Draft Syllabus, Updated 2/12/03

Instructor: John N. Berry III, Editor-in-Chief, Library Journal

Telephones: Office (with voice mail): 646 746 6822

Home (with answering machine): 203 359 2495

Office e-mail: jberry@reedbusiness.com

\ Home e-mail: jberry33@optonline.net

Office Address: John N. Berry III, Editor-in-chief, Library Journal,

360 Park Avenue, South, New York, NY 10010

Office Hours: By appointment,

Description of Course: A writing seminar during which students will select and investigate focused aspects of broad, fundamental issues in information and library science through research, readings, lectures, and discussion of their written work. Students will develop focused positions related to specific issues covered in the course. They will articulate their position short written papers and defend it in oral presentations in class. Classes will consist of discussion of the issues and of the elements and techniques of writing, using the student work as examples.

Unit #1: Is Information a Commodity?

Unit #2: The Modern Mission of the Library

Unit #3: Graduate Library Education and Library Practice

To investigate, analyze, and articulate in writing various viewpoints on contemporary issues in information policy and librarianship.

• Students will develop more acute skills in the interpretation and analysis of information and opinion, and confidence in their powers of written and oral expression.
• Students will assess the impact of these issues and viewpoints on various types of libraries and on the practice and status of librarianship.

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Students are expected to share their work and read and comment in class on the work of other students.All assignments must be prepared in written, digital form and for oral presentation at the class session for which the assignment is scheduled. They must be delivered as MSWord documents, and e-mailed as attachments to both the IRLS688-002 List, and to the Instructor’s e-mail addresses (jberry33@optonline.net and jberry@reedbusiness.com). Because of the tight schedule of classes and the long periods between each of the three weekends of the class, late papers and presentations cannot be allowed. The assignments follow:

1. Career & Biographical Sketch. A short essay (3-5 double-spaced pages) giving brief biographical information about the student. The paper should include the student’s expectations for the course, and expectations for the SIRLS degree program. It should explain how the student selected a career in libraries and/or information service, and articulate the student’s long-term ambitions for her or his professional career. The purpose of this first assignment is to provide the instructor with some knowledge and insight into the experience and ambitions of each student, and a sample of each student’s current writing style and skills.

Deadline: Due via e-mail no later than Tuesday, March 4. Short oral (7-10 minutes) presentation based on this paper to the class no later than Session 1, Saturday, March 8, 8-10 a.m.

A short (3-6 double-spaced pages) essay stating and defending the student’s opinion on a specific, focused issue that falls under one or more of these or other closely related topics. Sample topics: Is Information a Commodity? The True Purpose of Copyright; The Bounds of the "Fair Use" Doctrine; "Publish or Perish" in a Digital Age; libraries and the fight for a public domain in information; etc.

Deadline: Paper due via e-mail no later than Tuesday, April 22 Class presentation and critique of this assignment at Session 7, Saturday, April 26, 8-10 a.m.

3. Library Education and Library Practice. A short (4-6 double-spaced pages) essay stating and defending a position on some focussed aspect of the topic. This paper should be based on the lectures, your readings, and your experience as a graduate student in the program. Sample topics: relevance of curricula; distance education and the application of digital technology to LIS programs; the impact of budget issues and/or other political and policy questions on library education; the tension between library education and library practice; the difficulty of positioning programs in library and information studies in the modern university; ALA accreditation; the difference between graduate professional

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Assignments & Requirements (continued) :

education and graduate education in research disciplines; the working situation, conditions, and culture of the librarian; etc.

Deadline: Papers due via e-mail on Tuesday, April 22, presentations for discussion on Sunday, April 27, 8:00 a.m.

4. A Library Mission Statement. A team exercise, working as a committee to write a Mission Statement (one to three paragraphs) for a public or academic library serving a campus or community of a size and location to be determined by the team. The Statement should be accompanied by a short (two pages) document explaining and defending the scope, content, and general thrust of the statement. Each student will assume the role of a member of the library staff and/or administration who is assigned to the committee charged with developing the mission statement.

Team meetings: Sessions 5, Sunday, March 9, 8-10 a.m. and Session 9, Sunday, April 27, 1:15-3 p.m.

Deadline: Statements due via e-mail Tuesday, May 6, presentations ready for discussion at Session 17, Sunday, May 10, 8:00 a.m.

Final grades will be comprised of the following components:

Participation in class discussions, critiques, and presentations 35-45%

Written assignments: Biographical essay 10-15%

Papers 2, 3, & 4 35-45%

Mission Statement Team Participation 10-15%

Week I: Saturday, March 8, 2003, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 9, 2003, 8:00 a.m.-12:30

Week II: Saturday, April 26, 2003, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 27, 2003, 8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Week III: Saturday, May 10, 2003, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 11, 2003, 8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

The Course Calendar completes this syllabus.

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