Course Schedule

 LIB 3 - Information Competency
Course Syllabus

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course follows the guidelines of the "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" by the Association of College and Research Libraries. It is designed to enable students become an information literate world citizen in the new seamless and global Information World. The course encompasses library literacy, information technology literacy and Internet literacy. It encourages thought transformation, intelligent reasoning, and a new understanding of the world, including an appreciation of cultural diversity. The course has a well-balanced structure in practices and theories, with lectures, forum discussion in-class and online, computer lab activities, and written research assignments. In addition, there will be field trips to some of the most famous and richest libraries and museums in Southern California.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objective I. The information literate student is able to identify and formulate the need for information.

Outcomes:
1. Identify a topic or a specific information need via participating in forum discussions and small workgroups.
2. Sketch a research statement relating to the information need.
3. Articulate the information need into a manageable topic.
4. Review primary concepts of the information need.
5. Determine the type and scope of information needed.

Objective II. The information literate student is able to identify and use appropriate information sources of various types and formats to meet specific information need.

Outcomes:
1. Know how information is created, organized, and disseminated.
2. Identify and select appropriate types of information sources.
3. Identify the characteristics of sources in a variety of formats.

Objective III. The information literate student is able to retrieve information effectively and efficiently.

Outcomes:
1. Design effective search strategies appropriate to the selected information source or information retrieval system.
2. Develop and use search languages appropriate to the selected information source or information retrieval system.
3. Use a variety of online search techniques and tools to optimize results.
4. Refine the search strategy as needed.

Objective IV. The information literate student is able to locate and compare information in a variety of formats from the global information world.

Outcomes:
1. Examine the bibliographic record to locate locally owned resources in specific areas.
2. Employ specialized resource sharing services, in-house or online, to obtain information.
3. Use the Internet to access and exchange information in the global environment.

Objective V. The information literate student is able to critically evaluate information and its sources.

Outcomes:
1. Use specific criteria to assess the authority and the relevance of information.
2. Identify lacuna in the presentation of a subject.
3. Assess the documentation for an information source.
4. Recognize the contexts within which the information was created and their impact on interpretation.

Objective VI. The information literate student is able to analyze, synthesize and integrate the information with existing sets of personal experience and values to develop a knowledge base.

Outcomes:
1. Summarize the information collected to illustrate understanding.
2. Identify and relate previously unconnected concepts to find patterns of organization or to construct new information.
3. Analyze and measure the validity and usefulness of information.
4. Integrate previous assumptions and understanding with new information to gain new insights.

Objective VII. The information literate student is able to assess the information-gathering method being used and revise it accordingly.

Outcomes:
1. Recognize that information-gathering is a non-linear process that involves making multiple decisions.
2. Recognize that effective information-gathering involves interchange of ideas with other students, instructors, and experts.
3. Recognize and apply transferable elements of an information-gathering method to a variety of information needs.
4. Review and refine search results by including additional concepts and sources.

Objective VIII. The information literate student is able to apply the integrated information to achieve a specific goal or to create a project.

Outcomes:
1. Organize the content of the created work suitable to its specific purposes and format.
2. Assemble a research portfolio of the information-gathering process.
3. Manage and transfer electronic data into a new setting.
4. Communicate effectively to others using a variety of information technology applications.

Objective IX. The information literate student is able to recognize the ethical, social, legal, and economic issues relating to the access and use of information.

Outcomes:
1. Recognize and respect intellectual property in compliance with copyright laws.
2. Recognize the ethics of information use and demonstrate an understanding of plagiarism by appropriately acknowledging sources used.
3. Recognize and comply with institutional policies on access to information resources, equipment, and facilities.
4. Use appropriate documentation style to cite sources consulted.
5. Examine ethical, social, cultural, legal, and economic issues related to information creation, access, and use.

COURSE ORGANIZATION

The course is divided into eighteen modules. Each module corresponds to one week (three classroom hours) in the college semester. The modules are as follows:

1. Course introduction - Library organization - History of information - Information cycle
2. Library of Congress Subject Headings - Classification systems
3. Online Library Catalogs: Voyager and other Library catalogs
4. Research Process - Final Project Discussion
5. Evaluation and Citation of Information
6. Internet and the Web - Internet Browsers - Internet History - Privacy - Netiquette
7. Internet and the Web - Subject Directories and Search Engines - Evaluation
8. Censorship, Copyright, and Plagiarism
9. HTML and Creating Web Pages
10. Government documents
11. Indexes
12. Visit a Library
13. Reference sources
14. Reference sources
15. Reference sources
16. Web databases
17. Future of Information
18. Review

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Attendance is required.
2. Class participation is required.
3. Punctuality is essential. I will not repeat lessons already covered in classes, and missed by you because of tardiness or absences.
4. A personal Web page is to created and submitted on or before the due date.
5. Nine assignments to be completed and submitted on or before the due date.
6. A final project to be completed and submitted on or before the due date.
7. A class presentation to be prepared and delivered on a date specified in class.

Please check the class schedule for the due date of each assignment.

REQUIRED READINGS

Bolner, M.S. and Poirier, G.A. The Research Process: Books and Beyond. Third
Edition. Dubuque: Kendal/Hunt, 2004.

Course reading list posted on the course readings page.

GRADING

Forum discussion: 10 points

Nine written assignments: 6 pts. each x 9 = 54 points

Class presentation: 6 points

Final Project: 30 points

Total 100 points

Note:

Assignments must be submitted by the due date. A grace period of one-week after the due date will be allowed. No assignment will be accepted after this one-week grace period.

Students' works will be graded based on the quality of content and the aesthetic of presentation. Points will be deducted for careless work.

Grading scale:

A 90 - 100

B 80 - 89

C 70 - 79

D 60 - 69

F below 60

CREDIT/NO CREDIT OPTION

Students who wish to receive a grade on a credit/no credit basis must inform me by the 30% point of the course. It is the student's responsibility to go to the Admissions Office to fill out the necessary credit/no credit form.Note that once such a grade is elected by the student and is awarded, it cannot be reversed at a later time. To receive credit for the course, students must submitted all nine required writtenassignments, the class presentation, and the final project.

CLASS DROP

It is the student's responsibility to officially drop/withdraw from the class. The student can withdraw and get a "W" up to the 75% point of the course.