Quarter:

Winter 2014; January 9 - March 6

Schedule:

Thursdays  7:00 - 9:20 PM

Place:

Ruffatto Hall Room 304

Instructor:

Christopher C. Brown, Penrose Library, Reference Technology Integration Librarian

Phone: (303) 871-3404 (work - voicemail); (303) 359-7460 (cell)

E-mail: cbrown@du.edu

Class Web Page:

http://www.du.edu/~cbrown/lis4060/

Course Description:

Information resources include a number of different kinds of reference materials in a wide variety of formats. These include guidebooks, encyclopedias and dictionaries, indexes and abstracts, handbooks, bibliographies, biographical finding tools and biographies, data sets and much more. Many of these resources are available on-line, as well as in print and other digital formats. This course will help students identify and evaluate the most likely resources for information queries in particular settings. It will also provide the opportunity to find answers to real research questions. The course will cover the primary resources for the broad disciplines of business, humanities, sciences, social sciences and government publications in print and electronic formats. Class exercises will reflect the multidisciplinary and multicultural interests and characteristics of library users. (Prerequisites: none; Recommended: LIS 4000, LIS 4011).

Course Objectives

The course objectives as stated are intended to serve as a framework for the course content. My responsibility is to provide the opportunities and guidance for achievement of these objectives. These opportunities will be found in class meetings and exercises, readings, assignments, and exams. Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Identify, evaluate, select, and use a variety of reference sources;
2. Discuss philosophy and trends of reference service in libraries;
3. Analyze issues related to reference sources and services in the print and electronic environment and in a variety of community settings; and,
4. Identify and discuss issues related to evaluation of reference resources and services.

Because LIS 4011 is a recommended and not required prerequisite, I will spend a relatively small amount of time on objective on search strategies. Objective 1 is a much deeper development of reference source knowledge than what you may have experienced in LIS 4011.

The required texts for this course are:

Cassell, Kay Ann, and Uma Hiremath. 2011. Reference and Information Services in the 21st Century: An Introduction. 2nd rev. ed. New York: Neal-Schuman.

Keeran, Peggy, et al. 2007. Research within the Disciplines: Foundations for Reference and Library Instruction. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow. (This book is beting revised, so we will not use the old edition any longer).

Additional readings are listed in the schedule below. Permanent URLs are links to full-text articles available in databases via Penrose Library.

Assignments:

This class is intended to be thought-provoking and will allow you to interact with each other. It will also allow me to see if you are tracking with the topics.

You are to visit two libraries to observe reference models and interactions. The libraries may NOT be libraries where you currently work or volunteer. Ideally they should be of different types (academic, public, law, medical, special, etc.). You may chose to do unobtrusive observation of reference services, or you may chose to interview reference staff to inquire about the types of services they provide and their philosophy of reference. You may discuss reference collections, reference services, reference staffing, policies, or other ideas relevant to reference services. You will do two reports: a written report (covering two libraries) and a video report (covering the same two libraries). You may use your own video camera, or Flip cameras may be borrowed for a 24-hour period from the University Library circulation desk. There are a limited number of cameras available, so don't all wait until the last minute to borrow them.

You will then write up the results of your visits in a brief paper (3-5 pages).

Turn in the written report on Blackboard. Keep the video report on a flash memory stick or online in a non-public Web site for showing in class.

Take home exam. The exam will be given out during class in week 9, and will be due at the beginning of class in week 10. The take home exam involves creating responses to email reference questions.

Remember, when answering email questions on homework, you must give many solutions to the problem. This about the many types of resources that you could recommend: books, encyclopedias, articles, statistical sources, primary sources, etc.

Note:

This syllabus is subject to change based on the needs of the learning environment.

Grading Criteria:

Library visits report and other homework assignments: 50%

Reference Subject Guide: 25%

Final Exam: 25%

Grading Scale:

Date

Topic

Assignments

Week 1 Jan. 9

Reference Intro.

Notes

Reference Sources I

Tour of AAC Reference Area

Notes

Reference Sources II

Notes

Reference Ethics

Reference Collection Development

Notes

Reference Interview

Notes

Reference Models

Notes

Virtual Reference

Evaluating Reference Resources

Notes

Read Cassel and Hiremath, ch. 17

Read Ghasri, Atefeh Noorizadeh. "Chat reference: Training and competencies for librarians." (2009). Link.

Assignment 6 Due

Week 8 Feb. 27

Review

Notes

Reference Subject Guides Due

Final exam,take home handed out (respond to email questions)

Evaluation, Tie up loose ends
Notes