Seminar in Library Management - Community Leadership
INFO 282

Dr. Deborah Hicks
E-mail
Office Hours: By appointment 

Application of management theory to specific problems. Readings and discussions of the development of effective strategies for planning and implementing organizational change. Specific content of the course changes each time it is offered.

The information professions have recently recommitted to their community-focused orientation. As a result, information professionals have taken on important leadership roles in their communities. These roles are not necessarily formal. Instead, they highlight an alternative side to traditional conceptions of leadership that highlight social responsibility. In this course, students will work in groups with an information organization, selected by the professor, on a virtual community-focused project. This hands-on work will be supplemented with readings and discussions about four socially responsible leadership approaches: Servant Leadership, Feminist Leadership, Collaborative Leadership , and Mindful Leadership to help students learn about their own socially responsible leadership capacity. Each of these approaches highlights non-heroic leadership which treats leadership as a process, not a position. Learning will be via online modules, student-led seminars, project reports, critical reflections and hands-on experience meeting an information organization's needs.

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 282 supports the following core competencies:

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

1. Identify and articulate their own approach to personal leadership.
2. Compare leadership theories related to the information professions.
3. Apply leadership theories while working on a community-focused project for an information organization.
4. Practice professional communication skills via team work, progress reports, project deliverables, and online presentations.

Textbooks

No Textbooks For This Course.

Assessments:

Due to the nature of the leadership theories and approaches explored in the course, the assessments for this class are largely collaborative in nature. There are two collaborative projects: The Community-Focused Project and the Student-led Seminar. These will be supported by an individual self-assessment/reflection of your learning in the course. 

• Community-Focused Project:

  • Group Ground Rules and Project Plan – 15 Points: You will submit collectively written group ground rules that address group goals, expectations for roles, plan for accountability, timeline for work, and a plan for dealing with problems. Ground rules should be clear and actionable. You will also submit a preliminary Project Plan (template provided) that provides an overview of the project, a timeline for completion, and an identification of needed resources and potential obstacles.

  • Midterm Update – 5 points: A brief update on the project will be submitted. Template provided.

  • Community Project Forum – 25 points: You will present community project to the class part of a virtual forum. Students will complete this in teams (20 points). You will then individually participate in the forum by watching presentations, making constructive comments, asking and answering questions (5 points). Community partners will also be invited to this forum to share their experiences.

• Student-led Seminar:
  
  
  • Problem Statement (Seminar Proposal) – 10 points: The problem statement consists of an initial outline of the problem/issue you wish to investigate in your seminar. Your problem statement should be approximately 750-1000 words (3-4 pages) and should include the following elements:

• • • An explanation of the context/background of the issue/problem you will examine
    • An explanation of the specific issue/problem you will examine, including why it is important to study and how it connects to your growing understanding of post-heroic leadership
    • An explanation of the types of resources you will consult to better understand the issue/problem and to help you consider how it might be addressed/resolved
    • If relevant, please also include a short statement regarding any obstacles or difficulties you think you might encounter (e.g. difficulty locating relevant resources; significant controversies related to the issue/problem, etc.)
    • A brief explanation of how the group will work together to complete the seminar (i.e., Group Ground Rules)
      
      
  • Seminar Presentation and Facilitation – 25 points: Your seminar presentation should provide a thorough introduction to and discussion of your issue/problem.
    
    One week prior to your seminar, you MUST distribute to the class: Two readings on your issue/problem, chosen to help contextualize your seminar and permit your classmates to engage in discussion.
    
    The day BEFORE your seminar is made available to your classmates, you MUST: 1) Send me a link to your presentation, 2) Post your discussion question to the appropriate discussion board.
    
    Your presentation should include:

• • • An introduction to your issue/problem (provide background/context and explain the issue/problem)
    • An outline of any significant controversies, debates, or issues related to your issue/problem as relevant and necessary
    • Situate and contextualize readings as relevant
    • Outline the connection of the problem/issue to post-heroic leadership. (i.e., what can a specific post-heroic leadership approach bring to solving/understanding/addressing the issue/problem? How does this compare to how the issue/problem is currently being addressed? What would a post-heroic solution to the problem look like?)
    • Identify specific questions for class discussion
    • Facilitate the discussion. Be prepared with questions and commentary that can guide discussion
      
      
  • Seminar Participation – 10 points: You will participate in each seminar by watching presentations, completing the assigned readings, making constructive comments, and asking and answering questions.
    
    
• Self-Assessment/Reflection – 10 points: At the end of term, you will perform a self-assessment of your learning during the course. You will highlight what you learned about post-heroic leadership, how your ideas about leadership have shifted and changed over the term, the role the group projects played in that shift, how all of this relates to CLOs and/or Core Competencies, and what questions you want to continue to explore professionally. Most importantly, you will also explain what grade you believe reflects your learning and why. To help determine this you will use the CLOs and your group ground rules for both the seminar and the Community Project. You can write this as a simple statement: “Through this self-assessment and reflection I have demonstrated I have learned [X] and I would give myself an (A,B, or C) based on the following criteria.” I will determine the final grade; however, your reflection will be considered. This should be about 3-4 pages in length.

Grading

Late Policy

All assignments must be submitted before 11:59 pm Pacific Time on the due date. Grades will be reduced for any late work, each day late, by ten percent (10%, with the exception of all group work. Please contact the instructor prior to a deadline in the case of illness or emergency. Additional late policy details are available in Canvas.

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 level work or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA);
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, 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.

This course has three components:

First, we’ll discuss core concepts like post-heroic leadership, community, and various socially focused leadership theories. This section of the course will frame our understanding of post-heroic leadership as something different from other leadership theories you may be familiar with and provide a deeper understanding of the informal leadership roles librarians can play in their communities. This will foster critical thinking around what it means to be a leader, provide alternative leadership “ways of being” for those in non-management leadership positions, and provide insights into working with communities in authentic ways.

Second, we will switch our focus to be on identifying problems and issues in the field (broadly understood) that post-heroic leadership could address. In this part of the class, you will work in teams to explore in depth topics that are of particular interest to you. Potential topics include but are not limited to: post-heroic leadership as a path forward for navigating complex political situations, like censorship or protests about library programming; the value of feminist leadership in female-intensive professions; post-heroic leadership approaches to developing relationships with underrepresented community members; as well as, whether post-heroic leadership approaches can provide a way to address equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility issues in the field. The primary assignment for this part of the course will involve you:

• identifying and characterizing a problem or issue
• identifying, locating and assessing relevant resources to understand the problem, its implications and possible solutions
• creating a video presentation about your selected topic
• leading an asynchronous online discussion or activity

This part of the course is intended to allow you to be self-directed and creative, to work collaboratively on the development of an engaging and thought-provoking presentation and discussion/activity, and to develop enhanced critical thinking skills that will prepare you for leadership roles. The number and size of the groups will be determined after the course starts. Seminars will take place during the weeks of April 5, 12, 19, and 26.  

Third, you will work in teams with an information organization (aka, community partners) on a virtual community-focused project. This will provide you with an opportunity to practice the post-heroic leadership skills explored in class and address a real-life community need. You will work on this project throughout the term. Dedicate “work weeks” will be provided throughout the term to ensure there are opportunities to focus the needs of the project. The project will culminate in a “Community Forum” in the last week of class. During this week, you will present, via video, the project to your classmates. Your community partners will be invited to participate and share in your mutual success. This will be an opportunity to celebrate the work everyone has done over the course of the term!