Special Topics -- Special Libraries and Information Centers
LIS 690
Spring 2006
Online
Instructor: Anne K. Abate, Ph.D.
Email: anne@gclc.org
Office Hours: By Appointment
Phone: (513) 751-4422(w); (513) 530-9874(h)
Course Description:
Starting with the characteristics and early development of special libraries, this course will provide a comprehensive view of the special library and information center in organizations today. Standards, levels of service, and types of services provided will be explored. The impact of technology on special library services and staffing in special library and information center settings will be analyzed. The course will include several required and optional visits to special libraries.
Required Texts:
Special Libraries and Information Centers: An Introductory Text, by Ellis Mount and Renee Massoud. Fourth Edition. 1999.
Text may be ordered from www.sla.org (pdf online).
The Bottom Line: Determining and Communicating the Calue of the Special Library, byt Joseph R. Matthews. Libraries Unlimited. 2002.
Text may be ordered through Amazon (as I did) or Libraries Unlimited.
Other readings as assigned.
Exit Competencies:
By the completion of the course, the student will be able to:
**Demonstrate an awareness of issues and current problems facing special libraries and information centers.
**Demonstrate an awareness of some of the aspects of the management of a special library.
**Provide a perspective on the services and collections available in special libraries.
**Recognize and evaluate the future challenges of special libraries.
**Interact with colleagues in the online environment, debate the issues and reach consensus.
**Demonstrate virtual team skills through working with fellow students on class projects.
**Demonstrate preparation, research, organization, and presentation skills.
**Produce stimulating material in the completion of all assignments.
Deliverables at a Glance:
Participation (online and during class library tours)
Discussion Questions
Topic List
Special Libraries Literature Research and Sharing (3 articles with abstracts)
Identification of Target Libraries
Reaction Pages to Library Tours (3 or more)
Library Profile
Special Library Proposal
***Extra Credit
Deliverables in Detail:
Participation: Class participation is important in this course. You must be prepared to participate online every week. Part of participation is completing any assigned reading or research before the start of class chat sessions and discussions. Participation during each student presentation and asking questions on tours will also contribute to the participation requirement. Share your knowledge. Another important way to earn participation credit is to participate actively on the class discussion list. The discussion list will allow us to track fast-breaking developments and to share URLs for interesting sites. Open discussions are invited. Look through the various discussions available, and don’t be surprised when new ones appear throughout the term. Students are encouraged to read the postings and are expected to participate on a regular basis.
Discussion Questions (asynchronous participation): Another important element of participation in this online course is the class threaded discussion list on Blackboard. There will be required discussions every week, as well as optional open discussion areas. We will engage in guided discussions about the topics surrounding the readings and tours via the Blackboard threaded discussion. Discussions will be prompted by weekly questions inviting you to approach the topic from a specific perspective. You may also want to compare the topic to your own work environment. The questions serve as advance organizers to encourage critical thinking and informed participation. Due by Monday evening each week, specific discussion questions (requiring a 150-300 word response) will be assigned to individuals. The time specified for the initial posting ensures that all participants have ample opportunity to interact during the rest of the week. You must read and respond to at least two other questions from your fellow students. At the end of each week, you will submit a short summary of what you believe are the most important things you learned that week and how it relates to your job. Assigned readings and responses to discussion questions should take place during the week in which they are assigned in order to get the most benefit from the discussions. Instructions and due dates for each week are clearly articulated on the discussion lists. Open discussions are invited in the “water cooler” area. You are welcome to start your own topics in this area as well. Questions about the course should be posted in the “instructor’s office” area. The “water cooler” and “instructor’s office” discussions are not required, but are provided for your benefit.
Topic List: After the first week when we explore the environment, students will prepare a list of topics that address the current issues of special libraries and information centers. These topics will be selected from a review of current conferences, journals, the Internet and other sources (a list of potential sources will be provided). The list must include at least 5 topics with VERY brief explanations of their importance.
Special Libraries Literature Research and Sharing: In order to become more involved with the literature and issues of special libraries and information centers, three articles will be required on current special library issues. A one-page abstract of the article with a full citation are to be submitted in the appropriate discussion area. In this way, you can share your research with your fellow students. The due dates will be found on calendar. The selected articles must be at least three pages of text. Abstracts must be one-page, single-spaced. Abstract articles of your choice on any topic related to the field of special libraries and information centers. Sources include general LIS periodicals (Library Journal, American Libraries, etc.), technology periodicals (Online, Internet World, Internet Magazine, etc.), library sector periodicals (C&RL, Legal Information Alert, etc.), academic journals (Library Trends, Legal Reference Service Quarterly, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, etc.) Feature articles from Information Outlook (published by the Special Libraries Association) are recommended. Articles may be found on the Internet but must be the equivalent of three printed pages of text and must be credible, reliable sources. If you are uncertain of the credibility of an Internet source, please clear it first by sending an email to me with the URL. I will let you know if it measures up. All articles must be published within the last year. The abstract should highlight the main point of the article and discuss the key issues and conclusions. The last paragraph should be your own reaction to the article including its value and relation to your own organization or to society. You must relate the implications of the article to current practice.
