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College of Professional and Global Education · School of Information

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

  • Spring 2023
  • Sections 11, 15
  • 3 Unit(s)
  • 01/25/2023 to 05/15/2023
  • Modified 05/22/2023

Canvas Information

This course will be available on Canvas beginning January 25th, 6 am PT.

You will be enrolled in the Canvas site automatically.

Contact Information

Dr. Ruphina Ozoh
E-mail
Office Hours: Phone Number: 678-860-4730
Office Location: Virtual
Office Hours: Available via email. Telephone appointments scheduled as needed.

Course Description and Requisites

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 will introduce you to the very exciting world of reference and information services! We will be learning about the major roles of reference librarians as well as examining and evaluating key information sources in a variety of formats. Because the field of librarianship is changing rapidly, we will be exploring various methods and models for delivering information, examining emerging trends, and also looking at new ideas and skills that are impacting the future of reference services and access to information.  
 

Writing Requirement
If the instructor finds that a student's writing is unacceptable, the instructor will require the student to sign up for online writing tutoring. The student will ask the tutor to confirm with the instructor that he or she is attending sessions.

Requisites

INFO 202.

Classroom Protocols

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.

Program Information

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.

Course Goals

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes) Supported

INFO 210 supports the following core competencies:

  1. F Use the basic concepts and principles related to the selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation of physical and digital information items.
  2. J Describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behaviors and how they should be considered when connecting individuals or groups with accurate, relevant and appropriate information.
  3. N Evaluate programs and services using measurable criteria.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

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.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Required 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

Recommended Textbooks:

  • American Psychological Association (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. Available through Amazon: 1433832178.

Course Requirements and Assignments

INFO 210 will be conducted in an asynchronous manner.  There will be no live sessions organized by the instructor. 

Discussion Forum

This class will consist of lectures and discussions comparable to the ones held in a traditional classroom. The weekly reading assignments will consist of mandatory textbook sections and sometimes recommended scholarly journal articles. Occasionally, some articles may be assigned as required reading. Short YouTube videos and prerecorded guest speaker sessions will be provided for some units. While the videos and prerecorded guest speaker sessions added will make the class experience more exciting and fun, they were selected for their educative and informative values. Additional materials may be added when necessary.

 Participation in the discussion forum is mandatory as it is a platform designed for all to exchange information gained from the textbook, scholarly articles, videos, prerecorded guest speaker sessions, and personal experiences and observations.

Students will be required to provide substantive comments on each discussion topic with a minimum of 300 words by the deadlines noted. In addition, students will be required to respond to at least two students for each discussion session. While a specific length is not required when commenting on the posts made by other students, such comments must go beyond the "great post" or "I agree with that" type of message.  Please note that you must submit your main post for each unit in order to earn points for responding to two students.

Comments made by students on each discussion topic will stimulate a classroom discussion and give students the opportunity to interact and learn from the instructor and one another.

Discussion participation will be evaluated based on the quality of the work submitted as related to the topic, instead of the number of posts generated at the end of the course. Supports CLOs: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.

Assignments:

There will be a total of four projects for this course:

The four projects assigned for this course will be in the form of exercises that will be conducted at the library, either physically or virtually. 

The hybrid nature of today's information organizations shows that electronic and print sources are important components of the library collection.  To that effect, most of the projects will involve the review and evaluation of electronic and print sources. The purpose of these projects will be to offer practical experience to some of the key concepts that will be learned in class.

PROJECT 1: REFERENCE/INFORMATION SERVICES INTERACTION (Physical/Virtual Visit). 

(Please adhere to all Covid-19 Protocols as appropriate)

As a library user seeking to retrieve information for a research project or other purposes, prepare a total of two questions to ask reference/information services librarians at any library of your choice. One question should be asked during a physical visit and one during a virtual visit.  You can use the same library or two different libraries. Please note that you CAN NOT use the library that you work in. Make a mental note of your interaction with the librarians as you will have to critically evaluate your general impression of the services you received. Briefly observe the services provided to other library users during the physical visit, if possible. Try to grasp even subtle nuances of facial expressions or body language that might have impacted the level of services that you and other clients received.

NOTE: Whatever you can find out that could help in determining the level of services received from the information professionals at both visits will be useful. Please do not interview the reference librarians about their jobs, as you are ONLY required to ask the type of questions that information seekers ask every day. 

Students are required to synthesize these reference interactions with the concepts discussed by Cassell and Hiremath and other books and articles they might have consulted for this paper. 

This project should be written in the form of a well-organized essay. Please do not include the transcript of the interview.  Submit 2-3 pages of double-line spacing. Do not submit more than three pages.  The title and bibliography pages will not count.

If you are unable to conduct a physical visit due to covid concerns, please let the instructor know so that other options can be explored. Supports CLOs: 3,4,7,8.

