LIS510

Introduction to Library and Information Science

2006–10–31

If you are reading a printed copy of this page, you are reading an incomplete version, please print http://openlib.org/home/krichel/courses/lis510n06a/lis510n06a.letter.pdf for US letter paper or http://openlib.org/home/krichel/courses/lis510n06a/lis510n06a.a4.pdf for A4 sized paper.

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to library and information science.

Course objectives

The Palmer School objectives met by this course are

articulate the mission of the library and information professional in the context of the constituency served;
meet the information needs of society through the application of principles of organization, selection, and evaluation of information resources;
exhibit comprehension of the varied mission and organizational patterns in libraries and information agencies and their interrelationship;
recognize the importance of the contribution of other fields of knowledge to the profession, of ethical behavior, and the commitments to the ideals of intellectual freedom.

After taking this course the students

will have been introduced to broad topics of library and information science;
will appreciate the breadth of opportunity within the information professions;
will be able to address some of the issues that the library and information professional in a rapidly changing technological environment;
will be ready to rock to explore further courses.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite for this course.

Mailing list

There is a mailing list for the course at https://lists-1.liu.edu/mailman/listinfo/cwp-lis510-krichel. All students are encouraged to subscribe. As a rule, answers to email sent to the instructor will be copied to the list. There are exceptions to this rule

if the question writer requests the answer not to be posted
if the question is a purely private matter

Instructor

Thomas Krichel
Palmer School of Library and Information Science
C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University
720 Northern Boulevard
Brookville, NY 11548–1300
krichel@openlib.org
work phone: +1–(516)299–2843

Private contact details may be obtained from the online CV.

Class structure

Classes will be held Wednesdays on in the West room of the Avery Fischer Center between 16:30 and 18:20.

VERY approximate class details:

00	2006–09–06	special guest lecture by Amy Spaulding
01	2006–09–13	introduction to the course
02	2006–09–20	ancient libraries I, guest talk by Don Wilson
03	2006–09–27	ancient libraries II, guest talk by Luciana Marulli-Koenig
04	2006–10–04	American library history I, guest talk by Stephen Lippman
	2006–10–11	no class
05	2006–10–18	American library history II, guest talk by Jeff Barton
06	2006–10–25	libraries as organizations
07	2006–11–01	information industry and information science, guest talk by Izumi Sakaguchi (Yoshimatsu)
08	2006–11–08	information policy in general
09	2006–11–15	information policy in libraries
	2006–11–22	no class
10	2006–11–29	organizing information
11	2006–12–06	technological change towards digital libraries
12	2006–12–13	introduction to digital libraries

To print the slides in Microsoft powerpoint, press control-p to print, then under "Print what" choose "Handouts", and under "Color/grayscale" choose "Pure Black and White". You can also use openoffice to print the slides.

Readings

The main reading is Rubin (2004). This is a standard book. Stundents are not required to purchase the book.

Other suggested readings on library history include Casson (2001).

Other material that the instructor used will be listed at the beginning of the presentations.

Assessment

Before each class except the first and second, as well as when the instructor says that there is no quiz, there will be a quiz on the issued covered in the previous class and the reading. Students answer two of two questions. Both will ask only the material in the class notes from the previous lecture. The two worst performances in quizzes will be discounted. The average of the remainder counts for 40% of the class average. 10% is given for the test essay to be handed in on 25 October. 40% is for the final essay that has to be handed in on 6 December. The topics of the test essay and the final essay has to be agreed with the instructor.

The last 10%, are covered by the Rubino assignment. It can be handed in any time up to the last class date. You will interview an information professional to get a detailed account, with some figures, on what precisely they do on a typical day, what portion of time they spend on different tasks and what the surrounding hierarchy is. Then you write this account in a two page paper.