Reference and Information Services - General - Three (3) Unit Version
INFO 210

Dr. Johanna Tunon
E-mail or use the Canvas e-mail 
Home Phone: (954) 249-1449
Office Location: Richmond, VA
Office Hours: By appointment by phone or via Zoom. NOTE:  You are welcome to text any time or call before 9 pm ET.

Catalog Description: A process-oriented examination of how information professionals answer reference questions. The interpersonal skills required for effective question negotiation and the sources with which questions are answered are stressed.

Full Description: This course provides an overview of reference and information services. We will be examining and evaluating key information sources in a variety of formats and becoming familiar with professional resources. Because the field of librarianship is changing rapidly, we will be exploring various methods and models for delivering information and examining how emerging trends as well as ways to use new ideas and skills that are impacting the future of reference services and access to information.

Expectations

Students are expected to participate fully in all class activities. It is expected that students will be open-minded and participate fully in discussions in class and debate in a mature and respectful manner. Use of derogatory, condescending, or offensive language including profanity is prohibited. Disagreement is healthy and perfectly acceptable. Expressing disagreement should always include an explanation of your reasoning and, whenever possible, evidence to support your position. In accordance with San José State University's Policies, the Student Code of Conduct, and applicable state and federal laws, discrimination based on gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or disability is prohibited in any form.

Course Workload

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group; contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes) Supported

INFO 210 supports the following core competencies:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and assess the characteristics and functions of various types of reference sources.
2. Use basic reference tools and searching techniques to answer a wide range of questions.
3. Conduct effective reference interviews.
4. Describe the relationships between user needs, information resources, and relevant information technologies.
5. Describe current issues and trends in reference services, including the impact of technology on user needs and reference interactions.
6. Evaluate reference services that address the needs of a diverse and changing society.
7. Understand the relationship between reference service and information literacy instruction.
8. Begin to develop a personal philosophy of reference service.

Textbooks

Recommended Textbooks:

• Cassell, K.A., & Hiremath, U. (2018). Reference and information services: An introduction (4th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman. Available as free eBook through King Libary

• Assignment 1 (27%)
  Discussion topics/activities (3% X 9 = 27%)
• Assignment 2 (4%)
  Sharing posts (1% X 4 = 4%)
  (four of the six weeks for sharing posts)
• Assignment 3 (42%)
  Search activities (6% X 7 = 42%)
• Assignment 4 - (27%)
  Choose one of the assignment project options.

Description of Assignments and Grading Criteria
NOTE: If you have some special circumstance that makes the completion of some activities difficult, contact me about possible alternative activities.

•  Assignment 1: Discussion Topics (9 X 3% = 27%)
  • The nine discussion topics address a variety of themes in the class and occasionally require you to visit a library or use a library service. Each of these discussion topics is worth 3% of the final grade, and several of the discussions have more than one topic that you may choose from. After the first three weeks, some of the discussions require using substantive content by utilizing, analyzing, and synthesizing what you learned in the class readings, articles you have located in the professional literature, etc. Other discussions will be less structured and require more free-wheeling exploration of the topic in question.
    • INFO 210 Course Learning Outcomes addressed: 
      • CLO4: Describe the relationships between user needs, information resources, and relevant information technologies.
      • CL05: Describe current issues and trends in reference services, including the impact of technology on user needs and reference interactions.
      • CLO6: Evaluate reference services that address the needs of a diverse and changing society.
      • CLO7: Understand the relationship between reference service and information literacy instruction.
      • CLO8: Begin to develop a personal philosophy of reference service.
    • NOTE: You may be able to use a number of the topics for your weekly discussions as evidence to support various core competencies for your e-portfolio, so choose your topics strategically!
•  Assignment 2: (A2): Sharing posts (4%)
  • There are "sharing" posts during 6 of the 16 weeks of class when there is no assigned topic.  You only need to respond to four of those posts. Each sharing post is worth 1% of the final grade. 
    • INFO 210 Course Learning Outcomes addressed: 
      • CLO4: Describe the relationships between user needs, information resources, and relevant information technologies.
      • CL05: Describe current issues and trends in reference services, including the impact of technology on user needs and reference interactions.
      • CLO6: Evaluate reference services that address the needs of a diverse and changing society.
      • CLO7: Understand the relationship between reference service and information literacy instruction.
      • CLO8: Begin to develop a personal philosophy of reference service.

• Assignment 3: Search Activities 42% (6% X 7 weeks)
  In seven weeks of class, search activities will have you actually look for appropriate sources for "information quest" questions, try search strategies, or examine specific types of resources. There are six questions per search activity. If there is more than one option for any of the six questions, you only need to answer one of those options per question. See the scoring rubric for details on the search activities and the grading criteria.
  NOTE: If you are working in a special library setting and would like to propose an alternative assignment that would give you comparable skills using reference sources in a specific type of library setting, I will be happy to consider it.
  • INFO 210 Course Learning Outcome addressed: 
    • CLO2: Use basic reference tools and searching techniques to answer a wide range of questions.
       
• Assignment 4: Major project (27%)
  • There are a variety of project options to choose from for Assignment 4. The grading rubrics will vary depending on your choice for the major assignment, so please review the grading rubrics for the project option you select.
  • INFO 210 Course Learning Outcomes addressed depend on the assignment option selected:
    • CLO1: Identify and assess the characteristics and functions of various types of reference sources.
    • CLO4: Describe the relationships between user needs, information resources, and relevant information technologies.
    • CL05: Describe current issues and trends in reference services, including the impact of technology on user needs and reference interactions.
    • CLO6: Evaluate reference services that address the needs of a diverse and changing society.
    • CLO7: Understand the relationship between reference service and information literacy instruction.

Course Grading

• See the description of the assignments in Canvas for links to possible exemplars and the grading rubrics.
• All work is due by the date listed, but there is a two-day no-questions-asked grace period for all assignments. If you are unable to complete the work by the end of the grace period, there is a 10% penalty for unexcused late submissions for discussions and search activities. The late penalty for an unexcused late submission for the major assignment is 5%.
• You are responsible for keeping track of assignment due dates, submitting work in a timely manner, and requesting an extension if the need should arise.  
• Check the grading criteria provided in the scoring rubrics before submitting assignments to be sure that you are addressing all the elements that should be included in the assignments. 
• The details of the assignments, grading criteria, and grading rubrics are subject to minor adjustments with fair notice. 
• With the exception of the standard two-day, no-questions-asked grace period for the assignment due the last week of class, no work will be accepted after the end of the course unless you have made arrangements that meet the university criteria and have been approved by me in writing or by email. 

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA) level work;
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, or BS-ISDA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation. You must repeat the class if you wish to stay in the program. If - on the second attempt - you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Graduate Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

Per University Policy S16-9 (PDF), relevant university policy concerning all courses, such as student responsibilities, academic integrity, accommodations, dropping and adding, consent for recording of class, etc. and available student services (e.g. learning assistance, counseling, and other resources) are listed on the Syllabus Information web page. Make sure to visit this page to review and be aware of these university policies and resources.