 

PROJECT 2: DATABASE SEARCHING AND WEBIBLIOGRAPHY (Virtual Visit)

One of the most important duties of reference/information services librarians is to ensure that library users are aware of the databases available at the library. They are also expected to train and assist them on how to use the databases effectively.

2A: LIBRARY ELECTRONIC DATABASE SEARCHING 

  • Choose any topic of your choice and note it at the top of the page.
  • Be sure to select a popular topic that will generate hits during the search, such as ‘diabetes.’
  • Utilize five electronic databases for the search and provide a brief scope of each database. That is, state the content of each database.
  • Write down the search strategies used for each database, such as Key Words, Truncation, Boolean Operators, etc.
  • Write down five articles retrieved from each database in the form of an enumerative bibliography. The articles should be listed directly after each database reviewed. You should have a total of twenty-five bibliography items. That is five items per database.
  • All articles retrieved must be Peer-Reviewed.
  • All articles retrieved must be Full-Text only.

2B: WEBIBLIOGRAPHY 

  • Search the internet and prepare an annotated webibliography with five trustworthy websites on the same topic you worked on for 2A. 
  • Begin each entry with the URL (web address) and then the annotation, which is a description of the website.
  •  Since information professionals are expected to assist information searchers in retrieving AUTHORITATIVE information from all sources, provide a good justification as to why you selected each website.  
  • Note that the annotation for each website should provide an information seeker with a good description of what the website is all about. 

  2A and 2B should be produced as one project and should be 6-10 pages of double line spacing.  Do not submit more than 10 pages. Supports CLOs: 2,4 5

PROJECT 3: PRINT SOURCES REVIEW (Physical Visit)

(Please adhere to all Covid-19 protocols as appropriate).

Students will select and review ten print materials that could be used in answering reference/information questions from any type of library. Materials should be selected from different categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification or the Library of Congress Classification schemes. A librarian could assist you in person in identifying print titles that are typically used in answering questions.

NOTE 

Students will provide an annotated bibliography for the titles reviewed. Each annotation should be followed by one sample question that can be answered with each title. The answers to the sample questions should be noted also.

Students are required to physically review these titles so that they can be familiar with the content and organization of each print source reviewed.

Each title reviewed will have four parts- the complete APA bibliographic entry, the annotation, and the sample question and answer. The annotation for each title should be approximately five double-spaced lines. Also, provide a summary of your general experience with retrieving information from the print sources reviewed in one or two paragraphs. Indicate the type of library visited. Submit 4-6 pages. Do not submit more than six pages. 

If you are unable to conduct a physical visit due to covid concerns, please let the instructor know so that other options can be explored. Supports CLOs: 1,2

PROJECT 4A: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MAJOR SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES- GROUP PROJECT (Virtual Visit).

Subscription-only databases contain thousands of periodicals and scholarly journal articles that are not available through free search engines. Students will be divided into groups to analyze and compare two major subscription-only databases. Each group will determine crucial differences or similarities between the databases selected. Each group will operate as the Collection Development Committee of a small library or information center with very limited financial resources. Given that financial resources are scarce, make a convincing argument to the organizational leaders about why one database should be selected over the other. The following points, as discussed by Cassell and Hiremath, should be considered when completing this project:

Scope, Quality of Content, Accuracy, Currency, Authority, Ease of Use, Arrangement, and Appropriateness. Two databases with similar scope should be selected by each group.

NOTE: Each group should conduct as many searches as possible in order to get a good feel for the selected databases.  Do not submit more than fifteen (15) pages of double-line spacing. Only one submission should be transmitted by a group member. Supports CLOs: 1,2,4

4B: INSIGHTS GAINED/PEER REVIEW

Summary of the insights gained from the project and a peer review of other team members should be submitted by each student.  Please note that your final grade for 4A is subject to change as a result of the reviews provided by your team members. Submit 1 to 2 pages of double line spacing.  Supports CLOs: 2,4.

EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR ASSIGNMENTS

Quality of the presentation- neat, orderly, and free of mistakes

Quality of the writing- clear and concise

Quality of the organization- logical flow

Page requirements: Please note that your title page and bibliography section would not count for all projects.

Requirements for Assignments:

  • Double Line Spacing
  • 12-Point Font for most areas
  • APA Format

Please note that:

Enumerative Bibliography: The type of bibliography found at the end of a book or journal article.

Annotated Bibliography: The type of bibliography found at the end of a book or journal article. Also includes a summary of what the book or article is all about and commentaries in some cases.

NOTE: Professional behavior is required when conducting any projects at libraries either physically or remotely.

All discussion posts and projects should be submitted by 11:59 pm PACIFIC STANDARD TIME.

This is a graduate program, and students are expected to be responsible with regard to deadlines. However, if there is an extenuating circumstance that would prevent a student from meeting a specific deadline noted, the instructor should be contacted so that the student can be accommodated. 

