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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). Feel free to chat, send me an email, stop by my office (RL 2076), 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. Your attendance will play a major part in your final grade; missing more than two (2) 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. Arriving late to class three times equals one absence.

• Missing 3 classes = 10 points (10%) off your final grade
• Missing 4 classes = 20 points (20%) off your final grade
• Missing 5 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 instructor 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	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
All students will be required to watch the film “Food, Inc.,” which is on reserve at the library's circulation desk. Working in small groups, you will develop a research question based on a topic presented in the film. Your research during the semester will attempt to answer the question your group developed. You will find several 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.

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. One presentation will be on a reference work, and the other will be on your final annotated bibliography project. 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.

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Course Calendar

Note: Dates and topics are subject to change.

Class 1: June 23, Wed.	Introduction Blogs In-Class: from the e-reserves list, choose 1 article by the following authors and respond on your blog: Finder, Harmon, Hass or Nakashima
Class 2: June 24, Thurs.	Classification & Subject Headings Keyword Searches Finding Books
Class 3: June 28, Mon.	Developing a Research Question Using “And” and “Not” Operators Multiple Searches with Related Terms
Class 4: June 29, Tues.	Databases (Article Search Engines) Finding Articles Advanced Searching (Nesting) In-Class: Worksheet
Class 5: June 30, Wed.	Finding Full-Text Economics, Open Access and Scholarly Publishing In-Class: Worksheet
Class 6: July 1, Thurs.	Introduce Final Project In-Class: find a book and an article related to your group's research question Assigned (due July 2): read and respond on your blog to Brock Read's article on e-reserves
Class 7: July 6, Tues.	Internet Search Engines Internet Censorship Wikis and Wikipedia
Class 8: July 7, Wed.	Reference Books In-Class: Group Project #1
Class 9: July 8, Thurs.	Midterm Exam Annotated Bibliography Workday Assigned (due July 9): read and respond on your blog to Stebbins's chapter (p. 153-159) on e-reserves
Class 10: July 12, Mon.	Citations & Plagiarism In-Class: Worksheet
Class 11: July 13, Tues.	Copyright & Fair Use
Class 12: July 14, Wed.	Creating Web Pages with Kompozer Annotated Bibliography Workday
Class 13: July 15, Thurs.	Real World Information Literacy Assigned (due July 16): read and respond on your blog to reading selections by BOTH Biehle and LaRue on e-reserves
Class 14: July 19, Mon.	Banned Books Privacy and Other Library Professional Values
Class 15: July 20, Tues.	Statistical Literacy Primary Sources Assigned (due July 22): read and respond on your blog to the reading selection by Eicher on e-reserves
Class 16: July 21, Wed.	Class Presentations of Annotated Bibliography Projects
Class 17: July 22, Thurs.	History of Libraries and Library Tours
Final: July 23, Fri.	Final Exam

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