (Do not include book reviews).

· Each article must be from a different journal. Do not select an article from the same journal you are using for your examination of an entire issue.

· At least four journals must be selected from the list provided.  The other four may come from the list or from journals you have chosen in the LIS field.

IN ADDITION:

· Examine one entire issue, including ads, of American Libraries, American Archivist, or Library Journal.

· Choose one annual review article such as the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology.

· Provide a 250-300 word essay about the IS Library, describing how the space is organized, what types of services are available, how you might use the space to browse materials, conduct research, and study and/or read, and any other points you wish to make about the library and your potential (and/or past) use of it.

For this total of 10 items, provide a brief (175 to 200 words) critical review of each item.  Use journals available in the IS library.  NOTE:  Websites are not considered to be articles.  You should browse the periodical collection in the IS Library to familiarize yourself with the collection, and you may also access many of the journal articles on-line. It is important for you to become familiar with the IS Library, itself, and with its print and electronic collections.   Do not use more than one article per journal.  (This means that you may not select an article for your eight articles that is from the same journal you select to use as the entire issue you are examining.) While you may choose a single theme you do not have to choose a specific theme; you may select a diverse group of articles across time.  The purposes of this assignment are to give you a broad perspective on the literature and to help you learn to analyze and synthesize literature.

LIST OF JOURNALS (subject to change)

American Libraries	Journal of Academic Librarianship
Bottom Line	Journal of Information Science
Cataloging and Classification Quarterly	Journal of Documentation
Collection Building	Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
College and Research Libraries	Journal of the Medical Library Association
D-LIB (e-journal)	Knowledge Quest (Journal of the American Association of School Librarians)
Electronic Resources Review (now Reference Reviews incorporating ASLIB Book Guide)	Libraries and Culture: A Journal of Library History
First Monday	Library and Information Science Research
Information Outlook	Library Journal
Government Information Quarterly	Library Quarterly
Information Processing and Management	Library Resources and Technical Services
The Information Society	Library Trends
Information Systems Research (e-journal: ISR: a journal of the Institute of Management Sciences)	Reference Services Review
Information Today	School Library Journal
The International Information and Library Review	Voice of Youth Advocates

FORMAT

The bibliography must have an introductory paragraph describing your strategy for selection and the scope of your work.  For instance, you may choose to focus on a particular topic, or to use only current material, or to select articles from the last 20 years.  The choice is yours, but must be explained in the introduction.  Be sure to also include a concluding paragraph providing a synthesis of your work and describing your thoughts on the literature in the field. This conclusion should synthesize your reading, describe the range of articles and publications and similarities and differences among them, point out strengths and weaknesses, comment on points of view, and offer your analysis and synthesis of the literature as a whole.

Among the points to be considered in writing your reviews of individual items are:         

· What is the article about? (Include only a single sentence summarizing the   article.)

· Who is the author? What are the author’s credentials for writing about the topic? It’s fine to “Google” the author’s name or consult other sources for brief information about the author (such as job title, organization, etc.) if this is not provided in the article; however, you are not to provide lengthy, detailed biographical information.

· What kind of journal is it (e.g., a news publication, a scholarly journal, etc.)? What are its scope and target audience?

· How is this journal different from other journals you examined (e.g., is it published by a professional society, a commercial publisher; or how is an annual review different from other types of publications)?

· Is the article based on research carried out by the author? If so, what is your opinion of the methodology; is the methodology appropriate for the research questions being addressed?  If it is not original research, is it a summary of other research, and how well is this done? Is it a statement of opinion or a news article?

· Has the author considered different points of view in laying out the arguments (especially important for opinion articles)?  Are there weaknesses in the arguments? What are they?

· For whom was the article written? Who is the intended audience?

When writing the critical review, vary your sentence structure so that each citation does not begin with the same phrase, such as:  “This article is about. . . .”  You are reminded to consult the “General procedure” section and adhere to standard English in your writing, including complete sentences, agreement of subject and verb, consistent use of verb tense, etc.  Do not waste words repeating the title of the article or including authors’ first names or titles; refer to authors by last names.  Do NOT just summarize the article; convey your analysis and evaluation of it. 

Include a complete citation for each item reviewed.  You may choose any standard citation format, but it must be used consistently.  You will find style manuals on-line by going to the library’s homepage http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/is/info_sci.html, to the salmon colored box at the top of the page entitled, “research help.”  Click there and the gray menu box on the left lists “citing resources.”  This provides a comprehensive selection of citation style manuals.  The bibliographic citation, itself, should be single-spaced, while the review should be double-spaced.  Some examples of reviews are included in journals such as Library Journal, Library Trends, and in various reference books. As always, be sure to number the pages.