LATE SUBMISSIONS

  • Discussions: Discussion posts should be made within the assigned period only.  All submissions made after the deadline will not count.
  • Projects: One point will be deducted each day a project is submitted late.  Projects submitted after seven days will not be accepted. 

Grading

Project  Point Value  Due Date
DISCUSSIONS

2 points each

(30 points total)

Ongoing
PROJECT 1: REFERENCE/INFORMATION SERVICES INTERACTION  10 points February 13
PROJECT 2: DATABASE SEARCHING AND WEBIBLIOGRAPHY 20 points  March 13
PROJECT 3: PRINT SOURCES REVIEW 15 points April 10

PROJECT 4A: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MAJOR SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES (GROUP PROJECT)

20 points

 May 1

PROJECT 4B: INSIGHTS GAINED/PEER REVIEW 5 points  May 15

Grading Information

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

97 to 100A
94 to 96A minus
91 to 93B plus
88 to 90B
85 to 87B minus
82 to 84C plus
79 to 81C
76 to 78C minus
73 to 75D plus
70 to 72D
67 to 69D minus
Below 67F

 

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).

University Policies

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.

Course Schedule

This calendar is subject to change with fair notice

UNIT TOPICS COURSE MATERIALS ACTIVITIES/DUE DATES

1

January

25-29

Introduction-About You 

Course Introduction 

Ethics

Textbook

Chapter 1- Introduction to Reference and Information Services

Chapter 17: Ethics

Articles

BLICK, B. (2020). The Role of Remediation in Library Reference. College Student Journal54(1), 57–62.

Houston, A. M. (2016). What’s in a Name? Toward a New Definition of Reference. Reference & User Services Quarterly55(3), 186–188

Luo, L., & Trott, B. (2016). Ethical Issues in Reference An In-Depth View from the Librarians’ Perspective. Reference & User Services Quarterly55(3), 189–198.

Miller, R. E. (2018). Reference Consultations and Student Success Outcomes. Reference & User Services Quarterly58(1), 16–21.

Discussion Post

Due: January 29

2

January 30-February 5

The Reference Interview

Virtual Reference

Model

Textbook

Chapter 2- Determining the Question: In-Person, Telephone, and Virtual Reference Interviews

Chapter 3- Finding the Answer: Basic Search Techniques

Articles

Bednar, M., & Antell, K. (2014). The Reference Interview Today: Negotiating and Answering Questions Face to Face, on the Phone, and Virtually. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 54(1)

Duncan, V., & Gerrard, A. (2011). All Together Now!: Integrating Virtual Reference in the Academic Library. Reference & User Services Quarterly50(3), 280–292.

Enhancing library impact through technology. (2015). Journal of the Medical Library Association103(4), 222–231. https://doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.103.4.015

Luo, L., & Weak, E. (2011). Texting 4 Answers: What Questions Do People Ask? Reference & User Services Quarterly51(2), 133–142. 

Schwartz, H. R., & Trott, B. (2014). The Application of RUSA Standards to the Virtual Reference Interview. Reference & User Services Quarterly54(1), 8–11.

Video

Dr. Marie Radford - Virtual Library Reference Services

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk1P5au7_yw

 

 

Discussion Post

 

Due: February 5

3

February

6-12

Leadership

Articles

Gwyer, R. (2018). “This is an Opportunity for Librarians to Reinvent Themselves, but it is about Moving Out of their Areas”: New Roles for Library Leaders? New Review of Academic Librarianship24(3/4), 430–443.

Marcum, D. B. (2016). Library leadership for the digital age. Information Services & Use36(1/2), 105–111

McManus, A. (2017). Serving to Lead. Reference & User Services Quarterly57(2), 86–88.

Thompson, J. (2014). Crafting an Envisioned Future for RUSA. Reference & User Services Quarterly54(1), 4–7

Guest Speaker

Prerecorded 

https://youtu.be/CuQ4kfGlkEE

Discussion post

 

Due: February 12

4

February 13-19

Managing Reference

Textbook

Chapter 20-Managing Reference Departments

 

Guest Speaker

Prerecorded 

https://sjsu.zoom.us/rec/play/5AFxTsbHTP33vcoLOxN8nMzh3Xud-7m4qpXMXe2pXdQjDQ20Bk9oU_Y84d-drI41e6PBxtYCurqA6ie0.hFrZqCNivMrk7TNb?autoplay=true&startTime=1608258471000

Discussion post

Due: February 19

 

PROJECT 1: REFERENCE/INFORMATION SERVICES INTERACTION

Due: February 13

5

February 20-26

The Internet as a Reference Tool

Textbook

Chapter 13-When and How to Use the Internet as a Reference Tool

Articles

ECKERT, K. (2016). A Virtual Vertical File How Librarians Utilize Pinterest. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children14(2), 34–35. 

