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Course Description

Exploration of research concepts in library science and information technology with an emphasis on the evolution of information, trends and issues in using online catalogs, subscription databases, evaluating online material, and using web sites for research. Required course for Information Technology Minor.    

Course Objectives

• To understand the various definitions of information
• To gain a basic knowledge of the historical developments of information technologies over time
• To understand the role of librarians and libraries
• To understand how libraries use technology for information organization, storage, access, and retrieval
• To gain interdisciplinary proficiency in seeking information via electronic subscription databases and library catalogs
• To recognize the difference between the World Wide Web, library catalogs, and subscription databases available via the Internet
• To gain proficiency in seeking information via the World Wide Web
• To critically evaluate information
• To become knowledgeable about information-related issues facing libraries and higher education

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Contacting the Instructor & Office Hours

The best way to reach me is by email (radomr at uncw dot edu). I will usually respond to your email within 24 hours, often sooner. You may also contact me through Meebo Chat (use the window below) or AOL Instant Messenger (rachelrandallisl). I am usually at the reference desk Mondays from 3:00-6:00 p.m., and some Thursdays, 6:00-9:00 p.m., so please visit the desk if you need help with this class or with other research. My office hours are Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and RL 2076 is on the 2nd floor of the library, near Government Documents and the Juvenile Collection. Feel free to chat, send me an email, stop by my office, or schedule an appointment.

                              

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There is no required text book for this class, but you must have a flash drive/thumb drive/USB key to use in class.

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Course Policies

Academic Integrity
Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. Anyone found either cheating or plagiarizing the work of others will receive a "0" for the assignment or exam. Further disciplinary action may be taken. Please become familiar with the Academic Honor Code for definitions of plagiarism and typical punishments for it. Ask if you have any questions.

Assignments
Assignments are due on the day listed on the course calendar or as announced in class. Assignments turned in late will automatically lose 25% of the grade, and 10% for each day following (see "Late Assignments" below). Detailed descriptions of assignments will be given in class.

Late Assignments
Turning in an assignment late will result in a dramatic lowering of your grade for the assignment. If you earn a 100% on an assignment worth 5 points, but turn it in late, here's how your grade will be calculated:

• if your work earned you 5/5, but you turn it in one day late, you receive 25% off, or 3.75/5 = 75%
• if it is turned in two days late, 25% off + 10% = 35% off, or 3.25/5 = 65%
• if it is turned in three days late, 25% off + 10% + 10% = 45% off, or 2.75/5 = 55%

Exceptions to this policy will only be given in rare instances, i.e. severe illness, and must be discussed as soon as possible with the instructor.

Attendance
Since there is no textbook for this class, your grade depends on understanding material presented in class; therefore, attendance will be recorded at the beginning of each class, beginning Wednesday, January 20. Your attendance will play a major part in your final grade; missing more than three (3) classes will severely affect your grade and will likely result in a lower letter grade. All absences from class, whether they are discussed with the instructor or not, are recorded as absences. There are no excused absences. It is your responsibility to make up any missed assignments and get notes from a classmate if you miss a class.

• Missing 4 classes = 10 points (10%) off your final grade
• Missing 5 classes = 20 points (20%) off your final grade
• Missing 6 classes = 30 points (30%) off your final grade ... and so on

Exams
If you know in advance that you will be absent for an exam due to travel plans or a similar situation, arrangements must be made with the instructor at least two weeks prior to the exam date (sooner if possible). Make-up exams will only be given in rare instances and require that you contact the instructor at least 24 hours before the exam and provide requested documentation regarding the reason for your absence.

Courtesy
Be courteous. Please arrive to class on time; lectures will not be restarted. Respect the right of all individuals to hold and express their own opinions, especially during class discussions.

Cell Phones
Keep your cell phones quiet during class and do not answer them unless absolutely necessary. If you must take a call, please leave the classroom. As a courtesy to the professor and the rest of the class, do not text during class.

Food and Drink
Please be tidy. All drinks must have lids. Do not distract others when eating or drinking.

Special Accommodations
Please inform me of any disabilities or necessary accommodations by the second week of classes.

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Expected Workload

This is a 3-credit hour class. It is typical to expect three hours out-of-class work for each credit hour you are enrolled in (i.e., 3-credit hours = 9 hours of work out of class). For this course, you can expect to have several worksheets and readings with written responses due throughout the semester. There are also several significant assignments, including group presentations and an annotated bibliography, that will take more of your time. Please plan accordingly.

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Grading

Your grade will be based on the points you earn out of a possible 100 points total. Below is the grading tally:

Annotated Bibliography	25
Blog Posts (5 @ 3 points each)	15
Group Presentation 1	10
Group Presentation 2	10
Exam 1	10
Exam 2	10
Wiki Dictionary Project	5
Worksheet 1	5
Worksheet 2	5
Worksheet 3	5
Total	100

Here is the grading scale:

A  100-90%

B  89-80%

C  79-70%

D   69-60%

F  59% or less

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Assignments

Late assignments will be docked points. See how late assignments will be docked above.

Annotated Bibliography
From a list of topics, you will chose one to research and find 5 sources related to your topic. You will write proper MLA citations for these sources and evaluate them based on particular criteria. The evaluations of each source and a brief summary will be used to create the annotations for each source. The citations and annotations that make up the bibliography will be uploaded to a web page that you will create using the open source HTML editor KompoZer. More information on this assignment will be given in class.

