Courses at the iSchool
Management, Reference, Collection Development, Pedagogy, Independent Studies
I have taught several other courses (e.g., research methods, information retrieval, information literacy) but my present stable of courses includes general management, collection development, and pedagogy. Independent studies in any of my research areas or aspects of academic librarianship are also a regular aspect of my teaching. If you'd like to know more about anything, just let me know.
Spring 2012
Structuring Information Interactions, in development, scheduled for Spring 2012
On societal, community, and individual levels, we actively choose forums in which information interactions are formally mediated. Online expert systems (e.g., WikiAnswers), opinion collections (e.g., Tripadvisor), research services (e.g., university library chat reference), and community forums (e.g., BrokenSpirits) are a few of the forums that structure interpersonal information activities. They determine who can ask questions and who can answer them; they determine quality criteria and behavioral norms. This course examines the power dynamics, ethics, support resources, values, and user dynamics of common forums that structure information interactions.
Collection Development, aka, Collection Management, INF 384D [syllabus]
The true university of these days is a collection of books. —Albert Camus
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. —Barbara Tuchman
Reading matter in every form, from graphic novels to e-books to paperbacks, populates the modern library. How do we build a collection that meets community needs and individual needs? How do we balance the reading interests of the majority with those of the minority? What is the difference between a digitized collection and an electronic library? How much of what we collect reflects our values and how much challenges our assumptions? How do we build for the educational and community settings as well as the deliberately unbounded and multi-purpose setting?
Previous Courses
Academic Libraries, INF 388K.2 [syllabus]
That nice little Shetland pony of a job you so confidently bestrode in the begining suddenly grows to a frightful Grand National winner. {on his work as Librarian of Hull University} —Philip Larkin
Fundamentally, learning isn't about use of tools, it's a social experience. We should make it easier for our students to conceptualize research as a social act .... —Barbara Fister
In a very real sense, Information Studies is integral to all of higher education. Scholarly research and curricular development are not slotted into tightly delineated, insular intellectual domains. The multi/inter/intra/cross-disciplinary aspects of modern studies require rich and inherently complex constellations of information resources. Information experts anticipate these possibilities and generate support at-the-point-of-need. As institutions, universities have a hierarchical concatenation of schools, departments, and centers that are shaped by politics, values, and economics. These power dynamics at administrative and curricular levels require an advocate for the growth of knowledge that goes beyond any single institution. Information is essential in weaving together the intellectual threads that maximize higher education's social contributions. It is the information professional who knows at a visceral level that information communication technology is an essential aspect of any university's claim on society's support.
Introduction to Information Studies, INF 180J [syllabus]
Learning the language, exploring the concepts, and awakening to the possibilites of Information Studies make this required, one-hour course a door to the field, rather than a foundation for study.
Management, aka, Managing Information Services and Organizations, INF 387C [syllabus]
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. —John Quincy Adams
Or, to put it another way, The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. —Warren Bennis
Information studies professionals are, in great part, defined by their understanding of information's ethics, impact, and potential. We conceptualize information within societal, community, and individual contexts. We see information as intrinsic to the human condition and we take on the professional responsibility of working with this fundamental component of modern life. Our professional responsibilities require us to get our hands dirty by actually "doing" information work. To that end, information studies professionals are always involved in management. Managing projects – like bringing a 4th generation OPAC online. Managing staff – like para-professionals in an organization's archives. Managing colleagues – like a multi-agency taskforce developing a health informatics platform. Managing departments – like the IT unit within a city government. Managing a process – like the development & implementation arc of an innovative personal finance tracking system. And always, we manage ourselves –our professional development, priorities, goals, and ethics. This management course fits into your MLIS program as the single domain which makes all the others function effectively.
Reference, aka, Introduction to Information Resources and Services, INF 382D [syllabus]
If we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing conformity of knowledge, of values, of attitudes, which our present system induces, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness, for self-direction, and for self-initiated learning. —Carl Rogers
Reference librarians are the lifelong teachers of an informed citizenry. They are the guides, laying down pathways in the ever-morphing information ecologies. Using every tool in every format, excellent reference librarians meet their users' needs with tact, support, and a keen focus on context.
Supervised Teaching in Information Studies, aka, Pedagogy, INF 398T [syllabus; readings]
TEACHING: The earth doesn't move every time, but when it does, what a RUSH!— Cameron Beatty
Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. —John Cotton Dana
In their first few years, new faculty are faced with the tension between research and teaching. Tenure rests primarily on the former but the latter is both valued and, potentially, time consuming. Developing their own teaching philosophy, coming to the position with an understanding of course design, and finding their personal approach to teaching are essential to all faculty. This course is designed to provide a foundation of adult learning theory and basic competence in course development.
Independent Studies, Capstones, Doctoral Research Internships, Doctoral Teaching Internships
Each of these courses is custom-designed to meet the needs of individuals. Students in these courses have completed and published research. Others have examined a subject in depth through community engagement, readings, and papers. If you're interested in working one-on-one on a substantial issue or topic for which no organized course is available, let me know. I'd be happy to talk over the possibilities with you.