Phetteplace, E. (2015). How Can Libraries Improve Wikipedia? Reference & User Services Quarterly55(2), 109–112.

Link

 Internet of Things

http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/IoT

Discussion Post

 

Due: February 26

6

February 27 - March 5

A Review

of

Magazines

Newspapers

Bibliographic Sources

Encyclopedias

Textbook

Chapter 4- Answering Questions about Books, Magazines, Newspapers, Libraries and Publishing, and Bibliographic Networks-Bibliographic Resources

Chapter 5- Answering Questions about Anything and Everything-Encyclopedias

Discussion post

Due: March 5

 

7

March 6-12

A Review 

of

Ready Reference

Dictionaries

Concordances

Manuals

Textbook

Chapter 6- Answering Questions that Require Handy Facts-Ready Reference Sources

Chapter 7- Answering Questions about Words-Dictionaries, Concordances, and Manuals

Discussion post

Due: March 12

8

March

13-19

A Review

of

Events-Past/Present Sources 

Databases

Indexes

Health

Law

Business

Textbook

Chapter 8-Answering Questions about Events and Issues, Past and Present-Databases (and Indexes)

Chapter 9- Answering Questions about Health, Law, and Business-Special Guidelines and Sources

 

Discussion Post

Due: March 19

PROJECT 2: DATABASE SEARCHING AND WEBIBLIOGRAPHY

Due: March 13

9

March

20-26

A Review 

of

Geographical Sources

Biographies

Government Documents

Textbook

Chapter 10 Answering Questions about Geography, Countries, and Travel-Atlases, Gazetteers, Maps, Geographic Information Systems, and Travel Guides

Chapter 11- Answering Questions about the Lives of People-Biographical Information Sources

Chapter 12- Answering Questions about Government and Related Issues-Government Information Sources

Discussion post

Due: March 26

 

10

April 3-9

Reader's Advisory

Reference Services for Children and Young Adults

Textbook

Chapter 14- Reader's Advisory

Chapter 15-Reference Services for Children and Young Adults

Articles

FELDE, K., & ROGERS, P. (2017). Now Playing ...Using Podcasts and Kidcasts in the Library. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children15(2), 9–12

Feldman, S. (2019). “What Should I Read Next?” Publishers Weekly266(37), 22–24.

KOZIKOWSKI, M., & WILLIAMS, K. (2020). Beyond the Book: Encouraging Emerging Readers. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children18(2), 34–36.

Discussion post

Due: April 9

11

April 10-16

Selection and Evaluation of Materials

 

Textbook

Chapter 18-Selecting and Evaluating Reference Materials

Discussion Post

Due: April 16

 

PROJECT 3: PRINT SOURCES REVIEW

Due: April 10

12

April 17-23

Reference as Programming

Diversity in Libraries 

Textbook

Chapter 19-Reference as Programming

Diversity in Libraries

Articles

Ryan, M., & Leadley, S. (2015). Reflections on Diversity and Organizational Development. Reference & User Services Quarterly54(4), 6–10.

van der Linden, K., Bartlett, J., & Beheshti, J. (2014). New Immigrants’ Perceptions and Awareness of Public Library Services. Canadian Journal of Information & Library Sciences38(2), 65–79. 

Guest Speaker 

Prerecorded 

https://sjsu.zoom.us/rec/play/mrmAsi9q81kH045Q0cbbTfHU7l42xAygo7fB4gIWCJ9RxSNp-72CddMZXUWxfusK0Q0qU1JCi_7Ig_BG.skgnzfPHs8tPZbhI?autoplay=true&startTime=1609379657000

Videos

Programming

Clayton County Library System featured on 11-Alive New Atlanta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B8c1TcB1cI

Diversity

Multnomah County Library: Creating conditions for equity to flourish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGlxh-zc0Y

 

Queens Library Adult Learner ESOL Program Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdYC6AK8h0c

 

Librarian JJ Ponke on Diversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58FmnzlFzzs&t=88s

 

 

Discussion Post

 

Due: April 23

13

April 24-30

Assessment

Enhancement

Textbook

Chapter 21-Assessing and Improving Reference Services

Discussion post

Due: April 30

 

14

May 1-7

Reference 2.0

The Future of Information Service

Textbook

Chapter 22-Reference 2.0

Chapter 23-The Future of Information Service

 

Trends

Web Link

http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends

Discussion post

Due: May 7

PROJECT 4A: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MAJOR SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES (GROUP PROJECT)

Due: May 1

15

May 8-15

 

Wrap-Up

 

Videos

Ask a Librarian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uLQ4inArgE

 

Dr. Ozoh at St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG6EviTIMLY

Discussion post

Due: May 15

 

 

PROJECT 4B: INSIGHTS GAINED/PEER REVIEW

Due: May 15