Article abstracts will be graded on content, clarity, grammar, spelling, and readability. The selection of the article to abstract will also be considered in grading.
Identification of Target Libraries: You will be responsible for identifying special libraries in your area that will be toured by the students in your area. Further details on this assignment will be provided in the first weeks of the term.
Reaction Pages to Library Tours: We will be visiting a number of facilities during the semester. Optional visits may also be scheduled. You will only be responsible for the visits designated as mandatory for your area, but you are encouraged to attend any visit in addition to those. You will write a one-page reaction paper for each library visit. Highlight the facility, staff, parent organization, topics brought up by the host information professional, specific issues or concerns of that type of facility, and your own opinions on those issues. Each submission should be approximately one page, typed, single-spaced, with one inch margins. Each reaction page will be due one week following the library tour.
Library Profile: You will make arrangements to visit a special library or information center on your own, prepare questions for the visit, and write a brief profile of the library. I must approve your selection. Please secure approval before making final plans for the visit. Your profile should be of sufficient quality to be published in a professional newsletter. All profiles will be considered for publication by the editor of the Queen City Gazette, the newsletter of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. Photos are not required, but you are welcome to submit photos for the publication. You will present a summary of your profile to the class during a chat session and lead a discussion list regarding the issues facing the facility. Dates of presentations will be assigned based upon the schedule of students’ visits to facilities. Further details on the content and format of the profile will be provided during the term.
Special Library Proposal: Select an organization, real or imagined, for which you will propose the development of a special library. You may select any type of organization that would benefit from the resources of a special library. If you are using a real organization, do not select one that already has a library or information center, unless you are proposing a major upgrade or change to the facility. Choose an organization or field that is interesting to you and of which you have some knowledge (or can locate the information in the literature). In order to make sure you are on the right track, your first submission for this assignment will be a one-paragraph description of your idea.
Your final proposal should include at least the following:
A description of the parent organization, the environment, and the population to be served. This should be where you state the reason for your proposal.
Space requirements for the proposed facility including opening day space and prediction of future growth (if any). Include plans for such things as staff space, user space, materials housing, equipment, etc.
A projected budget for the information center being proposed. This does not need to be a detailed budget, but should include all major categories (materials, staff, equipment, space) and should be in line with that the parent organization could logically afford. The budget does not need to be formal, but it should be adequate to indicate all of the requirements for your proposed facility.
A description of the services you are proposing to provide to the organization. Why will this facility help the organization? Are the needs currently being met in some other fashion? Why to they need to spend the money in this way (why not just increase their bandwidth to the Internet)?
Make sure you include references to the professional literature to support your proposal. This may include literature appropriate for the specific industry in which your proposed facility will operate, or general library literature, or descriptions of specific special libraries and information centers similar to the one you are proposing. Include a bibliography of all works consulted, whether cited in your proposal or just used for background information.
Your proposal should be a professional package in whatever format would be appropriate for the parent organization to which you are making the proposal (memorandum, formal proposal, binder with attachments, etc.). Your proposal should begin with an executive summary (remember that this is usually all that the management will read anyway). Lengthy proposals with support materials should include a table of contents.
***Extra Credit: Summary of Discussion List Developments: An important element of this course is developing your awareness of the issues facing the profession today. One of the best sources of information on late-breaking developments are Internet discussion lists. Within a week of the first class session, subscribe to any discussion list related to this area. One option could be Edupage. Edupage provides a summary of news on information technology. After you subscribe, Edupage will be delivered to your emailbox three times each week. Read the issues as they come out, then briefly summarize one of the important developments each week and be prepared to discuss the issue in class. In order to subscribe to Edupage, please go to this URL and follow the instructions on the screen: www.educause.edu. Look for the section on “Publications” and Edupage. Keep a copy of this URL so that you can use it at the end of the course (unless you decide to become a lifelong reader!).
Grading:
Point totals will be distributed as follows:
Participation 10 points
Discussion Questions 10 points
Topic List 5 points
Current Special Libraries Issues Research and Sharing (3 article abstracts) 15 points
Identification of Target Libraries 10 points
Reaction Pages to Library Tours 5 points
Library Profile 20 points
Special Library Proposal 25 points
***Extra Credit—Summary of Discussion List Developments Up to 5 points
A 90 to 100 points
B 80 to 89 points
C 70 to 79 points
E less than 70 points