Each review should be approximately 175-200 words.

In summary, the bibliography should have 3 parts: 1) the introductory paragraph; 2) the critical reviews of twelve items (with complete citations) in alphabetical order by first author’s last name (or name of the journal, in the case of the entire issue); and 3) the concluding paragraph.  In addition, you must provide a 250-300 word essay about the IS Library as described above.

EVALUATION

Your work will be evaluated on breadth of reading, quality of critical analysis, your ability to compare and contrast material, evidence of your critical thinking about what you have read, and quality of your communication. 

ASSIGNMENT 3:  Connecting with the Confluence: the Three Rivers Information Professionals Society annual conference

(Due April 12, 2006.  Presentations will be made April 12 or 19, 2006 with the order to be determined by a random drawing on April 12, 2006.)  Structured abstracts are due on April 7, 2006.  If you wish to have your handouts copied you must submit the original on April 7^th.  If the handout is not received on April 7, your group must bring 30 copies to class on April 12^th.

Congratulations! You and a group of other colleagues have been selected to present a panel session at the annual meeting of TRIPS (the Three Rivers Information Professionals Society).  You and 3-4 of your colleagues will be assigned to a topic of interest to you as information professionals (chosen from your readings, lectures, or small group discussions throughout the first weeks of the term).  You will submit three topics of interest and one of the three will be assigned to you with the names of members of your group.  OR:

Students will also have the following option for this assignment:

Service Learning Experience

Service learning is a teaching method designed to enrich classroom learning through active community service.  Service-learning integrates practice-based community service with instruction and reflection to offer the student a deeper understanding of class content.

Students will work with Marnie Hampton, service learning coordinator, to arrange and complete no fewer than a total of 20 hours of service-learning. 

Marnie will periodically brief the group on the logistics and pedagogical issues, and lead some discussions.

Students will work with community members at prearranged sites, and sessions with clients will consist of off-campus one-on-one meetings with senior or low-income citizens who have had little or no experience with computers.  Each student will work with no fewer than four community members.  Students will be required to periodically post to a group list, and give a presentation of their experiences at one of the final class sessions.

The grade for this assignment will be worth 25%, and be based upon a combination of participation in the volunteer work, participation in online discussion, and the final presentation.  This is an excellent opportunity for those planning to work in a public or academic library.

Students who participate in this assignment will gain practice-based library experience and an understanding of issues facing your future patrons. 

All groups must do research in the professional literature, and prepare three items:

• A structured abstract of 250 words, due on April 7, 2006.
• A panel presentation reporting your research, to be presented in class on April 12 or April 19.  All students should be prepared to make their presentations on April 12th   The order of presentation will be determined by a random drawing on April 12th.  All students MUST attend both sessions.
• A handout of no more than 4 pages.  You may either provide the handout on April 7, 2006 to be copied or bring 30 copies with you on April 12th, 2006.  Groups selecting the service option may submit a shorter handout if they wish.
•  A paper, of no more than 1 page, that is a self evaluation of participation in the group process. This paper should not be a simple accounting of the steps in the group process, but rather should describe the group process, your role in the group process, and your evaluation of your role.  This paper must be handed in on April 12th, 2006.

The final two class sessions will take the format of a professional meeting at which panel presentations will be made. You will be given a conference program, which contains all the structured abstracts for the presentations.

The grade for this assignment will be based on the panel presentation, the structured abstract, and the handout prepared by the group; all members of the group will receive the same grade on their work.  The grade for the panel presentation, abstract, and handout will be worth 25% of your total grade for the course.  In addition, the self-evaluation paper is worth 5% of your grade.  Presentations, abstracts and handouts will be judged on the significance of the topic, the quality of the research and literature review, and the organization, clarity, and quality of the panel presentation.  The self-evaluation will be judged on the quality and clarity of your analysis of the group process and your role in it, and on the quality of your writing.

SUMMARY OF ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment Names and Class Participation	Date Due	Percentage of Total Grade
Future & Professional Association	February 1, 2006	30%
Bibliography	March 15, 2006	30%
Panel and Reflection     Group Project Reflection on Group Process	(1) Structured abstract and handouts due April 7, 2006; (2) Presentations and (3) handout due on April 12; (4) Reflection on Group Process Paper due April 12, 2006	30% Total     (25% of total grade)      (5% of total grade)
Class Participation	Throughout semester	10%

LIS2000_Spring_2006_syllabus_final_06_03_02