The bibliography assignment will be divided into multiple due dates:

• Part A, due Monday, March 29
• Part B, due Wednesday, April 7
• Part C, due Wednesday, April 21

Blog Posts
You will write responses to class readings on a web journal, or web log, known as a blog. Each student will have a blog and will post entries on his or her blog frequently. In addition to reading responses, you will also write posts after several class meetings and leave comments on other students' blogs. More information on this assignment will be given in class.

Group Presentations
The class will be divided into groups and each group will deliver a short presentation to the class. The first presentation will be on an e-resource database, and the second presentation will be on a reference work. More details will be given in class.

Exams
There will be two exams given in class. See the exam policy above.

Wiki Assignment
Words and phrases discussed in class will be used to create a glossary of library terms. Working in small groups, you will upload your definitions of the words to the class wiki, where your definitions will be edited by and for other students and a new, "best" definition will emerge. More information on this assignment will be given in class.

Worksheets
Throughout the semester, worksheets will be assigned. Please see the sections on Assignments and Late Assignments under "Course Policies" above because you will lose points for assignments turned in late. These worksheets are designed to help you become more familiar with the library's resources and with methods of information evaluation.

Extra Credit

You may receive up to 4 points of extra credit to apply to your semester grade if you complete any of the following:

• Attend a library event and write a 1-page summary and personal response about the event (2 points)
• Take a library survey, print out the confirmation screen, and write a 1-page summary and personal response about the process (2 points)
• Write a detailed script for a YouTube video about research at Randall Library. Include dialogue and descriptions of what viewers will see on screen. The script should be for a video longer than 1 minute and less than 4 minutes (4 points)
• Write a 2-page outline for a paper on a topic related to information technology. You must relate the topic to an application to, or discuss it in the context of, a particular profession or field and must have at least 3 cited sources (4 points)

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Course Calendar

Note: Dates and topics are subject to change.

Class 1: January 6, Wednesday	Introduction
Class 2: January 11, Monday	Organization of Information
Class 3: January 13, Wednesday (last day to drop without a grade)	Classification & the Catalog Assigned: from the e-reserves list, choose 1 article by the following authors and read before 1/20/10: Finder, Harmon, Hass or Nakashima
No class January 18	MLK Holiday
Class 4: January 20, Wednesday	Blogs & Wikis Assigned: post blog response to article you read for class (due 1/25)
Class 5: January 25, Monday	Searching with Synonyms & "And" Assigned: group 1 only: definitions on wiki (due 2/1)
Class 6: January 27, Wednesday	Boolean Operators & Search Strings Assigned: worksheet 1 (due 2/1)
Class 7: February 1, Monday	Economics of Databases
Class 8: February 3, Wednesday	Choosing & Searching Databases Assigned: worksheet 2 (due 2/8) Assigned: group presentation 1 distributed (due 2/17)
Class 9: February 8, Monday	Popular & Scholarly Sources Assigned: group 2 only: definitions on wiki (due 2/15)
Class 10: February 10, Wednesday	Finding Full-Text & Using Search Limitations
Class 11: February 15, Monday	Google Scholar
Class 12: February 17, Wednesday	Group Presentations
Class 13: February 22, Monday (last day to withdraw with a "W" is 2/23)	Exam 1
Class 14: February 24, Wednesday	Google Search Strategies & Wikipedia
Class 15: March 1, Monday	Critical Thinking Assigned: reading by Brock Read (blog response due 3/3)
Class 16: March 3, Wednesday	Plagiarism & Citation Styles Assigned: worksheet 3 (due 3/17)
No classes March 8 or 10	Spring Break
Class 17: March 15, Monday	Citations & Annotations Assigned: reading by Stebbins, pgs. 153-159 (blog response due 3/17)
Class 18: March 17, Wednesday	Annotated Bibliography & Kompozer Assigned: annotated bibliography project distributed (see due dates in pink below) Bring USB/Flash Drive to This Session
Class 19: March 22, Monday	Copyright 1
Class 20: March 24, Wednesday	Copyright 2 Assigned: group 3 only: definitions on wiki (due 3/31)
Class 21: March 29, Monday	Privacy & Other Issues in a Digital Age Due: annotated bibliography part A
Class 22: March 31, Wednesday	Annotated Bibliography Work Day
Class 23: April 5, Monday	History of Libraries & Library Tour Assigned: readings, one by Biehle and one by LaRue (respond to both authors in your blog post, due 4/7) Assigned: group presentation 2 distributed (due 4/14)
Class 24: April 7, Wednesday	Banned Books Due: annotated bibliography part B
Class 25: April 12, Monday	Tour Government Documents
Class 26: April 14, Wednesday	Group Presentations Assigned: reading by Eicher (due 4/19)
Class 27: April 19, Monday	Tour Archives & Special Collections Assigned: group 4 only: definitions on wiki (due 4/25 - note this due date is a Sunday)
Class 28: April 21, Wednesday	Tour Curriculum Materials Center & Upload Bibliography to Web Due: annotated bibliography part C Bring USB/Flash Drive to This Session
Class 29: April 26, Monday	Exam 2

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